December 2, 2021

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Steph Curry says Azzi Fudd is “the next face of women’s basketball” and has signed the UConn star to a wide-ranging NIL contract with his brand, SC30 Inc.

Premier League Clubs Oppose Independent Regulator

Premier League/Design: Alex Brooks

Premier League clubs are lining up to voice their opposition to a proposed independent regulator appointed by the U.K. government to oversee English soccer.

All 20 clubs in the top-flight league called [[link removed]] for an emergency meeting this week to make their concerns known.

The teams worry an independent regulator could dissuade investors and demand more revenue sharing with other leagues within the pyramid system.

The proposal came out of a review commissioned by the U.K. government.The review made [[link removed]] 47 proposals in total, including new standards for team owners (established by the regulator), a new corporate governance code, equal treatment of women’s leagues, and mandated diversity, equality, and inclusion plans for every club.The review also proposed additional support from the Premier League to other U.K. leagues through a levy on player transfer fees.

Premier League teams lost [[link removed]] around $2.73 billion during the pandemic but have seen recent green shoots. Matches are bringing in around $955 million on average this season, and the league recently signed a U.S. broadcast rights deal with Comcast worth a reported $2.7 billion over six years.

Teams have called for the league to establish a lending pool between $1.36 billion and $2.04 billion, allowing them to borrow at more favorable rates than they get from investment funds and banks.

Las Vegas Tourism Boosts Bonds For Raiders’ $2B Stadium

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

The bond-backed Allegiant Stadium — worth nearly $2 billion and home to the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders — is on its way back to financial success as tourists flock back to Sin City.

Las Vegas’ Clark County sold $645 million of debt in 2018 for the stadium, backed by hotel room tax revenues.

At the time, county officials expected the taxes to cover the stadium bond debt service payments through 2048, according to S&P Global Ratings — Clark County hotel occupancy rates were higher than the national average. But tourism dwindled with the pandemic, forcing [[link removed]] the county to tap a debt service reserve fund twice [[link removed]] in six months to make payment deadlines.

Now, county spokesperson Erik Pappa says [[link removed]] it will not need to use the same reserve services to make its December bond payment for the stadium.

Despite still being below pre-pandemic levels, visitors were up almost 83% in October — the “ strongest visitation [[link removed]]” in the pandemic.S&P director Li Yang says the “missing piece” to a full recovery is business travelers and international visitors.

The omicron COVID variant could have negative effects, too.

“While it is a good sign for Raiders stadium investors, I think it’s too early to signal the all-clear,” Bloomberg Intelligence strategist Eric Kazatsky said.

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Microsoft CEO Sells Half His Shares

Microsoft/Design: Alex Brooks

With Microsoft’s stock near its all-time high, CEO Satya Nadella cashed out half of his shares.

The sale, which happened over two days last week, earned [[link removed]] Nadella around $285 million.

The CEO may have been motivated by a Washington state law which comes into effect next year that will tax capital gains held for over a year above the federal rate.

Under Nadella, the company has risen steadily to become one of the two largest publicly traded companies in the world, with a market capitalization of $2.49 trillion as of Tuesday.

It has also signed technology partnerships with the NFL, Real Madrid, the PGA Tour, NASCAR, the Big3 basketball league, and the Special Olympics.

The company is seeking to grow further through metaverse software unveiled earlier this month, as well as gaming.

“You can absolutely expect us to do things in gaming,” Nadella told [[link removed]] Bloomberg, referring to the company’s metaverse ambitions.Xbox sales grew 166% year-over-year in the company’s fiscal Q1 of 2022, as Microsoft took in $45.3 billion in revenue.Microsoft is rolling out a feature on its Edge browser to enhance the visual clarity of games.

The company stated that Nadella, who has been CEO since 2014, “is committed to the continued success of the company, and his holdings significantly exceed the holding requirements set by the Microsoft Board of Directors.”

Nadella’s total fiscal 2021 compensation was nearly $50 million, and he made over $40 million the previous two years.

Jordan, Giannis Invest In WatchBox At $1B Valuation

Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

Michael Jordan and Giannis Antetokounmpo are adding to their investment portfolios by investing in luxury watch marketplace WatchBox. The investment puts the startup at a reported valuation near $1 billion.

WatchBox allows users to buy, sell, and trade luxury watches. Similar to other resellers like StockX, WatchBox authenticates the products — but differs in that it has client advisors to manage users’ watch portfolios.

The $165 million round [[link removed]], which adds to the $260 million raised since its inception in 2017, also includes investments from Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry and Phoenix Suns players Chris Paul and Devin Booker.

Athlete interest in watch brands is trending.

Earlier rounds for WatchBox included former NFL stars Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Strahan. CEO Justin Reis says many of the athletes are customers, so the relationships are authentic.Tom Brady took part in a $40 million round in December 2020 for watch company Hodinkee.

Pre-owned watch sales are estimated [[link removed]] to reach $32 billion by 2025, according to estimates from consulting firm McKinsey. WatchBox has an inventory currently valued at around $150 million.

Reis told CNBC on Monday that WatchBox is on pace to hit $300 million in 2021 net revenue and has surpassed $1 billion in revenue since it was founded in 2017.

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Changing the Game of College Recruiting

Nielsen Sports [[link removed]], the leading source of sports sponsorship measurement and analytics around the world, is taking its expertise to college athletics.

Following the NCAA’s landmark ruling this year allowing college athletes to benefit from their own name, image, and likeness, Nielsen launched a new solution to help universities recruit student-athletes — the Nielsen Impact Score (NIS) [[link removed]].

The NIS database shows the marketing value of each athletic program by comparing them across three key inputs: National Exposure, Local Market Impact, and Social Media Engagement.

Coaches can pull their program’s rankings at the local or national level to help recruiting efforts and showcase strengths in their own programs, as well as advantages over other programs.

Read more about Nielsen’s latest marketing solution here [[link removed]].

Conversation Starters Digital sports media company The Game Day has secured $4.5 million in a Series A funding round [[link removed]]. Italy’s Serie A announced [[link removed]] it will open its first regional office in New York City to expand the league’s reach into North America. Steph Curry’s SC30 Inc. announced [[link removed]]a partnership with UConn freshman basketball player Azzi Fudd in a “multidimensional” NIL contract. Next League [[link removed]], founded by a team of digital technology experts with decades of success in the sports, media, and entertainment industries, announced its brand launch yesterday. Learn more @KnowWhatIsNext [[link removed]].*

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Question Of The Day

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Wednesday’s Answer

28% of respondents shop for trading cards online.

Written by Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]]

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