Sport & Story Daily August 29, 2024

Luck of the Draw

August 29, 2024

Good morning! From Athlete to Entrepreneur

U.S. Open Lucky Losers Earn $48K In Prize Money Via Random Draw
Maximilian Marterer lost in the final round of the qualifying tournament. The four highest-ranked players who lost in the final round were arranged in a randomly selected order, and Marterer was the chosen one. He got the spot that was vacated by Emil Ruusuvuori, who got injured. Marterer gained $48,000 for being the “lucky loser.”
^Sportico

NFLPA sues DraftKings, seeks approximately $65M
The NFLPA is suing DraftKings, an official betting partner of the league, for breach of contract and alleges that the sportsbook giant owes approximately $65 million from a licensing agreement. The civil suit was filed last week in federal court in the Southern District of N.Y.
^{Sports Business Journal}

NFL Owners Approve Private Equity Deals, Unlock Billions
NFL owners approved new ownership rules that will allow private equity firms to buy passive minority states in franchises. This will make it easier for owners to offload small minority stakes. The Cincinnati Bengals were the lone dissenting vote in the final 31-1 tally.
Sportico reports, “Under the new NFL policy, teams can sell up to 10% of their common equity to PE firms, according to a summary shared by the league. A firm can buy as much as 10% of a team, or little as 3%. No single fund can invest in more than six teams, and the minimum hold period for each investment is six years. Funds must have at least $2 billion in committed capital, and no one team can represent more than 20% of a single fund.”
^Sportico

Report: N'Western has three 'finalists' for AD job
North Western has three candidates who are finalists for the university’s athletic director position. Jason Wright is not only the Commanders President but was a standout running back at Northwestern. Next is Heather Lyke, who is the Univ. of Pittsburgh AD. The final candidate is Mark Jackson, who is the AD at Villanova.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Wells Fargo Hires Sports Banking Exec Peter Dorfman From Truist
Peter N. Dorfman is now the managing director for Wells Fargo. Dorfman will focus on national financial solutions for leagues, franchises and owners. Wells Fargo is trying to increase its presence in sports banking.
^Sportico

ESPN’s Pitaro: RSN Turmoil Is Chance to Expand Local Game Coverage
ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said the company is aiming to position itself as a meaningful response to the accelerating disruption across the regional sports network industry. ESPN is developing a series of measures to air locally oriented games on various platforms. Pitaro said they are looking to work with MLB as it increasingly looks to pool a critical mass of local team rights to distribute through the league.
^{Front Office Sports}

Non-Power Conferences Decried the House v. NCAA Settlement. Now They’re Falling in Line
Commissioners for the non-power conferences said the House v. NCAA Settlement was unfair. The commissioners state they were not consulted, and they weren’t named defendants in the lawsuit. The main issue for the non-power conferences was how the settlement laid out damage payments. The NCAA would fund a portion of its damages by reducing the annual distribution amounts from D-1 conferences totaling $990 million for the non-power leagues.
^{Front Office Sports}

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