The Premier League and Electronic Arts are reportedly nearing an extension doubling the rights fees paid under the current deal. 

The league’s 20 clubs were briefed last week on a six-year extension worth nearly $600 million, Sky News reported on Friday. The Premier League will receive $97 million annually — nearly $5 million per team — over the course of the yet-to-be-announced deal. 

“FIFA” has been part of the game’s branding since EA released its first console soccer game on the Sega Genesis in 1993, but announced it was ending its exclusive deal with EA in May. 

But despite FIFA’s withdrawal, EA has now made deals with more than 300 partners spanning more than 700 teams and about 19,000 athletes. 

• EA and MLS — partners since 1999 — extended their current deal in August. 
• Also in August, La Liga and EA agreed to a five-year deal worth a reported $30.5 million annually. 
• In 2021, EA agreed to an extension with UEFA that came with the exclusive rights to the UEFA Champions League. 

The title, which will now be called “EA Sports FC,” has racked up more than $20 billion in sales over the last 20 years.

Ongoing Partnership

EA clearly wants its commercial relationship with the Premier League — which dates back to 1998 — to endure. 

“We’re proud to have a long-standing partnership with the Premier League and its clubs, and appreciate their support in our plans for ‘EA Sports FC’,” EA Sports said in a statement.

Andretti Global and Cadillac may be facing competition as they try to become Formula 1’s 11th team.

F1 president Stefano Domenicali implied that other teams are seeking to get into the global racing series — and that despite their public efforts, Andretti and Cadillac don’t have the inside track.

• “There are others that are much less vocal that would like to come into Formula 1, so there is a process to respect, and we will make sure together with the FIA that the process will be respected,” Domenicali told Sky Sports.
• He added: “There are a lot of dimensions to consider, and we don’t have to overreact because someone is pushing the system.”

Andretti and Cadillac have faced resistance from most other F1 teams, which Andretti Global CEO Michael Andretti claimed was “all about greed.”

Domenicali said the comment was “not smart.”

Ally Steps Back

One central figure who had supported Andretti’s bid has taken on a reduced role. 

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is retreating from F1’s day-to-day operations, but will remain in a strategic role.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner suggested that Andretti and Cadillac could buy their way into an existing team instead of diluting the available prize money by starting a new one. It isn’t clear if there are currently any F1 teams looking to sell a significant stake.

Canada’s women’s national soccer team has called off a strike after Canada Soccer threatened to take legal action against the Canadian Soccer Players’ Association.

The team —  which is currently in Orlando, Florida, preparing for this week’s SheBelieves Cup — said Friday that its players would be taking job action due to budget cuts, equal pay disparities, and lack of support from Canada Soccer. 

• The players boycotted training Saturday.
• Veteran players Christine Sinclair and Janine Beckie said they wouldn’t represent Canada Soccer until demands were met.
• The governing body, which claimed on Friday that said negotiations had been in place for months, threatened to sue the CSPA and the players at camp.

“They told us that if we did not return to work… they would not only take legal action to force us back to the pitch but would consider taking steps to collect what could be millions of dollars in damages from our Players’ Association and from each of the individual players currently in camp,” the team said Saturday.

The CSPA said their players have yet to receive compensation for any of their 2022 work and “cannot afford the risks that personal action against us by Canada Soccer will create.”

Canada’s Competition

The team will play Thursday, but its off-field work isn’t done.

“We will continue to fight for everything we deserve and we will win. The SheBelieves Cup is being played in protest,” Sinclair tweeted.

The owners of the Cleveland Browns could be set to expand their sports ownership beyond Ohio.

Dee and Jimmy Haslam are having conversations about buying a minority stake in the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, according to multiple reports. 

Business executive Marc Lasry and Fortress Investment Group co-founder Wes Edens currently own the team, which won an NBA championship in 2021.

• Haslam Sports Group would purchase a quarter of the team from Lasry.
• Lasry previously considered selling his stake to Mat Ishbia before the latter bought the Suns.
• But the overall process has been subject to some hesitation — The Athletic reported that Lasry has been mulling over the sale for multiple weeks.

Lasry and Edens originally bought the team in 2014 for around $550 million from former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl, but the Bucks are currently valued at $2.3 billion by Forbes, making them the 15th-most-valuable NBA franchise.

A Mixed Track Record

Haslam Sports Group has a so-so resume in the sports ownership space.

The group briefly held a stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers, but sold it in 2012 to buy the Browns for $11 million. The Browns have struggled mightily with the Haslams at the helm.

The group has had more success with its ownership stake in the MLS’ Columbus Crew, which won the MLS Cup in 2020, a year after the Haslams bought the team.