The NFL is still planning to sell a stake in its media properties, but a deal may not come together until after the Super Bowl.

“My guess is we’re months away, not days away,” said league commissioner Roger Goodell.

The NFL hired Goldman Sachs to seek out investment partners for NFL RedZone, NFL.com, and NFL Network.

• Amazon was in the lead for a deal for up to 49% of the three properties, sources told Front Office Sports in November.
• The league may sell stakes in individual properties to different investors. 

Part of the delay in finalizing a deal is due to the numerous potential permutations of properties and potential investors.

‘Sunday Ticket’ in the Mix

Amazon is also interested in the out-of-market “NFL Sunday Ticket” package, which could fetch $2 billion to $3 billion per season in a  deal that could include a stake in NFL Media. Disney may bid as well.

The league was reportedly hoping to entice Apple with “NFL Sunday Ticket” to establish a media relationship with the leading mobile device maker.

“We’ve had a tremendous amount of interest from some terrific media partners, technology partners that are interested in … everything from ‘Sunday Ticket’ to NFL Network to RedZone,” Goodell said, “and we’re looking to deploy [those] in a way that looks to the future in the next generation of media.”

Bowlero, the largest owner and operator of bowling centers, went public on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday through a merger with Isos Acquisition Corporation. 

Announced in July, the combined entity is estimated to be valued at $2.6 billion.

The merger comes on the heels of Bowlero’s third-quarter earnings report, which beat analyst expectations and saw the company produce record leisure revenue — as well as a 20.3% increase in total bowling center revenue to $134 million.

Bowlero owns and operates 300 bowling centers in North America — the biggest footprint in a continuously growing market. 

• Around 70 million people bowl each year, and more than 26 million of them visit a Bowlero center. 
• The company owns nearly eight times as many bowling centers as its next competitor.

Room For Growth

Despite its already large footprint, Bowlero president and CFO Brett Parker says that the roughly 3,500 independently owned bowling alleys in the U.S. could be potential acquisition targets for the company.

The company also acquired the Professional Bowlers Association in 2019. Parker says Bowlero will look to George Barrios and Michelle Wilson — Isos’ founders and co-CEOs — for ways to make the sport more entertaining to watch. The pair were previously co-presidents at WWE.

Parker says the PBA is in talks with internal and external media companies about developing a show for PBA champion Kyle Troup.

NFL quarterback Tom Brady has embraced the new era of college athletics through the launch of his new apparel line, Brady. 

“He loves clothes way more than I do,” Brady’s wife, model Gisele Bündchen, told the Wall Street Journal earlier this year. “He has great taste and understands and really cares about what people want.”

The Brady brand — which will launch its first campaign on Jan. 12, 2022 — is an active and casual wear apparel line that intends to emulate the world-renowned Jordan Brand. 

Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion, has signed a total of 10 athletes across five college sports, and one newly drafted signee to name, image, and likeness deals. 

• Football: Cade McNamara (Michigan), Shedeur Sanders (Jackson State), Patrick Zahraj (UCLA), Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina), and George Pickens (Georgia)
• Tennis: Andrew Fenty (Michigan)
• Baseball: Henry Davis (Louisville)
• Hockey: Jack St. Ivany (Boston College)
• Basketball: Julian Reese (Maryland) and Jermaine Samuels Jr. (Villanova) 

Another New Era 

The launch of Brady’s apparel line follows changes by one of his endorsers, Under Armour. The Maryland-based sports equipment and apparel company ended its on-field licensing contract with the NFL in February to shift its focus to being a “performance brand” above all.

The deal’s termination caused several Under Armour-sponsored NFL athletes to reevaluate their marketing opportunities, but the company confirmed that its contract with Brady is intact.

Michael Jordan and his son, Jeffrey, have launched holding company Heir Inc. and secured a $10 million seed funding round.

Led by Thrive Capital, the round will help build the company’s first product: a sports-focused Web 3.0 platform – also called Heir – that allows athletes to connect with their fans.

Members have an opportunity to gain access to “Huddles” by purchasing a Huddle membership NFT that will unlock an exclusive experience with their favorite sports star and take part in the $7 billion NFT market.

• Each Huddle will have a certain membership capacity, so once that limit is reached, additional fans can only join if an original membership is resold.
• Membership values correlate directly with an athlete’s popularity, and each athlete will receive a percentage of all transactions on the platform. 

Jeffrey Jordan will lead the company alongside Jeron Smith — Steph Curry’s former CMO and business partner — and Daniel George, founder of Limitless Creative. Michael Jordan will serve as an advisor.

Chicago Bulls player Lonzo Ball, blockchain platform Solana, entrepreneur and investor Alexis Ohanian, and New York Knicks executive vice president and senior basketball adviser William Wesley all participated in the round.

Engagement Opportunities 

Smith mentioned that outside of Huddles, Heir will offer other athlete insights to fans including following what songs and shows they’re consuming on Spotify and Netflix.

The platform is slated to launch next year.