May 5, 2022

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What was billed as the biggest fight in women’s boxing history lived up to the hype. The Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano Lightweight title bout at Madison Square Garden on April 30 drew a record [[link removed]] 1.5 million viewers on DAZN and was the most-watched female-headlined broadcast in boxing history.

Magic Johnson Part of Group Seeking to Purchase Broncos

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Earvin “Magic” Johnson is in the running to own a piece of the Denver Broncos.

The NBA Hall of Famer and entrepreneur has linked up with Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Josh Harris, head of one of at least five bidding groups, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to Front Office Sports.

Sportico [[link removed]] was the first outlet to report Johnson’s involvement with Harris’ effort.

Johnson, 62, is the latest and highest-profile Black businessman to be connected to the Broncos’ bidding process, which is expected to result in a record sale price of around $4 billion or more. Billionaire investor Robert F. Smith [[link removed]] and media magnate Byron Allen [[link removed]] have also explored bids.

The Broncos declined to comment.

Magic’s Empire

Johnson owns stakes in multiple sports teams and other businesses.

He was part of Guggenheim Baseball Management’s purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012. The Dodgers are now valued [[link removed]] at $4 billion. The group acquired the Sparks in 2014. Johnson owns an undisclosed stake in the Los Angeles Lakers, a piece acquired when the Guggenheim group purchased 27% [[link removed]] of the team Johnson led to five NBA championships. Johnson also owns part of the Los Angeles Football Club.Johnson’s docuseries, “They Call Me Magic,” debuted on AppleTV+ last month. It was reportedly [[link removed]] shopped for $25 million.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said before Super Bowl LVI that the league “would love to see a diverse owner.” Underrepresented minorities are part of multiple bidding groups, a source told FOS.

Sports Betting Boosts Penn National to Record Quarter

Paul Kuehnel via Imagn

Penn National Gaming announced record quarterly results in its latest earnings report on Thursday.

The Pennsylvania-based casino and gaming company generated [[link removed]] $1.6 billion in revenue in Q1 2022, a 23% increase year-over-year. The record quarter included growth in the company’s Interactive segment, which includes Barstool Sportsbook, theScore Bet, and iGaming.

The Interactive segment pocketed $142 million in Q1, up from $86 million in Q1 2021.Penn National projects full-year revenue to range between $6.15 billion and $6.55 billion.The company repurchased 3.8 million shares of common stock in Q1 for $175 million.

Penn National has steadily increased its market position in sports, media, and betting. In January 2020, the company purchased [[link removed]] a 36% stake in Barstool Sports at a $450 million valuation. Penn National plans [[link removed]] to acquire the remaining stake in 2023.

In October 2021, Penn National acquired [[link removed]] Score Media and Gaming — operator of theScore — for $2 billion. The deal established a presence in Canada for Penn National, and the company expanded its reach there on April 4 with the launch of mobile sports betting in Ontario.

Missed Opportunity

Penn National missed an opportunity to take advantage of the largest sports betting market in the U.S. New York launched [[link removed]] mobile sports betting on Jan. 8, and in the first month handled [[link removed]] more than $1.62 billion — topping the single-month record for any state.

Penn National, along with Fanatics, Fox Bet, and bet365, were among operators who weren’t approved for licenses in the state.

SPONSORED BY SAILGP

Reinventing Crypto-Led Fan Engagement

SailGP [[link removed]] will explore the sale of a new team to a DAO launched on the NEAR Protocol – a first-of-its-kind community engagement and activation platform in professional sports.

The partnership [[link removed]] will enable fans and cryptocurrency enthusiasts to engage and access their favorite teams, athletes and events like never before.

The DAO team is scheduled to join the SailGP starting lineup as early as Season 4 in 2023, with the DAO community members determining athlete selection, team management, commercialization options, operations and team strategy.

Learn more [[link removed]] about SailGP and NEAR.

Fox Sports, Twitter Teaming Up for World Cup

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Fox Sports and Twitter are teaming up to provide a slew of coverage for both upcoming FIFA World Cups.

“Collaborating with Fox Sports to bring fans the opportunity to preview match action on Twitter during both the men’s and women’s World Cup is something we’ve never done before,” said TJ Adeshola, Twitter’s head of global content partnerships.

Coverage will include live shows and previews before every match in both tournaments.There will be opportunities for fan engagement and heightened Twitter-specific content.The two will work on sponsorships and advertisements.

“Giving fans the best coverage on social media around the FIFA World Cup on Twitter is paramount for us,” said Michael Bucklin, Fox Sports’ senior VP of digital content.

The content will be available through Fox’s Twitter handles.

Complicated Backdrop

The news of Twitter’s latest innovations come as billionaire Elon Musk moves to purchase the social media platform.

The purchase would total $44 billion. On Thursday, the New York Times reported [[link removed]] that Musk had gathered several investors who would fund around $7 billion of the bid.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, a task force aims to crack down on NIL collectives, the Oakland A’s $12 billion development plan clears a major hurdle, the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational shifts its focus to top amateur talent, and Big 5 Sporting Goods stumbles in Q1 2022. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. The NHL’s female cable TV viewership [[link removed]] across ESPN and TNT in the U.S. increased 61% during the 2021-2022 regular season, according to league spokeswoman Jennifer Neziol. On ESPN alone, women’s viewership grew 73%. The Tampa Bay Lightning specialize in bouncing back. On Wednesday, Tampa defeated [[link removed]] the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 to even the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series at 1-1. The Bolts are now 15-0 following a postseason loss, a streak going back to the 2020 playoffs. Following one of the most stunning comebacks in Champions League history, Real Madrid have returned to the pinnacle of European soccer [[link removed]] after a relatively short rebuild. Real Madrid has a young core of Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior, and Eduardo Camavinga — all 21 or younger — who came to the club for transfer fees totaling $133.1 million. Subscribe to Scoreboard for more [[link removed]].

SPONSORED BY FIDELITY

Chasing Success After the Game

When Andrew “Hawk” Hawkins made it to the NFL and had a chance to compete for a contract, all he wanted was to play one game and retire. After he played one game, he realized he had an opportunity to do far more – not just in the NFL, but in life outside of football.

In episode four of Second Acts [[link removed]], presented by Fidelity [[link removed]], Hawk shares some incredible stories about his career including:

Growing up a Bengals fan, and playing for the team in the NFL (1:50) Making the most of every opportunity football gave him (7:45) StatusPro, his tech company with Troy Jones, and partnering with the NFL (10:45)

Watch the full episode [[link removed]] now.

Market Movers

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

MSGS [[link removed]]

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp

[[link removed]]

$168.69

[[link removed]]

+5.76%

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

Aramark

[[link removed]]

$35.78

[[link removed]]

-2.64%

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

Walt Disney Co (The)

[[link removed]]

$112.37

[[link removed]]

-2.78%

[[link removed]] ZBRA [[link removed]]

Zebra Technologies Corp.

[[link removed]]

$347.78

[[link removed]]

-4.86%

[[link removed]] PTON [[link removed]]

Peloton Interactive Inc

[[link removed]]

$16.91

[[link removed]]

-7.95%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 5/5/22) What to Watch

The Pittsburgh Penguins face the New York Rangers on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. The Penguins lead the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series 1-0.

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

Betting Odds: Rangers -1.5 || ML -160 || O/U 5.5

Pick: Expect the Rangers to tie the series. Take New York on the moneyline.

If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here [[link removed]].

Written by A.J. Perez [[link removed]], Justin Byers [[link removed]], Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]

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

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Front Office Sports Learning [[link removed]] - Education at the speed of culture

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