November 16, 2022

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The final race of the Formula 1 season goes down this Sunday.

We caught up with McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown for an in-depth convo about the rise of F1 in the United States, tension with other teams, his extensive collection of sports memorabilia, and “knowing when to shut your mouth” and listen to your team as a leader.

Listen or watch now on Apple [[link removed]], Spotify [[link removed]], and YouTube [[link removed]].

Brady, Curry, FTX Founder Named in $11B Class-Action Suit [[link removed]]

Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports

A consortium of investors has sued the founder of FTX — along with several high-profile athletes who promoted the cryptocurrency exchange — alleging they took “advantage of unsophisticated investors from across the country.”

Included in the class-action suit [[link removed]] are FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, in addition to seven-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady, NBA superstar Steph Curry, and NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal.

The suit alleges the defendants “made numerous misrepresentations” about FTX.It claims U.S. consumers collectively sustained more than $11 billion in damages.The Golden State Warriors were also included in the complaint.

Last week, FTX — along with West Realm Shires Services Inc., Alameda Research Ltd., and roughly 130 affiliated companies — filed [[link removed]] for bankruptcy.

As recently as January, FTX had raised [[link removed]] $400 million in a Series C funding round, valuing the company at $32 billion.

Free Fall

FTX’s bankruptcy has led to the demise of several sports-related deals.

The Miami Heat and Miami-Dade County ended [[link removed]] its 19-year, $135 million naming rights deal secured in March 2021. FTX had paid Miami-Dade County $20 million to date, and its contract with the team and county requires the exchange to pay $16.5 million if it faces an “insolvency event.”

The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team suspended its deal with FTX, and esports organization TSM — the most valuable [[link removed]] esports company in 2022 at $540 million — has also decided to suspend its 10-year, $210 million naming rights deal with FTX.

Royals Heading Downtown for New $2B Ballpark [[link removed]]

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals are making their way downtown.

On Tuesday, Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman announced [[link removed]] plans to build a $2 billion stadium and entertainment district either near downtown or in it.

Sherman, who bought [[link removed]] the team for $1 billion in 2019, wrote that the process would be the largest public-private development project in the city’s history and includes the team’s “own intention to invest hundreds of millions of dollars directly into the ballpark and the ballpark district.”

The team envisions local restaurants and shops, office spaces, hotels, and housing.

The team said construction of the plan could create 20,000 jobs, with $1.4 billion in labor income.It could generate an estimated $2.8 billion in total economic output.In its inaugural year, the ballpark is estimated to drive $185 million more in regional economic output than the team’s current home, Kauffman Stadium, does.

The Royals estimate the development around the new stadium could attract 2,200 onsite jobs. Employment could represent $200 million in annual labor income and over $500 million in annual economic input.

Jackson County citizens won’t have to contribute any extra tax dollars.

Kauffman Construction

The announcement comes after the team announced in September 2021 it would explore the possibility of a new ballpark — the team’s lease at “The K” expires in 2031, at which point the venue will be nearly 60 years old.

“The renovations required at The K to achieve our objectives would cost as much or more than the price tag to develop a new ballpark,” Sherman wrote.

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Listen Now: My Other Passion Podcast

What drives your favorite athletes, celebrities, and executives?

Find out in My Other Passion presented by NetSuite [[link removed]]. Each week, Ernest Baker, Editor in Chief of Front Office Sports, sits down with some of the most influential people in sports and entertainment to explore how their passions define them and impact everything from their decision-making to how they see the world.

With the help of NetSuite [[link removed]], the #1 Cloud Financial system that gives visibility and control of your financials, inventory, and more, we’ll go live with these authentic and in-depth conversations every Wednesday.

Listen to some of our recent episodes, including Joe Markowski, Phil Hellmuth, and Johanna Faries. Listen now [[link removed]] or watch on YouTube [[link removed]] for future episodes releasing every Wednesday.

