The 2021 Formula 1 season marked the best year yet for the iconic racing series, which has exploded in popularity since Netflix debuted “Drive to Survive” in 2019.

Liberty Media acquired F1 for $4.6 billion in 2017 from private equity firm CVC Capital and has since led the motorsports business to a meteoric rise.

• Across ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC, F1 averaged 934,000 viewers per race in 2021, a 54% increase year-over-year and its most-watched season yet.
• The 2021 season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on ESPN2 averaged 963,000 viewers, compared to an average of 523,000 viewers for last year’s finale.
• The most-watched race came in October at the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, which averaged 1.2 million viewers on ABC.
• In June, the racing series announced a five-year, $100 million global partnership with Crypto.com.

A Season That’s Paid Off

Liberty Media — which also owns the Atlanta Braves and SiriusXM — posted $2.2 billion in revenue in Q3 2021, up 9% year-over-year.

Its F1 segment generated $668 million in revenue during the quarter, up from $597 million in Q3 2020.

The 2022 F1 season is slated to run from March 20 through Nov. 20 and will include a record 23 races, beginning with the Bahrain Grand Prix and another season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Mario Lemieux was a human highlight reel for much of the 1990s, but his best move may have come off the ice.

As part-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Lemieux will receive over $350 million from the team’s sale to Fenway Sports Group for around $900 million. In doing so, he is profiting from negotiations over his player salary from 1999.

• The Penguins declared bankruptcy in 1998, citing losses of $37.5 million over the previous two seasons and deferred payments still owed to certain players, namely Lemieux.
• Lemieux signed a seven-year, $42 million contract in 1992. He agreed to deferred payments to help the team through a difficult financial period caused in part by a lockout at the start of the 1994-95 season.
• Still owed $26 million in 1999, Lemieux and the team struck a deal in which he received $20 million in equity and became part of a new ownership group.

Playing The Long Game

Lemieux purchased the team with Ron Burkle for $107 million, charting a course to pay off the team’s debt of $114 million.

Lemieux and Burkle nearly cashed out for $175 million in 2006 in a deal with businessman Jim Balsillie, but he walked away when the Penguins missed out on being awarded a casino license.

Lemieux will now pocket twice that amount while retaining a minority stake in the team.

New regulations from the Premier League will require clubs to submit any sponsorship deal worth more than $1.3 million to the league to determine if it’s an “associated party” transaction.

If the league suspects that a deal is involved with an “associated party” — defined as “having material influence over the club or entity in the same group of companies as the club” — then an independent firm will decide if the deal is of fair market value. 

Clubs will be required to submit their sponsorship deals dating back to 2016 by Jan. 11. Manchester City and Newcastle United both voiced their opposition to the new regulations.

Newcastle’s Influence

The league’s decision follows the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund’s $409 million deal for an 80% stake in Newcastle United.

• Despite criticism from other clubs concerning government crossover and human rights abuses, the league ruled that the Saudi Arabia PIF is separate from the Saudi Kingdom. 
• The PIF, which manages over $430 billion in assets, is led by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. 

In an emergency meeting in October, clubs voted to block Newcastle from other “lucrative” deals. A temporary amendment was passed that month banning other related party transactions.

In November, Premier League chair Gary Hoffman announced he would resign in January, partially due to ongoing scrutiny.

The PGA Tour launched the $40 million Player Impact Program this year in an effort to reward the top 10 golfers who drive fan and sponsorship engagement, regardless of PGA Tour performance.

The very first winner? Phil Mickelson — at least according to his tweet. The PGA Tour plans to reveal the final results at the end of the year.

As part of the Player Impact Program, $40 million is distributed between the 10 players who are chosen based on their Google search popularity, Meltwater mentions (global media exposure), MPV Index (social media reach), Nielsen score, and Q-score.

Some reports suggest the program was made in response to the Premier Golf League, which is funded by the Saudi Arabian regime and looking to recruit top golfers away from the PGA Tour with large prize money.

Mickelson’s Popularity

This year, “Lefty” won his sixth career major title at age 50 and four of six starts on the Champions Tour while making a number of other appearances along the way.

• Played in “The Match” against Bryson DeChambeau, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady
• Joined as an analyst for DeChambeau’s match against Brooks Koepka
• Served as non-playing vice captain on the winning U.S. Ryder Cup team

The win will grant Mickelson $8 million pending participation in an extra event in 2022. Tiger Woods reportedly came in second, winning $6 million. The other winners aren’t yet known.