January 26, 2022

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Serena Williams just shattered her own record for a women’s sports card. Her 1999 Sports Illustrated for Kids Series 4 rookie card sold at PWCC Marketplace for $117,000 — more than double the previous record of $44,280.

Technology, Gambling Boost NFL’s Sponsorship Revenue

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports/Design:Matt Sullivan

The National Football League’s sponsorship revenue grew 12% year-over-year from $1.62 billion to $1.8 billion in the 2021-22 season and spiked from $1.47 billion in 2019, according to a study by IEG.

NFL franchises only brought in an additional 4% of revenue [[link removed]] for rights fees, while league-wide sponsorship spending grew 23%.

IEG global managing director Peter Laatz says the sponsorship boom is “coming from emerging categories.”

Led by Microsoft’s roughly $100 million per-year deal, technology sponsorships brought in the most money for the season.Sportsbooks, casinos, and lottery sponsorships brought in the second-highest dollar figure, with fees growing 140%. DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars — which purchased [[link removed]] naming rights to the New Orleans Superdome for $138 million — signed five-year deals to become the league’s official sportsbooks with a combined worth of nearly $1 billion.Alcoholic beverages brought in the third-highest amount, with Anheuser-Busch paying more than $250 million per year and Diageo contributing $30 million each year. The league’s wine and champagne rights are still up for sale.

The NFL also spent its first full season with Hyperice, signed a new partnership with Cisco, and expanded its Verizon partnership for 10 years.

Future Revenue Opportunities

One emerging category that hasn’t been seen in the league is cryptocurrencies — the league has held discussions about potential opportunities there, but is still skeptical of the market.

Additionally, for the first time, 18 NFL clubs have the opportunity to grow their revenue through 26 international markets including Canada, Mexico, and Germany.

Microsoft Revenue Grows to $51.7B

Microsoft/Design: Alex Brooks

Microsoft boasted strong earnings for the fiscal quarter ending Dec. 31, 2021, as its mega-acquisition in gaming looms.

The tech giant posted [[link removed]] revenue of $51.7 billion, up 20% year-over-year. Net income climbed similarly, up 21% from last year to $18.8 billion.

While supply chain issues slowed Xbox sales, the company still showed gains in gaming.

Xbox console sales rose 4% from the same period last year, when supply of the devices was also quite limited.Xbox content and services revenue jumped 10% year-over-year.Revenue for Microsoft’s entire More Personal Computing segment, which includes its gaming, Surface hardware, and search products, grew 15% to $17.5 billion. Acquisition Blizzard

The earnings provide a further lift to Microsoft after it agreed [[link removed]] to acquire gaming giant Activision Blizzard in a $68.7 billion, all-cash deal. Microsoft ended 2021 with $125.4 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer assuaged gamer concerns last week when he said that the company would honor [[link removed]] previous agreements made by Activision Blizzard and make the next three “Call of Duty” games available on Sony PlayStation as well as Xbox.

Microsoft, however, is not obligated to continue working with its gaming rival on the hugely popular game series beyond Activision Blizzard’s existing deals.

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Signa Sports United Reports Q4 Growth Amid Supply Shortage

Wiggle/Design: Alex Brooks

Signa Sports United generated $278 million in revenue in Q4 2021, a 10% increase compared to the same period the year prior.

The German bicycle and tennis equipment retailer attributed the growth in revenue to strong consumer demand across its verticals, despite bike supply shortages.

Signa reported 5.1 million active customers in Q4 2021, a 32% increase year-over-year. Full-year revenue reached $983.7 million, up 24% compared to FY2020.

In June 2021, Signa went public via a merger with Yucaipa Acquisition Corporation, a blank-check company led by Pittsburgh Penguins part-owner Ronald Burkle. Signa raised $484 million during the transaction, valuing the company at $3 billion.

Signa took advantage of the fresh capital in December 2021 with the acquisitions of online cycling store Wiggle and Tennis Express. Wiggle has annual sales of roughly $500 million.

Plans to Expand in the U.S.

Signa is reportedly [[link removed]] close to securing an investment worth more than $370 million from a group that includes Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund.

The funding would go toward expanding Signa’s presence in the U.S.

Signa earns roughly 10% of its total revenue in the U.S., primarily from its acquisitions of Tennis Express and Midwest Sports in February 2021.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, MLB labor talks heat up, Olympic sponsors weigh diplomatic boycotts and the risk of losing customers, Everton’s owner invests $135 million to increase his stake in the club, and Athletes Unlimited tips off its inaugural basketball season. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. Carissa Moore won this year’s Vans Triple Crown of Surfing competition, the first time a woman has secured the single-highest prize money ($66,500) in 39 years. Athletic Greens recently raised $115 million at a $1.2 billion valuation. The deal is another indication of the move to wellness brand beverages and consumer staples in place of more traditional products in the beverage space. Check out our FOS Insights [[link removed]] report for more on the topic.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH KAULIG RACING

Teamwork and Experience Driving Into 2022

After tabbing Justin Haley for a full-time ride in their inaugural NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) season in 2022, Kaulig Racing is relying on experience for the second charter [[link removed]].

The team will lean on Daniel Hemric, AJ Allmendinger and Noah Gragson to split time in the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the 2022 season, all of whom bring valuable NCS experience to Matt Kaulig’s up-and-coming team [[link removed]].

Allmendinger has the most starts with 376 starts, followed by Hemric who made 38 Cup starts for Richard Childress Racing in 2018-19 NCS seasons. Gragson enters the fold with only a Daytona 500 qualifier under his belt but five NXS victories in three years, including a dramatic win at Martinsville Speedway in 2021.

Learn more [[link removed]] about the No. 16 charter and the entire Kaulig Racing team.

Market Movers

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

LYV [[link removed]]

Live Nation Entertainment Inc

[[link removed]]

$105.01

[[link removed]]

-0.88%

[[link removed]] VFC [[link removed]]

VF Corp.

[[link removed]]

$66.13

[[link removed]]

-2.05%

[[link removed]] NKE [[link removed]]

Nike, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$143.55

[[link removed]]

-2.81%

[[link removed]] DIS [[link removed]]

Walt Disney Co (The)

[[link removed]]

$133.25

[[link removed]]

-3.79%

[[link removed]] T [[link removed]]

AT&T, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$24.21

[[link removed]]

-10.15%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 1/26/22) What to Watch

The PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open brings the best golfers in the world to Torrey Pines.

Last year, Patrick Reed won the tournament by five strokes but in controversial fashion, taking home $1.3 million. Now, players will compete for a $8.4 million purse this week in San Diego.

How to Watch: 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+ / Stream all of the Farmers Insurance Open on ESPN+ [[link removed]]*

Who ya got? Reply to this newsletter with your prediction for the winner of the Farmers Insurance Open. We can’t wait to see this tournament at one of the best courses in the world.

*Sponsored content. Game Availabilities Differ By Market, Check Your Local Listing.

Written by Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]], Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Justin Byers [[link removed]]

MORE FROM FOS:

Sports Section [[link removed]] - Daily Sports Newsletter

The Leadoff [[link removed]] - Daily Business of Sports Podcast

Front Office Sports Insights [[link removed]] - The most promising opportunities where sports meets industry

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