January 4, 2022

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Iowa Cubs owner Michael Gartner surprised 23 full-time team employees with a special gift on the day the club was sold to Endeavor’s Diamond Baseball Holdings: $2,000 to each employee for every year they had been with the Triple-A organization. Gifts ranged from $4,000 to $70,000 and totaled $600,000.

Fanatics to Acquire Topps

Fanatics/Design: Alex Brooks

First Fanatics supplanted Topps, the biggest name in trading cards. Now it’s buying Topps, sources confirmed to Front Office Sports.

The deal is for around $500 million, according to [[link removed]] the Wall Street Journal. Topps posted $550 million in 2021 revenue, with an EBITDA of $160 million.

Topps held the rights to produce Major League Baseball trading cards for 70 years, but Fanatics won the contract from Topps last August. Fanatics was to take over MLB card production in 2026, after Topps’ deal expired the previous year, but will be able to begin doing so immediately on completion of the deal.

The deal is for Topps’ physical and digital trading card business, but does not include its candy or gift card segments.

In addition to its agreements with MLB and the MLBPA, Fanatics has recently scored trading card deals with the NBA, NBPA, and the NFLPA. Each organization will hold equity stakes in the new organization. Topps still holds rights deals with Bundesliga, MLS, Formula 1, and UEFA.Fanatics Trading Cards raised $350 million in October at a $10.4 billion valuation. Its NFT platform, Candy Digital, was valued at $1.5 billion after a $100 million Series A round that same month. More to Come?

Fanatics has not been shy about its ambitions. It has explored acquiring a sportsbook and is reportedly interested in buying into the regional sports network business.

CFP Championship Could Bring $150M to Indy

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

Next week’s College Football Playoff National Championship game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs is set. Host city Indianapolis is primed to cash in.

The matchup, which will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium on Jan. 10, could drive a regional economic impact of more than $150 million, the Indy Host Committee estimated.

The city anticipated that more than 100,000 fans would travel for the game and associated events.Within 24 hours of the semifinals on New Years Eve, “dozens” [[link removed]] of hotels in downtown Indianapolis sold out.

It’s the second major NCAA event the city has hosted in the last 12 months — the entire Division I men’s basketball tournament was held in a semi-bubble [[link removed]] environment last March and early April.

One expert previously estimated [[link removed]] that the 2021 men’s March Madness would also bring in more than $100 million.

Pandemic Uncertainty

The highly contagious Omicron variant poses a major concern — it already caused several [[link removed]] bowl game cancellations.

But the CFP has a contingency plan in case the variant affects Georgia or Alabama: The championship could be postponed up to Jan. 14.

The virus may only have a minimal impact on fan attendance, if initial hotel numbers are any indication, but there may be fewer media members as the CFP will only allow virtual availability.

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Nike’s Transformative Digital Shift Underway

Nike/Design: Alex Brooks

Nike is going digital in more ways than one, and market analysts are taking notice.

Robert Drbul of Guggenheim Partners called Nike his “best idea” for 2022 in a Dec. 31 note, saying the shoe and apparel maker “is rapidly embarking on the next era of its company history.”

The Swoosh has reshaped itself around a trend that has grown quickly in recent years, direct-to-consumer sales, and one that has just begun capturing the public’s imagination, the metaverse.

Nike has cut off relationships with numerous retailers while amplifying its own DTC sales, which grew [[link removed]] 12% year-over-year in the company’s fiscal second quarter of 2022. Last month, Nike acquired RTFKT, which produces NFTs, sometimes paired with a physical collectible such as sneakers. It also established virtual real estate within Roblox with Nikeland, an environment in which users can play games and browse products.The company is evaluating [[link removed]] $1 billion in media spending in a review expected to last into the spring. Strong Fundamentals

“The brand commands dominant market share, which we expect will grow materially from here as digital scales further, new product innovation remains robust, and heavy investment behind key growth drivers continues,” Drbul wrote.

Nike banked $11.4 billion in fiscal Q2 revenue, with the flagship brand accounting for 94.7% of that sum.

Saudi Fund Nears $1B Inter Milan Takeover

Inter Milan FC/Design: Alex Brooks

Three months after purchasing an 80% stake in the Premier League’s Newcastle United for $409 million, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is reportedly nearing a purchase of Serie A’s Inter Milan for $1 billion.

The deal [[link removed]] is expected to be announced in the coming days. Rumors of the club’s sale to the PIF have swirled [[link removed]] since March 2021.

Suning Holdings Group acquired a 70% stake in the team in 2016, but the owners have searched for an additional investor since 2019.

Despite winning the domestic title in 2020, the club lost [[link removed]] roughly $285 million in the 2020-21 financial year.The team continues to lose $15 million each month. PIF’s Soccer Deals

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund manages over $430 billion in assets.

The PIF’s purchase of Newcastle United faced criticism from other Premier League teams over concerns about the Saudi government’s involvement — the PIF is run by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The Premier League ruled that the PIF is separate from the government. Teams voted [[link removed]] last week that any sponsorship deal worth more than $1.3 million will now have to be submitted for review.

The PIF is also reportedly [[link removed]] in talks with Ligue 1’s Marseille and a Brazilian club and was named [[link removed]] the Saudi International’s new title sponsor on Monday.

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Conversation Starters Logan Paul accused [[link removed]] Floyd Mayweather of stealing from him as Mayweather has failed to pay his exhibition fee for six months. Former Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton is leading a $225 million SPAC focused [[link removed]] on the video game industry. Steel company Stelco Holdings has taken a 40% stake [[link removed]] in the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Canadian Premier League’s Forge FC. The University of San Francisco Sports Management Master’s Program provides students the business acumen, real-world experience, and extensive alumni network needed to stand out and succeed in sports — and beyond. Plus, they have two incredible campuses in SF and Southern California. Read more [[link removed]].*

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Question Of The Day

Do you plan on buying sportswear in the metaverse?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]]

Monday’s Answer

73% of respondents think Disney will become a more dominant force in sports over the next decade.

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

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