October 7, 2022

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Slowly but surely, Disney has been dipping its toes into sports betting. Now the conglomerate could be close to diving head-first [[link removed]] into the lucrative industry. Per Darren Rovell, ESPN and sports betting giant DraftKings are near signing an exclusive deal that would change the landscape of the industry.

Red Bull, Mercedes War of Words Heats Up Ahead of FIA Ruling [[link removed]]

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Suspense is building around the coming FIA ruling on whether any team violated Formula 1’s $145 million cost cap last year.

The sport’s governing body was planning [[link removed]] to release its results on Wednesday, but is delaying until Monday to complete its “ongoing analysis.”

Sky Sports reported [[link removed]] Wednesday that there were minor violations of less than 5% of the cost cap ($7.25 million), but no team will face a severe penalty.The FIA gave itself latitude in treating cap violations, including fines, a loss of points, suspensions from future races, and a lower future cap.The cap, which dropped to $140 million this year and will be $135 million for the next three years, applies to expenses related to car parts and performance, but not to driver salaries, marketing, travel, and other business expenses. Round 2

The coming report has caused tension between two top teams: Mercedes and Red Bull.

Previous reports suggested that Red Bull and Aston Martin violated the 2021 cap. Mercedes principal Toto Wolff said that Red Bull’s overspending was “an open secret.” His Red Bull counterpart Christian Horner firmly denied that his team breached the cap and threatened lawsuits against those who claimed otherwise.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton called for “severe” consequences for any team that went over and pointed out instances in which Mercedes had to forgo improvements that would have cost around $500,000.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen secured the driver’s championship over Hamilton in the last lap of the final race of 2021.

Women’s Euro Host Cities Receive $91.1M Economic Boost [[link removed]]

UEFA Women's Euro

Women’s sports continue to grow in popularity — and cities hosting competitions are reaping the benefits.

A study [[link removed]] led by Ernst and Young found that the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 tournament generated $91.1 million in economic activity for the English cities that hosted the matches, with $49.5 million in total spectator spending across game days and trips.

Between domestic and international visitors, more than 552,000 day and overnight trips were made to the host cities, according to the study.

Match attendance across the tournament totaled 574,875.Of that sum, there were 110,555 international spectators from 104 countries.The Euro final drew a record 87,192 fans to London’s Wembley Stadium.

Ernst and Young reported that 85% of spectators say they’re likely to attend professional international and domestic women’s soccer events in the future.

Media Mania

The study also found that since the last Women’s Euros, there had been a 289% increase in media rights values.

The tournament was the most-watched Women’s Euros ever with a projected viewership of 365 million across all matches.

Of the event’s spectators, 84% said the tournament improved their perception of women’s soccer, with 88% stating they’re likely to watch a women’s soccer event on TV in the future.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH KAULIG RACING

Making a Lasting Impact Off the Track

While Kaulig Racing [[link removed]] is in the business to win championships, there’s a strong culture around opportunities to give back.

Kaulig Giving, the charity arm of Kaulig, is focused on helping those around them and supporting their community. They partner with charitable organizations in Northeast Ohio and beyond, including the LeBron James Family Foundation and the NASCAR Foundation.

To wrap up our series, Behind the Wheel With Matt Kaulig, our Editor in Chief Ernest Baker chats with Matt in the fifth episode [[link removed]] on Kaulig Giving, discussing partnerships that range from healthcare, education, athletics, and other opportunities for children, and the importance to Matt of giving back to the community.

Watch now [[link removed]].

Barcelona Posts $111M Profit for 2022 [[link removed]]

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

FC Barcelona reported a profit of $111 million behind $1.15 billion in revenue for the year ending June 2022.

The report comes only a year after the La Liga club reported a $1.5 billion debt.

The second-most valuable soccer team in the world — worth $5 billion, per [[link removed]] Forbes — benefited from the return of fans to Spotify Camp Nou.

Tickets and concession revenue hit $148 million in 2022 — up 415% year-over-year.Barcelona expects to generate $1.26 billion in revenue during the 2022-23 fiscal year.The club projects a profit of $274 million during the same period.

