September 23, 2022

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This is it, football fans! Today’s the last day to enter to win two tickets to an NFL or college regular-season game of your choosing this fall. All you have to do is follow @frontofficesports [[link removed]] on Instagram, like this post [[link removed]], and tag who you’d bring with you in the comments.

Apple Music Lands Super Bowl Halftime Show Sponsorship Deal [[link removed]]

Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports

Apple has made a deal with the NFL, but the one announced early Friday morning wasn’t the kind of partnership most expected.

Apple Music will become the NFL’s new Super Bowl Halftime Show partner in the multiyear pact. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Apple Music replaces Pepsi, which had the rights to the halftime show for the prior 10 Super Bowls.

Super Bowl LVI’s halftime show had 120 million viewers with performances by Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, and Kendrick Lamar. The performance won an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special in early September.

Apple has had previous talks with the NFL as it looks to expand its sports portfolio.

The tech giant has shown interest in acquiring [[link removed]] a minority stake in NFL Media, which includes NFL Network, NFL RedZone [[link removed]], and NFL.com.Apple is also a frontrunner for NFL Sunday Ticket, the package of out-of-town games that will become available after the season. The NFL is seeking $2.5 billion per season, $1 billion more than DirecTV — which has had the package exclusively since 1994 — pays in its current deal.

Next season, MLS will make its debut [[link removed]] on Apple TV+ as part of a $2.5 billion, 10-year deal. Apple TV+ also has a deal with MLB [[link removed]].

Apple Shuffle

“Music and sports hold a special place in our hearts, so we’re very excited Apple Music will be part of music and football’s biggest stage,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s VP of Apple Music and Beats.

No acts have been announced yet for Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12.

Jeff Bezos, Others Looking at Suns and Mercury [[link removed]]

Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Within a day of Robert Sarver’s announcement that he is selling the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, an assortment of billionaire former CEOs have emerged as potential buyers.

Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos could reportedly consider a bid, as might former Disney CEO Bob Iger, former Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, and Laurene Jobs, widow of Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs.

The market for NBA teams has been active in recent years.

The Suns were valued by Forbes last year at $1.8 billion.The Houston Rockets were sold to Tilman Fertitta in 2017 for $2.2 billion.Last year, Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore bought the Minnesota Timberwolves for $1.5 billion.

While only three people in the world can match Bezos’ net worth of $140.7 billion, per Forbes, Ellison — the seventh-richest person with $93.5 billion — would have no trouble matching a bid. Iger showed interest [[link removed]] in buying the team last year.

Still Sarver’s Team

While Sarver owns approximately 35% of the Suns, he reportedly has the authority [[link removed]] to sell the team in full due to his status as managing partner. He will also be in control of the sale process and the selection of bids, though the incoming owner will need to be approved by the other NBA team owners.

The sale process is expected to take several months.

SPONSORED BY F1 EXPERIENCES

Gear Up for a Record 2023 Season

Formula 1 has published a record 24-race calendar [[link removed]] for the 2023 season, and you can be there with F1 Experiences.

In addition to returning to China and Qatar, Formula 1 will be staging three races in the USA next year for the first time in over 40 years! Including the highly anticipated [[link removed]] debut of a new street race in Las Vegas.

F1 Experiences offers a range of exciting packages at races all around the world through The Official Experience, Hospitality & Travel Program of Formula 1.

Choose from grandstand seating or premium hospitality and get closer [[link removed]] than ever before to Formula 1 with exclusive trackside access and guest appearances.

Oakland Shoots Its Shot for the WNBA [[link removed]]

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

While the city of Oakland is fighting to keep one team, it’s lobbying for another.

The city council passed a resolution on Tuesday calling for the WNBA to add a team in Oakland. The 12-team league is looking to add two new teams as soon as the 2024 season.

The resolution cited the city’s existing basketball-ready arena, vacated by the Golden State Warriors before the 2019-20 season, and its shared values with the WNBA.The arena is situated near a train station and a highway, and has ample parking.The Oakland A’s play on the same site but will be leaving within the next few years, either for a new development on the Oakland waterfront or Las Vegas.

