July 25, 2022

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Have you checked out Front Office Sports’ podcast The Leadoff? In today’s edition, we tackle FanDuel plunging deeper into sports media, the PGA Tour’s growing concern about LIV Golf, and more important stories in the business of sports. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. 🎧

Google Competes with Amazon, Apple for NFL Sunday Ticket [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Amazon and Apple are beginning to make a name for themselves in live sports, and another tech giant doesn’t want to be left behind.

Google has reportedly [[link removed]] offered a bid from YouTube for rights to NFL Sunday Ticket beginning in 2023, a package that is set to fetch more than the $1.65 billion Google paid [[link removed].] for the platform in 2006.

The New York Times reports that the league is looking for $2.5 billion annually, a generous hike from the $1.5 billion DirecTV pays each year under the league’s current deal.

DirecTV, which charges $294 annually, will not bid on Sunday Ticket, but would reportedly [[link removed].] be interested in a deal with the winning buyer to retain customers.Fewer than 2 million subscribers sign up for DirecTV’s package each year. The company has been losing as much as $500 million annually from the package alone.

Google has some tough competition. Apple, which recently secured [[link removed]] exclusive rights to MLS for more than $2.5 billion, and Amazon, which already has rights worth [[link removed]] $1 billion per season to “Thursday Night Football,” are also reportedly bidding for the Sunday Ticket.

NFL’s Negotiations

Apple is reportedly the current front-runner — at least for now. Brian Rolapp, the NFL’s chief media and business officer, says the league still has “a ways to go in the process,” with the deal expected to be finalized in the coming months.

On Monday, the league launched [[link removed]] its own streaming service — NFL+ — for $4.99 per month.

Red Sox Reportedly Strike $170M Jersey Patch Deal [[link removed]]

Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox are sliding in the standings, but their brand is as valuable as ever.

The team reportedly agreed [[link removed]] to MLB’s largest jersey patch deal to date with Massachusetts-based bank MassMutual.

The pact is reportedly for 10 years at a base rate of $17 million per year. The deal could reach $20 million annually based on performance metrics. The deal nearly doubles the annual rate of the league’s only other patch deal, a four-year, $28-million agreement between Motorola and the San Diego Padres.MassMutual also has a sponsorship deal with the NHL.

MLB opened the door to jersey patch sponsorships in the collective bargaining agreement agreed to in March, following a 99-day lockout.

New York, New York

The Red Sox deal sets a new bar for jersey patch deals, with several high-profile teams still negotiating deals.

The New York Mets are seeking a $25 million deal, according to a source that spoke with Sports Business Journal. The New York Yankees, the league’s most valuable team at $6 billion, per Forbes, has hired consulting company Legends to negotiate a deal.

Last year, MLB struck a deal with crypto exchange FTX that included a jersey patch on umpire uniforms.

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XFL Announces Home Cities for All 8 Teams [[link removed]]

Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports

The XFL is hoping the third time really is the charm as it unveiled new homes for its teams.

The revamped league announced [[link removed]] the cities and corresponding coaches [[link removed]] for teams in those locations for its second relaunch.

Those cities [[link removed]] and corresponding coaches are Arlington, Texas (Bob Stoops), Houston (Wade Phillips), Orlando (Terrell Buckley), Las Vegas (Rod Woodson), San Antonio (Hines Ward), Seattle (Jim Haslett), St. Louis (Anthony Becht), and Washington, D.C. (Reggie Barlow).

The teams’ names have yet to be announced. The season kicks off on Feb. 18, 2023.

Of the eight locations, five — Arlington, Houston, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. — played home to XFL franchises in the league’s original 2020 reboot.

The other three — Orlando, Las Vegas, and San Antonio — will replace teams that played in Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, and Tampa Bay in 2020.

Notably, the newest iteration of the league features three teams based in Texas — and none based in New York, New Jersey, or California.

Arlington will serve [[link removed]] as the league’s football operations hub.Choctaw Stadium — Arlington’s home field — will also be Houston’s practice facility.The remaining franchises will practice on fields in the metroplex before traveling to markets for games.

The XFL will also provide a centralized performance center and host preseason training camps in Arlington.

Multiyear Deal with the Mouse

In May, the XFL struck [[link removed]] a multiyear deal with Disney to show all 43 games on the media giant’s family of channels — including ABC, ESPN networks, and FX.

FX doesn’t regularly show live sports programming, but most recently aired UFC 242 prelims on Disney’s behalf in 2019.

Conversation Starters Front Office Sports sat down with Gil Moran, the NFL’s vice president of business strategy and operations, to discuss [[link removed]] NFL+, a direct-to-consumer streaming service. The University of Houston has received [[link removed]] an anonymous $10 million gift for a future Football Development Center. Jason Benetti — the play-by-play voice of NBC Sports Chicago’s White Sox broadcasts — will join [[link removed]] Fox Sports’ college football broadcast team.

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At the Top of Their Game

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.

This week the series continues on Tuesday, July 26 [[link removed]] with Karin Timpone, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Major League Baseball. Get the inside scoop on what it takes to pull off an All-Star Game, MLB’s growth strategy and the challenges and changes impacting baseball.

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

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 were mixed on Monday. Here’s a look at how sports-related stocks performed:

LYV [[link removed]]

Live Nation Entertainment Inc

[[link removed]]

$92.31

[[link removed]]

+1.07%

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

Walt Disney Co (The)

[[link removed]]

$102.73

[[link removed]]

-0.16%

[[link removed]] FOX [[link removed]]

Fox Corporation

[[link removed]]

$32.67

[[link removed]]

-0.24%

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

Vail Resorts Inc.

[[link removed]]

$231.74

[[link removed]]

-0.79%

[[link removed]] ELY [[link removed]]

Callaway Golf Co.

[[link removed]]

$21.97

[[link removed]]

-1.83%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 7/25/22) What to Watch

The Las Vegas Aces face the Chicago Sky on Monday night at Wintrust Arena for the WNBA’s Commissioner’s Cup Championship.

How to Watch: 8:30 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime Video

Betting Odds: Sky -1.5 || ML -125 || O/U 168.5

Pick: Expect the Aces to keep things close. Take Las Vegas to cover.

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Written by Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]], Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Doug Greenberg [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]]

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

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