July 1, 2022

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Over the first year of NIL, athletes have taken several different approaches [[link removed]] to marketing themselves. Duke runner Emily Cole started building her brand in high school by sharing her nutrition and fitness habits — and now has 165,000 Instagram followers, several endorsements, and her own cookbook.

Oakland A’s Secure Key Vote for Waterfront Stadium Project [[link removed]]

Oakland Athletics

The A’s may stay in Oakland after all.

The team’s proposed $12 billion development proposal cleared a key vote Thursday, allowing the project to move forward.

The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission voted 23 to 2 to remove Howard Terminal’s “port use” designation, clearing the path for a potential ballpark project. Commission staff provided a key lift for the project, recommending prior to the vote that the port designation be removed.

The stadium project is far from a done deal — the team must still strike a deal with the city of Oakland.Housing remains [[link removed]] a sticking point in negotiations with the city. The project calls for park land, a 400-room hotel, 270,000 square feet of retail space, and 3,000 housing units. The city is calling for 15% of those housing units to be affordable, or above city requirements of 7% to 12%.

Oakland A’s president Dave Kaval called the vote “a huge win for our waterfront ballpark project and the future of Oakland and the A’s.”

There’s Always Vegas

A move to the Las Vegas area remains an option for the team. A’s executives have pursued the Oakland project and a new development in southern Nevada on parallel tracks. The team had narrowed down its Las Vegas options to two sites.

The main hurdle toward a move there may be securing public financing, which could be politically contentious for Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak.

MLB would reportedly waive [[link removed]] relocation fees associated with the move, which could run up to $1 billion.

Canal+ Snags Exclusive Rights to Champions League [[link removed]]

UEFA

Canal+ has landed French rights to Europe’s top soccer competition.

The French media company will take over exclusive rights to the UEFA Champions League, beginning with the 2024-25 season.

The three-year deal is worth [[link removed]] $503 million per season.Canal+ shares rights with BeIN Sports for the current three-year cycle.UEFA receives $393 million annually on its current set of French media deals. BeIN Sports shows a larger proportion of games, but Canal+ has first-choice rights to 34 matches and 16 UEFA Europa League and Conference League games.

In April, Canal+ extended [[link removed]] its relationship with another global sports property. The network inked a deal with Formula 1 through 2029. Canal+ currently pays around $65 million to show the racing series, and the next deal will reportedly be for a significantly higher price.

Swiss Switch

UEFA is switching to a new Swiss format in 2024, which will create a larger group stage and an additional French team. When the new deal kicks in, Canal+ will show 550 matches per season.

France requires the event to also be shown on free-to-air television. M6 will replace TF1 in that capacity in 2024 at a reported cost under $4.2 million per season.

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Implementing NFTs With The Chicago Bulls

One of the most well-known use cases of blockchain technology [[link removed]] as it relates to sports are NFTs. Online marketplaces such as NBA Top Shot – where you can own and trade officially licensed NBA and WNBA NFTs – have gained popularity in the last two years.

However, there is so much more to the world of sports NFTs – they allow organizations to create unique partnership opportunities and fan experiences, and they even allow fans to create and grow teams and leagues of their own in the metaverse.

Learn more about NFTs in the Field of Sports in Lesson 4 of Crypto in Sports Essentials [[link removed]], where Liam Killingstadt, Director of Insights at Front Office Sports, sits down with Dan Moriarty of the Chicago Bulls to discuss all this and more.

Sign up [[link removed]] for the course today.

NHL Scores Licensing Deal with Mitchell & Ness [[link removed]]

NHL

The NHL has secured a deal with Mitchell & Ness that will see the two entities collaborate on licensed apparel and accessories.

“Mitchell & Ness is at the cross-section of fashion, streetwear, culture, and authenticity, which is a sweet spot for hockey fans,” said NHL CBO and senior executive VP Brian Jennings.

No terms of the deal have been disclosed.It covers all 32 NHL franchises.Michell & Ness has also signed deals with the NHLPA and NHL Alumni Association.The first collection of products will be available in November 2022.

