New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge spent this weekend chasing Roger Maris’ American League record of 61 homers, but so far has just fallen short. Whether he ties the record or not, however, he’s still sitting on a massive payday.

This offseason, the Yankees offered Judge a seven-year, $213.5 million extension, which would have been among the 20 most lucrative contracts in MLB.

The four-time All-Star’s refusal is one of the bolder business moves by a player in free agency. The decision should pay off — maybe by an extra $100 million — after one of the single greatest contract years since free agency’s inception in 1976.

• Curt Flood’s refusal to be traded in 1969 ultimately paved the way for modern free agency itself — but torpedoed his own successful career.
• In May, ESPN insider Jeff Passan estimated Judge could command at least $300 million, making him one of the 10 highest-paid players in MLB.
• That estimation didn’t factor in the 30-year-old breaking a home run record and making runs for the Triple Crown and AL MVP.

All Rise (Especially Contract Leverage)

Yankees GM Brian Cashman will want to keep Judge in pinstripes, but other teams are chomping at the bit. Judge himself has hinted at being open to leaving the Bronx (he has jokingly spoken about his affection for Red Sox fans).

The fan who caught his 60th blast on Tuesday said he only hoped Judge would remain a Yankee next year.

Formula 1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali said that adding new teams to the global racing series is “not a priority,” despite a lack of seats for drivers to fill.

“Adding one or two, you may open up some driving seats,” said Domenicali. “But we need to also have the right dimension in what is successful for the sport.”

Domenicali believes that F1 — which has 10 teams and 20 seats for the 2022 season — could become “too crowded,” but the series continues to garner interest from top car brands. 

• Audi announced in August that it is joining F1 in 2026 as a power unit constructor.
• Porsche planned to purchase 50% of Red Bull’s F1 team and 50% of Powertrains.
• The two parties failed to come to an agreement, but Porsche still wants to enter F1. 

A new set of rules for F1 — which include a financial cap — have been implemented this season to make the series more competitive. 

However, the rules continue to separate teams who have failed to take full advantage.

Bigger Than Ever 

F1 recently unveiled its 2023 schedule — its most packed race calendar ever.

The schedule includes 24 races, including a return to Las Vegas for the first time since 1982. The race joins two other U.S. contests, the Miami Grand Prix and Austin’s U.S. Grand Prix.

New international stops include China — which rejoins the F1 calendar after a three-year break.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is less than two months away, but Qatar is racing to put the final touches on preparations amid ongoing concerns about whether the country is ready to host the world’s largest single sporting tournament.

Since Qatar was awarded rights to host the World Cup in 2010, the Gulf country has seen its government spend more than $300 billion on infrastructure projects, per Bloomberg.

Many of the projects remain unfinished.

Qatar estimates the World Cup will add $17 billion to its economy, down from a previous estimate of $20 billion.

• About 1.2 million people are expected to travel to Qatar for the event.
• As of June, only 90,000 hotel rooms were available throughout host city Doha.

Earlier in September, a match held at Qatar’s largest venue — the $767 million Lusail Stadium — triggered several complaints from fans about a lack of water accessibility and other issues.

Human Rights Issues 

Logistics and construction aren’t the only concerns for the host country.

Qatar’s discrimination against the LGBTQ community has led to an anti-discrimination campaign in which many team captains will wear rainbow armbands during the World Cup.

German club Hoffenheim has vowed to not run any World Cup-related content on its website due to Qatar’s record of human rights violations.

JD Sports posted strong results in its latest earnings report after expanding its business through acquisitions over the last year.

The sports, outdoor, and fashion brand retailer generated $4.8 billion in revenue in the first half of FY2022, up from $4.2 billion during the same period last year.

• JD Sports opened 51 new brick-and-mortar locations in Europe in H1 2022.
• It has a total of 101 stores in the U.S. and plans to open a flagship location in Chicago.
• The company faced a dockers’ strike in England, which hampered sales in H1 2022.

JD Sports continues to expand its reach through acquisitions and distribution deals. 

In 2021, it bought clothing retailer Oi Polloi for an undisclosed amount and an 80% stake in Greece-based Cosmos Sports. It also secured a deal to sell Reebok products at its stores.

Call to Sell

In 2019, JD Sports acquired rival fashion retailer Footasylum for $124 million. The acquisition was flagged by the Competition and Markets Authority — the U.K.’s antitrust regulator — which cited potential market competition problems.

The CMA ordered JD Sports to sell Footasylum, an order unsuccessfully appealed in June 2020.

Last month, JD Sports completed the disposal of Footasylum to asset management company AURELIUS Group for $40 million.