Go to Source Author: A.J. Perez Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy wrote in a letter to employees Friday that the interactive fitness company is “making the hard choices” that will lead to the elimination of 784 jobs, a major reduction of its retail locations, and price increases for its most expensive products.  The changes detailed in the letter obtained by Front Office Sports were the most dramatic since McCarthy, a former Spotify CFO, replaced embattled CEO John Foley in February.  “Today’s news reminds us it was never more important that we be successful in managing our turnaround,” McCarthy wrote. “That’s the reason we’re making the hard choices to shift our cost structure from fixed to variable and to right size our spending in retail stores “As

Go to Source Author: Justin Byers FC Barcelona is once again selling a stake in Barca Studios, the club’s media production arm, for $102.6 million in a last-minute effort to alleviate debt and register players ahead of its La Liga opener — on Saturday. Barcelona — the second-most-valuable soccer team in the world at $5 billion, per Forbes — will sell a 24.5% stake in Barca Studios to audiovisual production company Orpheus Media. The deal gained approval by board members in October 2021.It will help Barcelona alleviate more than $1.5 billion in debt reported last year.  The sale comes after Barcelona agreed to offload a 24.5% stake in Barca Studios to investment fund GDA Luma earlier this week, according to Spanish daily newspaper Sport. However,

Go to Source Author: Abigail Gentrup Nearly 650 Black NFL retirees have had their dementia tests automatically rescored, after the NFL announced last year it would no longer assume that Black players have less cognitive abilities when assessing brain claims. Previously, hundreds of Black retirees were denied payouts in a $1 billion concussion settlement with the league. The dementia tests previously used “race norming,” making it harder for Black players to prove they had a cognitive decline.  So far, the change in testing qualified 61 Black NFL retirees for moderate-to-advanced dementia award — averaging $600,000 — with nearly 250 showing early signs of dementia, according to the Associated Press. The latter will receive up to $35,000 in medical testing and treatment. The former players had

Go to Source Author: Owen Poindexter LIV Golf is pushing back against an allegation that it is not as generous as advertised. In a U.S. District Court hearing on Wednesday in San Jose, California, an attorney representing three LIV Golf players implied that prize money won by players counts against their initial bonuses. Responding to a point made by Judge Beth Labson Freeman that players receive bonuses just for showing up to the first tournament, attorney Robert Walters replied, “Well, they do, but then they have to win money in order to recoup against the contract.”Many LIV golfers, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Cameron Smith, have received bonuses of at least $100 million. Tiger Woods turned down an offer of $700 million to

Go to Source Author: Doug Greenberg The commercial gaming industry keeps setting records as more states continue to legalize sports betting. The American Gaming Association reports that Q2 2022 saw the industry accumulate $14.8 billion in revenue — a new quarterly record. The figure — which encompasses all forms of legal gambling — represents a 3.3% increase over the previous record (Q4 2021) and an 8.8% increase year-over-year. Sports betting was a big factor in the increased numbers. With six new markets in the mix, that sector of the industry saw a 58.7% increase in revenue year-over-year.The legal betting handle was $18.7B for the quarter — a 69% increase from the year before.The $3.04B in sports betting revenue halfway through 2022 is pacing 63.9% ahead of

Go to Source Author: Amanda Christovich The Dolphins are now facing even more turmoil at the ownership level. Embattled owner Stephen Ross has reportedly had a change of heart from his long-term plan to hand over the reins to the team’s current vice chairman, Bruce Beal. He will now pass along ownership to his daughter, Jennifer Ross, according to Sports Business Journal. The two reportedly have severed their relationship. The news, however, is not directly related to a recent investigation that found the Dolphins committed tampering violations “of unprecedented scope and severity” against three teams. The investigation did not find that Ross had encouraged tanking — an allegation made in a racial discrimination lawsuit by former coach Brian Flores. But Ross was fined $1.5 million and suspended

Go to Source Author: Doug Greenberg The Washington Commanders will probably have to add dwindling attendance to their lengthy list of troubles this season. Tickets to the team’s Saturday preseason opener against the Panthers are reportedly selling for as cheap as $1 on secondary ticket platform GameTime. This is despite the fact that there is a quarterback battle going on in Carolina between the incumbent Sam Darnold and the recently acquired Baker Mayfield — an intriguing storyline that could draw fans. Everything seems to be trending downwards for a Washington franchise that, in 2006, was the most valuable in all of American sports. Last season, the team had by far the lowest attendance percentage in the NFL at 64.3%; the 31st-placed Lions had attendance of 79.9%. And

Go to Source Author: Amanda Christovich The U.S. women’s national team is one step closer to wrapping up its historic equal pay lawsuit. In February, the sides reached a settlement that, if ratified, would award the women $24 million.  But in order to close the case, a judge had to approve that settlement. That happened on Thursday, according to spokesperson Molly Levinson, who tweeted that the judge had granted preliminary approval. The final ratification will come in a December hearing, Levinson said.  Women’s players won’t have to wait until the winter for fair payouts, however. The settlement precipitated a collective bargaining agreement signed in May, which awarded true equal pay. Now, women’s players can expect equal pay for participating in national team competitions.The men’s and women’s teams

Go to Source Author: Owen Poindexter As La Liga kicks off its 92nd season with Friday’s match between Osasuna and Sevilla, the league is seeing its North American plan take shape. In 2018, the league launched La Liga North America, a 50-50 partnership with Relevent Sports Group, to grow the top-flight Spanish league’s fan base across the Atlantic. “When you look at most of the leagues, they’re reaching a ceiling in their growth at the domestic level, on the revenue side, and definitely on the TV rights side,” La Liga North America CEO Boris Gartner told Front Office Sports. The league took proposals from CAA, Wasserman, Endeavor, and others before settling on Relevent, according to Gartner.In 2021, La Liga North America secured the league’s two

Go to Source Author: Justin Byers Endeavor Group generated $1.3 billion in revenue in Q2 2022, driven by the return of capacity crowds at live sporting events. The entertainment conglomerate — which owns mixed martial arts promotion UFC and talent agency WME — saw its Events, Experiences, & Rights segment post $627.9 million in revenue — up from $99.2 million for the same period last year. The company’s Owned Sports Properties segment saw revenue reach $331.9 million in Q2 2022, up 28% year-over-year.Its Representation segment posted $358 million in revenue, up $29.7 million compared to Q2 2021.Full-year revenue is projected to range between $5.2 billion and $5.5 billion in FY2022.  Endeavor announced plans to repay $250 million of debt by the end of Q3 2022.