The vintage sports jersey maker was acquired [[link removed]] by Fanatics and several high-profile investors in February in a deal valued at $250 million — five times the amount Adidas sold it for to Juggernaut Capital Partners in 2016.

Investors in the acquisition included entrepreneur Maverick Carter, rappers Jay-Z, Meek Mill, and Lil Baby, and the TikTok-famous D’Amelio family. The consortium of investors own 25% of Mitchell & Ness, while the remaining stake is held by Fanatics — which is valued [[link removed]] at $27 billion.

Perfect Timing

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman claims the league is set to generate [[link removed]] a record $5.2 billion in revenue for the 2021-22 season, which concluded last week when the Colorado Avalanche defeated Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final.

As a result, the league has raised [[link removed]] its salary cap for the 2022-23 season to $82.5 million, marking the first increase in three years.

On Location, IMG Events Group Merge in Latest Endeavor [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Endeavor Group Holdings is condensing two of its biggest divisions.

On Location — Endeavor’s sports, music ticketing, and hospitality business — is merging [[link removed]] with talent agency IMG’s event group.

Endeavor acquired On Location in 2020 for $660 million. The firm has more than 150 rights-holders.

On Location is the NFL’s hospitality partner, which includes work on Super Bowl events. This year’s Super Bowl offering generated the largest revenue on record for On Location, according to Endeavor president Mark Shapiro.It also includes the PGA, NCAA, and UFC as clients and is a hospitality provider for the Olympics in Paris, Milan, and Los Angeles.

On Location sits within Endeavor’s events, experiences, and rights division — the company’s largest — which reported [[link removed]] $825.8 million in first-quarter revenue. In comparison, Endeavor’s representation division had $357.3 million in revenue.

Endeavor acquired [[link removed]] IMG in 2014 for $2.3 billion. IMG’s roster includes [[link removed]] the Rugby World Cup, Madrid Open, and SailGP.

Job Adjustments

Paul Caine, previously On Location’s president, will serve as president of the new subsidiary. Jon Lavallee will take over as the subsidiary’s chief financial officer. Lavallee was CFO of On Location after the company acquired PrimeSport in 2017, where he served as chief operating officer.

No layoffs are expected as part of the merger.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS LIVE

In Case You Missed It

Last week, Front Office Sports held a virtual summit [[link removed]] to celebrate 50 years since the passing of Title IX in 1972. The event featured intimate conversations with some of the most influential female athletes and business leaders, including:

What It Means to Be Bold and Brave with Allyson Felix – Olympian, Activist and Entrepreneur NIL and the Road to Equity for Women in College Sports with Jade-Li English of Klutch Sports Group Trailblazing Pros on Breaking Barriers with WWE Superstar Bianca Belair, Four-time Olympian, and Co-Founder/CEO of Sports Innovation Lab Angela Ruggiero The Collegiate Athlete Experience with UCLA’s Reilyn Turner In the Huddle with Bucs’ Coach Lo

Couldn’t make it? Register here [[link removed]] to access the replay.

Conversation Starters The NFL announced [[link removed]] a new partnership with Ice Cube’s Contract with Black America Institute, an initiative focused on economic inclusion for minority groups. Logan Paul, who made his professional wrestling debut at Wrestlemania in April, has signed [[link removed]] with WWE. Formula 1’s Las Vegas race in November 2023 will be what Steve Hill, CEO and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, described [[link removed]] to Front Office Sports as “the most difficult kind of event we could think about putting on.” Wembley Stadium’s booking.com Pitch View Penthouse package, which includes a tour of the stadium, pitch-side breakfast, and a view of the game from a private box, will be available [[link removed]] for the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 final. Today's Action

MLB

07:10 PM

Yankees (-210) at Guardians (+180)

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MLB

06:05 PM

Marlins (+105) at Nationals (-125)

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MLB

08:10 PM

Orioles (+180) at Twins (-210)

Bet Now [[link removed]]

*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See [[link removed]] for details.

Question Of The Day

Have you purchased from Fanatics in the last three months?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]]

Thursday’s Answer

33% of respondents would attend USFL games if they were closer.

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

Written by Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Justin Byers [[link removed]], Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Brian Krikorian [[link removed]]

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