March 2, 2023
Read in Browser [[link removed]]
POWERED BY
A Joe Montana jersey — worn during two of his Super Bowl wins with the San Francisco 49ers, including “The Drive” — set a staggering record [[link removed]] for football jerseys sold through auction. The jersey reportedly went for $1.2 million through auction marketplace Goldin. That’s more than twice the $480,000 that one of Tom Brady’s jerseys sold for.
Leagues PGA Tour Increases Purse Sizes, Alters Format In Response to LIV [[link removed]]
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Change is afoot at the PGA Tour.
The Tour’s policy board voted [[link removed]] Tuesday to make a series of stark changes to the size and qualifications of events.
Commissioner Jay Monahan said the changes will “transform and set the future direction” for the PGA Tour.
The 2024 season will have eight designated events with fields of 70-78 players. These will be in addition to the majors, Players, and three FedExCup Playoffs events. Prize purses will be larger for these designated events. This year, they have minimum prize purses of $20 million. They will not have a 36-hole cut, allowing every player to compete in all four rounds.
“Over the last year, we have spent a massive amount of time exploring how to better position the PGA Tour for continued growth,” Monahan wrote. “How to further showcase our top performers, while staying true to the meritocracy and legacy that define the Tour.”
The changes could help the Tour to better compete with LIV Golf for talent, which has lured big names with huge bonuses and prize offerings, and a guaranteed place in its events. LIV uses a 54-hole, no-cut format.
The PGA Tour will also no longer require top players to participate in certain events.
“I want to give everyone a fair shake at this, which I think this structure has done,” Rory McIlroy said about the designated event format. “It’s trying to get the top guys versus the hot guys, right? I think that creates a really compelling product.”
Law Ruling Keeps Brian Flores’ Racial Discrimination Lawsuit in Federal Court [[link removed]]
Syndication: Palm Beach Post
Brian Flores secured a significant courtroom victory as a federal judge kept his racial discrimination lawsuit [[link removed]] against the NFL and three teams in her court instead of arbitration.
The NFL’s lawyers had argued for months [[link removed]] that Flores’ lawsuit should be shifted into the league’s arbitration process. Flores filed last year after he was fired as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins and alleged the New York Giants conducted a “sham” interview to comply [[link removed]] with the NFL’s Rooney Rule.
“This case shines an unflattering spotlight on the employment practices of National Football League teams,” U.S. District Court Judge Valerie E. Caproni wrote in the introduction to her opinion.
Flores’ case will move forward against the Denver Broncos, New York Giants, Houston Texans, and the NFL in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Flores spent last season as a defensive assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers and was recently hired as defensive coordinator by the Minnesota Vikings.
“The [core] of Mr. Flores’s claim is not that the NFL is generally racist,” Caproni wrote. “Rather, Mr. Flores claims that specific adverse employment decisions were driven by discriminatory animus harbored by the NFL and member teams.”
The league successfully got some claims moved into arbitration, including those brought by the two other plaintiffs in the case — Steve Wilks, who served as the interim head coach for the Carolina Panthers last season, and longtime former assistant NFL coach Ray Horton.
SPONSORED BY META
What’s Next for Augmented Reality in Sports
AR adoption is booming with 700m people using AR effects across Meta platforms each month. Sports partners are leading the charge, with fun, interactive effects that engage fans and build community.
That’s why Front Office Sports has partnered with Meta to launch Metaverse Essentials: Building the Future, our latest free course [[link removed]] covering the ins and outs of metaverse-related technologies.
The five-lesson course includes a lesson on Building Expressions and Connections, where Meta’s Angel Gonzalez sits down with Sportsmanias CEO Vicente Fernandez and House of V CCO Justin Allen to discuss how augmented reality can unlock new immersive experiences [[link removed]] for athletes and fans alike.
Register now [[link removed]]!
Markets Puma Strides to Record Sales With Help From Footwear [[link removed]]
PUMA
Footwear continues to be a high point for Puma as it reported record annual sales for 2022.
The athletic apparel and footwear brand reported [[link removed]] an 18.9% increase in revenue for the full year to $8.98 billion and a 21.1% year-over-year increase in fourth-quarter revenue to $2.33 billion.
For the three months ending Dec. 31, 2022, sales in footwear jumped 53.3%, while sales in apparel and accessories fell 1.6%. Net earnings dropped 82% in the quarter.
During the year, Puma extended [[link removed]] its deal with AC Milan and became the official naming partner of the club’s performance center for “future talents” and its women’s team, called the “Puma House of Football.”
The company also became the official match ball provider of Serie A, starting with the 2022-23 season.
Puma aims to become a “premium sports brand” in the U.S. by selling more higher-priced soccer, basketball, and running sportswear, according [[link removed]] to CEO Arne Freundt.
One of Puma’s eight strategic priorities continues to be “re-entry into basketball to improve our position in North America.”
Last year, Puma launched the first signature shoe for a female athlete in over a decade with WNBA player Breanna Stewart.
Sales in the Americas region for the fourth quarter jumped 29% year-over-year. Sales increased 26.1% in the EMEA region and 1.6% in the Asia/Pacific region.
Conversation Starters Last summer, Ja Morant allegedly [[link removed]] threatened the head of security at a Memphis mall and punched a 17-year-old boy in the head four days after. Claims that Saudi Arabia’s Yasir Al-Rumayyan is beyond the reach of the U.S. court system were reportedly [[link removed]] met with “anger” by Premier League clubs since Al-Rumayyan is the chairman of Newcastle United. Check out [[link removed]] the six shoes of Michael Jordan’s “Dynasty Collection” headed to auction.
PRESENTED BY PITCHBOOK
Investing in Soccer in Silicon Valley
Introducing Driven with Michelle Wie West [[link removed]], a new video series from Front Office Sports in partnership with PitchBook, where the former golf pro sits down with some of her favorite athletes to discuss their journeys as investors and what it takes to win.
In the third and final episode, Michelle sits down with former U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Member, Co-Founder of Hustle Beauty, and Co-Leader of #NWSLToTheBay, Leslie Osborne [[link removed]].
Learn how Osborne’s post-playing career has evolved from investor to entrepreneur and, most recently, co-Leader of a group that has successfully fundraised and bid to bring an NWSL expansion team to the Bay Area.
Watch the full episode [[link removed]] now.
What to Watch
The Los Angeles Clippers (33-31) take on the Golden State Warriors (32-30) on Thursday at Chase Center.
How to Watch: 10 p.m. ET on TNT
Betting Odds: Clippers -4 || ML -170 || O/U 231.5
Refer Friends, Win Merch
Ready to rep your favorite newsletter? Refer your friends and colleagues to Front Office Sports and you could win FOS merchandise.
It’s easy to spread the word. Copy and paste your unique link below and share it in an email or on your timeline.
Referral Count: 0
Copy your invite link: [link removed] [[link removed]]
Or share on social media: [mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20the%20Front%20Office%20Sports%20daily%20newsletter!&body=This%20newsletter%20from%20Front%20Office%20Sports%20summarizes%20the%20four%20biggest%20stories%20in%20the%20sports%20business%20world%20every%20weekday...all%20in%20five%20minutes%20or%20less.+[link removed]] Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Pro [[link removed]] Written by Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], A.J. Perez [[link removed]], Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Greg Lee [[link removed]]
If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here [[link removed]].
Update your preferences [link removed] / Unsubscribe [link removed]
Copyright © 2023 Front Office Sports. All rights reserved.
80 Pine Street Suite 3202 New York, NY 10005
