🔊 Soccer Star Faces $1 Billion Lawsuit

📰 TOP STORY
Cristiano Ronaldo Faces $1 Billion Lawsuit Over Promotion Of Binance Ads

• World-renowned soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is facing a $1 billion class action lawsuit in the US over his promotion of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. The lawsuit filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida Monday alleges that Ronaldo’s promotion of Binance was “deceptive and unlawful.” The plaintiffs claim that Binance’s partnership with high-profile figures like Ronaldo led them to costly and unsafe investments (more here).

💰 MONEY MOVES 
Gen Z Sports Media Company Raises Series A

• Hang Media, a NYC-based provider of a direct-to-consumer sports platform, raised $9.2 million in Series A funding. The round was led by The Operating Group, with participation from Clara Vista Investment Partners, Ratner Ventures, Brown Angel Group, and Anthony Baranello (more here).

• Sports and esports bookmaker Picklebet raises AUD 15 million in Series A. The Australian next-gen betting and media company at the nexus of esports, sports, and internet culture is now valued at AUD 150 million. The round was led by Discerning Capital, alongside Drive by DraftKings, Manifest Investment Partners, and Jeff Sagansky (more here).

• Alabama Linebacker uses NIL funds to invest in the SailGP Team. Dallas Turner is one of the country's top pash-rushers and now adds another line to his resume today - athlete investor - as he is part of a celebrity roster purchasing the SailGP team (more here).

• Patricof Co Invests in Premier Sports Education Institution IMG Academy. The New York-based private investment platform announced an investment in IMG Academy, a leading global sports education institution. Over 50 P/Co’s athlete clients participated in this investment, including Dak Prescott, Michelle Wie West, Jason Kelce, CC Sabathia, Justin Jefferson and Steve Kerr (more here).

• DOJ launches probe into shadowy Miami-based sports investing giant 777 Partners amid accusations of money laundering. The Miami-based company, which has a portfolio of clubs including Vasco de Gama and Genoa, agreed a deal to take over Everton for $635 million in September (more here).

• MLB and Formula 1 are facing lawsuits over FTX crypto promotions. The investors’ lawyers sued MLB, the first major sports league to sign a promotional deal with FTX in 2021 – and the other entities in federal court in Miami Monday, accusing them of “aiding and abetting and/or actively participating in the FTX Group’s massive, multi-billion-dollar global fraud (more here).

• Cal Ripken Jr. NFT collection sells out in hours. The company that is selling the Ripken NFTs broke records when someone purchased one of its NFTs in 2022 for more than $100,000 (more here).

 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABS
Premier Student-Athlete Mental Health App Adds Three New Partners

• The Zone, an app supporting college-athletes’ mental wellness, has signed three NCAA Division I conferences as new partners. The Atlantic 10, Patriot League, and Mountain West all enter agreements as the preferred mental health platform for student-athletes throughout the conference (more here).

• Tech Mahindra said on Monday that it has collaborated with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to build a sports cloud platform. The platform will build next-generation digital capabilities for sports organizations and deliver immersive sports experiences worldwide (more here).

• Diamond Kinetics and Marucci drop a first-of-its-kind fully integrated smart bat. Two of the most innovative baseball companies revealed the Marucci CATX Smart, the first smart bat with an integrated sensor approved by USSSA for in-game use, setting a new standard for smart baseball equipment (more here).

• The Orlando Magic announced an expanded relationship with Shift4, the leader in integrated payments and commerce technology. With this expansion, Shift4’s commerce solutions will power all concessions payments, including point-of-sale, kiosk, and mobile transactions at Amway Center (more here).

• NHL announces multiyear agreement with Rival to host esports initiatives. The NHL announced a multiyear partnership with leading fan engagement company Rival to serve as the Official Tournament Platform and League Operator for all competitions within the NHL's esports umbrella, including the EA SPORTS NHL World Championship (more here).

🔊 OTHER HYPE
Sports Illustrated Gets Caught Red-Handed

• Sports Illustrated reportedly published articles by fake AI-generated writers as reported by Futurism. The magazine denied using AI but said it would take down the articles while it investigated (more here).

• Mark Cuban selling majority stake in Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson at a $3.5 billion valuation. Cuban originally bought the team in 2000 for $285 million and will remain in control of basketball operations (more here).

• 25 promising sports startups to watch, according to VCs and other top investors. Business Insider asked top sports VCs and investors for the most promising startups in the space, but full disclosure, this isn’t financial advice (more here).

• Mojo, a sports-betting startup from Marc Lore and A-Rod that raised $100 million, is cutting 20% of its staff. Mojo had about 95 full-time employees as of last year, according to a 2022 pitch deck. The company would not comment on the current number of employees or the reasoning behind the cuts (more here).

• NASCAR announces new media rights deal for 2025 and beyond. The new media rights deal is reportedly worth an average annual value of $1.1 billion, a 40% increase over the current deal (more here).

• Ex-NBCU head Shell to lead RedBird Capital’s sports investment business. Jeff Shell, the former chief executive of NBCUniversal (NBCU), will join US private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners to lead its sports and entertainment investment business (more here).

• Women’s sports revenue is set to hit $1.28 billion in 2024. Soccer is expected to pull in $555 million next year, followed by basketball with $354 million (more here).