Retired WNBA legend Alana Beard is heading an effort to bring a team to Oakland.

San Francisco, Nashville, Philadelphia, Portland, and Toronto are all believed to be contenders for expansion.

A Visit From Washington

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg toured Oakland with mayor Libby Schaaf and Rep. Barbara Lee to see the city’s Reconnecting the Town project targeted by the $4 billion RAISE program, which supports municipal infrastructure.

The Department of Transportation is considering an additional $182.9 million funding request from Oakland to support infrastructure improvements related to the A’s proposed $12 billion stadium development. The city is not expecting to receive the full amount, after initial feedback.

Some of the Reconnecting the Town work may be close enough to the A’s proposed site to benefit the team’s project.

Everton Seeks Naming Rights Deal for New $566M Stadium [[link removed]]

Everton FC

Everton FC is looking for a naming rights deal for its new stadium.

The Premier League club has entered an agreement with Elevate Sports Ventures to work on a revenue program that includes naming rights to the $566 million stadium [[link removed]], which Everton claims is the largest single-site development under construction in the U.K.

With a seating capacity of 52,888, Everton’s home in the Bramley Moore Dock area of Liverpool should garner as much interest as its current stadium.

Goodison Park, which seats 39,572, has the maximum number of season-ticket holders allowed in the league.More than 20,000 fans are on a waiting list.

The waterfront stadium and “associated developments” could create around 15,000 jobs, bring more than 1.4 million visitors to Liverpool, and boost the nation’s economy by nearly $1.5 billion, according to estimates from real estate and investment firm CBRE.

The team is expected to move in time for the 2024-25 season.

In March, Everton suspended sponsorship arrangements with Russian partner USM, which held an exclusive option on the naming rights to the new stadium after its founder, Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, paid [[link removed]] $40 million for the option in 2020.

Usmanov’s assets were frozen when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Euro 2028

England is reportedly [[link removed]] including Everton’s new stadium in its bid with Ireland to host the Euro 2028 as the countries compete with Turkey and Italy.

UEFA is expected to make a decision on the host by September 2023.

SPONSORED BY NETSUITE

Powering Youth Athletes

The Newsroom, presented by NetSuite [[link removed]], brings you an in-depth breakdown of key stories in the business of sports tracked by FOS writers with behind-the-scenes context gleaned from their original reporting.

In our latest episode, A.J. Perez and Amanda Christovich join Owen Poindexter to discuss the unionization of MiLB and the rise of youth athletes.

In the last year, the power of youth athletes has skyrocketed, propelled by NIL. The Front Office Sports team dives into what is behind the seismic changes that include MiLB’s unionization and the NBA’s plans to lower the eligibility age to 18.

Don’t miss out! Listen now [[link removed]] or watch on YouTube [[link removed]] for future episodes releasing every Thursday.

Conversation Starters Brian Mariotti bought sports and culture toymaker Funko in 2005 and played a huge role in turning it into the billion-dollar business it is today. On the latest episode of My Other Passion, we spoke to the chief creative officer about working with legends like Michael Jordan and Rafa Nadal on collectibles, how he landed licenses with all the major pro leagues, and why Funko wants to go even harder on sports in the future. Listen or watch now on Apple [[link removed]], Spotify [[link removed]], and YouTube [[link removed]]. Every month in the U.S., there are 66 new places to play pickleball opening up. Take a look [[link removed]] at some of the latest facilities. Barstool Sports will host [[link removed]] its first-ever men’s college basketball non-conference tournament in November. Demand for all remaining Yankees home games went up [[link removed]] 20% between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning after Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hit home run No. 60. Today's Action

NCAA

09:00 PM

Boise State (-660) at UTEP (+490)

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NCAA

07:00 PM

Virginia (+300) at Syracuse (-365)

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NCAA

08:00 PM

Nevada (+1300) at Force (-2800)

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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

Have you bought or considered buying an NFT?

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Thursday’s Answer

14% of respondents wear sneakers for style; 21% wear them for sport; 64% wear them for both.

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

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