Fanatics is eight days from launching the first sportsbook inside an NFL stadium.

The sports retail and digital platform is reportedly opening a sportsbook at the Washington Commanders’ FedEx Field. Maryland has had retail sports betting since December 2021 and mobile sports betting since November 2022.

• Fanatics hasn’t registered to offer mobile sports betting in the state.
• The company has also received preliminary approval to operate in Massachusetts, where it will be tethered to the Plainridge Park Casino. 
• Fanatics Betting and Gaming CEO Matt King aspires to have the brand operating in all legal states by September.

Washington, D.C., sports fans will be able to place bets at the venues of all their major teams: Capital One Arena, home to the Washington Wizards and Capitals, has an in-house sportsbook in partnership with William Hill, and Nationals Park hosts a BetMGM sportsbook.

The BetMGM Sportsbook at the Arizona Cardinals’ stadium was the NFL’s first on-site sportsbook, but the two-story, 16,800-square-foot venue is located on the stadium’s campus, also called the “Great Lawn.” State Farm Stadium will host Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12.

NFT Drop

While Fanatics is expanding its sports betting business, it’s paring back on collectibles. 

The company is selling its 60% stake in Candy Digital, the NFT company it helped to launch. Candy Digital works with MLB, NASCAR, WWE, and Netflix.

Fanatics will focus its collectible efforts on physical collectibles after acquiring Topps for $500 million in January 2022.

Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren has accepted a position as president and CEO of the Chicago Bears, a source confirmed to Front Office Sports, following NFL Network’s report.

Warren will begin official business for the team this spring.

He will be the first Black American to hold such a position at the team.

This isn’t Warren’s first foray into the NFL. Before the Big Ten, he served as the COO of the Minnesota Vikings and also held positions with the St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions. 

Warren leaves the Big Ten after just three seasons — during which he arguably precipitated several of the biggest shifts in college sports. 

• He secured the largest conference media rights deal in history, a mid-$7 billion package between CBS, Fox, and NBC.
• USC and UCLA, two of college sports’ biggest brands, joined the Big Ten on his watch.
• Warren modernized the conference through in-house sponsorships and the first Big Ten women’s volleyball media days.
• He was one of the few commissioners who didn’t completely discount the idea of sharing media rights revenues with athletes, though he made no promises.

When he arrived at the conference, one of his first acts was to cancel and then reinstate the Big Ten football season during the height of the pandemic — a decision which drew widespread criticism. 

Now he’ll exit the conference as perhaps one of the most successful commissioners in recent memory.

Big Shoes to Fill

Going forward, the Big Ten will need another forward-looking leader — perhaps a business executive like the Big 12’s Brett Yormark — to take the helm of one of two college sports “Super Conferences.” 

A sports-related blank-check company just bit the dust. 

Sports & Health Tech Acquisition Corp., a SPAC backed by 15-time major champion Tiger Woods, has shuttered its plans to raise $150 million in an initial public offering. 

The IPO, which was first announced in January 2022, would have valued the blank-check firm at $600 million.

• Sports & Health Tech was led by IeAD Sports Ltd. chairman Andrew White. 
• The SPAC had planned to target a merger in the sports or health tech sectors. 
• Mark Steinberg — a golf agent for Excel Sports Management — was an executive.
• Steinberg has represented Woods for over 25 years. 

The collapse of Sports & Health Tech’s IPO follows a recent trend. According to a report by Forbes, 21 of 33 SPACs tied to famous public figures reported negative returns for 2021. Last year, more than 30 mergers with SPACs fitting that same profile were called off. 

New Endeavor

In August 2022, Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Mike McCarley — co-founders of newly formed TMRW Sports Group — announced the launch of TGL, a new golf league that will operate in partnership with the PGA Tour. The tech-infused league will play events at specially designed virtual courses in front of live crowds and larger television audiences starting in January 2024.

Last year, TMRW Sports added marquee strategic investors after unveiling TGL. The company has a portfolio that includes sports luminaries Serena Williams, Andy Murray, Steph Curry, Josh Allen, and Shohei Ohtani.