Highlight Reel: Wrexham Scores Big with Second Successive Super Bowl Ad Feature ⚽️
Plus EA Sports acquires TRACAB and Fox eyes streaming play by the end of 2025...
Good morning!
With a number of members in New Orleans ahead of the Super Bowl, I’m delighted to touchdown in your inbox with this week’s update—bringing you the biggest stories shaping the industry, as discussed in our ever-expanding and ever-wonderful WhatsApp group.
Now, onto this week’s hottest topics:
Wrexham’s Super Bowl Ad 🏟️
EA Sports Acquires TRACAB 🎮
Fox Eyes Streaming Play 📺
Let’s get into it:
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STōKED TO BE HERE
Wrexham Scores Big with Second Successive Super Bowl Ad Feature ⚽️
Wrexham AFC has landed another major U.S. marketing moment, starring in a Super Bowl commercial for their stadium sponsor, STōK Cold Brew, alongside Hollywood superstar Channing Tatum.
The ad, created by Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort, features Wrexham players Ollie Palmer, Paul Mullin, Jacob Mendy, and Jack Marriott, as Tatum coaches them on goal-scoring celebrations—offering some questionable choreography.
STōK Cold Brew likely spent over $10M all-in on the ad, considering the $6-7M Super Bowl airtime cost per 30 seconds, plus additional production, talent, and marketing expenses involved.
This marks Wrexham’s second Super Bowl activation following last year’s ad, which showcased acting legend Sir Anthony Hopkins as the club mascot, ‘Wrex the Dragon’.
Why It Matters:
With Welcome to Wrexham thriving in the U.S., this move further boosts the club’s brand visibility and long-term valuation.
More importantly, it highlights the power of selecting the right commercial partner(s)—not just the highest bidder. Rather than prioritising a short-term cash injection, Wrexham partnered with a brand willing to invest heavily in activations in key markets. This amplifies exposure beyond the stadium naming rights, demonstrating how smart sponsorships can drive far greater financial upside than upfront fees alone.
Not every club is AFC Wrexham (or Ryan Reynolds), but all teams can consider the alignment and activation budgets of the brands they choose to associate with. An old but gold example is how Samsung leveraged its Chelsea sponsorship, using strategic activations to increase the club’s visibility across key markets in Africa and Asia—a move that paid dividends for both parties..
SP PODCAST
Roddy Campbell [#45]: Transforming the Australian Open into the 'Super Bowl of APAC' 🎾
On today’s episode, I’m grateful to be joined by Roddy Campbell, Director of Partnerships & International Business at Tennis Australia
We’re catching up right off-the-back of the busiest three weeks of the year for Roddy and his team, having just seen the Australian Open conclude in Melbourne. The tournament has developed an incredible reputation as the 'startup slam’ and innovation flows through everything that they do - including across partnerships.
Although starting out in sport at The FA, Roddy has spent a lot of his career in the worlds of music and entertainment at the likes of EMI and Universal.
In our conversation, we discuss the “festivalisation" of sport, his team's co-creation approach to partnerships, their focus on China, and wanting to become the ’Super Bowl of APAC’, as well as much much more.
OPINION
🗣️ John Ourand: Next Wave of Ownership Economics Likely to be Defined by Real Estate Dealings
“As the RSN business continues to crater, the local media environments in both markets certainly played a part in this deal. Luka, after all, was on pace to demand a five-year $345m deal this summer. Sure, the NBA’s $77 billion national media deals will kick in next season, but it’s hard to see how Mavs could afford to keep the star Slovenian guard while countenancing the dislocations of its local media rights.”
“There’s growing belief inside professional sports circles that Cuban, who sold the bulk of the team to the Adelson family last year, foresaw this scenario unfolding and cashed out in advance. Indeed, when Cuban bought the team in 2000, he helped the NBA ownership understand the financial upside of their media potential. The next wave of ownership economics is likely to be defined by real estate dealings - hotels, casino development, interactive stadiums, etcetera. It’s hardly any wonder why Cubes is out and the Adelsons are in charge now.”
