September 12, 2022

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Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens weren’t able to reach a contract extension, so the star quarterback will play [[link removed]] this season on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal for $23 million. But the Ravens, who beat the New York Jets 24-9 on Sunday, are expected to use the franchise tag — which would pay Jackson $45.4 million in 2023.

Porsche Still Interested in F1 After Red Bull Deal Breaks Down [[link removed]]

Scott Ash / Imagn

Porsche will not be entering Formula 1 with Red Bull after all.

Porsche was expected to purchase 50% of Red Bull’s F1 team and 50% of Powertrains, Red Bull’s new power unit manufacturer, according [[link removed]] to a Financial Times report — but the pair weren’t able to come to an agreement [[link removed]].

“The premise was always that a partnership would be based on equal footing, which would include not only an engine partnership but also the team,” Porsche’s statement reads [[link removed]]. “This could not be achieved.”

Red Bull’s investors reportedly weren’t willing to sell a stake in the team.

Bloomberg reported in July that Porsche and Red Bull couldn’t decide how much technology would be provided to Oracle Red Bull Racing compared to sister team AlphaTauri.The sides were also in conflict over the power to name drivers for a joint race team.

But Porsche isn’t ready to call it quits with Formula 1.

“The racing series nevertheless remains an attractive environment for Porsche,” the statement reads.

The news comes shortly after Audi — which shares parent company Volkswagen with Porsche — announced [[link removed]] plans to join F1 in 2026 as a power unit instructor.

Porsche’s Public Plans

Volkswagen announced [[link removed]] plans earlier this month to take Porsche public through an IPO that could value the brand between $59.4 billion and $84.2 billion.

Volkswagen would offer 12.5% of Porsche, which has the potential to raise more than $10 billion.

NHL Team With Smallest Arena Sees 50% Season-Ticket Revenue Spike [[link removed]]

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Coyotes rolled the dice on making a new home at Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena — and so far, it’s paying off.

The team has already generated [[link removed]] 50% more season-ticket revenue for the upcoming season than it “ever did” at Glendale’s Gila River Arena — where the Coyotes played until the city announced it would not renew the team’s lease when it expired on June 30.

The Coyotes reportedly [[link removed]] had $1.3 million in unpaid taxes and arena charges, but have since paid [[link removed]] them.

Mullett Arena — tiny in size compared to other NHL venues — will be the Coyotes’ home for at least the next three seasons.

The arena has a capacity of 5,025, but the Coyotes are expected to be held to a slightly smaller number of attendees.Gila River Arena held 17,125.

At Mullett Arena, the average ticket price is $170 — nearly double the $90 average at Gila River Arena and more than the NHL’s average of $154. Tickets for the student section, which will have around 400 seats, will be roughly $25 to $50.

Home Ahead

In June, the Tempe City Council voted to move forward with discussions on a $1.7 billion project that includes a new arena and entertainment district.

It would reportedly be the first privately funded sports and entertainment district in Arizona’s history.

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Big 12 May Look West for Expansion [[link removed]]

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark expressed interest in expanding the conference westward during a visit to future member Cincinnati.

“The Big 12 is open for business,” Yormark said. “Obviously, going out West is where I would like to go, entering that fourth time zone.”

Yormark vowed to vet “every option possible to further enhance this conference.”However, conference expansion is not [[link removed]] imminent.If the Big 12 does expand, it aims to add “a program that has national recognition.”

The Big 12 will be losing Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC in 2025 and is preparing to add four new members.

In September 2021, the conference’s continuing members voted unanimously to invite four schools to join the conference: Cincinnati, UCF, Houston, and BYU.

Three of those programs — Houston, UCF, and Cincinnati — are working on a settlement to leave the AAC on July 1, 2023, which would be a year ahead of schedule.

Record Revenue

In June, the Big 12 announced it will distribute [[link removed]] a record $426 million in revenue to its 10 current members for the 2021-22 academic year, marking the first growth in revenue for the conference in two years. The distribution amount is a nearly 20% increase from the year prior.

The bump was attributed to the return of fans to stadiums following pandemic restrictions.

NFT Video Game Developer Recovers Large Sum After $625M Hack [[link removed]]

Shutterstock

Video game developer Sky Mavis has recovered $30 million worth of cryptocurrency tokens with the help of U.S. authorities following a hack of its NFT-based title “Axie Infinity.”

In March, “Axie Infinity” was hacked, causing Sky Mavis to lose $625 million. The title saw an exodus of players after it restricted the ability to transfer money out of the game.

Blockchain analyst Chainalysis helped in the recovery.Hackers stole a total of 173,600 Ethereum tokens.The hackers have been linked [[link removed]] to a North Korean unit known as the Lazarus Group.

In April, Sky Mavis raised [[link removed]] $150 million to help alleviate losses caused by the hack and a decline in daily active users. Led by cryptocurrency exchange Binance — whose tokens are used in “Axie Infinity” — the round was used to partially reimburse players and improve security.

Other investors in the round included software and venture firm Animoca Brands, VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, Switzerland-based capital enterprise Dialectic, and crypto-focused VC firm Paradigm.

Taking Action

On Friday, Sky Mavis landed a deal [[link removed]] with Google Cloud to secure its blockchain network.

As part of the multiyear pact, Google Cloud will help validate transactions within Sky Mavis’ gaming network.

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Tune in on September 14 at 1 p.m. ET for our next webinar, How to Improve the Fan Experience at the Stadium and Online [[link removed]], presented by Salesforce Marketing Cloud, to learn how three pro teams from different leagues – the Indiana Pacers (NBA), Texas Rangers (MLB) and the Dallas Cowboys (NFL) – are using Salesforce to engage fans, gain insights, and streamline operations.

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Conversation Starters Notre Dame, Texas A&M, and Nebraska paid [[link removed]] Sun Belt teams a collective $4.173 million to play home games over the weekend. All three powerhouses lost. The NFL continues to get more popular and the league — which generated $18 billion in gross revenue last year — will encroach [[link removed]] on days traditionally dominated by rival leagues. Here’s the extreme method [[link removed]] Kobe Bryant used to send younger Team USA teammates like LeBron James and Kevin Durant a message during the Olympics a decade ago. The Saudi-backed LIV Golf is loud and flashy, but can it really catch on? Landing a TV deal [[link removed]] will be one of the deciding factors. Fanatics launched the largest collective football jersey program of the NIL era on Thursday, but athletes are reportedly [[link removed]] receiving only about $3.92 per jersey sold. Today's Action

MLB

07:10 PM

Cubs (+240) at Mets (-285)

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MLB

09:45 PM

Braves (-180) at Giants (+155)

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MLB

06:40 PM

Astros (-205) at Tigers (+175)

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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

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Friday’s Answer

93% of respondents plan to watch Super Bowl LVII.

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Written by Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]], Justin Byers [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]]

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