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 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 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%.

Change is coming to baseball’s minor leagues.

MLB agreed 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 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 a New York court to define the exemption narrowly in a suit brought by the 43 contracted teams.

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 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 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 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.