FIFA is on pace for record revenue for a four-year cycle as it pushes to move to biennial World Cups.

Soccer’s global governing body said it notched 2021 revenue of $766.5 million in its annual report, a 187% increase from 2020’s $266.5 million.

• Marketing sales accounted for $131 million of FIFA’s 2021 revenue, namely due to $93 million in partnership agreements. 
• Broadcast rights accounted for another $123 million.
• FIFA said it has already brought in $6.1 billion in the four-year cycle beginning in 2019, 95% of the way to its target of $6.4 billion — and that’s before this year’s World Cup in Qatar.

The organization’s total assets grew 21% in 2021 to $5.5 billion.

Doubling Down

Despite facing widespread opposition, FIFA continues to push for biennial men’s and women’s World Cups. The annual report laid out financial incentives for its 211 member associations.

The organization proposed a $3.5 billion solidarity fund, which would supply an average of $16 million to each member organization. The fund would be fueled by a projected $4.4 billion revenue increase from doubling the frequency of the worldwide tournament.

Bundled with a 50% increase in existing funding mechanisms to $9 million for each member organization, FIFA said that its biennial plan would increase member distributions from $6 million to $25 million in the first four-year cycle.

The owners of the WNBA’s New York Liberty violated the league’s collective bargaining agreement in order to assist their players, including a Napa vacation and charter flights for all road games during the second half of the season.

Those expenses exceeded the WNBA’s allowable compensation for players, cost the team a league-record $500,000 fine, and forced the removal of executive Oliver Weisberg from the WNBA’s executive committee, according to Sports Illustrated.

The fine seems small compared to the other consequences that Jamin Dershowitz, the league’s general counsel, reportedly floated in September when alerted of the violations. Dershowitz considered:

• Taking away draft picks
• Suspending ownership
• Terminating the franchise

Payment Privilege 

Following a new collective bargaining agreement in 2020, commissioner Cathy Engelbert laid out terms of a private equity investment that would give the league a $50 million cash infusion in exchange for 20% of the league’s total equity at a $200 million valuation — it ended up at $400 million.

Liberty owners Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, along with other high-worth WNBA owners, didn’t think the investment was enough for the league’s athletes. Joe Tsai, the co-founder of Alibaba and owner of the Brooklyn Nets, and Clara even proposed a way to comp charter flights for all WNBA teams for three years. The proposal did not receive majority support, and the Liberty found themselves on charter flights anyway.

A league front office member saw that travel details didn’t add up, and the team received demands to cease and desist, leading to the fine.

NBC Sports has had serious talks with Major League Baseball about broadcasting games this season in a deal that could range between $100 million and $150 million, according to the New York Post.

If a deal is reached between the two entities, most games are expected to air on NBC’s streaming platform, Peacock. The service — available for $4.99 or $9.99 per month — reached 24.5 million monthly active users and 9 million paying users at the end of 2021.

MLB presents a unique opportunity for NBC. 

• NBC hasn’t broadcasted baseball since 2000.
• The MLB Network is expected to produce the broadcasts.
• Broadcasts could include Bob Costas, who is the MLB Network’s lead play-by-player. 

There is an expectation that Apple will also acquire rights to broadcast games. The tech giant and MLB held substantial talks in January 2022, but a deal has yet to be finalized. 

Let’s Play Ball 

MLB and its players union have yet to reach a deal regarding the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Earlier this week, the league reportedly told its players union that it is willing to cancel a month’s worth of games in order to reach a deal.

A new deadline has been set for 5 p.m. ET Tuesday — with a full, 162-game regular season at stake for each franchise. Any deal requires approval by 23 of the 30 MLB owners.