It’s no secret that winning championships only adds to teams’ popularity, prestige, and overall value. By winning their fourth NBA title in eight years, the Golden State Warriors — No. 2 on Forbes’ list of most valuable NBA franchises at $5.6 billion — could very well surpass the New York Knicks ($5.8 billion) for the top spot.
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Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
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Former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is reportedly nearing a deal to purchase the Nashville Predators.
The NHL team is owned by Predators Holdings, a group composed of 17 owners and controlled by healthcare entrepreneur Herbert Fritch, who joined the ownership group in 2007 and was named chairman in 2019.
The Predators’ current ownership group purchased the team for $175 million in 2007.
Forbes last valued the team at $600 million, a 38% year-over-year increase, but the Predators are still No. 25 in the 32-team league and below the league average.
Haslam has a reported net worth of $2.3 billion.
- It’s not clear how much of a stake Haslam is interested in, but multiple outlets have reported he will acquire a majority stake over time.
- Haslam’s brother Jimmy owns the Cleveland Browns with his wife, Dee.
The Predators have reached the postseason in 15 of the last 18 seasons. Music City recorded the second-highest attendance percentage during the 2021-22 season at 100.6%, behind only the Vegas Golden Knights at 104.2%.
Ownership Switch
If the Predators’ sale goes through, Nashville would be the second NHL team to be sold in the last year. The Pittsburgh Penguins were sold to Fenway Sports Group in late 2021 for $900 million.
The hockey club would also be the second major league sports team in Nashville to alter its ownership group this year. MLS team Nashville SC added Reese Witherspoon, Jim Toth, and Derrick Henry to its ownership group in April.
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FC Barcelona is the latest team to sell off some of its assets to recover from financial woes from the pandemic.
Delegates for the La Liga club approved the cession of up to 25% of income from the league’s TV rights for 25 years, as well as the sale of a minority share of its licensing and merchandising division.
Barcelona is estimated to earn around $631 million for the deals, helping turn around its $506 million loss (after tax) during the 2020-21 season. The team is also redeveloping Camp Nou as part of a $1.6 billion project. At one point, the team had nearly $1.37 billion in debt.
The vote to make the financial moves wasn’t close.
- The majority of delegates representing fans (88%) voted in favor of selling a 49.95% share of Barca Licensing & Merchandising. Offers must have a repurchase option.
- 87% of the delegates also voted for the TV rights deal — which could go to one or move investors — and/or obtaining financing based on the rights.
See Ya, CVC
Barcelona did not partake in La Liga’s 2021 agreement with CVC Capital Partners, in which the firm invested $2.1 billion for an 8.25% stake in the league’s media rights for 50 years.
“We want to recover this asset in 25 years,” Barcelona president Joan Laporta said. “The [CVC] operation that was presented was collective, and Barca have their own special value.”
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Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
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The NHL Salary Cap for the 2022-23 season will be set at $82.5 million, marking the first increase in three years.
Confirmed by the NHL and NHL Players’ Association, the increase for next season follows unfavorable profits for the league and its teams due to pandemic-related restrictions.
- The cap increase represents a $1 million uptick compared to the 2021-22 season.
- For the 2022-23 season, the salary floor for each team will be $61 million.
- Starting with the 2023-24 season, the cap could increase by $2 million
per year based on hockey-related revenue
The increase comes as commissioner Gary Bettman claims the league is set to generate record revenue this season, bringing in at least $5.2 billion. During the 2018-19 season — the NHL’s last season with a full slate of games — revenue reached $4.6 billion.
Bettman has attributed the record revenue to more scoring, leading to a boost in TV ratings.
Through the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the games broadcast on ESPN and ESPN2 have averaged 1.2 million viewers, up 30% compared to the same period last year.
All Eyes on Hockey
The NHL is benefiting from a pricey media rights deal with ESPN and Turners Sports. After a 16-year run on NBC Sports Network and other Comcast-owned channels, ESPN secured a seven-year deal with the NHL in March 2021, which pays the league $400 million annually.
A month later, Turner Sports acquired the “B” programming package for $225 million.
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- In The Leadoff, FIFA announces 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup, Formula 1 locks in the Australian Grand Prix through 2035, the Department of Justice asks a court to limit MLB’s antitrust exemption, and the NCAA digs into the University of Miami’s NIL deals. Click here to listen.
- Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has sold one of his three Southern California properties for $21 million to an unidentified buyer.
- House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney announced legislation Friday to protect employees from abuse of non-disclosure agreements and the use of their images for illicit purposes — the result of an investigation into the Washington Commanders.
- Bayern Munich have taken a big step to cover the potential departure of star striker Robert Lewandowski — but is it enough? On Friday, Liverpool star forward Sadio Mane reportedly agreed personal terms on a three-year deal to join Bayern. Subscribe to Scoreboard for more.
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Find out exactly what’s happening in the private markets every week with highlights from our Front Office Sports Pro Deal Tracker.
We carefully monitor both public and private market data for a snapshot of the sports business landscape.
This week’s Pro Deal Tracker highlights:
- Pixellot, developer of broadcast video capture and production devices designed to provide an affordable alternative for live coverage of events, raised $161 million of Series D venture funding in a deal led by Providence Strategic Growth.
- BetCity, operator of an online casino and sports betting platform located in Amsterdam, Netherlands, reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Entain for $895 million.
- American Ultimate Disc League, a disc sports league offering a version of the sport to stadiums in the U.S. and Canada, received an undisclosed amount of financing from Legends Hospitality.
- Teamworks, developer of an athlete engagement application designed to conduct sports teams in an organized manner, raised $50 million of Series D venture funding in a deal led by Seaport Capital, Delta-v Capital, and General Catalyst.
- VersusGame, developer of a prediction marketplace platform created to let everyone play and win from products they use and love, raised $25 million of Series A1 venture funding from Brightstone Venture Capital.
Try out the full Deal Tracker.
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| (Note: All as of market close on 6/17/22) |
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The Tampa Bay Lightning face the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night for Game 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final. The Avalanche lead the series 1-0.
How to Watch: 8 p.m. ET on ABC
Betting Odds: Avalanche -1.5 || ML -150 || O/U 6
Pick: Expect the Lightning to even the series. Take Tampa Bay on the moneyline.
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