March 21, 2022

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So, what happened to the person who paid $518,628 for the ball Tom Brady threw for his “last ever” touchdown? Well, the ball’s only worth about $20,000 since the Bucs QB unretired, but Brady and FTX will give Bitcoin to the auction winner and a charity of their choice.

Centricus Chelsea Bid Reportedly Tops $4B

Mark Harkin/Design: Alex Brooks

Chelsea FC may not have to look outside London for its new owner.

Investment firm Centricus Asset Management, which oversees $38 billion in assets, has made what may be the richest bid for the team with a reported [[link removed]] proposal north of $4 billion.

That would match the lofty asking price sought by former team owner Roman Abramovich before the club was seized as a result of sanctions related to his ties to Russian leadership.

The firm partnered with Jonathan Lourie of Cheyne Capital and Bob Finch of Talis Capital on the bid.Centricus promised further investment in the club, including [[link removed]] funds to “maintain an elite global brand” and invest in “grassroots” and “strategic real estate.” The team is likely to seek renovations to its Stamford Bridge stadium or an entirely new facility. The firm said it would retain Chelsea’s existing management.

Last year, UEFA discussed a $7.9 billion financing deal with Centricus aimed at revamping the UEFA Champions League and thwarting the European Super League.

Centricus co-founder Nizar Al-Bassam and CEO Garth Ritchie are Chelsea season-ticket holders.

The Raine Group, which is overseeing the sale, seeks to reduce [[link removed]] the bidders to a shortlist by Tuesday.

Manchester United Boosted

The Chelsea bidding war has provided a boost to publicly traded Manchester United. Deutsche Bank upgraded Man U to “buy” from “hold” after an analyst determined that the team would fetch a higher price than Chelsea if it were to be sold.

Manchester United reached a market cap of around $2.2 billion after shares leapt around 4% on Monday.

FTX, Animoca Back Gaming Platform Valued at $500M

C2X/Design: Alex Brooks

Blockchain gaming platform C2X has raised $25 million through a private token sale, valuing the business at $500 million.

Led by FTX Ventures, Animoca Brands, and Jump Crypto, the sale also included Galaxy Interactive, Huobi Ventures, Crypto.com, and blockchain gaming venture fund Hashed.

The investors were selected for the private token sale based on their extensive portfolios and a history of investing in gaming as well as blockchain, cryptocurrency, and entertainment.

Operated by MetaMagnet Ltd. and developed with South Korean game publisher Com2us, C2X will use the fresh capital to build and expand its gaming platform on the Terra blockchain.

The company plans [[link removed]] to launch more than 10 gaming titles in 2022.It is already slated to launch play-to-earn titles “Golf Star” and baseball game “Crypto Superstars.”

C2X also announced plans to launch its own publicly traded token during the sale. The token, “$CTX,” was publicly listed on Monday.

Doubling Down

In January, Animoca Brands raised $360 million in new funding, valuing the investor in more than 150 NFT, metaverse, and blockchain companies at $5.4 billion.

The same month, cryptocurrency exchange FTX raised [[link removed]] $400 million in Series C funding, valuing the company, which has leaned heavily on sports and gaming partnerships, at $32 billion.

SPONSORED BY FIDELITY

Empowering Representation and Diversity

Renee Montgomery started her career in Storrs, Connecticut, where she was a key cog in the UConn Huskies’ 2009 Women’s National Championship team.

Drafted 4th in the WNBA, she won 2 WNBA championships while also being named an All-Star and 6th Woman of the Year in her 11-year professional career. Renee retired in 2021 after sitting out the 2020 season to focus on social reform and justice.

Her basketball career was just a precursor to her second act [[link removed]], which includes titles such as podcast host, sports broadcaster, Vice President and Co-Owner of multiple professional sports teams.

Most recently, she expanded into the entertainment world with the launch of Think Tank Productions with her wife Sirena Grace.

