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Afternoon Edition

February 14, 2025

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The Giants announced they’re considering a sale of up to 10% of the franchise. A deal could set a new NFL valuation record—and potentially bring a franchise legend into the fold.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]] and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Giants Open to Selling Minority Stake; Will Eli Manning Be Involved? [[link removed]]

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The Giants are currently one of the NFL’s worst teams on the field, having just posted a 3-14 record while also watching former running back Saquon Barkley win a Super Bowl with the rival Eagles [[link removed]]. The New York franchise, however, is now poised to set sports industry history.

The team, owned by the Mara and Tisch families, said it is considering a sale of up to 10% of the franchise, including potentially to private equity investors. The move follows the NFL’s approval last summer of a structure for PE deals [[link removed]] and subsequent agreements for the Bills and Dolphins [[link removed]].

The Giants, however, are in line to possibly set a new record for the valuation of a North American pro sports team. Recent franchise valuations have estimated the Giants’ worth at $7.3 billion [[link removed]], fourth-best in the NFL, but the forthcoming deal will almost certainly beat that—and perhaps by a lot.

“The Mara and Tisch families have retained Moelis & Company to explore the potential sale of a minority, non-controlling stake in the New York Giants,” the team said in a statement. “There will be no further comment in regard to the process.”

Despite the competitive malaise that has left the Giants out of the playoffs in seven of the last eight seasons, the team boasts a 100-year legacy, four Super Bowl titles, and a presence in the No. 1 U.S. media market. Fan support for the Giants has ebbed considerably in recent years, but would likely come rushing back once a winning team reemerges.

The Eagles were recently valued at $8.3 billion in a minority stake sale.

The Eli Question

With the sale process officially started, speculation has immediately started on how former Giants star quarterback and two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning will factor in the effort.

Now working for the team [[link removed]] in a business operations and fan engagement role in addition to his numerous other ventures, Manning has not commented on the latest news. He has, however, repeatedly spoken of his desire in acquiring a stake in Giants, and that it would likely be the only team in which he would pursue ownership. The ongoing success of his various post-retirement activities—including the ManningCast on ESPN’s Monday Night Football with his brother, Peyton—has also likely enabled Manning to at least be part of a larger group acquiring the minority equity stake.

As far back as 2022, Manning told Front Office Sports [[link removed]] that buying into the Giants was definitely “of interest,” but he doubted at the time that shares in the team would become available. That situation, however, is now a reality.

Manning is also a co-owner of the NWSL’s NJ/NY Gotham FC.

DraftKings Turns First Full-Year Profit, Stock Up 47% in 2025 [[link removed]]

Arizona Republic

Already one of the dominant entities in sports betting, DraftKings has achieved a major milestone by finally posting a full-year adjusted profit.

After 13 years of existence, nearly five years as a public company, and billions of dollars spent in marketing and user-acquisition costs, the Boston-based company said it generated $181.3 million in adjusted earnings for calendar year 2024. The figure reversed a $151 million loss in 2023 and was DraftKings’ first such positive cash flow figure in its history.

“I am more confident than ever in our growth trajectory and ability to capitalize on the substantial opportunity in front of us,” DraftKings cofounder and CEO Jason Robins said Friday in an earnings call with analysts. “Our revenue growth remains strong while our expenses approach scale as we continue to exert discipline and leverage new technologies.”

The company also reported a 13% spike in fourth-quarter revenue to nearly $1.4 billion and a 30% bump for the full year to $4.8 billion.

The financial results also arrive as DraftKings had been battling lower expectations [[link removed]] due to bettor-friendly NFL outcomes during the 2024 season, as well as a recent lawsuit [[link removed]] alleging the company preys on gambling addicts. The company, however, has continued to solidify its position [[link removed]] as one of the two titans of the U.S. sports betting business along with top rival FanDuel.

“It’s still FanDuel and DraftKings by a mile,” gaming industry consultant Dustin Gouker recently told Front Office Sports of the U.S. sports betting market.

Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, while not part of DraftKings’ fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results, did post a sportsbook handle of $436 million, a company record for single-day activity, and will be reflected in the next earnings report.

Stock Escalation

Investors were clearly enthused, sending DraftKings shares up by 15% in Friday trading to $53.49 each. The stock has increased by 47% since the start of the year and is returning to levels not seen since 2021.

Truist Securities said the company’s results were “better than we had feared given well-known unfavorable NFL [results], with strength in nearly all underlying aspects of the business. 2025 is off to a super start.”

Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of top sports betting rival FanDuel, also is profitable on an operating basis, posting a $450 million adjusted gain in its fiscal third quarter.

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Notre Dame Latest CFB Team to Hire GM From NFL [[link removed]]

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The trend of major NFL coaches and executives entering college football has continued this week, highlighted by Notre Dame hiring Lions director of scouting advancement Mike Martin [[link removed]], according to ESPN and other reports.

As more schools have started adding GMs for their football programs, NFL figures have become splashy hires for those jobs, including:

Cal: Former Commanders and Panthers coach Ron Rivera North Carolina: Former Browns GM and Patriots executive Mike Lombardi Notre Dame: Lions executive Mike Martin Stanford: Former quarterback Andrew Luck

While some hires like Luck and Rivera are alumni of their respective schools, others have been hired strictly on the basis of improving the football team. Notre Dame went the NFL route after losing former GM Chad Bowden to USC. The Fighting Irish also explored hiring Texas Tech GM James Blanchard.

