July 19, 2022

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Have you checked out Front Office Sports’ podcast The Leadoff? In today’s edition, we cover Disney’s $9 billion ad boost at upfronts — thanks mostly to ESPN — plus other important stories in the business of sports. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. 🎧

Irish Eyeing $75M Annually to Remain Independent [[link removed]]

South Bend Tribune-USA TODAY Sports

The Fighting Irish are hoping to stay a solo act.

Amid rumors that the school could establish a long-term relationship with a Power 5 conference, Notre Dame is instead looking [[link removed]] for a significant bump in its next media deal, according to CBS Sports.

Notre Dame is reportedly seeking $75 million annually from NBC. The university is currently taking in $22 million per year from the network. The long-term deal averages $15 million per year, but is back-loaded with the more expensive years at the end of the contract.The deal expires in 2025.

NBC is seeking rights for Power 5 conference games adjacent to Notre Dame’s on the college football schedule before committing to the school’s target valuation. The Big 12 and Big Ten have both emerged as potential targets for NBC.

The Big Ten also represents an alternate path for Notre Dame. The conference’s next media rights deal could top $1 billion, with $80 million to $100 million distributed to member schools each year.

Merger Muddled

The Big 12 and Pac-12 have reportedly [[link removed]] ended talks about a potential merger. A source within the Big 12 told ESPN that a deal didn’t make sense for a number of reasons, including limited new revenue opportunities.

The two conferences discussed pooling media rights, coordinating on scheduling, or combining into a single conference.

Judge Authorizes Effort to Block $1.3B AC Milan Sale [[link removed]]

AC Milan

A minority investor in AC Milan has been authorized to obtain documents as it attempts to block the sale of the Italian soccer club to private investment firm RedBird Capital Partners.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla has authorized [[link removed]] Blue Skye Financial Partners, which owns a 4.3% stake in Milan, to obtain a “limited” number of documents to use in a Luxembourg court.

Blue Skye claims Elliot Management — Milan’s majority shareholder since 2018 — held talks [[link removed]] “behind closed doors” about the potential sale of Milan to New York-based RedBird Capital.

In May, Red Bird Capital — which has $6 billion in assets under management — agreed [[link removed]] to purchase Milan from Elliot in a deal valued at $1.3 billion. Blue Skye’s claims are a breach of minority rights, and the firm hopes to prove Elliot “operated with malice or deceit.”

Despite the potential scrutiny, Elliot has vowed to cooperate with the request and provide everything that is owed in defense of Blue Skye’s “frivolous and vexatious” claims.

Elliot has invested as much as $838 million into the top-flight club since 2018, per [[link removed]] Bloomberg.

On-Pitch Success

The 14th-most valuable [[link removed]] soccer club in the world, Milan won its 19th Serie A title in the 2021-22 season and has generated $257 million in revenue in 2022, up from $165 million in 2021.

Last month, the club extended its kit sponsorship deal with sportswear brand Puma. The Germany-based company will pay [[link removed]] Milan $31.5 million annually over five years.

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NIL A Year Later

It’s been over a year since the NCAA agreed to allow its athletes to profit off of their name, image, and likeness (NIL). This landmark ruling, in turn, completely upended the business of college sports for athletes, schools, agents and marketers.

Join Front Office Sports tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET for an inside look at the NIL landscape a year later — and what’s next for college sports, athletes and brands. The virtual event [[link removed]], sponsored by Nielsen, will cover:

Keys to building a successful partnership, including lessons learned and what the future holds. How schools and athletic departments fit into the equation and benefit from NIL. What’s Next for NIL and how to safely connect student athletes to opportunities with brands.

Grab your spot and register [[link removed]] now!

Private Equity Firms Acquire Action Sports Platform in $300M Deal [[link removed]]

Thrill One

Private equity firms Juggernaut Capital Partners and Fiume Capital have acquired action sports platform Thrill One Sports & Entertainment for $300 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The deal [[link removed]] features investments from UFC president Dana White, television producer Craig Piligian, and the Dyrdek Machine — a venture creation studio backed by TV personality and former pro skateboarder Rob Dyrdek.

Financing will be provided by Prudential Private Capital.

Thrill One will host more than 70 events with more than 100 hours of live sports in 2022.It has a portfolio that includes Nitro Circus, Nitro Rallycross, and Street League Skateboarding.The platform will also produce over 300 episodes of linear TV in 2022.It has more than 40 million followers across its social media channels.

Fiume and Juggernaut have already established a relationship through their co-ownership of 3Step Sports, a youth sports ecosystem that serves more than 3.2 million athletes in the U.S.

Investment in Motorsports

Thrill One has an opportunity to take advantage of the growing interest in motorsports.

The company is making investments in its Nitro Rallycross property, which features short, action-packed races on custom-built courses. The sport mounted its first U.S. tour in 2021, followed by a global tour for the 2022-23 season that began in June and runs through March 2023.

Thrill One has invested more than $3 million in developing Nitro Rallycross, sources told [[link removed]] FOS.

Conversation Starters On Tuesday, Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto won [[link removed]] the 2022 MLB Home Run Derby just days after reportedly turning down a 15-year, $440 million extension from the Nationals. Brands poured [[link removed]] more cash into NFTs and trading cards than any other segment of NIL activity, comprising more than 17% of the market, per Opendorse. The Oakland A’s were set to send their lone All-Star — pitcher Paul Blackburn — to the MLB All-Star Game in Los Angeles on a commercial flight, but when the Houston Astros heard of his travel plans, they offered [[link removed]] Blackburn a ride with their All-Stars on the team’s charter plane.

SPONSORED BY SHOPIFY

Listen Now: Your Daily Rundown in 5 Minutes

What’s better than your morning coffee? Morning coffee accompanied by the most important stories across the business of sports.

Catch up in five minutes on the news and trends that matter, every weekday morning, with The Leadoff – presented by Shopify [[link removed]].

Shopify gives entrepreneurs the resources once reserved for big business – so start-ups and established businesses alike can sell everywhere, synchronize sales, and effortlessly stay informed. Now, you can also stay up-to-date with the latest news in all things sports.

Check it out on Spotify [[link removed]], Google Podcasts [[link removed]], or Apple Podcasts [[link removed]]. Start listening to The Leadoff today.

Market Movers

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

WWE [[link removed]]

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$64.46

[[link removed]]

+0.11%

[[link removed]] SBGI [[link removed]]

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$22.08

[[link removed]]

+0.36%

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

Boyd Gaming Corp.

[[link removed]]

$54.50

[[link removed]]

+1.17%

[[link removed]] GCO [[link removed]]

Genesco Inc.

[[link removed]]

$57.84

[[link removed]]

+3.30%

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

Under Armour Inc

[[link removed]]

$7.86

[[link removed]]

+4.38%

[[link removed]] FL [[link removed]]

Foot Locker Inc

[[link removed]]

$26.92

[[link removed]]

+4.75%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 7/19/22) What to Watch

Watch the best baseball players in the world compete in the 2022 MLB All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

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

Betting Odds: American League -1.5 || ML -105 || O/U 7.5

Pick: Expect the National League to turn heads. Take the NL on the moneyline.

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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

Front Office Sports Learning [[link removed]] - Professional education at the speed of culture

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