In the latest episode of Second Acts, sponsored by Fidelity [[link removed]], Renee shares her journey from WNBA star to sports business and media mogul. Watch now [[link removed]].

John Textor Looks to Grow 40% Stake in Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace FC/Design: Alex Brooks

John Textor, an investor in Belgium’s RWD Molenbeek and Brazil’s Botafogo clubs, is reportedly looking to increase his 40% stake in Crystal Palace FC.

Founder of Eagle Football LLC and previously [[link removed]] the leading shareholder in sports-focused streaming platform FuboTV, Textor purchased [[link removed]] his initial stake in the team for roughly $118.8 million just last year. He also became a director and fourth partner of the team.

Two of the team’s co-owners, David Blitzer and Josh Harris, are reportedly interested in selling their shares, with the latter reportedly bidding on Chelsea FC — a move that would likely require [[link removed]] him to offload his Crystal Palace shares if he wins the bid.

Harris’ bid is part of a consortium that includes businessman Vivek Ranadive and former Liverpool FC chairman Martin Broughton.The New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers owner also co-founded asset manager Apollo Global Management. Crystal’s Cut

Crystal Palace reported [[link removed]] a loss of roughly $76.6 million before tax in the 13 months that ended July 31, 2020.

Crystal Palace’s current valuation is not clear, and the club was not listed on Forbes’ 2021 list for the 20 highest-valued soccer clubs. Dutch club Ajax was 20th with a $413 million value. [[link removed]]

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, Chelsea FC prepares for a rapid sale process, Formula 1 is expected to announce a race in Las Vegas, rowing-machine maker Hydrow reaches $255 million in total funding, and Spartan Race delivers aid to Ukraine. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. Anheuser-Busch has decided to not renew [[link removed]] its partnership with the NFL’s Washington Commanders — the third company in the past year to end its relationship with the team. Anheuser-Busch is the official beer sponsor of the NFL. Epic Games plans to donate [[link removed]] proceeds from “Fortnite” earned between March 20-April 3 toward humanitarian relief efforts for victims of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

SPONSORED BY JOBSOHIO

Your Dollar Goes Further in Ohio

Affordability is the name of the game in Ohio [[link removed]]. Since affordability means livability, this is something you can’t afford to ignore.

Ohio makes doing business more affordable with 0% state-level corporate income tax, and the Buckeye State makes life more affordable as the third-ranked state [[link removed]] in Moody’s Housing and Affordability Index.

No matter which way you look at it, either from a business perspective or a personal one, your dollar goes further in Ohio.

Learn more [[link removed]] about everything that Ohio can do for you, your career, and your bottom line.

Market Movers

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

MANU [[link removed]]

Manchester United Plc.

[[link removed]]

$13.71

[[link removed]]

+1.48%

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

Walt Disney Co (The)

[[link removed]]

$138.62

[[link removed]]

-0.70%

[[link removed]] BYD [[link removed]]

Boyd Gaming Corp.

[[link removed]]

$68.08

[[link removed]]

-0.96%

[[link removed]] ARMK [[link removed]]

Aramark

[[link removed]]

$36.60

[[link removed]]

-1.48%

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

Nike, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$131.10

[[link removed]]

-1.62%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 3/21/22) What to Watch

The UConn Huskies (26-5) face the UCF Knights (26-3) on Monday at Gampel Pavilion.

How to Watch: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN

Betting Odds: UConn -17.5 || ML -2200 || O/U 108.5* ( Bet on DraftKings [[link removed]])

Pick: Expect the Huskies to build on Saturday’s 50-point win. Take UConn to cover.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook [[link removed]] for details.

Refer Friends to Score Your Favorite Team’s Jersey

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How can you score one? Refer your friends and colleagues to Front Office Sports. Copy and paste your unique link below and share it in an email or on your timeline.

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between March 21, 2022 @ 12:01 a.m. ET – April 30, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Open to U.S. residents age 18+ only. 1 entry per person. Void where prohibited. See Official Rules [[link removed]] for details.

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

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