Barcelona has used several “economic levers” to alleviate debt.

In June, the club secured [[link removed]] a deal to sell a 10% stake in its TV rights worth up to $278 million. Barcelona doubled down in July, selling an additional 15% of the rights for $326.5 million.

In August, Barcelona agreed [[link removed]] to a deal with Socios.com to sell a 24.5% stake in Barca Studios — the club’s media production arm — for $102 million. That same month, it sold [[link removed]] another 24.5% stake in Barca Studios to Orpheus Media.

Renewed Call

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez believes that soccer is losing ground as the world’s most popular sport — and that a resurrected [[link removed]] European Super League could boost its status.

Madrid joins Barcelona and Juventus as the only clubs in favor of the breakaway league, which was met with fierce public backlash when initially announced in April 2021.

Premiership Rugby Team Dismantled Over Debts [[link removed]]

Worcester Warriors

Financial issues have sunk a top-division rugby club in England.

The Worcester Warriors’ players and staff had their contracts terminated on Wednesday as a result of a court order.

Worcester reportedly has $6.7 million in unpaid taxes being pursued by the HM Revenue and Customs, the United Kingdom’s tax collection department.The Premiership Rugby team went under administration last month after not meeting a deadline to demonstrate to the Rugby Football Union that it was financially sustainable.The team has been relegated to the RFU Championship.

The team also owes a reported $16.7 million to the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport as part of a $138.2 million sum lent to Premiership Rugby teams for pandemic relief measures.

Players are free to sign with other clubs, and some have already done so.

Wandering Warriors

“As the club no longer has staff and players on contract, and with many seeking alternative employment, the decision has been made to focus on how the club can be viable over the long term,” the RFU explained.

Begbies Traynor, a firm that specializes in corporate restructuring, is acting as the club’s administrator. The RFU said that the firm is “in discussions with several potential investors.”

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS PRO

The Rise of Microtransactions in Gaming

Front Office Sports Pro [[link removed]] provides actionable, timely insights on the most promising opportunities where sports meets industry. Each month, members receive three industry reports, access to our private market deals database, industry investor directory, and weekly emails providing insights from the platform.

Our recent report [[link removed]], Microtransactions in Sports Gaming, explores how:

Microtransactions are used as payments for purchasing additional features within a system (i.e., in-app purchases for video games). The gaming industry has been leveraging microtransactions, which now make a substantial portion of its revenues. The reputation and public perception of these digital items make the industry worthwhile to monitor going forward.

Be the most-informed member of your team with cutting-edge reports on the most tactical opportunities where sports meets industry. No jargon, no BS, no agenda.

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Conversation Starters The UEFA Champions League is live on Paramount+. The upcoming Matchday 4 fixtures feature pivotal rematches, like AC Milan vs. Chelsea and Barcelona vs. Inter. Which club will come out on top?* We’re well into NIL’s second year, and athletes are making more money [[link removed]] than ever. College football players made an average $3,162 per transaction in August 2022, according to content platform INFLCR — that’s a 179% uptick from the same period last year. On Thursday, the Kansas City Current broke ground on America’s first stadium purpose-built for a professional women’s soccer team. Take a look [[link removed]] at what’s to come. The debut of “CFB Primetime with The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN2 registered 251,000 viewers [[link removed]] — about even percentage-wise with ESPN2’s first ‘ManningCast’ in 2021. Today's Action

MLB

08:07 PM

Padres (+130) at Mets (-150)

Bet Now [[link removed]]

NCAA

10:30 PM

Colorado State (+140) at Nevada (-165)

Bet Now [[link removed]]

MLB

04:07 PM

Mariners (+115) at Blue Jays (-135)

Bet Now [[link removed]]

*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See [[link removed]] for details.

Question Of The Day

Are you a member of a gym?

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Thursday’s Answer

38% of respondents try to invest in sustainable or purpose-driven companies.

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Written by Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]], Justin Byers [[link removed]] Edited by Brian Krikorian [[link removed]]

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