A change in the NFL’s bylaws could keep legacy ownership families in the game.

NFL owners voted to lower the required amount that a controlling owner must hold from 5% to 1%, a move intended to allow families with longstanding histories in the league to retain their teams.

• The rule only applies to teams that have had the same owner group for 10 years or more.
• Those same teams must also have 30% of the franchise controlled by the owning family’s members. 
• Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II indicated that there was little momentum to change that rule.

The move aims to soften the potential estate tax hit from people inheriting ownership stakes from family members. With the average team value soaring to $3.5 billion, per Forbes, taxes on inherited wealth can become unaffordable for team owner descendants.

Good News for Bears Owner

The change could impact the fate of the Chicago Bears. Owner Virginia McCaskey, 99, would like to keep the team in the family. 

Under the previous rules, the team’s $4.1 billion valuation would require each family member inheriting the team to hold at least a $205 million stake in the club. The amendment reduces that amount to $41 million.

Tottenham Hotspur is receiving a cash injection of $187 million from its majority shareholder to invest in the Premier League club — both on and off the pitch. 

ENIC Sports, a British investment firm, purchased its 85.6% controlling stake in Tottenham in 2001 from politician and entrepreneur Alan Sugar for an undisclosed amount.

• ENIC’s latest investment will be partly allocated toward the player transfer market.
• It will be made via the issue of convertible A shares and accompanying warrants.
• With the investment, ENIC’s stake could increase to about 87.5%.

The injection of fresh capital comes after Tottenham posted $106.9 million in pre-tax losses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. The club generated $456 million in revenue during the same period, down more than 10% compared to the fiscal year prior.

The heavy losses were the result of a lack of fans at matches due to the global pandemic. Tottenham generated only $2.5 million in matchday revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, as only two matches were played with live fans at a limited capacity.

More Money to Come 

Tottenham Hotspur is reportedly advancing discussions for a roughly $655.8 million naming rights deal for the $1.6 billion stadium it built in 2019. The club is reportedly holding out for a deal worth $32.8 million per year for at least 10 years, according to Football Insider.

An undisclosed company has reportedly negotiated a 20-year deal for naming rights to the stadium, which seats 62,000.

An action taken by 28 employees within one division of a gaming studio is turning heads across the entire industry.

Quality assurance testers within Raven Software, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, voted 19-3 to unionize. The move is a first for a major U.S. video game company. 

Raven develops the “Call of Duty” franchise, a key revenue driver for Activision Blizzard.

• The workers initially sought to unionize in January, following layoffs the previous month.
• Activision Blizzard refused to recognize the union at that time. 
• Following the vote, the group will join the Communications Workers of America.

Microsoft has agreed to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, pending regulatory approval. The tech giant has focused its gaming efforts on its Xbox console series, but is looking to Activision Blizzard to build out its mobile portfolio.

Labor Issues

The National Labor Relations Board found that Activision Blizzard illegally threatened staff and enforced a social media policy that infringed on employees rights around collective action, the agency said on Monday.

The issue was initially brought forth by the Communications Workers of America.

The company will either settle with the NLRB, or the agency’s Los Angeles-based regional director will issue a complaint.

Increases in sports betting revenue fueled Betway parent Super Group’s growth in the first quarter, but revenue misses and projections caused the stock to tumble.

The company banked $356.9 million in first-quarter revenue, up 7% year-over-year. The quarter was Super Group’s first as a public company after merging with a SPAC in January.

Sports betting revenue leapt 30.4% to $116.8 million, driven by growth in the Africa and Middle East region, followed by Asia and the Pacific. The bulk of its remaining revenue came from its online casino brand Spin.

• The company accumulated nine new sports betting partnerships, including the Milwaukee Bucks, the Stock Car Pro Series Brazil, and the Ghana Women’s Football League.
• Betway has over 70 existing partnerships with teams, leagues, and events, including 13 Premier League clubs, nine NBA teams, the NHL, and ATP.

Super Drop

The growth was not enough to assuage investors, who were spooked by an earnings miss and indications that the company could lower its 2022 revenue guidance. 

“The results for the first quarter of 2022 reflected revenue growth and strong cash generation, but were challenged on a period-over-period comparative basis due to industry and economic headwinds and costs related to our business combination and listing as a public company in January,” said company CFO Alinda van Wyk.

Super Group’s stock plummeted 23.7% on Wednesday, hitting its lowest point in the company’s brief history on the market.