Alas, Females Shown the Money

The World’s Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned an Estimated $221M

December 5, 2024

Good morning! Female athletes’ salaries up 27%; New LPGA transgender rules

Highest-Paid Female Athletes 2024: Coco, Caitlin and Korda Soar
Sportico’s Kurt Badenhausen writes, “Interest in women’s sports has exploded recently with record TV ratings, attendance, revenue, sponsorships and franchise valuations across multiple sports properties. For the athletes, the money is starting to flow as well.

“The world’s 15 highest-paid female athletes will earn an estimated $221 million in 2024, up 27% versus last year. Eleven athletes made at least $10 million, compared with six in 2023.”
^Sportico

USGA and LPGA to Require Female at Birth or Changing Gender Before Puberty Under New Policies
AP News’ Doug Ferguson reports: “Players must be assigned female at birth or have transitioned to female before going through male puberty to compete in LPGA tournaments or the eight USGA championships for females under new gender policies published Wednesday.

“The updated policies would rule out eligibility for Hailey Davidson, who missed qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open this year by one shot and came up short in LPGA Q-school. Davidson, who turned 32 on Tuesday, began hormone treatments when she was in her early 20s in 2015 and in 2021 underwent gender-affirming surgery, which was required under the LPGA’s previous gender policy.”
^{AP News}

U.S. Firm Makes $310M Bet on Soccer by Forming Superagency
FOS’ Eric Fisher reports: “U.S.-based investment company Bruin Capital is making a major play in international soccer, buying three player and coach representation firms in Europe, nearing a deal for a fourth in the United Arab Emirates, and rolling them up into a newly formed agency it will call As1 … Collectively, the companies represent more than 300 players and coaches from 35 countries…”
^{Front Office Sports}

Talks on a New NHL CBA are Set to Start Early Next Year. Here’s Why There Is Optimism
AP News’ Stephen Whyno writes, “Commissioner Gary Bettman earlier this week said he expects talks with the NHL Players’ Association to begin in February, around the time stakeholders are together for the 4 Nations Face-Off that stands as the latest example of collaboration in the sport. Both sides have issues to broach and changes they want, but the trajectory of the league combined with the strong working relationship between Bettman and union executive director Marty Walsh means there is reason for optimism in a sport that has had three labor stoppages in the past three decades.”
^{AP News}

Don Garber Extends MLS Contract Through 2027
MLS Commissioner Don Garber, who has been commissioner of MLS since Sept. 1, 1999, when the league was nearing the conclusion of its fourth season, has a new employment contract that extends his tenure through the end of 2027, the league confirmed to SBJ. The agreement/financial terms were not disclosed. Garber worked the first half of 2024 without a contract after his previous deal ended last year.
^{Sports Business Journal}

DraftKings Completes Simplebet Acquisition
DraftKings has acquired Simplebet, a B2B provider of automated, in-game wager pricing. When DraftKings first announced the deal in August, it said that integrating Simplebet’s machine-learning models would “improve the quality, breadth and speed of data throughout the DraftKings trading lifecycle, and would unlock a faster and more frictionless experience for the company’s customers.” Financial details have not been disclosed, though DraftKings reportedly agreed to pay $195M for the 85% of Simplebet it did not already own.
^{Sports Business Journal}

FIFA Sells Global Media Rights For Club World Cup to DAZN
FIFA has sold the global media rights for the 2025 Club World Cup to streaming service DAZN, which plans to offer free access to all 63 tournament matches. SBJ points out that the move comes after FIFA spent the better part of the past year trying to drum up interest among media companies in the rights for the newly expanded competition. DAZN, which said in its 2023 annual report that it had more than 60 million subscribers and 300 million monthly users globally, has a more limited presence in the U.S.
^{Sports Business Journal}

ESPN Brings Live Sports to Disney+ With Dedicated Tile
The ESPN tile launched on Disney+, giving subscribers of the bundle (Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+) access to ESPN+ content within the Disney+ platform. It’s similar to Disney’s integration of Hulu on Disney+ earlier this year to drive subscribers to the Disney bundle, which costs $16.99 per month for all three services in the most basic offering.
^{Sports Business Journal}

NBC Taps Kevin Kisner For Lead Golf Analyst Role
NBC Sports is expected to announce going with Kevin Kisner as its lead golf analyst in 2025, a change in strategy from 2024 that saw a rotating booth at its biggest tournaments. While Kisner will still compete in a limited capacity on the PGA Tour, he's expected to slot into the booth alongside play-by-play man Dan Hicks at NBC's top tournaments that include the Players Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship, among others.
^{Sports Business Journal}

New Motorsports Leadership Executives Introduced as Andretti Global Moves on Without Andretti
Two longtime NASCAR executives were introduced at Andretti Global on Wednesday as part of the restructuring now that Michael Andretti has stepped aside, The Associated Press has learned.

