Sport & Story Daily August 19, 2024

Change in Leadership

August 19, 2024

Good morning! From Athlete to Entrepreneur

Pat Hobbs resigns as Rutgers athletic director, citing health concerns
Pat Hobbs decided to leave the Rutgers after a nine-year stint as the athletic director. Ryan Pisarri, the deputy athletic director and chief of staff, will take over as interim athletic director.
“After meeting with my cardiac team this week and having just been apprised of the results of my latest round of testing, it is clear that I can not continue to serve as Athletic Director given the requirements of the position,” Hobbs wrote in an email to school president Jonathan Holloway. “I recognize this is not the ideal timeframe to depart, however other factors need to take precedence.”
^{AP Sports}

NFL’s Bucs Rejected Record $6 Billion-Plus To Sell Team
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers turned down a proposal to buy the franchise around $6.05 billion. The price is above the price a group led by Josh Harris paid for the Washington Commanders last season. If it was accepted, it would have set a record for the transaction of an NFL team and a global record for a controlled sale of a sports team.
^Sportico

Fifa agrees ‘US$100m’ deal with Bank of America for 2026 World Cup
Fifa announced a $100 million deal with Bank of America for the 2026 World Cup. Bank of America is now the first bank in a global tier for an international soccer tournament.
Bank of America chair and chief executive Brian Moynihan said, “Football connects the world like no other sport. Fifa World Cup 26 is a tremendous opportunity to celebrate the pursuit of excellence and how we deliver for our clients, teammates and the communities we serve across the US and around the world.”
^{SportsPro Media}

Venu Sports Launch In Peril After Fubo Wins Injunction
FuboTV won its motion for a preliminary injunction to bar Walt Disney, ESPN, Fox and Warner Brothers Discovery and Hulu from moving forward with the release of its sports-centric streaming platform Venu Sports. Fubo’s stock jumped 20% on the news and closed Friday up nearly 17% at $1.35 per share. DirecTV and other news industries like Fubo’s actions and the court outcome.
^Sportico

Nike Shares Surge As Bill Ackman Invests, Igniting Turnaround Hopes
Billionaire Bill Ackman has reinvested in Nike. Achman’s hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, holds about three million shares of Nike worth about $250 million and representing about 0.19% of the company. Shares in Nike rose 5% on Thursday, closing at $82.50 per share, and have increased in the last five trading days.
^{Front Office Sports}

Harbaugh says Kaepernick will not be a player or coach with the Chargers this season
Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said that Colin Kaepernick won’t be a part of the team until next year at the earliest.
“I have thought that for a long time. Just the respect that I have for the football mind he has and the football man that he is,” said Harbaugh when asked what made him think Kaepernick would make a good coach. “(Late Raiders owner) Al Davis saw something in me that made him think I would be a good coach, and I see those same qualities in Colin. If it is something he chooses.”
^{Yahoo Sports}

Cincinnati’s tennis upgrade
The future of the Cincinnati Open hung on a balance. Ben Navarro’s Beemok Capital weighed on whether to move the event, formerly known as the Western and Southern Open, to Charlotte, where plans were discussed for a $400 million tennis center aided by about $130 million in public funding. However, Beemok announced a commitment to stay in Mason, Ohio, for the next 25 years. It will orchestrate a $260 million transformation of the tennis center by 2025, with that sum 51% privately and 49% publicly funded.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Miami NIL King John Ruiz’s Business Is Tanking
John Ruiz has been a major funder of the University of Miami’s name, image and likeness era. Ruiz admitted to investors that his company is far short of revenue projections. LifeWallet is an insurance claims company that projected it would make $963 million in net revenue last year. However, the company only made $7.7 million. Ruiz was on Forbes’s list of billionaires in 2023 with a net worth of $1.5 billion but dropped off the list in 2024. He has already spent $10 million on Miami athletes.
^{Front Office Sports}

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