July 22, 2022

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Turns out Drew Brees was serious [[link removed]] about America’s fastest-growing sport. After the former Saints QB’s stint with NBC didn’t pan out, Brees joked that he might “join the pickleball tour.” Now he’s part-owner of a Major League Pickleball franchise, Austin’s Mad Drops Pickleball Club.

NFL ‘Overwhelmed’ by International Ticket Demand [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL is making progress on its mission to expand its international business to $1 billion over the next 10 years.

The league says [[link removed]] it’s been “overwhelmed” by ticket demand for its first regular-season game in Germany on Nov. 13 between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks.

More than 770,000 people simultaneously accessed the site when tickets went on sale Tuesday. Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena — where the game will be played — says [[link removed]] it has 75,024 seats during national games, but a capacity of 70,000 for international ones.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London hosted two games last October, collectively attracting more than 120,000 fans.Two more games will be played at Tottenham’s stadium this October. Another will take place at Wembley stadium.

“Tom Brady and the Bucs facing the Seahawks in November will be the biggest sporting event in Germany in 2022,” an NFL spokesperson said.

Across the Globe

The NFL has made a number of other moves to aid its overseas expansion. In April, the league assigned [[link removed]] general managers to the U.K. and Australia — the league’s first-on-the-ground presence in the country. In December, teams received approval to market and commercialize in 26 International Home Marketing Areas across eight countries.

The NFL currently counts 150 million international fans, with plans to add 50 million more in the next decade.

MLS Eyes Reduced Linear Rights After Huge Streaming Deal [[link removed]]

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Major League Soccer made a huge splash with its streaming rights deal, but the pact will reportedly eat into what it can make on its next linear rights deal.

The U.S. soccer league turned heads last month with its 10-year deal with Apple for $250 million per season.

But the hidden cost [[link removed]], according to sources who spoke with Forbes, is that the league can no longer offer exclusive rights to its linear broadcasters.

ESPN is reportedly offering around $40 million over four years.Current rights holder Fox Sports is interested in keeping MLS, but has only offered $7 million per season.Spanish-language rights holder Univision could retain those rights. The network is paying $15 million per season for MLS.

ESPN and Fox Sports currently pay a combined $75 million per season. Around $25 million of its total rights haul went to the US Soccer Federation.

Betting on Betting

MLS has also tapped into the growing sports betting industry, agreeing [[link removed]] to a reported $270 million deal with Endeavor’s sports betting data service IMG Arena earlier this month.

Team values are on the rise as well. In June, the Seattle Sounders sold a 3-5% stake in the team at a reported value of $680 million — a price that may have been a discount, since the deal didn’t come with any team control.

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Tepper Drops Another Project, Pulls Out of Charlotte FC Development [[link removed]]

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Things are not business as usual at Tepper Sports & Entertainment.

The owners of the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC have pulled out of a public-private partnership at Charlotte’s Eastland Mall.

The company was slated to build a headquarters and training facility for Charlotte FC, the club’s academy and its MLS Next Pro team.

A TSE spokesperson told Front Office Sports that “the timeline for the Eastland project posed challenges that led us to research expedited alternatives.”He added that TSE continues “to have discussions with the city of Charlotte.”TSE was to oversee the development of 20 acres within the mall.

The Eastland Mall project will proceed in redeveloping the site with retail, restaurants, commercial, and residential buildings.

Trouble in Tepper Land

TSE has faced a number of recent challenges, particularly related to a planned $800 million facility that was to house fields, a 5,000-capacity stadium, and indoor practice center.

TSE pulled the plug on the project [[link removed]] after David Tepper’s real estate company, GT Real Estate, filed for bankruptcy. GT Real Estate had already invested $170 million in the facility, and York County chipped in $21 million. The county is now seeking to be reimbursed.

The company has also seen two high-profile executives depart recently. CEO Nick Kelly left [[link removed]] in May after only three months on the job, and this week COO Mark Hart followed him out the door.

Elysian Park Ventures Makes Golf Play [[link removed]]

Scott Taetsch/USA TODAY Sports

The investment branch of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ ownership group and PGA of America have teamed up for a venture to spur innovation in the $84 billion golf industry.

Elysian Park Ventures and PGA of America have already used the EP Golf Ventures partnership that was announced Wednesday to invest in AI swing-analysis company Sportsbox and mobile golf simulation firm Dryvebox.

Financial terms of those investments, as well as how much money Elysian Park Ventures and the PGA seek to dedicate to the partnership, were not disclosed.

The PGA of America partnership is the latest “future of sports” play for Elysian Park Ventures.

Elysian Park Ventures was part [[link removed]] of a $11.5 million Series A funding round for Fittr, a fitness and nutrition platform, in September 2021. In April, it teamed up with Billie Jean King Enterprises, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and R/GA Ventures to launch [[link removed]] Trailblazer Venture Studio, a sports and women-focused studio.Elysian Park Ventures’ other investments include SeatGeek, the Professional Fighters League, and DraftKings.

PGA of America — which has nearly 28,000 members composed of coaches and others who seek to grow golf in the U.S. — has been run separately from the PGA Tour since 1968.

Nurturing Golf Innovations

“Through EP Golf Ventures, we will be able to identify and invest in the most promising businesses within the golf industry to support both innovation and the growth of the game, as well as create long-term value for PGA Professionals,” PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh said.

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Conversation Starters On a new episode of our My Other Passion podcast, Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams tells us how the team is getting ready for next season, which investments in his portfolio he’s most excited about, and what it’s like going head to head with Draymond Green. Listen to the full episode on Apple [[link removed]], Spotify [[link removed]], or YouTube [[link removed]]. WHOOP launched a round of layoffs [[link removed]] Thursday that led to the elimination of 15% of its workforce. The wearable technology company’s high-tech fitness tracker has been embraced by world-class athletes like Patrick Mahomes and Michael Phelps. WHOOP had a valuation of $3.6 billion after its last funding round was completed nearly a year ago. Kyler Murray and the Cardinals agreed [[link removed]] to a five-year, $230.5 million deal – the second-most guaranteed money in the NFL. 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. Tune in [[link removed]] on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. ET.*

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Today's Action

MLB

07:05 PM

Cubs (+110) at Phillies (-130)

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MLB

06:40 PM

Cardinals (-150) at Reds (+130)

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MLB

09:40 PM

Rangers (-115) at Athletics (-105)

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*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

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

Question Of The Day

Are you interested in attending an international NFL game?

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Thursday’s Answer

30% of subscribers said they will subscribe to NFL+.

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Written by Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]], Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], A.J. Perez [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Brian Krikorian [[link removed]]

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