December 6, 2021

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Tom Brady, who co-founded the NFT platform Autograph, plans to debut more than 16,000 collectibles highlighting the beginning of his NFL football career. The NFT set will include the cleats and jersey the seven-time Super Bowl champ wore at the 2000 NFL combine, as well as the stopwatch used. No word on whether it’ll include the iconic shirtless picture.

U.S. Announces Diplomatic Boycott of Beijing Olympics

IOC/Design: Alex Brooks

The Biden administration announced [[link removed]] a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in China on Monday.

The political action will not prevent U.S. athletes from competing in the Beijing games but bars U.S. government officials from attending.

The boycott is in protest of human rights “atrocities” Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. A bipartisan group in the House of Representatives previously introduced [[link removed]] legislation to trigger a diplomatic boycott, citing the genocide of the Uyghur population in China.

The boycott further complicates the situation for major Olympic sponsors.

Ten of the 12 largest Olympic sponsors, including Coca-Cola, Intel, Toyota, and Procter & Gamble, combine for $110 billion in annual revenue in the country, according to Bloomberg.Nike and Adidas faced boycotts in China after both companies expressed concerns over reports of Uyghurs being subjected to forced labor in the Xinjiang region.In April, Nike sales dropped [[link removed]] 59% and Adidas sales dropped 78% year-over-year on China’s biggest e-commerce platform, Alibaba’s Tmall.

China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said earlier that should the U.S. boycott, “China will take resolute countermeasures.”

The Beijing Olympics will begin on Feb. 4. The U.S. will host the Summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

49ers Plan to Buy Leeds United for $530M

Leeds United/Design: Alex Brooks

The San Francisco 49ers’ ownership group has a deal in place to purchase the Premier League’s Leeds United for more than $530 million, according [[link removed]] to The Athletic.

The deal includes an option for 49ers Enterprises [[link removed]] to acquire 100% control of Leeds by January 2024 — including the club’s Elland Road stadium, which approved a plan in June to increase capacity to 55,000.

49ers Enterprises originally purchased [[link removed]] a 10% equity stake in the club worth a reported $13.6 million in 2018 from majority stakeholder and Leeds chairman Andrea Radrizzani.

Radrizzani bought the club from Italian entrepreneur Massimo Cellino in 2014 for $52 million and currently maintains a 56% ownership stake.

Leeds climbed back into the Premier League in 2020 after a 16-year absence, prompting 49ers Enterprises to steadily increase its stake.

In December 2020, it bumped its stake to 25%, valuing Leeds at $326 million.A month later, the group increased its minority stake to 37%.Last month, it increased [[link removed]] its stake to 44%.The cost of buying 100% control includes the money already paid for the existing stakes.

Radrizzani wants Leeds to be worth [[link removed]] $1.15 billion within the next five years. Last year, the owner voiced his willingness to sell stakes in the club to reach that goal. It is expected that Radrizzani will retain a minority stake once the deal is finalized.

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Polish Sports Betting Company Announces Investment Arm

STS Gaming Group/Design: Alex Brooks

Poland’s biggest sports betting company — STS Holding SA — says it wants to use the $266 million raised in its IPO toward an investment arm.

The company plans [[link removed]] to invest in Warsaw-listed stocks in the technology, ecommerce, and real estate sectors, which will take up 20% to 30% of the company’s portfolio, according to CEO Mateusz Juroszek.

As of February 2021, STS has a 45.8% market share [[link removed]] in Poland. The company is led by the Juroszek family, which owned 100% of company shares before the company’s public listing.

The Juroszeks own 10% stakes in asset managers Skarbiec Holding SA and Quercus TFI SA.The family also owns stakes in Flutter Entertainment, Evolution AB, and Better Collective — and are looking for more investment opportunities in the U.S.The company is reportedly eyeing Poland’s largest ecommerce platform, Allegro, despite its stocks dropping 56% due to Amazon’s entrance into the Polish market.

“We look for targets in central and Eastern Europe, but we don’t have anything precise on the radar,” Juroszek said.

Juroszek doesn’t expect the investment entity to be fully up and running for as many as five years. It will also include dividends from the family’s home building business, Atal SA. STS’ IPO put the company at double Atal’s value.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, the Premier League confirms its interest in NFTs, Sony plans to launch a service to rival Microsoft’s Game Pass, Churchill Downs considers selling its betting arm, and a SPAC moves to force Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta to go through with a previously agreed merger. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. Miami-based investment firm 777 Partners is reportedly [[link removed]] interested in acquiring Ligue 1’s Saint-Étienne. Total Sports Investment, Terrapin Partners, and Smart Good Things have also expressed interest in the club, which fetched a $67.8 million asking price over the summer. Sports agent Rich Paul and New Balance have partnered [[link removed]] to launch a shoe and apparel collection. The collaboration is an effort to attract young consumers and take a different approach to celebrity endorsements. A portion of its revenue will be donated to charity. There hasn’t been a repeat Super Bowl champion since Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to titles in 2003-04. Now, 17 years later, a 44-year-old Brady can do it again [[link removed]] with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — and he’s still the best quarterback in the NFL. Subscribe to Sports Section for more [[link removed]] on the three-time MVP.

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Market Movers

U.S. stocks experienced gains across all three major indexes on Monday. Here’s a look at how sports-related stocks performed:

BYD [[link removed]]

Boyd Gaming Corp.

[[link removed]]

$61.22

[[link removed]]

+1.07%

[[link removed]] CMCSA [[link removed]]

Comcast Corp

[[link removed]]

$52.36

[[link removed]]

+1.16%

[[link removed]] UA [[link removed]]

Under Armour Inc

[[link removed]]

$20.35

[[link removed]]

+1.75%

[[link removed]] MGM [[link removed]]

MGM Resorts International

[[link removed]]

$42.21

[[link removed]]

+3.66%

[[link removed]] PLNT [[link removed]]

Planet Fitness Inc

[[link removed]]

$84.46

[[link removed]]

+4.37%

[[link removed]] LYV [[link removed]]

Live Nation Entertainment Inc

[[link removed]]

$107.07

[[link removed]]

+4.98%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 12/6/21) What to Watch

​​The New England Patriots (8-4) face the Buffalo Bills (7-4) tonight at Highmark Stadium.

How to Watch: 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN

Betting Odds: Bills -2.5 || ML -140 || O/U 41*

Pick: Expect the Buffalo Bills to build on last week’s road win. Take Buffalo to cover.

Who ya got? Reply to this newsletter with your prediction for the Patriots-Bills winner and final score.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook [[link removed]] for details.

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

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Sports Section [[link removed]] - Daily Sports Newsletter

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