July 18, 2022

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Get ready for The C-Suite, a new LinkedIn Live interview series from Front Office Sports. Every week, FOS Chief Content Officer Lisa Granatstein sits down with leaders who are changing culture and driving the business of sports. Tune in for the first conversation [[link removed]] Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET. See below for more details.

California Could Attempt to Block UCLA’s Move to Big Ten [[link removed]]

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY NETWORK

The state of California may try to keep UCLA in the Pac-12.

The school plans to leave for the Big Ten in 2024, along with longtime rival USC, but didn’t provide advance notice to the University of California Board of Regents, which governs the University of California school system.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who chairs the Board of Regents, said that the state is looking into legal action related to UCLA’s departure.

Newsom said the state was investigating potential actions it could take within “minutes of reading about [UCLA leaving for the Big Ten] in the newspaper.”The Board of Regents plans [[link removed]] to meet to discuss potential litigation — and the possibility that the Board itself could be the subject of legal action due to UCLA’s departure.UCLA likely did not require formal approval by the Board of Regents and reportedly had support for the move among some members.

UCLA’s departure could also be damaging to the University of California, Berkeley.

Big Draw

Should UCLA complete its move to the Big Ten, the move could be a very profitable one. One source told [[link removed]] Front Office Sports that the addition of UCLA and USC could increase the conference’s $1 billion media rights by 10% to 25%.

The two schools could also raise ticket prices by 25% to 30%.

MLB Agrees to $185M Settlement with Minor Leaguers [[link removed]]

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Change is coming to baseball’s minor leagues.

MLB agreed [[link removed]] to a $185 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed in 2014, which alleged that the league violated minimum wage laws in California, Arizona, and Florida, as well as overtime laws in California.

The settlement also prohibits MLB from preventing teams from paying minor leaguers during spring training, extended spring training, and instructional league play. MLB had previously blocked teams from paying players during those periods.The plaintiff class of roughly 23,000 members will receive only around $5,000 to $5,500 each. The players will divide $120.2 million, with the remainder going to attorneys’ fees and other costs.

The settlement was agreed to on May 10 and must still be approved by a judge.

Most minor leaguers make between $4,800 and $14,700 annually, and are only paid during the regular season and playoffs.

MLB will determine [[link removed]] new compensation rules unilaterally, as minor leaguers are not unionized and cannot collectively bargain.

Antitrust Exemption Inspection

MLB’s treatment of minor leaguers has drawn the attention of Congress, particularly after the league reduced the minor leagues from 162 teams to 120 in 2020.

On June 28, four senators from the Judiciary Committee wrote a letter to Advocates for Minor Leaguers executive director Harry Marino, asking how the century-old exemption impacts the game.

The Department of Justice asked [[link removed]] a New York court to define the exemption narrowly in a suit brought by the 43 contracted teams.

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This week, MOGL announced revolutionary university solutions offering marketplace, compliance, and education capabilities for partner institutions through a program called MOGL Monetize™ [[link removed]]. The company is currently formalizing initial partnerships with universities.

MOGL is minority-founded and led by Notre Dame classmates Ayden Syal and one of this year’s Rising 25 winners, former Notre Dame QB, Brandon Wimbush. The platform is free to join and committed to supporting all athletes as they navigate this new era in collegiate athletics.

What’s more? MOGL has pledged to donate profits to Every Kid Sports to support the next generation of athletes.

Learn more [[link removed]].

Aston Martin to Raise $777M with Help of Saudi PIF [[link removed]]

David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

Aston Martin has received an investment from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, part of a $777.5 million raise to help the car brand that returned to Formula 1 last year alleviate debt.

The luxury carmaker is raising [[link removed]] fresh capital to revive its image as a brand — after approaching bankruptcy — with investments in electronic tech, the development of new models, and F1.

The Saudis’ Public Investment Fund is investing roughly $93 million.It will also take part in a $687 million rights issue.The transactions will make the wealth fund Aston Martin’s second-largest shareholder.Mercedes-Benz will also contribute $67 million to the raise.

Aston Martin will use up to half of the capital raised to pay down debt, which incurs roughly $155 million in interest a year. The public limited company reported [[link removed]] an operating loss of $57 million in Q1 2022, up from a loss of $18 million for the same period a year prior.

Its market value reached $517 million last week, down substantially from $2 billion at the start of 2022.

New Home

Aston Martin’s F1 team — backed by billionaire Lawrence Stroll, who became the brand’s executive chairman after leading a $235.6 million investment in 2020 — is building a new manufacturing and racing facility [[link removed]] in England slated to open by late 2023.

Billed as F1’s first “smart” facility, the complex will cost between $207 million and $276 million.

The 400,000-square-foot campus will house Aston Martin’s entire manufacturing system.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, the Premier League saw its clubs lose a combined $1.2 billion, commissioners cashed in despite pay cuts during the pandemic, the United Soccer League adds two teams, and Viaplay looks to acquire Premier Sports. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. For what is believed to be the first [[link removed]] time in MLB history, four of the top five 2022 MLB Draft picks are Black. Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto turned down [[link removed]] a record-breaking 15-year, $440 million extension, according to The Athletic. If Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson receives a full-year suspension, he and the NFLPA have made the decision to file [[link removed]] a lawsuit against the NFL, per Yahoo! Sports.

SPONSORED BY LINKEDIN

New Interview Series

Front Office Sports presents The C-Suite, a weekly LinkedIn Live interview series where Chief Content Officer Lisa Granatstein sits down with sports leaders who are driving global business and changing culture.

The series kicks off on Tuesday, July 19 [[link removed]] with Amy Choyne , [[link removed]] Chief Brand Officer of the United States Tennis Association. Get the latest on next month’s eagerly anticipated US Open, the USTA’s plans to grow its business, and the challenges and changes impacting tennis.

Join the conversation Tuesdays at 1 p.m. ET. Future events include:

Karin Timpone, EVP, Chief Marketing Officer, MLB (July 26) Tim Ellis, EVP, Chief Marketing Officer, NFL (Aug. 2) Jessica Berman, Commissioner, NWSL (Aug. 6)

Visit Front Office Sports’ Upcoming Events [[link removed]] page to attend and be notified when events go live.

Market Movers

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

LYV [[link removed]]

Live Nation Entertainment Inc

[[link removed]]

$86.09

[[link removed]]

+0.37%

[[link removed]] SIRI [[link removed]]

Sirius XM Holdings Inc

[[link removed]]

$6.36

[[link removed]]

-0.31%

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

Walt Disney Co (The)

[[link removed]]

$95.90

[[link removed]]

-0.41%

[[link removed]] LSXMK [[link removed]]

Liberty Media Corp.

[[link removed]]

$36.67

[[link removed]]

-0.62%

[[link removed]] MTN [[link removed]]

Vail Resorts Inc.

[[link removed]]

$217.92

[[link removed]]

-0.67%

[[link removed]] UA [[link removed]]

Under Armour Inc

[[link removed]]

$7.44

[[link removed]]

-2.36%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 7/18/22) What to Watch

Watch the best hitters in baseball compete in the 2022 MLB Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

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

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

MORE FROM FRONT OFFICE SPORTS:

The Leadoff [[link removed]] - Daily business of sports podcast

Front Office Sports Pro [[link removed]] - The most promising opportunities where sports meets industry

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