GAME-CHANGER
EA Sports Makes a Real-Time Data Play with TRACAB Acquisition 🎮
Electronic Arts has agreed to acquire TRACAB Technologies, a leader in sports optical tracking and analysis, as part of its push to enhance realism in sports gaming and beyond.
TRACAB, originally part of ChyronHego, became a standalone entity in 2021 and specialises in Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT), player tracking, and real-time match insights using AI-powered optical tracking.
EA Sports plans to integrate TRACAB’s cutting-edge live event data into its game engine, helping to improve player animations, team AI, and real-world sports simulation.
Beyond gaming, EA sees TRACAB as a key piece of its vision for the EA SPORTS App, using volumetric data capture to power features like predictive simulations, reimagined highlights, and alternative on-demand broadcasts.
Why It Matters:
With 600 million data points generated per match and tracking from 21 joints per player, TRACAB is one of the most sophisticated optical tracking systems in sport today. EA’s acquisition signals a major investment in real-world data to fuel next-gen AI and gameplay realism, while also expanding its footprint in live sports technology.
TRACAB’s real-time tracking means signature player movements can be digitized instantly, making in-game animations hyper-personalized and adaptive. Instead of weeks of motion capture, a Haaland bicycle kick or a Barkley hurdle could be playable within hours of happening live.
Beyond making virtual football more lifelike, this is a long-term play to position EA Sports as a broader interactive sports platform, bringing together gaming, real-world analytics, and digital fan experiences.
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HIGHLIGHTS
The NFL’s global expansion continues, with the LA Rams set to host a 2026 regular-season game at the MCG. This historic venue, best known for cricket and Aussie Rules, will now welcome American football 🏈
The NHL’s new animated series, ‘HOCKEYVERSE Matchup of the Week’, will recap a featured game in a 30-minute digital format. It’s part of the league’s push to engage younger fans through innovative content 🏒
Cartan Capital, led by former pro tennis player CiCi Bellis (a former SP Podcast guest), is raising its second fund focused on sports and health tech. The $40M fund will back innovations at the intersection of performance and well-being 💸
Ariel Investments ($13.8B AUM) is launching ‘Project Level,’ a fund focused on women’s sports. Backed by Lewis Hamilton, Queen Latifah, and Stella McCartney, its first move is an investment in NWSL’s new Denver team ⚽️
LIV Golf has partnered with ITV to return elite golf to free-to-air UK TV. The deal expands LIV’s reach beyond digital and pay-TV, helping attract a wider audience ⛳️
The EuroLeague’s Hoop District is back, with more content creators, cities, and basketball culture-driven experiences. A topic previously covered on the SP Podcast with Alex Ferrer Kristjansson, the initiative blends sport, urban culture, and digital storytelling 🏀
TAKING A VIEW
Fox Reports Big Sports Profits And Eyes New Streaming Service 📺
Fox Corporation reported a 20% revenue boost to $5.1B for its fiscal second quarter (Oct–Dec 2024), with net income more than doubling to $388M, driven primarily by live sports.
CEO Lachlan Murdoch reaffirmed that sports remain core to Fox’s strategy, despite broader media industry challenges, stating:
“We see the traditional cable bundle as still the most value for our consumers, and the most value for our company.”
Fox benefited from strong MLB postseason ratings, particularly a Yankees-Dodgers World Series that delivered the largest audience since 2017.
Fox expanded its college football programming, adding Friday night games that helped drive both viewership and ad revenue.
Despite these successes, Fox scrapped the Venu Sports streaming project (a joint venture with ESPN & Warner Bros. Discovery) due to legal challenges.
Why It Matters:
Live sports continue to be an irreplaceable asset for traditional broadcasters, with Fox proving that premium rights still drive massive ad revenue. However, the company is hedging its bets on streaming, planning to launch its own direct-to-consumer platform in late 2025.
Interestingly, the Super Bowl LIX broadcast on Fox will be streamed on Tubi, which will be a major test of how well digital can complement linear TV. This could help set the stage for Fox’s next move…
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OPINION
🗣️ Benjamin Balkin: Football is Getting Younger - And This Transfer Window Proved It Again
“The January transfer window is usually one for adjustments, people say. A window where clubs look more for experienced players to fill gaps, rather than investing strategically in youngsters.
