Go to Source Author: Eric Fisher A relatively unknown commercial insurance company landed a spot on arguably the most iconic uniform in sports in a record deal that raises new questions about the jersey patch market.On Wednesday, the New York Yankees unveiled an expanded deal with Starr Insurance, a team sponsor since 2018. Starting July 21, the New York-based company will become the team’s first jersey patch partner through 2031.Industry sources pegged the deal’s annual value at around $25 million, which easily surpasses other MLB jersey patch deals, which generally range from $5 million to $17 million per year.A year ago, the Yankees appointed Legends — the global hospitality and sales entity it co-owns with majority partner Sixth Street Partners and the

Go to Source Author: Andrew Cohen Microsoft has won a U.S. court decision to move forward with its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the developer of popular video games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch.Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco ruled to deny the Federal Trade Commission’s attempted injunction to block the biggest deal ever in gaming. Microsoft can now close its merger with Activision before the July 18 deadline in every country except for the UK, though Microsoft is negotiating with the UK regulator to get its deal approved. The FTC argued that Microsoft would use its acquisition of Activision Blizzard to make certain popular games no longer available for Sony’s PlayStation, a rival to the

Go to Source Author: Eric Fisher A $550 million burden that has never turned a profit has managed to trigger massive changes at one of the leading U.S. media outlets.The New York Times disbanded its sports department on Monday, resulting in the reassignment of more than 35 journalists and editors — including some to a planned unit within the business section focusing on money and power in sports. The paper will rely on sports coverage from The Athletic, which the Times acquired early last year.Since that deal, internal dissension has grown within the Times, peaking with a formal letter sent Sunday by the Times’ sports department staffers to newspaper leadership, complaining of being left “twisting in the wind.”Pressure has been high on

Go to Source Author: Andrew Cohen The National Federation of State High School Associations has announced a rule change to permit one-way electronic communication between a coach in the dugout and an on-field catcher.The rule change going into effect in 2024 will bring PitchCom’s debut in high school baseball after the device debuted in MLB in 2022 and has achieved widespread usage across the league for players to electronically share pitch call requests — replacing the traditional hand signals from catchers to combat sign-stealing. “The PitchCom System is the gold standard for baseball and softball. There is a reason why the MLB and 3 out of 4 College WS teams used PitchCom. We are leasing systems to top high school programs. Contact us

Go to Source Author: Andrew Cohen Facilities for FC Barcelona pulled $169 million in total revenue for the 2022-23 financial year, driving a year of “record figures in the commercial area,” the club announced. Facilities revenue was 18% more than what Barcelona budgeted at the start of the season and 4% more than recorded during the 2018-19 season, the last complete year before the Covid-19 pandemic. The figure considers venues for Barcelona’s men’s and women’s teams across soccer and basketball.The club’s historic soccer stadium, Spotify Camp Nou, made a record-breaking $106.7 million for the 2022-23 season as the men’s team won the La Liga title. It was also the first season in club history with over 1 million tickets sold for men’s matches,

Go to Source Author: Eric Fisher Some of the most powerful media executives in the U.S. are expanding their duties and nearing new contracts in moves poised to impact the sports media landscape significantly.On Thursday, Comcast enlarged the roles of NBCUniversal executives Mark Lazarus, Donna Langley, and Cesar Conde. Lazarus, previously chairman of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, will be chairman of the NBCUniversal media group in a role that will include oversight of NBC Sports, the company’s other TV networks and streaming platforms, and advertising and distribution.The shifts follow the April departure of former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, as well as the exits in the last two months of NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua — who will be Notre Dame’s director of

Go to Source Author: Andrew Cohen LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne, the highest-paid female NCAA athlete, has partnered with NIL collective Bayou Traditions to launch The Livvy Fund dedicated to helping her fellow LSU female student-athletes secure deals for their name, image, and likeness.Brands On3 and Accelerator Active Engey have already contributed to The Livvy Fund. A report earlier this year from Opendorse found that only 34% of NIL collectives offered compensation to women athletes. At the same time, the majority went to males, a discrepancy that led the 20-year-old Dunne to launch her new fund.“The collectives mostly go to the men’s sports here at LSU, and I just want to fight for equal NIL opportunities,” Dunne told Sports Illustrated. “It’s very important

Go to Source Author: Andrew Cohen This WNBA season’s opening night viewership on ESPN platforms was up 103% over last year, but two-time MVP Candace Parker thinks the league needs to do a better job of avoiding conflict with other sports on TV.“I think just in terms of continuing to raise visibility and making sure that our games aren’t in competition with huge NHL playoff games, or even putting one of the biggest [NCAA] games in South Carolina and LSU on the same day as the Super Bowl. There’s some stuff that I wish we would make it make sense,” Parker said after FOS asked her about what she’d like to see changed in the WNBA.The Las Vegas Aces forward referred to

Go to Source Author: Amanda Christovich Consumers hoping the EA Sports College Football game will come out on time — in the summer of 2024 — just got great news.On Friday, a federal judge denied The Brandr Group’s request for a temporary restraining order against EA, which would have paved the way for the court to prohibit EA from doing business with schools and athletes at issue in the lawsuit. It was the most likely way for the lawsuit to hold up the game’s summer 2024 release.

Go to Source Author: Andrew Cohen Jalen Rose has been let go by ESPN, ending his 16-year run at the company since 2007.Rose, an NBA player from 1994 to 2006, has been a studio host for “NBA Countdown,” the pregame show that aired before game telecasts on ESPN and ABC. He also co-hosted the Jalen & Jacoby talk show that ran from 2011 until November 2022, following David Jacoby’s departure from ESPN.Other ESPN shows to feature Rose included “Get Up” and “SportsCenter,” as well as ESPN Radio programming. He played 13 seasons in the NBA for six teams— the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, and Phoenix Suns. Before the NBA, Rose played collegiately for the University of