Major League Baseball and its players’ association are beginning to make progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement.

The two sides met on Monday and Tuesday, with the players making an offer and rejecting most or all of the owners’ previous proposal.

• The players proposed raising the minimum MLB salary to $775,000 from $570,500. MLB has reportedly countered at $615,000 for first-year players. 
• Both sides have proposed a bonus pool for players under minimum salaries based on the Wins Above Replacement statistic. MLB suggested a $10 million fund, while the players want it to be $105 million.
• Forty-six percent of players made under $500,000 in 2021.

The MLBPA also reduced its requested increase in revenue sharing funds from large market to small market teams to $30 million from $100 million.

Larger Issues Loom

The two sides are still at a standoff on several issues, and MLB executive Dan Halem said that the league is willing to lose 2022 regular-season games to hold their ground.

On Monday, the MLBPA dropped its request that players be able to reach free agency earlier than after six years of service time (a system teams regularly manipulate to gain most of a seventh year). 

MLB shed its proposal to restructure the arbitration system, which guides most player salaries for their fourth-through-sixth years of team control. The players have asked for a fourth year to be put under the arbitration system instead of a minimum salary.

Olympic sponsors are torn on marketing tactics leading up to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as government officials stage diplomatic boycotts over China’s alleged “genocide and crimes against humanity.”

The companies risk missing out on marketing opportunities by not capitalizing on campaigns, but could also lose customers by supporting a controversial Olympics.

Former IOC chief marketing officer Rick Burton pointed out that sponsors also “have businesses to operate in China.” Ten of the 12 largest Olympic sponsors, which include Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, and Intel, combine for $110 billion in annual revenue in China, according to Bloomberg.

Despite running large, global ad campaigns in previous Games, companies differ in their approach this year. 

• P&G’s messaging focuses on the athletes, and marketing decisions are made “tactically and individually by market,” according to its finance chief Andre Schulten.
• Coca-Cola is only running a campaign in China this year. The company has also voiced its concerns over Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup for similar humanitarian issues.
• Intel, one of the top five U.S. sponsors, has openly agreed with the U.S. government regarding their concerns.

During the 2014 and 2016 Games, top-tier sponsors contributed more than $1 billion combined to the IOC.

Political Involvement

The IOC said it “must remain neutral on all global political issues,” and some companies are following its approach. The Olympics’ official timekeeper, Swiss watchmaker Omega SA, said it doesn’t “get involved in certain political issues” and has launched a new watch for the Games.

Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has invested an additional $135 million in the Premier League club, increasing his stake to 94%, up from the 66% stake he previously owned. 

Moshiri bought Everton in 2016 for $270 million and has since spent more than $674 million to improve the club through the transfer market. The Iranian businessman will fund his latest investment by converting loans from his Blue Heaven Holdings company into equity. 

Everton will use the funding to improve the club’s transfer options and support the construction of its new stadium. 

• Last August, Everton began construction on the $693.7 million project located in the Bramley-Moore Dock area of Liverpool. 
• Russian holding company USM secured naming rights to the stadium in a 10-year, $277.5 million deal. 

Moshiri’s injection of fresh capital comes after Everton posted a combined loss of $357 million for the last three financial years. 

The club lost $194.1 million in the 2019-2020 season, per Deloitte. That was the worst hit among all Premier League clubs, which collectively lost roughly $1.4 billion that season. 

More Poor Results 

Last week, Everton parted ways with manager Rafa Benitez after only 200 days in the role, citing results that failed to “meet expectations of anyone associated with the club.” 

Benitez was Everton’s sixth manager since 2017.

There’s a new professional women’s basketball league that features a unique format, top-flight athletes and backers, and major broadcast networks.

Athletes Unlimited tips off its inaugural season on Wednesday in Las Vegas — the latest in the brand’s growing portfolio of women’s sports leagues.

• The season will run for five weeks, and its timing between January and February was chosen to complement the WNBA schedule.
• Each week, teams will have rotating rosters, and an individual player will be crowned champion — a format that’s “ideally suited for basketball,” CEO and co-founder Jon Patricof told Front Office Sports.
• Big names participating include Courtney Williams, Lexie Brown, and Natasha Cloud.
• CBS Sports Network and FOX Sports both inked deals to broadcast games.

The 44 players will make combined compensation of more than $1 million — an average of more than $20,000 per player. 

After five weeks, the league will judge success on more than just fan response. “The No. 1 success metric for our league, especially for the first season, is how was the athletes’ experience both on the court and off the court?” Patricof said. 

A New Empire?

Athletes Unlimited launched in 2020 and also runs leagues in volleyball, softball, and lacrosse. The leagues, which feature the same format as basketball, were created to capitalize on untapped U.S. markets.

The brand’s board of advisors also features sports industry heavy-hitters including Jessica Mendoza, Kevin Durant, Taylor Rooks, Rich Kleiman, and Abby Wambach. It also has major brand support including deals with Nike and GEICO, as well as a new deal with EY.