🔊 Messi's New Billion Dollar Home

Welcome to another edition of The Hype Report where we curate & deliver the latest news, stories & insights around sports technology.

🗞️ Top News

• Inter Miami CF has begun construction on Miami Freedom Park, putting them on track to change home venues in 2025. The club’s new 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium will be located near Miami International Airport, bringing the Herons south after they’ve played in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at DRV PNK Stadium since their 2020 inaugural season (more here).

• Barstool Sports to cut staff by nearly 25 percent. Founder Dave Portnoy reacquired 100% of the company from PENN Entertainment for $1 in the wake of its ESPN Bet deal and had made it known that cutbacks would be coming. Fast Company has (more here).

• The NFL, NBA, and UFC are demanding changes to US copyright law so that illegal streams of live sporting events can be taken down immediately. Leagues estimate piracy costs the sports industry up to $28 billion a year. Front Office Sports has (more here).

💰 Investments & Valuations

• The average NFL team is now worth a record $5.1 billion, 14% more than last year, powered by more television money and the $6.05 billion sale of the Washington Commanders—at 11 times revenue—to a group led by billionaire Josh Harris in July. Forbes has (more here).

• Saudi PIF’s new sports fund pours $100 million into PFL MMA Circuit. The sports fund created by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has acquired a minority stake in the Professional Fighters League, marking another deal into a US sporting entity by a Middle Eastern investor. Yahoo Sports has (more here).

• The UK government has unveiled a new investment strategy designed to bring together rights holders and fuel growth and innovation in women’s sports. SportsProMedia has (more here).

• French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault is close to a $7 billion deal to buy a majority stake in Creative Artists Agency, the Hollywood talent giant that’s home to athletes such as Devin Booker, Sidney Crosby, Josh Allen, and Chris Paul, according to people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg has (more here).

• Jeff Zucker is in talks to invest in Front Office Sports. The former CNN chief leads a $1 billion investment fund called RedBird IMI. Discussions are still ongoing and may not result in a deal. Axios has (more here).

• Sixth Street, a global investment firm that manages more than $70 billion, is betting big on sports teams and live sports events. CNBC has (more here).

• FlipGive secures C$5 million led by BDC Capital and Framework Venture Partners. Launched last August, FlipGive’s rewards platform enables companies in the sports tech, school tech, and cause tech verticals to embed a white-label fundaraising-via-cash-back model into their offering (more here).

• The Antetokounmpo brothers are joining Serena and Venus Williams as owners of TGL's Los Angeles Golf Club. Giannis, Thanasis, Kostas, and Alex Antetokounmpo announced this week that they are investing in the Los Angeles Golf Club, the inaugural team of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TGL golf league. PGA Tour has (more here).

• EP Golf Ventures, a strategic investment partnership between Elysian Park Ventures and the PGA of America designed to support tech and innovation in the golf industry, announced the completion of the first closing of its first investment fund, EP Golf Ventures Fund I (more here).

🤝 Partnerships & Collabs

• Pickleball Kingdom and PlaySight announced an exclusive partnership to revolutionize the sport of Pickleball (more here).

•Sportlogiq and Inside Edge announced a partnership that will see the two collaborate on producing automated data and insights for NHL coverage (more here).

• SailGP, a Web3-focused and fan-owned sailing team, announced an expanded collaboration with T-Mobile for Business for Seasons 4 and 5 spanning 2023 through 2025 (more here).

• FIBA Global Suppliers Schelde Sports and Unilumin Sports are collaborating to provide an integrated LED screen in the backstop. The Super SAM 325 PRO LED product is being showcased at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, providing more exposure for FIBA Global Partners to showcase their brand to millions of fans around the globe (more here).

• Burnley FC has continued the expansion of its portfolio of partners, announcing a new collaboration with Web3 financial platform Uphold (more here).

• Florida Gator running back, Trevor Etienne has signed an NIL deal with the OpenLocker fan community Gataverse. A proprietary NFT platform, the company uses blockchain technology to create authentic athletes’ digital collectibles. On3 has (more here).

⚡ Other Hype

• How dynamic NFTs can bring brand engagement to a new level. With dynamic NFTs, brands can create more interactive experiences and more effective loyalty programs. Yahoo Sports has (more here).

• Business Insider is seeking nominations for the top VCs investing in sports. For the first year, Insider wants to highlight the top venture capitalists investing in sports startups, from seed to later stages (more here).

• Fox Sports taps Google Cloud for generative AI capabilities. Fox Corp.’s Fox Sports is turning to generative artificial intelligence to help its staffers generate content more rapidly from millions of hours of archived game footage (more here).

• MLB Testing Hands-Free Entry for Fans Utilizing Facial Authentication, AI Security. The Philadelphia Phillies have partnered with Major League Baseball to use their stadium as the site of a pilot program called Go-Ahead Entry (more here).

• Who Needs Just Endorsement Deals, When Pros Can Invest in Companies? Escalating salaries, a plethora of private equity firms specializing in sports, and the potential for strong, and sometimes fast, returns are fueling the interest. WWD has (more here).

• Impact of the Metaverse on Sports Thematic Intelligence Report 2023: Virtual Stadiums are Leading the Way in Sports Innovation (more here).

• Fanatics-backed vintage sports brand hires Nike executive as CEO. Mitchell & Ness, the merchandise brand known for its throwback and vintage jersey and sports apparel collections, has hired Jordan Brand executive Eli Kumekpor as its new CEO. CNBC has (more here).

• SailGP And NEAR Empower Blockchain-Powered Fan Ownership. SailGP is the first global sports league to amend its rules of participation to allow for a community-owned and managed team. The new Fan-Owned Team will be owned and operated by a community built on NEAR, and Bernoulli Locke is one of the organizations helping to facilitate this shift in what sports team ownership means. Forbes has (more here).

• Tennis Meets Tech as Tiffany, Amex, Wilson Descend Upon US Open. Major brands are using the U.S. Open tennis tournament to show off how they're embracing tech like augmented reality, NFTs, and VR. Decrypt has (more here).

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading.

Malcolm

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not financial or business advice in any capacity.

The information shared is my thoughts & opinions and does not represent the opinions of any other person, business, entity, or sponsor.

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