September 2, 2022

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New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees is giving back [[link removed]] in a big way to his alma mater, Purdue. Brees is the latest board member of a name, image, and likeness collective called The Boilermaker Alliance that, with his help, will offer NIL deals to each of the school’s 385 athletes.

College Football Playoff To Expand To 12 Teams In 2026 [[link removed]]

The Indianapolis Star

The College Football Playoff Board of Managers, a group of FBS university presidents, has voted to expand the CFP from four to 12 teams.

The expansion is set for 2026, after ESPN’s current contract for the CFP expires.

The new format will be made up of the six highest-ranked conference champions and six at-large selections after a vote from the board.The four highest-ranked champions will be granted a first-round bye.

The four-team model was the precedent for ESPN’s exclusive CFP contract, which reportedly [[link removed]] pays out an average of $470 million a year.

ESPN is definitely interested in renewing CFP rights, a source previously told [[link removed]] Front Office Sports. Previous discussions of adding expansion to the existing contract in 2024 would have created an extra windfall of $450 million, per SI.

The news also comes amid whispers that a Power 5 or FBS football breakaway from the NCAA might be more probable than ever.

Playoff Process

The next step will be for commissioners to figure out the granular details — a process that will likely begin during their next meeting, which is reportedly next week.

Conference realignment created bad blood between the commissioners, but ultimately the presidents appear to have found common ground.

Lululemon Raises Outlook As Revenue Soars [[link removed]]

Ajay Suresh

Lululemon reported a 29% year-over-year increase in second-quarter revenue to $1.87 billion, surpassing analysts’ estimates of $1.77 billion. Net income reached $289.5 million.

Compared to the second quarter of 2019, revenue ballooned [[link removed]] 112%, or $1 billion.

Lululemon’s revenue increases stretched across the company.

The company’s North American revenue jumped 28%, and international revenue spiked 35%.Direct-to-consumer revenue increased more than 30% — representing 42% of total net revenue — with comparable store sales increasing over 16%.

Lululemon opened 21 company-operated stores during the quarter, totaling 600 stores, and reported growth in every country that has an active store. Executives said [[link removed]] on Thursday’s earnings call that store traffic increased 30%, while ecommerce jumped 40%.

The company ended the quarter with $1.5 billion in inventories, an 85% increase from last year.

Looking Ahead

Lululemon’s loyalty program, which was announced [[link removed]] at the end of Q1, is launching this fall. It has a free tier and a paid tier at $39 per month that gives members access to product drops and exclusive items.

In July, Lululemon announced [[link removed]] plans to open two stores in Spain in September, marking the company’s first new European market since 2019.

The company maintains its outlook of doubling net revenue to $12.5 billion from 2021 to 2026.

SPONSORED BY PARAMOUNT+

The UEFA Champions League on Paramount+

The world’s greatest club soccer competition is almost here! The UEFA Champions League returns Tuesday, September 6 on Paramount+ [[link removed]].

Don’t miss Matchday 1 [[link removed]], as the group stage is starting off with a bang. Catch several blockbuster matchups, including PSG vs. Juventus at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET, and Bayern at Inter Milan on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET.

With so much player movement this offseason, it’s truly anyone’s year! Watch the biggest teams in the world facing off for a shot at glory. Matches start at 12:45 p.m. ET Tuesday and Wednesday.

Stream every match live all tournament long, exclusively on Paramount+. Try it free [[link removed]]!

NFL Broadcasts Bringing in Record Ad Sales [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Broadcasters paid astronomical prices for NFL rights — and early returns on ad prices are showing why.

Media buyers are seeing [[link removed]] record in-game rates for the upcoming season, and companies have been quick to buy up available inventory.

Ad sales could bring in a total of around $7 billion in revenue.30-second spots on national broadcasts have sold [[link removed]] for as high as $860,000.National rates are up around 7% from last year.

More than 90% of available spots were bought during upfront ad sales. Much of that inventory was moved during the second quarter, as companies vied to get in early and avoid being shut out.

CBS, NBC, Disney, Fox, and Amazon are paying more than $110 billion to broadcast the league for 11 years.

Amazon’s deal for “Thursday Night Football” kicks off this season, though the company expects lower broadcast numbers, as viewers adjust to the league’s first streaming-only property.

Disney has also reportedly sold out 90% to 95% of its inventory for the upcoming NBA and NHL seasons on ABC and ESPN.

Sales Already Super

Fox began selling [[link removed]] ads for next February’s Super Bowl 18 months before the game, seeking over $6 million for a 30-second window. Most of the available inventory has reportedly been snapped up.

NBCUniversal saw ad real estate reach as high as $6.5 million for a 30-second spot during Super Bowl LVI earlier this year.

Conversation Starters Speaking at the LIV Golf Invitational in Boston on Friday, Phil Mickelson defended [[link removed]] the controversial Saudi-backed series, claiming that LIV provided “leverage” for the PGA Tour’s players. Tune in [[link removed]] on September 14 at 1 p.m. ET for our next webinar, How to Improve the Fan Experience at the Stadium and Online, presented by Salesforce Marketing Cloud, to learn how three pro sports teams from different leagues are using Salesforce to engage fans, gain insights, and streamline operations.* In The Leadoff, Red Bull and Porsche’s Formula 1 deal is in doubt, MLB seeks to add local games to its streaming service, Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is under scrutiny, and BeIN Sports secures a big media rights deal with the Bundesliga. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. A new group, 9/11 Justice, has spent [[link removed]] more than $230,000 running anti-LIV Golf commercials this summer.

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Plus, you can draft in Underdog’s Best Ball Mania 3 [[link removed]] tournament to draft for $10 MILLION DOLLARS in total prizes, RIGHT NOW.

Sign up with promo code FOS [[link removed]], and Underdog will double your first deposit up to $100!

Market Movers

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

CWH [[link removed]]

Camping World Holdings Inc

[[link removed]]

$29.90

[[link removed]]

+0.27%

[[link removed]] MSGS [[link removed]]

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp

[[link removed]]

$158.02

[[link removed]]

-0.15%

[[link removed]] RCI [[link removed]]

Rogers Communications Inc.

[[link removed]]

$42.58

[[link removed]]

-0.98%

[[link removed]] GOLF [[link removed]]

Acushnet Holdings Corp

[[link removed]]

$47.67

[[link removed]]

-1.53%

[[link removed]] T [[link removed]]

AT&T, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$17.18

[[link removed]]

-1.94%

[[link removed]] VFC [[link removed]]

VF Corp.

[[link removed]]

$40.76

[[link removed]]

-3.11%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 9/2/22) What to Watch

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish face the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday night at Ohio Stadium.

How to Watch: 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC

Betting Odds: Ohio State -17 || ML -800 || O/U 60

Pick: Expect the Irish to surprise college football fans. Take Notre Dame to cover.

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Written by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]], Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]], Owen Poindexter [[link removed]] Edited by Brian Krikorian [[link removed]]

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