Highlight Reel: The largest institutional investment ever made in a women’s franchise ⚽️
This week's top stories feature Sixth Street, NWSL, NBA, LeBron James, Las Vegas Aces, LA Dodgers, PRIME, Logan Paul and KSI.
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Welcome to the Highlight Reel, where keeping up to date with sports business news is as effortless as a Sam Kerr volley.
This week's lineup includes…
Sixth Street’s NWSL investment ⚽️
NBA’s collective bargaining agreement 🏀
LA Dodgers and PRIME agree deal ⚾️
HEADLINE
Sixth Street commits record $125m to buy new US women’s soccer club ⚽️
Earlier this week, Sixth Street announced the largest institutional investment ever made in a professional women’s sports franchise.
In partnership with USWNT legends Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne Lewis, Danielle Slaton, and the club's Co-Chair Aly Wagner, the global investment firm are set to bring a National Women's Soccer League expansion club to the Bay Area in 2024.
Though Alan Waxman (co-Founder and CEO at Sixth Street) claimed the strength of the Northern California market and its status as a soccer haven played a part in the investment story, the bigger theme is what is happening with global women’s sports as an ecosystem;
“All you have to believe is that economic reality eventually catches up to the data. And as it does, similar to the global men’s soccer franchises, we will start to see professional women’s teams become national and global consumer brands.”
FEATURE
New rules open up NBA and WNBA investment opportunities for players 🏀
On Saturday, the NBA and its players agreed to coexist peacefully with a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
The CBA is set to impact every element off-the-court; Trades, free agency, the NBA Draft, and the salary cap will undergo significant changes and, for the first time ever, NBA players will be able to invest in NBA and WNBA franchises.
FanClub Sports’ Dave Mirynech has suggested this may as well be called the “LeBron James rule.”
James is already a partner at Fenway Sports Group (FSG), giving him an ownership stake in its subsidiaries, which includes the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC. He and FSG are said to be a leading contender for the expected NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas.
Hot on the heels of Tom Brady's investment into the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, Mirynech also believes we’ll see significant investment activity from NBA players taking minority LP stakes with the WNBA as a result of the CBA.
EXPLORE
Here’s a few other interesting stories from across the week… 👇
Endeavor confirms WWE-UFC deal to create a $21 billion sports entertainment company 🥷 (more on this in next week’s newsletter)
Why The Masters hasn’t changed the price of its pimento cheese sandwich since 2003 - and leaves (at least) $200m on the table ⛳️
DP World Tour has won a landmark arbitration case against LIV Golf rebels which may mean Westwood and Poulter never feature on Tour again 🏌️♂️
Majority of women’s cricketers will earn more than $100k per year after Cricket Australia announced a landmark $634m pay deal 🏏
Post FTX collapse, Miami Heat is set to rename its arena the Kaseya Center 🏟
NWSL has set a new opening-week attendance record with more than 90k attending a game ⚽️
The inaugural Pickleball Slam, featuring John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, on ESPN has beat MLB and NHL in TV ratings race 🎾
What stories have I missed? Let me know by replying to this email.
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BIG IDEA
PRIME Example: Rightsholders could benefit from Dodging industry incumbents ⚾️
For PRIME was recently named the official sports drink of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Whilst PRIME benefits from credibility gained, Johnson suggests the value for rightsholders –beyond the obvious financial upside– is the ability to get their brand in front of the next generation of sports fans.
“We are seeing a bit of a trend with rightsholders now thinking more favourably about partnerships that have this hidden upside around additional reach,” Johnson said.
Paul and KSI have a combined 47 million followers on YouTube, an audience largely comprised of Gen-Zs.
By comparison, the Dodgers have just 213,000 followers on the platform.
“We sort of saw this when there was the dispute between New Balance and Nike for Liverpool’s kit deal," Johnson said. "Liverpool favoured Nike because of the baked in value of their global superstar athletes.”
And there’s value in having access to and being associated with Logan Paul and KSI, just like there is with LeBron James or Serena Williams.
Last weekend, PRIME flexed its brand power at WWE’s WrestleMania. Paul, who was participating in the event as a wrestler, slammed KSI, who made a surprise appearance dressed as a bottle of PRIME, through a table.
A post on PRIME’s Instagram account showing KSI lying on a stretcher backstage following the viral moment has generated over 1.4 million likes to date.
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JOB BOARD
Director of Football - Forest Green Rovers (Stroud, UK)
General Manager - AFL Europe (London, UK)
Lead Consultant, Motorsport - Two Circles (London, UK)
Sponsorship and Events Manager - Santander (Milton Keynes, UK)
Manager, Bilingual Field Marketing & Events - New York Red Bulls (New York, US)
Marketing Manager - So-Fi Stadium (Los Angeles, US)
Strategy Lead - AFL (Melbourne, Aus)
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