May 23, 2022

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How does Opening Day in South Korea sound? It’s one of a number of items Major League Baseball is discussing [[link removed]] with the country’s top league, KBO, according to the Yonhap News Agency. Other possibilities include KBO Opening Day in the U.S., a KBO-MLB All-Star Game, and exhibition games between the two leagues.

NFL Owners Reportedly ‘Counting Votes’ to Oust Dan Snyder

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Dan Snyder’s turbulent tenure as owner of the Washington Commanders could soon be over, although sources told Front Office Sports that a move to oust Snyder doesn’t appear to be imminent.

It takes 24 of the league’s 32 owners to remove a fellow owner, the same 75% threshold needed to approve the purchase of a franchise. Owners are “counting votes” to see if there’s enough among the 31 other franchises to push Snyder out, USA Today reported [[link removed]] over the weekend.

“They haven’t created a great record yet to oust Snyder,” a source told FOS.

One ownership source told FOS there’s unlikely to be a vote before an ongoing outside investigation into the latest allegations against Snyder and the Commanders, headed by former SEC chair Mary Jo White, is completed.

From his reluctance to change the team’s original name to the allegations of harassment leveled by several women who worked for the team, Snyder has faced increased scrutiny over the last several months.

The House Oversight Committee began an investigation [[link removed]] of the Commanders in October, an inquiry that initially centered on hostile workplace claims. Former Commanders cheerleader and marketing manager Tiffani Johnston testified [[link removed]] to the committee that Snyder placed his hand on her thigh under a table at a networking event.That committee’s investigation expanded [[link removed]] to include allegations of financial improprieties. Big Purchase Amid Investigations

Regardless of what ultimately happens with Snyder, the Commanders reportedly [[link removed]] paid more than $100 million for about 200 acres of land in Woodbridge, Virginia, recently, a possible new stadium site.

Budget Cap Could Force F1 Teams to Skip Races

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Formula 1’s new budget cap is interacting with the world economy in unexpected ways, and some are calling for change.

Oracle Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said [[link removed]] that due to inflation, seven teams would have to miss the last four races to stay within the $140 million cap.

The FIA introduced a $145 million spending cap last year, which reduced to $140 million this year.The cap will be $135 million next year.Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei has credited the budget cap with leveling the F1 playing field, particularly by containing Mercedes’ spending.

“Freight has quadrupled, and that’s not something we can control,” said Horner.

While Horner’s sentiment was shared by the other leading teams in the 2022 Constructor’s Cup — Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren — other teams dissented.

Alfa Romeo, Alpine, Haas, and Williams all voted against an inflationary adjustment at FIA meetings last month.

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer suggested that the issue is more that larger teams are unwilling to adjust their budgets, as opposed to small-to-mid-sized teams missing races.

New York, New York?

New York City mayor Eric Adams offered [[link removed]] F1 a potential race site on Randalls and Wards Islands, situated between Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx.

Maffei downplayed the possibility of a fourth U.S.-based race.

Prior to the announcement that Las Vegas would be added to the 2023 calendar, F1’s director of media rights floated a race in the Big Apple, telling [[link removed]] Front Office Sports, “Who wouldn’t want to race in New York?”

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Take-Two Seals $12.7B Deal with ‘FarmVille’ Maker

Shutterstock

Take-Two Interactive has completed its acquisition of mobile game developer Zynga in a deal valued at $12.7 billion.

The acquisition — first announced [[link removed]] in January 2022 — brings together two of the largest video game makers in the U.S. and immediately makes Take-Two a major player in a global mobile gaming market projected to reach $153.5 billion by 2027, per [[link removed].] ResearchandMarkets.com.

Take-Two’s purchase of the San Francisco-based developer will be funded with $2.7 billion in financing from JPMorgan Chase, Take-Two’s balance sheet, and a debt issuance.

Zynga is the mobile game maker behind “FarmVille” and “Words with Friends.”It generated [[link removed]] $695 million in revenue in Q4 2021, an 8% increase year-over-year. Its online game division reeled in $534 million in revenue in Q4, up 7% year-over-year.Full-year revenue for Zynga reached $2.8 billion in 2021, up 42% compared to FY2020.

Take-Two’s acquisition follows a strong [[link removed]] fiscal Q4 for the company, which owns major video game publishers including Rockstar Games and 2K. The company generated $930 million in revenue during the quarter, surpassing its forecast of between $835 million and $885 million.

The stronger-than-expected results were driven by its digitally delivered revenue, which reached $833 million in fiscal Q4, up 9% year-over-year. The largest contributor was “NBA 2K22,” which has sold more than 10 million copies since Sept. 9, 2021.

Big Deals

Take-Two’s purchase of Zynga adds to another major acquisition in the gaming industry. In January, Microsoft announced plans to acquire [[link removed]] Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. The all-cash deal is pending regulatory approvals.

Conversation Starters When it comes to the business of sports, Front Office Sports has you covered — that’s why Digiday just named us a finalist for their Best Newsletter award. But we want your thoughts, too. All you have to do is take a quick reader survey here [[link removed]]. The best part? You have a chance to win some cool Front Office Sports merch or a $500 Visa gift card! In The Leadoff, a report reveals NBA owners are deeply entangled in Chinese companies, the parent company of Vans and The North Face reports $2.8 billion in revenue in Q4, a Saudi fund acquires a 5% stake in Nintendo, and Foot Locker posts a flat first quarter. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. “Hard Knocks In Season” will follow [[link removed]] the Arizona Cardinals this fall. It will mark the Cardinals’ first appearance on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series since its launch in 2001. Justin Thomas just won the biggest payout of his career — and took one step closer to joining the PGA Tour’s top 10 [[link removed]] all-time earners. On Sunday, Thomas rallied from seven strokes back to win the PGA Championship in a playoff over Will Zalatoris. Subscribe to Scoreboard for more [[link removed]].

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Market Movers

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

RCI [[link removed]]

Rogers Communications Inc.

[[link removed]]

$51.32

[[link removed]]

+0.71%

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

Nike, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$108.00

[[link removed]]

+1.77%

[[link removed]] PLNT [[link removed]]

Planet Fitness Inc

[[link removed]]

$66.69

[[link removed]]

+2.60%

[[link removed]] LYV [[link removed]]

Live Nation Entertainment Inc

[[link removed]]

$88.62

[[link removed]]

-0.06%

[[link removed]] WYNN [[link removed]]

Wynn Resorts Ltd.

[[link removed]]

$62.03

[[link removed]]

-3.08%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 5/23/22) What to Watch

The Miami Heat face the Boston Celtics on Monday at TD Garden. The Heat lead the Eastern Conference Finals series 2-1.

How to Watch: 8:30 p.m. on ABC

Betting Odds: Celtics -7 || ML -310 || O/U 206.5

Pick: Expect the Heat to keep things close for all four quarters. Take Miami to cover.

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Written by A.J. Perez [[link removed]], Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Justin Byers [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]]

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