This has a part of truth, of course. But this winter we have also seen confirmation that football is getting younger, and clubs are not waisting opportunities to sign very young players to their first team. And the fees are getting bigger and bigger.
At the same time, top players aged over 30 are struggling to find clubs since being out of contract in the summer! Clubs are not investing in those players anymore [as] they are considered depreciating assets and money not well spent. Sergio Ramos, Layvin Kurzawa, Wissam Ben Yedder, Serge Aurier, Rafinha… the list goes on.
The trend is clear, and the message from this window is even clearer. Clubs need to bring in players as young as possible, and therefore they need to start their scouting younger than ever before.
JOBS & ASKS
Within the SP Community, we love to share opportunities—whether it’s a job, a search for a new tech vendor, sponsorship, or even investment. We highlight these opportunities on the website as ‘Asks’ or on our Job Board.
Here’s a taster of recent Asks:
Women Wanted for a Sports Career Day 🙋♀️
Sponsor Series 4 of the Sports Pundit Podcast 🎙️
Content/Marketing/Communications Shadowing 🙇
And here’s a few featured jobs:
Partnership Development Manager - Aston Martin F1 🏎️
Investment Team Role - Monarch Collective 💸
Internship, International Marketing, Asia Pacific - Bundesliga International ⚽️
Head over to the website to check out these opportunities or to submit your own.
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WRAP UP
That’s a wrap for this week—huge thanks to everyone who’s part of our growing community.
A special shoutout to Rich Johnson for his contributions this week, particularly sparking an intriguing debate around in-stadium fan experiences, as well sharing stories such as the NHL HOCKEYVERSE. It earns him the title of Contributor of the Week 👑
With the deadline passing to make an intro, we had a flurry of introductions from existing members, as well as new members to the group. Welcome to you all:
Erika Maitland (Tenka)
Emmanuel Sackey (MediaKind)
Kate Binchy (Irish Rugby Football Union)
Tom Hyland (Creator Sports)
Jonathan Pierre (Athlete's Blueprint)
Mayank Kabadi (The Goat Agency)
Oliver Roston (Ex-Sky Sports)
Daragh Mulvey (Radley Green)
Graham Vehovec (McKinsey & Company)
Andrey Simanovich (Sports Marketing & Sponsorship Consultant)
Kieran Walton (Two Circles)
Elysa Hubbard (Six Nations Rugby)
Shipra Berera (Sports Marketing Group)
Joshua Goldberg (Disney)
Chrissie Hoolahan (DAZN)
Carlos Carrera (Trace Sports & Entertainment)
Ellie Wookey (Press Upload)
Rachel Steinberg (PA Media)
Júlia Pimenta Salazar (Street Child United)
Wael Azar (in2)
Will Jones (SportsPro)
Mark Loosemore (Hugh James Law)
Jack Baillie (NZ Transport Agency)
Daphne Chan (Arsenal)
Charlie Heyworth (Chelsea)
Florian Korte (Consultant)
Kavit Patel (258 Private Office)
Natacha Lazareff (Performance Psychologist)
James Swanson (Women’s Rugby World Cup)
Swarada Shukla (Manchester United)
Simra Gulzar (Roots)
Daniel Nixon (FIFPRO)
William Gaffney (Bat For a Chance)
Stefan Laven (Data Talks)
Guarav Jadhav
Karishma Riar (Redtorch)
James Delahunt (Playmaker International)
Will Taylor (DawBell)
Vanessa Favilla (Puig)
Pete Dunits (Deltatre)
Great to have you all on board—looking forward to your contributions! 🚀
Not part of the group yet? What are you waiting for? Apply to join us by filling out a simple form on the website.
EVENTS
The group chat is fantastic, but we know the best connections happen face-to-face. That’s why our community events are all about being simple, accessible, and meaningful—hosted by members, for members.
Want to attend an event or even host one yourself? It’s super easy—just head over to the website and apply.
Here’s to building connections that matter!