If you or someone you know is an athlete, celebrity, or business leader, reach out [[link removed]] to be featured on an upcoming episode.

Roger Federer-Backed Shoe Company Posts Record Quarter [[link removed]]

On Holding

A sports-focused footwear company backed by Roger Federer has reported its best quarter to date.

On Running generated [[link removed]] a record $347.5 million in net sales in Q3 2022 — a 50.4% increase year-over-year — despite supply chain constraints and an uncertain macroeconomic environment. Net income reached $22 million in Q3 2022, compared to $14 million in Q3 2021.

Net sales in North America increased 57.1% during the quarter to $183 million.In Europe, net sales reached $123.4 million, a 31.8% uptick year-over-year.Net sales in Asia-Pacific grew 85.2% to $25.6 million.Rest of the World net sales increased 150% in Q3 2022 to $11.6 million.

On raised its full-year net sales outlook on the back of its record quarter.

The Switzerland-based company projects net sales to hit $1.2 billion in FY2022, a $26.5 million increase from previous estimates that would represent a 55% uptick compared to FY2021.

On went public in September 2021 after raising [[link removed]] $746 million in an initial public offering valuing the company at roughly $7.3 billion. On Holding AG and its investors sold 31.1 million shares for $24 apiece during the IPO.

Committed to Tennis

On is planning to double down on tennis with the help of Federer, who retired from the sport in September.

“The plan is to expand into a more lifestyle area of tennis,” co-CEO Martin Hoffmann told [[link removed]] Bloomberg.

On also plans to work with additional tennis pros.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, the World Cup spotlights a large gender disparity in prize money, Nike jumps further into the metaverse, the city of Rock Hill, South Carolina, agrees to a settlement with the Carolina Panthers, and Wynn offers a $1 million Formula 1 package. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. The UC Board of Regents will discuss [[link removed]] during a meeting on Thursday whether it will block UCLA’s departure from the Pac-12. The Boston Bruins announced that they are retaining [[link removed]] former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to conduct an independent review of the team’s player-vetting process.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS AWARDS

Are You One of The Best Employers in Sports?

Whether it’s great leadership, focus on diversity, equity and inclusion or commitment to employee wellbeing, the Front Office Sports Best Employers in Sports Award [[link removed]]recognizes organizations who do right by their employees.

How do we determine who wins the award? We don’t — employees do! The award is based entirely on anonymous survey results from sports industry professionals.

Responses will be evaluated in collaboration with our primary research partner, Canvs [[link removed]], using patented AI technology free from all subjectivity and human bias. There is no word count limit and you can even use slang, text abbreviations, sarcasm or emojis to complete the survey.

The 2022 employee survey is now open through November 28. Take the survey [[link removed]] and tell us why your organization should make the cut.

Market Movers

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

WWE [[link removed]]

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$77.72

[[link removed]]

+0.36%

[[link removed]] UA [[link removed]]

Under Armour Inc

[[link removed]]

$8.27

[[link removed]]

+1.79%

[[link removed]] LYV [[link removed]]

Live Nation Entertainment Inc

[[link removed]]

$74.18

[[link removed]]

-0.59%

[[link removed]] MGM [[link removed]]

MGM Resorts International

[[link removed]]

$37.05

[[link removed]]

-0.71%

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

VF Corp.

[[link removed]]

$32.11

[[link removed]]

-2.28%

[[link removed]] DKS [[link removed]]

Dicks Sporting Goods, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$99.35

[[link removed]]

-5.78%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 11/16/22) What to Watch

UFC Fight Night marks another star-studded event for the mixed martial arts promotion.

In the main event, Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis (26-10-0, 1 NC) faces Sergey “Polar Bear” Spivak (15-3-0) in a heavyweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Lewis enters the fight following a loss by knockout to Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 277 in July, while Spivak is coming off a knockout win over Augusto Sakai at UFC Vegas 59 in August.

How to Watch: Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+ / Stream all of UFC Fight Night on ESPN+ [[link removed]]*

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