June 9, 2022

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LeBron James has won four rings, co-founded the SpringHill Company, and has a stake in Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, Liverpool, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now, as the first active NBA player to reach a net worth over $1 billion, King James says [[link removed]] he wants to own an NBA team: “And I want the team in Vegas.”

Barcelona Exec Details Club’s Financial Crisis [[link removed]]

FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona will need $535 million to avoid financial devastation, according to the vice president of the club’s economic department.

“It is what we need to save Barca,” Eduard Romeu told the Spanish daily newspaper Sport.

The necessity for fresh capital follows heavy financial losses for Barcelona over the last year.

In March 2021, Barcelona was technically bankrupt [[link removed]].Three months later, the club borrowed $605 million from Goldman Sachs.In October 2021, Barcelona reported $1.56 billion in debt.

Barcelona has already taken several steps to prevent financial collapse.

The La Liga club — the second-most valuable [[link removed]] soccer team in the world at $5 billion — is seeking approval [[link removed]] for a cash injection of up to $750 million. Barcelona could receive the money by selling future media rights and a stake in its Barca Licensing & Merchandising subsidiary.

The club is reportedly in talks to sell [[link removed]] a stake of its television rights to Bank of America in a deal valued at $645 million, per Bloomberg. Barcelona’s plan to sell the minority stake in its media rights — roughly 25% — will depend on a vote by club members on June 16.

The club has already received offers [[link removed]] for up to a 49.9% stake in its BLM business, but has deemed them to be too low. A sale of the stake could provide Barcelona with $214 million.

More Help

In March, Barcelona agreed [[link removed]] to a long-term deal with audio streaming platform Spotify reportedly worth $306 million. Spotify will become the main sponsor of the club.

New Broadcast Deals Spell More LIV Golf Coverage [[link removed]]

LIV Golf

After luring in some of the world’s top golfers with massive paychecks, LIV Golf secured a suite of broadcast partners shortly before the start of its inaugural tournament.

The breakaway golf league, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has reportedly struck [[link removed]] deals with numerous broadcasters including DAZN, DirecTV, L’Equipe, and Sina Sports to broadcast the tournament series in 150 countries and territories.

DAZN’s rights cover the U.S., Canada, Japan, Italy, Spain, and German-speaking countries.DirecTV’s deal provides rights to Latin America. Sina Sports holds the rights in China, and L’Equipe will show the tournaments in France.LIV reportedly offered U.K. rights to Sky Sports and BT Sports but could not reach a deal.LIV is also broadcasting its first tournament at London’s Centurion Club, which runs from Thursday to Saturday, on YouTube, Facebook, and LIV’s website. PGA Uproar

ESPN has backed the PGA Tour as it takes increasingly aggressive action to punish golfers who have joined LIV. Seventeen golfers, including Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia, have been suspended by the PGA Tour, while Dustin Johnson and Kevin Na have resigned from the Tour.

The PGA is considering lifetime bans for golfers who join LIV, sources told [[link removed]] Front Office Sports.

LIV paid some golfers in excess of $100 million to join the tournament, and the prize purse at the London Invitational will be larger than any PGA tournament in history, with a winner’s prize of $4 million and a minimum payout for finishers of $120,000.

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Star-Studded List of Investors Back Just Women’s Sports [[link removed]]

Maya Carter-USA TODAY NETWORK

Tennis legend Billie Jean King and Brooklyn Nets owner Joseph Tsai were part of a $6 million funding round for Just Women’s Sports valuing the media platform at $36 million.

The round, led by Tsai’s family office Blue Pool Capital, included [[link removed]] Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang, NBA Top Shot creator Dapper Labs, VC firm Bolt Ventures, and others.

Just Women’s Sports also introduced new additions to its roster of star-studded investors, including Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix, former USWNT forward Abby Wambach, and former professional lacrosse player and Premier Lacrosse League co-founder Paul Rabil.

In May 2021, Just Women’s Sports raised [[link removed]] $3.5 million in seed funding.The round was led by VC firm Will Ventures.It also included Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures and Drive by DraftKings.

Just Women’s Sports’ latest funding round follows promising financial growth and reach for the platform. It saw Q1 2022 revenue grow four times what it generated for the same period last year. Just Women’s Sports is also on pace to triple its Q1 2022 revenue in Q2.

The platform has secured [[link removed]] sponsorship and advertising deals with major players in sports, fashion, and tech, including Nike, Puma, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Cisco.

Growing List

Tsai’s backing of Just Women’s Sports adds to his growing list of sports-related investments.

Last year, he was part of a funding round [[link removed]] for the PLL that included New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. The Alibaba co-founder has also invested [[link removed]] in the National Lacrosse League.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, Big Ten media rights are expected to top $1 billion annually, the NFL nears $2 billion in sponsorship deals, China Telecom bids for Formula 1 local digital rights, and an NBA Top Shot investor reports $573 million in revenue. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. Jocelyn Alo hit [[link removed]] two home runs during No. 1 Oklahoma’s 16-1 dismantling of unseeded Texas in Game 1 of the Women’s College World Series Finals. NFL wide receiver Cooper Kupp signed an extension [[link removed]] with the Los Angeles Rams on Tuesday for a reported three years and $80 million. On Wednesday, the Boston Celtics answered the Golden State Warriors’ [[link removed]] 33-point third quarter with a lockdown, 23-11 fourth, sealing a 16-point Game 3 victory and a 2-1 series lead in the NBA Finals. Subscribe to Scoreboard for more [[link removed]].

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Market Movers

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

GOLF [[link removed]]

Acushnet Holdings Corp

[[link removed]]

$43.56

[[link removed]]

+1.23%

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

Boyd Gaming Corp.

[[link removed]]

$59.04

[[link removed]]

-0.22%

[[link removed]] ATVI [[link removed]]

Activision Blizzard Inc

[[link removed]]

$76.79

[[link removed]]

-1.03%

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

VF Corp.

[[link removed]]

$48.41

[[link removed]]

-1.65%

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

Walt Disney Co (The)

[[link removed]]

$103.67

[[link removed]]

-3.27%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 6/9/22) What to Watch

The Tampa Bay Lightning face the New York Rangers on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. The Eastern Conference Finals series is tied 2-2.

How to Watch: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN

Betting Odds: Lightning -1.5 || ML -125 || O/U 5.5

Pick: Expect the Rangers to avenge Tuesday’s loss. Take New York on the moneyline.

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Written by Justin Byers [[link removed]], Owen Poindexter [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]]

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