March 22, 2022

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Little-known English soccer club Colchester United is gaining plenty of recognition after donating all ticket sales revenue from a game against the Forest Green Rovers to refugees fleeing Ukraine from the Russian invasion.

Anta Sports Posts $7.7B Fiscal Year

Anta/Design: Alex Brooks

Anta Sports, the “Nike of China,” posted growth across all its business operations in 2021 in the company’s latest earnings report.

The Chinese sportswear company generated $7.7 billion in revenue in FY2021, a 39% increase compared to the financial year prior, thanks to strong results in its Anta and FILA segments.

In FY2021, the company’s Anta segment posted $3.7 billion in revenue, up 52% year-over-year.Its FILA segment generated $3.4 billion in revenue in 2021, a 25% uptick compared to FY2020.All other Anta Sports brands posted revenue of $548 million in FY2021, up 51% year-over-year.Shares of the company were up more than 5% on Tuesday following the report.

Anta is gaining momentum in its home country, while brands like Adidas and Nike have taken a hit in the world’s largest fashion market. Anta has benefited from a partial boycott of Western brands in China after some raised questions about forced labor in the country’s Xinjiang region.

Nike saw its revenue [[link removed]] in the Greater China region reach $2.2 billion in fiscal Q3, a 5% decline compared to the same period the year prior. In Q4 2021, Adidas reported [[link removed]] a 24% drop in revenue in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

New Line of Business

Anta is leveraging its popularity in China to launch [[link removed]] a FILA-branded hotel in Shanghai. Designed in collaboration with Hyatt Hotels, it is expected to open in 2024 and will be part of Anta’s new Shanghai headquarters, which includes office buildings, shops, and dining outlets.

Lawmakers Pass Financing Plan For Panthers’ $800M Facilities

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

Lawmakers in York County, South Carolina, passed an “alternative financial package” on Monday in an effort to resume work on the Carolina Panthers’ new $800 million facility project.

Construction on the venue was put on hold earlier this month reportedly [[link removed]] due to Rock Hill, South Carolina, being behind on its bills to Tepper Sports and Entertainment. News 19 WLTX 19 said the city owed $225 million in infrastructure loans.

In a 4-3 vote, the City Council agreed [[link removed]] to a “Fee in Lieu of Tax and Incentive,” in which the county will help with the project’s financing through revenue credits. The team would then pay those back with tax credits.

The Panthers still have to agree to the transaction but were involved in the deal’s discussions.A real estate company run by Panthers owner Dave Tepper has reportedly invested more than $170 million in the project.

“It’s straight-now credit,” councilman William Bump Roddey said [[link removed]]. Previously, the City of Rock Hill would have issued $225 million in bonds.

What’s At Stake

The project, which includes [[link removed]] the team’s headquarters and a new practice facility, was originally supposed to open in August 2022 but was stalled until 2023 due to the pandemic. It’s now unclear when the project will open or construction will continue.

Ahead of the city council’s vote, a source with knowledge of the city’s thinking told Front Office Sports that the back-and-forth between the entities put the development’s completion in potential jeopardy.

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NCPA Files Civil Rights Complaint Over NCAA Athlete Compensation

Jenna Watson/IndyStar /Design: Alex Brooks

During last year’s NCAA Division I basketball tournaments, the National College Players Association launched a campaign advocating for NIL rights. This year, they’re making a push to get schools to pay their players beyond scholarships.

On Tuesday, the NCPA filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, alleging Division I schools’ athlete compensation limits violate Black students’ civil rights. It asks to abolish these caps.

The complaint, reviewed by Front Office Sports, argues that Black FBS football and Division I basketball players in particular receive far less than their market value. “Because a high percentage of Black students are also college athletes,” the NCPA said, “the industry-wide compensation limit causes a disparate impact on Black college students.”

The complaint estimates an athlete is denied the following amount every year:

Division I women’s basketball player — $24,000.Division I men’s basketball player — $164,000. FBS football player — $185,000.

Another 2021 study [[link removed]] found that between 2005-19, Black Power 5 football and basketball players could have made $17.3 billion.

Multiple Avenues

There are currently several other efforts to help athletes get salaries.

As part of a larger campaign [[link removed]], the NCPA previously filed a complaint [[link removed]] with the National Labor Relations Board to get athletes collective bargaining rights — the second of its kind in the past year.

The Third Circuit is also considering whether athletes are employees.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, Nike beats expectations with a $10.9 billion quarter, Saint Peter’s earns millions in publicity with a Sweet 16 berth, Endeavor could be forced to sell its minor league baseball teams, and CVC Capital Partners is in talks for a $1.7 billion stake in French soccer media rights. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. Members of the Kaiser estate have appealed [[link removed]] a district court judge’s ruling that the right of first refusal between current Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and former owner Edgar Kaiser was “no longer valid or enforceable in any aspect.” The appeals process could overlap or delay the imminent sale of the Broncos. Tom Brady is back — and now one of the key weapons in his last Super Bowl run has re-upped. On Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers re-signed running back Leonard Fournette [[link removed]] to a three-year, $21 million ($9M guaranteed) contract worth a maximum of $24 million, per multiple reports. Subscribe to Scoreboard for more [[link removed]] on Fournette’s new contract and his role with the Bucs. Ohio’s quality of life is unbeatable. According to CNBC, Toledo and Cincinnati are among the top 10 big U.S. cities where it’s easiest (and most affordable) to buy a home. Learn more [[link removed]].*

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Rising 25 Nominations Are Here!

Know an up-and-coming young professional changing the game in the business of sports?

The Front Office Sports Rising 25 Award [[link removed]], presented by Anheuser-Busch, celebrates the careers of the brightest young stars in the business of sports. To date, we’ve honored 125 individuals and we’re looking for our next group of young stars.

Nominations are open NOW through Monday, April 18. Winners will be announced in June and honored at a celebration in New York City this fall.

Nominate, today [[link removed]]!

Market Movers

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

BYD [[link removed]]

Boyd Gaming Corp.

[[link removed]]

$68.96

[[link removed]]

+0.54%

[[link removed]] LULU [[link removed]]

Lululemon Athletica inc.

[[link removed]]

$314.54

[[link removed]]

+0.57%

[[link removed]] EA [[link removed]]

Electronic Arts, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$127.77

[[link removed]]

+1.45%

[[link removed]] FL [[link removed]]

Foot Locker Inc

[[link removed]]

$31.44

[[link removed]]

-0.10%

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

VF Corp.

[[link removed]]

$56.71

[[link removed]]

-0.58%

[[link removed]] DKS [[link removed]]

Dicks Sporting Goods, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$109.18

[[link removed]]

-1.19%

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

The Atlanta Hawks (35-36) face the New York Knicks (30-41) on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

How to Watch: 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT

Betting Odds: Hawks -3 || ML -155 || O/U 226.5* ( Bet on DraftKings [[link removed]])

Pick: Expect the Knicks to bounce back from Sunday’s loss. Take New York to cover.

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

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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.

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Written by Justin Byers [[link removed]], Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]], Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]

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