February 1, 2024

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The landmark PGA Tour investment deal with Strategic Sports Group has some players openly questioning whether an agreement with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund is needed anymore. … F1 icon Lewis Hamilton is making a dramatic shift from Mercedes to Ferrari, altering the business of both teams. … Plus: More on the Washington Commanders, Georgia football, Amer Sports, and F1 expansion.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

Will PGA Tour-PIF Deal Get Done? Some Players Say: Don’t Bother [[link removed]]

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

On the heels of the PGA Tour’s landmark investment deal [[link removed]] with Fenway Sports Group-led Strategic Sports Group, pegged at up to $3 billion, a pressing and immediate question is now rippling through the golf world: Does the Tour now even need to finish a much-discussed agreement [[link removed]] with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund?

The SSG pact was structured to allow for co-investment from the PIF, and the PGA Tour said there has been “progress in its ongoing negotiations” with the LIV Golf backer, adding that “both parties are working toward an ultimate agreement.” But some players believe such continued effort is no longer necessary.

“I don’t think that’s needed,” said Jordan Spieth (above) of the potential PIF investment. “The idea is that we have a strategic partner that allows the PGA Tour to go forward the way that it’s operating right now without anything else.”

Spieth, the world’s No. 14 men’s player, is now part of the PGA Tour’s player policy board following a resignation by Rory McIlroy in November.

Among the reasons for the player reticence toward completing the PIF deal:

The SSG agreement provides not only a significant cash infusion, but the intellectual capital of more than 200 years of combined pro sports team leadership. Nearly 200 PGA Tour players are already set to become equity participants in the newly formed, for-profit commercial entity PGA Tour Enterprises. Distrust and hurt feelings remain among some PGA Tour players toward their LIV Golf counterparts, with Christiaan Bezuidenhout telling [[link removed]] ESPN, “I wouldn’t want to see any of the LIV guys come back.” There is no clarity yet on what role PIF would play in the operation of the PGA Tour or PGA Tour Enterprises, or if the investment would survive U.S. government regulatory [[link removed]] approval processes.

“That has not been the ultimate priority,” said Webb Simpson, another player policy board member, of a potential PIF deal.

Lewis Hamilton Stuns Formula One With Shift to Ferrari Team [[link removed]]

Austin American-Statesman

The business fortunes of two Formula One teams are set to be significantly altered as seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is finalizing a switch from Mercedes to Ferrari beginning in 2025, sending shockwaves throughout the motor sports world.

Hamilton, F1’s all-time wins leader, is poised to join a Ferrari team that has a proud lineage in F1, having competed in every season, but has not won a drivers’ title since Kimi Räikkönen in 2007. In ’23, Hamilton finished third in the standings behind the dominant Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez, and earned [[link removed]] $55 million, trailing only Verstappen, and ranking as one of the world’s highest-paid athletes.

Ferrari’s U.S. stock listing rose more than 12.5% on Thursday to reach an all-time high of $389.45 per share, boosted by the Hamilton news and a strong quarterly earnings report [[link removed]] beating Wall Street projections. Hamilton now forms a “dream team” of sorts at Ferrari with fellow F1 star Charles Leclerc, 2023’s No. 5 driver.

Before the Hamilton shift, Ferrari’s team carried [[link removed]] an estimated value of $3.9 billion, tops in F1, while Mercedes ranked a close second at $3.8 billion. Hamilton exercised a release option in his contract to enable the move to Ferrari.

“We knew our partnership would come to a natural end at some point, and that day has now come,” said Toto Wolff, Mercedes CEO and team principal.

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It’s a New Era in Baltimore

Peter Angelos has agreed to sell the Baltimore Orioles after owning them for 31 years. The new ownership group is led by private equity executive and Baltimore native David Rubenstein, and includes Hall of Famers Cal Ripken Jr. and Grant Hill, as well as former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Sam Dingman, co-host of the Orioles-centric podcast The Rumor, joins Front Office Sports Today to talk through questions he has on how this will alter team operations and whether it will lead to the sale of the Washington Nationals.

🎧 Listen and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], and Spotify [[link removed]].

STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Down

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Washington Commanders ⬆ One of the first announced head coach openings and the last one to be filled is going to Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, ESPN [[link removed]] reports. Quinn helped turn the Cowboys’ defense into one of the top units in the league the last few seasons. Before his stop in Big D, Quinn coached the Atlanta Falcons from 2015 to ’20, and led them to Super Bowl LI, where they fell to the New England Patriots after surrendering a 25-point lead.

Georgia Revenue ⬆ Georgia will be selling beer to fans at its home football games in 2024, the school announced Wednesday. Georgia is the second-to-last SEC school to allow it, but it’s easy to see why they gave in: LSU reported more than $2 million in net revenue in ’19, and Tennessee reported $3.3 million in beer sales during the ’22 season, per The Athletic [[link removed]].

Amer Sports ⬇ The parent company for sporting goods brands including Wilson and Louisville Slugger entered the stock market after raising about $1.37 billion in its U.S. initial public offering. That’s well below the $1.8 billion [[link removed]] figure it had hoped for, and a tough look for the lackluster IPO market.

Americans in F1 ⬇ Formula One rejected a bid its governing body had previously approved [[link removed]] to allow American Michael Andretti [[link removed]] and Cadillac to form its 11th team. The decision means F1 will continue without a U.S. team for at least another four years.

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Empowering Sports Bettors to Play Well

As digital sports betting has grown in recent years, the importance of establishing a culture of responsible gaming has grown with it.

However, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to promoting safer gambling. That’s why FanDuel [[link removed]] offers a range of tools, resources, and programs to encourage responsible play.

In Lesson 2 of our latest course [[link removed]], Responsible Gaming Essentials: The Responsible Gaming Ecosystem, hear firsthand from FanDuel’s VP of Sustainability and Responsible Gaming, Alison Kutler, how FanDuel is empowering customers to play responsibly through its Play Well strategy.

Plus, FanDuel Responsible Gaming Ambassador and acclaimed sports radio and TV personality Craig Carton shares his story and why he partnered with FanDuel to raise awareness of the risks of problem gambling.

Register [[link removed]] for the course today.

Conversation Starters If there’s one thing that almost everyone loves about the Super Bowl, it’s the commercials. And Michelob Light’s ad features [[link removed]] some big-time names: Lionel Messi, Jason Sudeikis, and Dan Marino. In case you missed it, Nickelodeon is going to have an alternate telecast of the Super Bowl. And now we know who [[link removed]] is going to lead its coverage (along with SpongeBob). In 2017, UCF kicker Donald De La Haye grew a YouTube audience of 94,000. Without NIL, the NCAA told him to delete his channel, so he left his team and scholarship. Now? “Deestroying” is flourishing [[link removed]] and he just signed with the UFL’s San Antonio Brahmas. Editor’s Picks Federal Judge Dismisses $40M Lawsuit Against Ole Miss Football Coach Lane Kiffin [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]Judge cites lack of evidence of alleged discrimination. How An Anonymous Fan’s Homemade Documentary Sparked a Big East Basketball Firestorm [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]X user 'Blue Demon Degenerate' drew the interest—and ire—of many. Tennessee, Virginia AGs Are Suing the NCAA Over NIL Restrictions [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The attorneys general specifically target the NCAA’s enforcement of its restriction on using NIL as a recruiting inducement. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Margaret Fleming [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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