Back to School

Following Bill Belichick’s shocking move to college [[link removed]] to coach UNC, other NFL coaches are doing the same, in varying capacities.

Matt Patricia, who worked for the Patriots under Belichick, was hired by Ohio State this week as its new defensive coordinator. “There’s a salary cap, there’s NIL. You can get players now,” Patricia told Front Office Sports during an interview last week in New Orleans [[link removed]].

Perhaps following in the footsteps of Deion Sanders, former quarterback Michael Vick recently became the head coach of FCS school Norfolk State [[link removed]].

ESPN Reportedly Losing F1 Rights; NBC and Netflix in Talks [[link removed]]

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ESPN’s aid in boosting Formula 1’s popularity in the U.S. may have cost the network the sport’s long term media rights.

With ESPN’s F1 deal expiring after the 2025 season, the media company has reportedly dropped out of the running [[link removed]] for U.S. rights in 2026 and beyond, according to Puck News. ESPN is entering the final season of a three-year deal worth up to $90 million annually.

Last week F1 held meetings, per Puck, with NBC Sports, which carried F1 from 2012 to 2017, and Netflix [[link removed]], which next month will release Season 7 of Drive to Survive—the docuseries that skyrocketed F1’s American popularity several years ago.

ESPN declined to comment when contacted by Front Office Sports. But as early as last August, the network indicated that it knew there would be rival bids [[link removed]] when negotiations started to ramp up this year.

“There was [competition] the last time around, and it’s kind of the downside of doing what we do really well and bringing a larger audience to these events and the success we’ve added,” John Suchenski, ESPN’s director of programming and acquisitions, told FOS. “Unfortunately, the nature of the business is to create more demand and more competition.”

F1’s 2024 season averaged 1.1 million viewers [[link removed]] across ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC, tying the same number from last year, but down compared to a record 1.21 million viewers per race in 2022.

The 2025 F1 schedule once again includes three U.S. races in Austin, Las Vegas, and Miami. There are also races in American-friendly time zones in Brazil, Canada, and Mexico, while the rest of the calendar plays out in other countries that typically make for early-morning or middle-of-the-night race start times in the U.S.

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Loud and Clear Does Bristol Need Baseball?

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“If ESPN is truly going to be the U.S. sports destination, we believe they need to have a relationship with all four major sports.”

—LightShed Partners’ Brandon Ross, Rich Greenfield, and Mark Kelley, evaluating the Disney-owned network’s situation as it approaches a March 1 mutual opt-out in its MLB rights deal [[link removed]]. ESPN is locked in long-term with the NFL, NBA, and NHL, but has balked at its $550 million per year rights fee for baseball, particularly compared to other MLB rights holders paying far less.

LightShed, however, argues that churn for ESPN’s forthcoming “Flagship” streaming service [[link removed]] will be heightened without the extensive presence of MLB, particularly across the summer months. “Once they made the strategic decision to build a full-year sports streaming service, they not only need the NBA, they need MLB,” the analysts added.

EXCLUSIVE

Shaquille O’Neal has an agreement in place for an enormous long-term deal with TNT Sports that will pay him over $15 million per year, Front Office Sports has learned. You can read Michael McCarthy’s full story here [[link removed]].

For everything you need to know about sports media, subscribe to our Tuned In newsletter [[link removed]], which will arrive in your inbox twice per week.

STATUS REPORT Two Up, One Down, One Push

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Yankees ⬆ The team unveiled renovations to its spring training complex [[link removed]] in Tampa, as pitchers and catchers reported this week.

St. Johns ⬆ The school’s men’s basketball team has moved its final home game of the season, a March 1 matchup with Seton Hall, to Madison Square Garden, where they have already drawn several large crowds this season. Led by coach Rick Pitino, the Red Storm are currently the No. 9-ranked team in the country.

Rays ⬇ The MLB club’s already grim stadium situation [[link removed]] took another downturn late Thursday, as co-presidents Matt Silverman and Brian Auld said in a radio interview with WDAE-AM that legislators in Pinellas County, Fla., “effectively broke the deal and turned their back on the commitment they made to us in August.” The comments arrived despite those same legislators authorizing $312.5 million in stadium bonds [[link removed]] in December, but the Rays have argued a delay in that approval has introduced additional development costs it cannot afford. County commissioner Chris Latvala responded [[link removed]], “I have always liked and respected Matt and Brian, but they are starting to turn themselves into stooges for a guy who probably won’t even be the owner for much longer,” referencing Stu Sternberg.

Browns ⬆⬇ The Haslam Sports Group, owners of the NFL franchise, released a proposed funding model [[link removed]] for their desired $2.4 billion dome in a Cleveland suburb. The team is seeking public funding for half the cost and says that it will cover the remaining $1.2 billion, plus any cost overruns. However, the team and the city of Cleveland are still suing each other [[link removed]] over the stadium dispute.

Editors' Picks Here’s Where Pat Riley’s Three-Peat Trademark Money Goes [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Riley has the phrase trademarked despite having no three-peat of his own. US Open Mixed Doubles Changes Spark Mixed Reactions [[link removed]]by Dylan Friedman [[link removed]]Shorter sets, quintupled prize purses, mixed response from players. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Or Moyal [[link removed]]

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