March 11, 2024

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There’s an interesting battle behind the scenes of the latest state to launch mobile sports betting. … NFL free agency brings the season of misinformation. … There are new details about the NFL’s $22 million thief. … The Big East’s commissioner wants to keep amateurism alive. … And financial problems persist for the investors trying to take over Everton.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

11 Million Bettors Up for Grabs: N.C. Launches Mobile Sports Betting [[link removed]]

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Selection Sunday is just six days away, with a bevy of conference basketball tournaments this week inching us closer to March Madness. Last year an estimated $15.5 billion was wagered on the men’s NCAA tournament, according to the American Gaming Association.

That gargantuan number should only grow this year. Since the UConn men’s team cut down the nets last April, several more states have launched mobile sports betting, and, Monday, nearly 11 million more people in North Carolina will be allowed to try their luck as legal sports wagering goes live in the Tar Heel State. While that’s certainly welcome news for Duke and UNC fans hoping to cash in on potential Final Four runs, the debut also greenlights the biggest test yet for perhaps the most intriguing sportsbook challenger to the U.S. duopoly [[link removed]] of DraftKings and FanDuel.

Worldwide Leader?

ESPN Bet has a stated goal [[link removed]] of eventually reaching 20% market share but has been playing catchup since its November launch, faced with the tall task of converting existing customers from rival sportsbooks. Some recent data shows ESPN Bet has plenty of work to do. Research firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming provided Front Office Sports with a report that estimates the national market share for December to be:

FanDuel: 41.32% DraftKings: 32.54% BetMGM/Borgata: 6.34% Caesars/William Hill: 4.94% ESPN Bet: 4.68%

But in North Carolina the fledgling app, which was born out of a $2 billion partnership [[link removed]] with Penn Entertainment, will get its fairest fight so far, as it—along with the likes of DraftKings, FanDuel, and others—simultaneously looks to secure potentially millions of first-time bettors in the state with sign-up bonuses worth hundreds of dollars. “Everyone’s going to be looking at North Carolina to see how they perform,” says Robert Linnehan, a sports betting regulation expert for XL Media’s gambling-focused websites. “If they’re not top three, I think they’d be very disappointed.”

Penn is making an aggressive push to woo N.C. bettors, including advertising for the launch on ESPN’s First Take and Get Up, in addition to sending the network’s $12 million man [[link removed]] Stephen A. Smith to a fan event at a Charlotte pickleball bar and entertainment center later this week. But the duopoly is making sure North Carolina feels its presence, too. Last week, FanDuel teamed up with the Panthers, becoming their official sports betting partner and sending star TV host Kay Adams to Charlotte to broadcast her morning show live from Bank of America Stadium. DraftKings, meanwhile, signed up Panthers legend and Fox NFL analyst Greg Olsen to place the ceremonial first bet.

An Uphill Battle

While North Carolina’s launch will be an interesting test case in some regards, ESPN Bet will still have its hands full. “It’s not like everyone is starting at the same point in North Carolina either,” says sports betting investor Chris Grove, pointing to popular daily fantasy products that have been running in the state for nearly a decade.

“Those head-start advantages that DraftKings and FanDuel enjoy are still meaningful,” adds Grove, who is also a partner at the aforementioned EKG. “And that is probably going to translate to a very big preregistration edge. And, as a result, I don’t know that we’re really going to see a tremendously different distribution of market share.”

As Grove also points out, ESPN Bet is a long-term play—Disney and Penn do have a 10-year deal in place. But once wagering results come in from March Madness, it will be impossible not to look at how ESPN Bet did in this new market and maybe make an early conclusion or two.

NFL Free Agency Is Here, and So Is Misinformation Season [[link removed]]

Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

NFL free agency officially begins Wednesday with the start of the new league year, but the “legal tampering” period begins Monday at noon ET when teams are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with, players’ agents. So, here’s your annual reminder: Get ready for some misinformation.

Contract numbers in the NFL have long been inflated when being reported to the public, thanks mainly to the league’s aversion to fully guaranteed deals. That opens the door for some creative framing—like last week when Mike Evans’s new deal was widely reported [[link removed]] to be for two years and $52 million. But there was a catch. According to Spotrac [[link removed]], Evans’s contract has $35 million in guaranteed money and will most likely be worth $41 million before incentives. (The Buccaneers would have to win the next two Super Bowls for Evans to receive [[link removed]] the full $52 million.)

