The women’s Final Four in Dallas will feature the most anticipated matchup of the season: the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The game could easily set a record for the most-watched women’s semifinal in the past decade — and top the 2013 Notre Dame-UConn matchup that drew three million viewers. It could even set a new record.

It will be a showdown between the best defensive and offensive programs that women’s college basketball offers. 

• South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston has a resume that’s too long to list — but highlights include the 2022 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and multiple overall Player of the Year accolades.
• Iowa’s Caitlyn Clark is a Naismith Player of the Year finalist and the first men’s or women’s player to post a 40-point triple-double in the NCAA tournament.

Another factor: a trend of skyrocketing ratings during recent Final Fours, no matter the matchup. 

LSU and Virginia Tech, which makes its first appearance, will battle in the other semifinal on Friday.

Undervalued NIL Power?

Neither Clark nor Boston cracks the top 10 in estimated earning potential, according to On3. Clark ranks 12th at $160,000, while Boston ranks 15th with a potential of $104,000.

Those are just estimates, though. So far, Clark has inked multiple deals — most notably her partnership with Nike. Boston has a unique deal with Under Armour and at least 11 other deals with companies like Orangetheory.

Both players were featured in a Buick campaign highlighting women’s sports.

Premier League giant Chelsea is still feeling the effects of sanctions against its previous owner.

In its annual financial results report, Chelsea FC Holdings Limited reported a net loss of almost $149 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022.

The blame is primarily chalked up to previous Russian owner Roman Abramovich, the subject of sanctions by the U.K. government over his ties to Vladimir Putin after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March 2022.

As a result, the club had to operate with a special license — which placed restrictions on ticket and merchandise sales, event bookings, and contracts with players, coaches, other staff, and commercial sponsorship partners — until the club was sold to American businessman Todd Boehly in May 2022 for a record $5.4 billion.

Still, the club enjoyed some financial success.

Chelsea’s turnover figure increased to $591.4 million from $534.4 million the year before. It also reported a profit of $151.4 from player trading after spending $145 million on the squad during the fiscal year.

The next player bill is bound to be much higher, as the Boehly-led Chelsea accounted for 37% of a record $1 billion spent by Premier League clubs during the January transfer window.

Despite the losses and expenditures, the club says it will continue to comply with Premier League and UEFA financial regulations.

TikTok is growing in importance to sports advertisers — but could face a ban in the U.S.

The short-form video platform has an estimated 150 million American users — nearly half the country — and companies are using the platform to leverage major sporting events.

• Degree launched TikTok ads starring Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo around March Madness. 
• T-Mobile supplemented its Super Bowl campaign with a TikTok ad buy. 
• State Farm opted not to run a Super Bowl ad this year and prioritized the China-based social platform instead.

TikTok saw the largest growth among major social platforms last year in sports-related engagement. The platform’s sports activity grew 65% from 2021 to 2022, compared to 22% for Facebook and 8% for Twitter.

The WWE, FIFA World Cup, and NBA led the pack among major sports properties on the platform.

The platform can also influence college athletes’ NIL value. Many of the top NIL athletes by NIL earning power, according to On3, have huge TikTok followings, including Bronny James (5.7 million), Olivia Dunne (7.3 million), and Mikey Williams (2.1 million). 

Banned in the USA?

However, there is bipartisan interest in banning TikTok in the U.S.

The Biden administration and lawmakers in both parties have raised concerns that the Chinese government could compel the company to hand over data on American users.

However, the anti-TikTok sentiment in Washington isn’t unanimous. Influential Democrats Jamaal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have spoken out against banning the app.

Monarch Collective, a private equity firm focused on professional women’s sports, has raised $100 million. The company is branding itself as the first investment fund specifically created for supporting women’s sports.

The fund was launched last year by a group of prominent sports investors: Jasmine Robinson, former partner of Causeway Investors and the San Francisco 49ers, and Kara Nortman, co-founder of Angel City FC and former Upfront Ventures partner.

Billie Jean King is among the company’s initial investors.

The pair plan to focus on leagues like the WNBA and NWSL — while also expanding to global women’s sports leagues. 

The company is following two major trends: an uptick in popularity for women’s sports across the board and an increase in investment funds looking to support ventures backed by women.

Serena Williams, for example, has quietly built up her own venture capital firm Serena Ventures — which raised $111 million last year. Williams plans to put the money toward companies run by “diverse” founders.