January 24, 2023
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The Dallas Cowboys might’ve lost [[link removed]] to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, but there’s no beating America’s Team when it comes to TV ratings. Even in defeat, Big D drew 45.7 million viewers to Fox, scoring the most-watched telecast of any kind since NBC’s Super Bowl LVI.
Teams Braves, F1 Owner Tops Forbes’ Most Valuable Sports Empires [[link removed]]
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Liberty Media is the most valuable sports empire in the world, according to Forbes’ 2023 list.
The owner of Formula 1 and the Atlanta Braves, Liberty Media also has stakes in Drone Racing League, Kroenke Arena Co., Meyer Shank Racing, and Overtime Sports, totaling an enterprise value [[link removed]] of $20.8 billion. F1’s enterprise value sits at $17.1 billion, while the Braves’ sits at $2.1 billion.
After Liberty Media, there’s a significant drop in value.
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Los Angeles Rams, Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, Arsenal, The Guard, Colorado Rapids, Colorado Mammoth, and Altitude Sports and Entertainment, is valued at $12.75 billion. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones sits at third with an enterprise value of $11.32 billion. The Cowboys are worth a world-record $8 billion, per [[link removed]] Forbes. Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC, and Pittsburgh Penguins owner Fenway Sports Group takes fourth with an enterprise value of $10.4 billion. New York Knicks and Rangers owner Madison Square Garden Sports rounds out the top five with an enterprise value of $9.17 billion.
The Kraft Group, Yankee Global Enterprises, the Glazer family, Paul G. Allen Trust, and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment close out the top 10.
At the bottom of the list sits RedBird Capital Partners, which has an enterprise value of $3.6 billion.
Team Totals
The 25 most valuable sports empires are worth $173 billion altogether, according to Forbes, which added a new 10% premium to the total value to “account for the scalability.”
Without the premium, the aggregate value still increased 12% year-over-year from $158 billion.
Executives Bezos Could Face Obstacles Before Buying Commanders [[link removed]]
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Jeff Bezos may have to choose between the Washington, D.C., area’s football team and its most revered newspaper, according to the New York Post.
Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder may be unwilling [[link removed]] to sell the team to Bezos while he still owns the Washington Post.
Snyder may hold a grudge against Bezos over the paper’s coverage of sexual harassment claims against the owner. A party interested in buying the Washington Post told the New York Post that they believe the paper will be sold. Spokespeople for Bezos and the Washington Post denied that the paper was for sale. Sources close to the matter told Front Office Sports that they doubted the paper will change hands. Bidding War
While Bezos’ presence has lingered throughout the sale process, sources told [[link removed]] FOS that he didn’t place a bid by the first deadline to do so. However, he has previously hinted at interest in buying the team and could still enter the fray.
None of the six submitted bids topped $6.3 billion, per sources. The team has been tight-lipped on how much, if any, will be sold, but bidders are confident that Snyder will offload a controlling stake in the team.
Clearlake Capital co-founders Behdad Eghbali and José Feliciano, as well as Fenway Sports Group principal owner John Henry, could be interested. Los Angeles Dodgers, Lakers, Sparks, and Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has reportedly [[link removed]] pulled out of the race.
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Real Estate Bills, New York Finalizing $1.4B Stadium Deal [[link removed]]
Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
A deal to keep the Bills in Buffalo through at least the middle of this century is nearly done.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said [[link removed]] the deal was “almost in the end zone.” The Erie County Stadium Corp. unanimously approved the deal framework on Monday, clearing one of the remaining administrative hurdles.
Under an agreement announced [[link removed]] in March, the state will contribute $600 million to the $1.4 billion stadium project. Erie County will add $250 million. The Bills will be required to stay in Buffalo for 30 years under the terms of the deal. The state said that the team contributes $27 million annually in state and local taxes.
Hochul has insisted on a community benefits program, saying the Bills have committed more than $3 million to a range of local causes.
The team is hoping to have its new digs ready for the 2026 season.
No Need for Neutrality
The Bills’ season ended on Sunday with a 27-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC divisional round.
Had the Bills advanced, they would have played the Kansas City Chiefs in Atlanta, a neutral site selected by the NFL after a regular-season contest between the Bills and Bengals was canceled following a near-fatal incident with Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
The league had sold [[link removed]] more than 50,000 conditional tickets to the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Instead, the Chiefs will host the Bengals for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game in Kansas City.
Conversation Starters The Nevada State Supreme Court agreed [[link removed]] to stay former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden’s lawsuit over derogatory emails until the NFL’s appeal in the case is decided. The NFL’s AFC and NFC title games on Jan. 29 both feature [[link removed]] spread betting lines of less than a field goal for the first time since 1998. Mishawaka Fieldhouse, a massive high school athletics facility being built in Indiana, could generate [[link removed]] $65 million in annual revenue, according to the developer.
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In today’s episode, by NetSuite [[link removed]], the Glazers could keep a part of Manchester United, two Pac-12 senior executives are fired, a new high school athletics facility could generate $65 million in annual revenue, and the Association of Pickleball Professionals announce TV deals.
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What to Watch
The Boston Celtics (35-13) face the Miami Heat (26-22) on Tuesday night at Miami-Dade Arena.
How to Watch: 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT
Betting Odds: Heat -3 || ML -148 || O/U 217.5
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