So who’s to blame for the confusion? “The agent is going to position it or spin it in the best light possible, so they can use it for recruiting purposes,” NFL contract expert Joel Corry, a former agent himself, tells Front Office Sports. Then there’s those responsible for relaying that questionable positioning. “The insider industry is very competitive,” Corry says. “They have relationships with agents, and there’s certain agents that they’ve done a solid to, that they know they’ll get a certain deal.”

About Those Aggregators …

Other growing sources for the distribution of those fluffed-up contract numbers—and sometimes more insidious information—are aggregator accounts [[link removed]] and even sports impersonators [[link removed]].

“We have fallen victim a couple times,” ESPN’s Pat McAfee admitted on his show last week. “It’s gonna happen. This is the new modern day.” McAfee was speaking with Michael Lombardi, a former NFL general manager, who was lamenting [[link removed]] two of his quotes being taken out of context and strung together.

In those situations, do aggregator account owners, or even the social media apps they’re using, carry any liability? “It’s a very thorny legal issue that centers around the First Amendment,” says Irwin Kishner, co-chair of the ports law group at Herrick, Feinstein LLP. Ultimately, Kishner says the juice probably isn’t worth the squeeze for anyone trying to take legal action.

As McAfee said, misinformation is the new reality, like it or not. So, don’t believe everything you see this week. You heard it here first.

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Spending Spree Detailed

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Back in December, The Athletic published a report [[link removed]] on Amit Patel, a former Jaguars employee accused of embezzling more than $22 million from the NFL team. The 31-year-old has since admitted to using a virtual credit card program during his tenure from 2018 to ’23 in various financial planning roles.

Federal prosecutors allege that Patel used the embezzled funds to finance a luxurious lifestyle, which included extravagant trips on private jets. In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors provided a detailed list [[link removed]], including approximate amounts, of the items Patel purchased:

Financial/cryptocurrency: $2,100,000 Individuals: $1,000,000 Entertainment: $300,000 Legal fees: $275,000 The Golf Auction, LLC: $201,000 eBay: $140,000 FBO Jets: $78,800 Ponte Vedra Inn & Club: $78,000 Tesla: $50,000 Hotels.com: $40,000 BestBet: $34,000 Delta: $30,000 Restaurants/bars: $25,000 Vrbo: $17,500

Patel faces a potential 30-year prison sentence, though prosecutors are suggesting a minimum of seven years. His attorney claimed that Patel used 99% of the embezzled funds for online gambling, citing a gambling addiction. ESPN reported [[link removed]] that Patel was labeled “the biggest loser ever on FanDuel.” Sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY The End of Amateurism? Big East Commish: ‘Nobody’s Ready for That’

Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

In a wide-ranging conversation, Big East commissioner Val Ackerman hit on many of the NCAA’s hot-button issues. From the Dartmouth vote to unionize and conference realignment to the trouble with big-time football and college basketball after Caitlin Clark, Ackerman offers important insights on the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today.

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

ONE BIG FIG Setbacks for Potential Everton Owner

Everton FC

$22.4 million

The amount of debt that currently remains from Obra Capital lending 777 Partners, the would-be Everton owner, $40 million in June 2020 and an additional $15 million the following year. According to Bloomberg [[link removed]], Obra said that 777 had owed it more than $63 million in June 2022. The report notes that Miami-based 777 is currently embroiled in multiple lawsuits over unpaid debts. Obra insists that the transfer of assets should be blocked to protect all of the investment firm’s creditors. Previous lawsuits filed by Obra against 777 and the insurer over the debts are still pending.

In September 2023, 777 signed an agreement to acquire the 94.1% of Everton shares held by Farhad Moshiri in a deal that was reportedly worth $685 million. But the sale hit a snag [[link removed]] because 777 failed to provide audited financial statements to the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority.

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Conversation Starters Shannon Sharpe took some heat for his controversial Katt Williams interview. The Hall of Famer says it was worth it [[link removed]], for his bank account at least. Another highlight [[link removed]] of the EA Sports College Football 25 video game is the inclusion of the Heisman Trophy. On International Women’s Day, 175 women [[link removed]] called, produced, and led ESPN’s NBA coverage on Friday, including an all-woman broadcast of the Timberwolves-Cavs game. Editors’ Picks For the ‘Spulu’ Super-Streamer: Lots of Questions, No Good Answers [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Big partners, bigger promises, and an unclear operation. ‘We Want to Be Paid’: Inside Dartmouth Men’s Basketball’s Historic Union Effort [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]A group of players made history when they became the first NCAA team to vote to unionize. New In-Season Men’s College Basketball Tournament to Offer $2M in NIL Deals [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The eight-team event—expanding to 16 teams in 2025—will pay out $1M to each team, and another million to the winner. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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