EA Sports is the maker of the most successful sports video game series in history. Now, it will lend its name to real-life competitions.

On Tuesday, the company struck a deal with La Liga to become the Spanish soccer league’s naming partner, beginning in the 2023-24 season, replacing Spanish bank Santander.

• The deal is reportedly for five years at nearly $30.5 million annually, per Marca. EA Sports already pays that amount to La Liga for licensing rights connected to its gaming properties.
• La Liga’s name, logo, graphics, and other visual elements will be rebranded to include EA Sports.

Electronic Arts and FIFA are not renewing their long-term partnership after this season. EA instead will follow “FIFA 23” with “EA Sports FC.” In addition to La Liga, the company has licensing deals with the Premier League, MLS, and Bundesliga.

EA’s Ultimate Team offerings, which include its FIFA, Madden, and NHL franchises, brought in $1.6 billion in revenue in FY 2021, 29% of the company’s total revenue.

Strong EArnings

On Tuesday, Electronic Arts posted $1.8 billion in revenue for its fiscal Q1 2023, which ended June 30, a 13.9% year-over-year increase. Full-year growth was even stronger, with EA’s $7.2 billion representing a 26% increase from FY2021.

“FIFA Ultimate Team” engagement was up close to 40% year-over-year during the quarter.

“Our FIFA franchise and the successful launch of F1 drove our net bookings outperformance, delivering another quarter ahead of expectations,” said CFO Chris Suh.

Big 5 Sporting Goods reported $253.8 million in second-quarter revenue, a sharp decline from the $326 million reported the same period the year prior. 

The company reported $8.9 million in net income, a fraction of the record $36.8 million it recorded in the second quarter of 2021. When compared to pre-pandemic second quarters, it was the company’s highest Q2 net income in history.

Gross profit fell from $126.9 million in Q2FY2021 to $88.9 million. Same-store sales dropped 22.3% year-over-year but increased 3.9% from the second quarter of 2019.

• Big 5 currently operates 431 stores.
• During the fiscal year, the company plans to open three stores and close two stores, including one relocation.

“In a challenging retail climate, we achieved earnings that were within our guidance range and higher than in any pre-pandemic second quarter, despite being softer than anticipated in the face of macroeconomic headwinds that accelerated over the course of the quarter,” Big 5 chairman, president, and CEO Steven G. Miller said.

Spiral in Sporting Goods

Big 5’s report follows the downward trend of other sporting goods retailers. 

In June, Academy Sports + Outdoors reported $1.47 billion in first-quarter net sales, a 7.1% year-over-year decline. In May, Dick’s Sporting Goods reported $2.7 billion in first-quarter revenue, falling from $2.92 billion in Q12021.

The college sports landscape has been completely upended in the last two years — and those in the industry predict much more upheaval to come.

Player compensation is expected to reshape the conference landscape.

• 54% of more than 200 coaches, players, and administrators surveyed by ESPN said that college athletes would be compensated directly within the next five years, with 82% saying it would happen within 10 years. 
• 98% said that further conference realignment is on the way.
• Close to 60% said that college football should break from the NCAA and form its own system of oversight.

“[The NCAA] decided 20 years ago to fight at all costs compensation for athletes under any circumstances,” said attorney Michael Caspino of Forward Counsel last week. “They lost. Now we’re in havoc.”

College football, according to 58% of respondents, is headed toward a world in which conferences are split into ones that pay their players and ones that don’t.

Wealth Transfer

While NCAA rules prohibit paying players and using NIL as a recruiting inducement, nearly 80% of respondents said that NIL payments are being used for exactly that. Most also said that the transfer portal has essentially become a free-agency system.

Respondents were split on whether the current transfer system presents serious issues, but around 70% said that players should be able to transfer once without penalty within a specified time period.

Editor’s note: For more on this story, click here.

McLaren is tapping into the fashion market with the debut of its first athletic footwear line, HySpeed. 

The British luxury carmaker is entering the $3 trillion fashion market to expand its reach and attract more consumers behind the growing popularity of its Formula 1 racing team.  

• McLaren worked with shoe label Athletic Propulsion Labs on the collection.
• The line of running-based shoes is available in five colors at a retail price of $450.
• McLaren and APL have been developing the HySpeed line for two years.
• The shoes are designed with elements that mirror McLaren’s cars, including carbon fiber plates. 

The HySpeed line will be available in select online and brick-and-mortar stores across the world. 

APL’s store in Los Angeles will carry the collection, as will Italian retailer LUISAVIAROMA, online marketplace Net-A-Porter, Hong Kong’s Pedder Group, and Level Shoes — a luxury retailer based in Dubai.

McLaren’s launch of its first line of footwear follows a deal with K-Swiss earlier this month, making the shoe brand a partner of McLaren Racing starting in 2023. 

K-Swiss and McLaren will collaborate on a line of performance-based shoes that will be worn by McLaren’s F1 pit crew and engineers. The two parties will also deliver activations at key races. 

Investment 

McLaren, which is on pace toward profitability, is also investing in IndyCar — the highest class of open-wheel single-seat racing in North America.

The carmaker, which reentered IndyCar in 2020 after a 40-year absence, plans to build a $25 million IndyCar facility in Indiana.