December 23, 2021

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Tom Brady officially has his own color: Brady Blue 112-22. His apparel brand, Brady, partnered with Pantone to develop the hue.

Flutter Buys Italy’s Oldest Gaming Company for $2.2B

LSEG/Design: Alex Brooks

FanDuel owner Flutter Entertainment has purchased Italian gambling operator Sisal in a deal valued at $2.2 billion.

Bought by CVC Capital Partners in 2016 for $1.1 billion, Sisal — Italy’s oldest gaming company — will gain access to Flutter’s gaming content and its existing brands PokerStars and Betfair.

The deal will also supplement Sisal’s Matchpoint service, which allows users to bet on more than 300,000 sports events and horse races.

Flutter has been at the center of several recent blockbuster deals.

Last year, it bought out Fastball Holdings‘ stake in FanDuel for $4.2 billion, upping its share from 58% to 95% for a total estimated value of $11.2 billion.In July, the company agreed [[link removed]] to sell its sports betting affiliate Oddschecker to Bruin Capital in a deal worth up to $215 million.Last month, it agreed to acquire online bingo operator Tombola for $542 million. Recent Financial Results

Flutter generated $1.23 billion in revenue in Q3 2021, a 12% increase compared to the same period last year. However, the Ireland-based company lowered [[link removed]] its full-year EBITDA guidance to $1.74 billion, down from $1.87 billion.

The downtick is the result of betting favorites winning at a disproportionate rate and a withdrawal and reapplication process in the Netherlands due to new regulations.

The process is expected to cost Flutter $13.6 million this year and $54.5 million in 2022.

Fanatics, NFL Sued for Alleged Antitrust Violations

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

Fanatics and the NFL have proved to be a powerful merchandising team, but now the pair are facing a lawsuit alleging they illegally interfered with the competition.

The two companies are accused [[link removed]] of stifling competition on Amazon’s marketplace by placing major restrictions on other merchandisers selling NFL products.

The antitrust suit was filed [[link removed]] in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Tuesday by Casey’s Distributing Inc., naming the league, Fanatics, and each NFL team as defendants.

Casey’s and Ohio consumer Natalie Wheeler Hastings claim [[link removed]] the NFL threatened to withhold licensing from distributors who supplied items to Amazon retailers other than Fanatics.

Omaha-based Casey’s distributes NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA, and MLS-branded items and memorabilia to retailers.

Fanatics on the Rise The NFL invested [[link removed]] $95 million in Fanatics in 2017 at a $4.5 billion valuation.Fanatics was valued at $18 billion in August after raising $325 million from Major League Baseball, SoftBank, Roc Nation, Jay-Z, Silver Lake, and others.

Fanatics expanded into trading cards following the August raise, striking deals with the NFLPA, NBA, NBPA, MLB, and MLBPA.

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The NFL NFT pack introduction will be followed with other popular Panini brands including NFL Prizm and Donruss Optic where fans will be able to collect [[link removed]] this heralded rookie class, top players and popular Panini inserts like Downtown, Marvels and Kaboom.

Stay tuned [[link removed]] for additional information and visit the Panini America NFT Blockchain site [[link removed]] for future release dates, ongoing Challenges and more.

Calgary Flames Back Out of $634M Arena Deal

Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

New arenas and stadiums are sprouting up across North America, but one team is reversing course.

The Calgary Flames are backing out [[link removed]] of an arena deal, citing increased costs. The team and the city of Calgary had agreed to split the cost of a $550 million facility in 2019, but the team says that the estimated cost has risen to $634 million.

John Bean, president of Calgary Sports and Entertainment, said Wednesday that there is no viable way for the deal to go through. The team said [[link removed]] that they would have been on the hook for $346.5 million, plus any additional costs.

Over the summer, the city and team each agreed to add $12.5 million to the project budget to account for cost overruns.The city chipped in an additional $10 million for event management, according to [[link removed]] Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek. The team was to pick up additional expenses.An additional $16.1 million in climate mitigation and street adjustments were identified, for which the city offered to pay $6.4 million. The team balked at picking up the final $9.7 million. A City in Shock

“On a project worth over $650 million, to have one party walk away for 1.5% of the value of the deal is staggering,” Gondek wrote.

It’s not immediately clear what this means for the team’s future. The Flames have played in their current home, the Saddledome, for 38 years.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, Triller is set to merge with tech company SeaChange, AC Milan and Inter Milan announce a $733 million stadium, Under Armour and Columbia face downgrades by market analysts, and NWSL players ask for free agency under poor salary conditions. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. Ferrari has reunited [[link removed]] with Spanish banking group Santander in a multiyear sponsorship deal. The deal includes branding on Formula 1 cars, race suits, and caps. British tennis star Emma Raducanu has been named [[link removed]] a brand ambassador for British Airways. This marks the first partnership with a British brand for the 21-year-old. In 2019, the 49ers entered the playoffs as the NFC’s No. 1 seed and made it to the Super Bowl. The next year, they went 6-10 and missed the postseason entirely. The difference? The health of DE Nick Bosa [[link removed]], who after missing most of 2020 with an ACL tear is once again dominating. Subscribe to Sports Section for more [[link removed]] on the potential Comeback Player of the Year.

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Download [[link removed]] our latest white paper today to learn how StellarAlgo’s data warehouse is enabling organizations like the Portland Trail Blazers and Florida Panthers to maximize revenue, personalize experiences, and realize the full potential of their fan data.

Market Movers

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

MGM [[link removed]]

MGM Resorts International

[[link removed]]

$45.8

[[link removed]]

+0.05%

[[link removed]] FL [[link removed]]

Foot Locker Inc

[[link removed]]

$42.12

[[link removed]]

+0.19%

[[link removed]] ZBRA [[link removed]]

Zebra Technologies Corp.

[[link removed]]

$583.78

[[link removed]]

+0.43%

[[link removed]] FOX [[link removed]]

Fox Corporation

[[link removed]]

$34.6

[[link removed]]

+0.79%

[[link removed]] DKS [[link removed]]

Dicks Sporting Goods, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$103.98

[[link removed]]

-1.07%

[[link removed]] GCO [[link removed]]

Genesco Inc.

[[link removed]]

$59.96

[[link removed]]

-2.19%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 12/23/21) Sponsored by Learn More [[link removed]] Listing of securities is not a recommendation to trade. Sponsored by Learn More [[link removed]] Listing of securities is not a recommendation to trade. What to Watch

The San Francisco 49ers (8-6) face the Tennessee Titans (9-5) tonight at Nissan Stadium.

How to Watch: 8:20 p.m. ET on NFL Network

Betting Odds: 49ers -3 || ML -160 || O/U 44.5* ( Bet on DraftKings [[link removed]])

Pick: Expect the 49ers to build on their momentum. Take San Francisco to cover.

Who ya got? Reply to this newsletter with your prediction for the 49ers-Titans 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]]

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