Highlight Reel: Street Style Takes the Cup 🏆

Plus, there are positive signs for the PFL’s media rights heading into the 'Battle of the Giants,' and YouTubers Dude Perfect hire NBA exec as CEO following $100m growth capital raise...

Oct 18, 2024

Welcome to Sports Pundit’s Highlight Reel – your go-to roundup of the latest sports business news, insights, and trends shaping the industry.

Each week, we bring you the key stories and developments that have captured the attention of sports executives and leaders across our global network.

In today’s email;

The Convergence of Football and Fashion 🧥
Positive Signs for PFL’s Media Rights 🥊
YouTubers Dude Perfect hire NBA exec as CEO 🏀

Happy Friday!

Andy 😊 🙏

P.S. Thanks to everyone who turned up to last night’s Happy Hour in London, it was wonderful to see you many of you there. It’s lovely to both have regulars as well as a number of new faces! 😀

P.P. S. Congrats to Jo Redfern, our latest ‘Contributor of the Week.’ Our first repeat winner.

Other honourable mentions go to Rhys, Chad, Ana, and Chris.

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FASHION FORWARD

Street Style Takes the Cup 🏆

This week, C.P. Company enlisted Manchester City stars Phil Foden, Nathan Aké, and Jérémy Doku for their latest FW024 campaign. They join a growing list of elite footballers featured in high-end fashion, with Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze starring in Burberry campaigns, and Jude Bellingham making waves at fashion week with Louis Vuitton.

But is the high-end fashion-football crossover reaching saturation?

Chaj Arunasalam suggests that collaborations with deeper cultural resonance, like Dave’s Santan Cup (supported by Stone Island and New Balance) and street football events such as The Basement Cup and P17 Tournament, might have greater impact.

These partnerships tap into the authenticity of streetwear culture and could represent the next evolution in the relationship between football and fashion.

What he says:

“High-end’s inaccessibility is at polar opposites with the accessibility of football.
Whereas The Santan Cup represents the people’s game. [It’s simply] Dave putting together a team with his close friends to take on his peers. I entered tournaments all summer and had the same experience. We relate to this. Street football tournaments authentically align with core football audiences.
As a result, there’s a long-term play for brands entering this space. They are engaging an audience that will always be there and connect with what’s going on. New Balance and Stone Island have a long-standing relationship with Dave. They’ll see greater impact supporting the tournament compared to brands who throw money at football [and football players in isolation].
Long live the Santan Cup.”

YouTube sensations Dude Perfect have appointed former NBA EVP Andrew Yaffe as CEO, who is tasked with expanding the brand “beyond traditional channels and solidifying Dude Perfect as a 21st century media company.” 🎯
Seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady has officially become a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, acquiring a 5% stake in the team 🏈
LeagueApps, a platform for managing youth sports teams, has received new funding from Accel-KKR and Arctos Sports Partners to fuel growth and enhance youth sports management and payment services ⚽️
Two Circles has agreed to acquire KORE, a leading fan and partner intelligence platform, expanding the company’s ability to grow audiences and revenues for the sports and entertainment industry 📊
Warner Bros Discovery’s TNT Sports has secured a multiyear TV rights deal to broadcast the Women’s 3-on-3 Basketball League Unrivaled, as well as investing into the league 🏀
RedBird IMI has now taken majority control of American sports business publication, Front Office Sports, buying out initial investor SC Holdings 📰

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RIGHTS RUMBLE

PFL’s 'Battle of the Giants' Sets the Stage for a Media Rights Showdown After UFC Negotiations 🥊

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is set to host its “Battle of the Giants” PPV event tomorrow (October 19), featuring two of the year’s most anticipated MMA matchups: Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira and Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco.

PFL’s founder and chairman, Donn Davis, claims that the event further cements PFL as the second-biggest MMA promotion, positioning it behind only the UFC in the eyes of American sports fans.

While this doesn’t affect the UFC’s dominance, Davis believes it will significantly influence PFL’s upcoming media rights negotiations.

With the UFC expected to secure $800 million annually in its 2025 rights renewal, PFL aims to capitalise on that momentum when its own negotiations follow a year later, as discussed in JohnWallStreet‘s recent column:

What he said:

“[Given that] multiple bidders will lose out on UFC rights, one must assume some portion of them will still be looking to add high-quality MMA programming come Jan. ’26, and the presumption is Battle of the Giants makes it clear which property should be next in line.
“PFL is “currently doing 45% of the UFC audience [on ESPN],” [Davis] noted.
And there’s a chance the broadcaster who lands the UFC package will want to corner the MMA market (or at least the top end of it).
“That’s why ESPN buys us now,” Davis said. Unlike with international soccer, “you can own the sport. There’s no leakage.”
So, there should be a market for PFL rights when they come up.
That does not mean it will receive a deal roughly half the size of UFC’s (or a comparable increase on a multiple basis). While fans consume the promotions’ content, it’s not yet a hook for acquisition.
At least, it hasn’t been historically. Battle of the Giants shows the promotion is capable of staging marquee PPVs.
At a fraction of the cost, broadcasters that lose out on the UFC will likely view the challenger property as a bargain.”

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