December 20, 2022

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You already know NFL star J.J. Watt from his accomplishments on the field — but he has so much more to say about life and business. We spoke with the five-time Pro Bowler about his proudest investments, the NFL’s overseas popularity, philanthropy, and why he could see himself owning part of a soccer team one day.

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

College Athletics Bowl Games Could Bring In $450M With Expanded Playoffs [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Bowl games will only increase in value with help from the College Football Playoff.

The CFP will expand from four to 12 teams in 2024, and the increase could reportedly generate [[link removed]] at least $450 million in gross revenue over the final two years of the competition’s current media deal.

The CFP currently has an exclusive deal with ESPN that runs through 2026 and pays an average of $470 million per year. The expanded playoff could command [[link removed]] as much as $2.2 billion per year — more than double the current payout. It would surpass the Big Ten’s current media rights deal [[link removed]] with FOX, CBS, NBC, and NBC’s Peacock, which averages more than $1 billion a year.

Bowl games outside the CFP are expected to increase in value as competition to acquire media rights heats up, leading to a potential multiple-network deal to broadcast college football’s top teams. As of 2022, there are 41 postseason bowl games.

Power 5 conferences make [[link removed]] $670 million per year from their New Year’s Six bowl games, including the three CFP games. An expanded 12-team playoff could make $1.9 billion per year.

Slight Delay

The Pac-12 won’t have a new media rights deal before the end of the year after starting negotiations in the summer. The conference is in the midst of a 12-year, $3 billion deal that expires in 2024. It had delayed talks while UCLA faced a decision on its transition to the Big Ten.

Last week, the UC Regents voted [[link removed]] to allow UCLA’s move.

Executives LIV Golf Adds Leadership Trio As COO Exits [[link removed]]

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Some of the architects of LIV Golf have joined commissioner Greg Norman to run the day-to-day operations of the rival golf circuit after the recent departure of COO Atul Khosla.

Gary Davidson, Richard Marsh, and Jed Moore — executives at the international golf consulting firm Performance 54 — helped secure billions of dollars in funding from the Saudi Public Investment Fund Program to launch LIV Golf and developed key aspects of the tour.

The three have been brought in ahead of LIV Golf’s second season, a source with knowledge of the development told Front Office Sports.

Khosla, a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers executive, parted ways with LIV Golf amicably, the source said.

LIV Golf’s major revelations of late have been off the course.

Its major offseason focus is securing [[link removed]] a media rights deal in the U.S. An antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour is progressing [[link removed]]. While a trial isn’t slated to begin until 2024, discovery uncovered [[link removed]] that the PGA Tour and a PR firm “organized and likely funded” a 9/11 protest group. A separate antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice into the PGA Tour is ongoing [[link removed]]. More Additions?

LIV landed Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka and other major names on the PGA Tour for its first season. Norman told bunkered [[link removed]] that Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Justin Thomas are welcome as well.

“We exist for the players, so we will always have an open door,” Norman said.

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Deals FTX Accused of Illegally Financing Super Bowl Ad [[link removed]]

FTX

FTX is facing more scrutiny related to its sports business ventures.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a lawsuit last week accusing [[link removed]] the crypto exchange of combining its funds with sister fund Alameda Research.

“On information and belief, commingled funds, including FTX customer funds, were also furtively used by [CEO Sam] Bankman-Fried and FTX for extensive marketing and promotional expenses in the U.S.,” the lawsuit alleges.

Two of the expenses cited are FTX’s Super Bowl LVI commercial and naming rights to the Miami Heat’s arena.

It was previously reported that FTX paid [[link removed]] $6.5 million for a 30-second Super Bowl ad spot. FTX struck a 19-year, $135 million deal [[link removed]] with Miami-Dade County in 2021 for the arena’s naming rights.

Dentsu Creative, FTX’s former agency partner, may be unintentionally involved as it helped the exchange with the Super Bowl ad. The same goes for NBC, who sold FTX ad space for the commercial.

Companies involved could be subject to clawbacks, according to AdAge.

Continued Crypto Collapse

Binance.US is capitalizing on FTX’s failed efforts.

FTX had previously won a bidding process for Voyager Digital’s assets after the latter exchange filed for bankruptcy in July. On Monday, Voyager announced [[link removed]] Binance.US — which is nominally independent of Binance — won the second bidding process in a $1.02 billion deal following FTX’s bankruptcy filing.

Law La Liga Unhappy About FIFA’s Expansion Plans [[link removed]]

FIFA

Spain’s top soccer league has some issues with the sport’s governing body.

La Liga is considering [[link removed]] taking legal action against FIFA following a plan to expand the 2025 Club World Cup to 32 teams, change its frequency, and alter the 2026 Men’s World Cup format.

“These decisions made unilaterally and without notice regarding the calendar with new international tournaments irreversibly damage the entire football ecosystem,” said [[link removed]] La Liga.

The Club World Cup currently features seven teams. An expanded [[link removed]] 2025 Club World Cup could bring FIFA’s revenue to more than $11 billion. FIFA reported $7.5 billion in revenue last month for the 2019-22 cycle. It also has plans to launch friendly tournaments called the FIFA World Series.

La Liga believes FIFA’s changes to its international competitions don’t consider the health and well-being of players. The 20-team league also noted that FIFA’s decision to hold the 2023 Club World Cup in February in Morocco doesn’t give teams and clubs adequate time to prepare.

Expansion Plans

Earlier this month, La Liga secured a deal with UFC to broaden its reach in North America, sources told [[link removed]] Front Office Sports. As part of the pact, La Liga and UFC athletes will raise awareness of their partner league through podcasts and shows on social media platforms.

The two entities also plan to co-host at least three annual events in Spain.

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Conversation Starters From buzzer-beaters on the hardwood to Hail Marys in the end zone, Atmosphere Sports is bringing sports back to the center with scores, highlights, and more. Learn more [[link removed]].* Given its performance in its first exclusive season showing the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football,” Amazon’s NFL host Charissa Thompson “absolutely” believes [[link removed]] the tech giant can handle an NBA rights package. Adidas took their Lionel Messi tribute to the next level. Check out this billboard [[link removed]] in Dubai. Question Of The Day

Do you typically watch the NFL Draft?

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Monday’s Answer

87% of respondents watched at least some of the World Cup.

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