Doug Duchardt, who has served multiple roles with race teams and with General Motors, was named chief performance officer of motorsports at TWG Group. Jill Gregory, a former NASCAR vice president and marketing officer who also ran Sonoma Raceway, was named chief operating officer of a subsidiary of TWG and president of Andretti Global.
^{AP News}

Ball State Makes Mike Uremovich Football Coach as Early Signing Period Opens
Athletic director Jeff Mitchell announced Wednesday that Ball State hired Mike Uremovich as its football coach. Uremovich is the former head coach at nearby Butler, where he led the Bulldogs to three straight winning seasons and their first FCS national ranking. He replaces Mike Neu, who was fired ten games into his ninth season at his alma mater.
^{AP News}

Connecticut Sun Hires Rachid Meziane as New Head Coach
One day after announcing a new general manager, the Connecticut Sun hired Rachid Meziane as the franchise's new head coach. Meziane, a native of France, replaces Stephanie White, who was let go in October after two seasons.

Meziane has been coaching French women's side ESB Villeneuve-d'Ascq since 2019, where he won the league title in 2023-24 and led the team to a runner-up finish during this past season's EuroLeague.
^{Yahoo! Sports}

South Carolina to Hire Jeremiah Donati as AD
The University of South Carolina is set to hire TCU AD Jeremiah Donati as its new AD. Donati, 47, has been the AD at TCU since 2017 and has worked in the athletic department since 2011. He "has played a major role in enhancing the TCU student-athlete experience through donor-supported facility upgrades totaling nearly" $500M.
^{Columbia State via Sports Business Journal}

Patriots to Begin Construction On New Team Facility to Open in Spring 2026
The New England Patriots will begin construction this month on a new standalone facility next to Gillette Stadium.

In last year’s NFLPA survey, the Patriots received an F for their weight room, a C- for their locker room, and a C for their training room. According to the team, the new facility will include expansive areas for all three of those in addition to a nutrition center, hot tubs, cold tubs, an underwater treadmill, virtual reality rooms, and a conference room for hosting the draft operation.
^{The Athletic}

FIFA Urged Not to Give 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia in Report Alleging Abuses of Migrant Labor
FIFA was urged not to give Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup hosting rights next week without binding commitments to protect migrant labor working on massive projects in the kingdom. Human Rights Watch detailed alleged abuses after speaking to more than 150 current and former workers and families of some who died in Saudi Arabia for the report “Die First, And I’ll Pay You Later.” The alleged abuses include paying illegal and excessive recruitment fees, forced labor, wage theft, working in extreme heat, and lack of legal protection.
^{AP News}

Iowa State and SMU Athletic Directors in a ‘Stay Off My Lawn’ Moment Regarding Latest Rankings
AP News’ Eddie Pell writes, “The background: SMU, at 11-1 and riding a nine-game winning streak into the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, was slotted at No. 8 in Tuesday night’s latest ranking. Iowa State, meanwhile, is at 16th and playing for the title of the Big 12, which appears set to receive only one bid in the 12-team field that comes out Sunday.”

Cyclones AD Jamie Pollard pointed out that SMU hasn’t played Clemson, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, or Miami — four of the ACC’s top seven teams — and lost at home to BYU of the Big 12.

“Looks like your lawn may be artificial,” Pollard wrote in a post directed to SMU’s AD, Rick Hart.

Hart compared nonconference schedules — SMU’s was better — and pointed out the Mustangs have trailed for only about six minutes of their last nine games.

“I could go on ... Stay off my lawn!” he posted.
^{Sports Business Journal}

^⇢ 🏈⇢🏈⇢ Yahoo Sports also featured National Signing Day LIVE: Latest news, notes and analysis

Thanks for reading!

Sport & Story Daily is the sports industry’s daily resource for business news. In addition to serving up exclusive trends, Q&As, and columns, the newsletter connects readers to top platforms and stories from across the sports landscape.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here!

Feel free to read our Privacy Policy