Mark As Sold: T-Wolves/Lynx

At long last, Glen Taylor has agreed to the Marc Lore-Alex Rodriguez group acquiring 100% ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx at the same $1.5 billion price the sides reached agreement on in 2021.

April 3, 2025

Sources: Rodriguez, Lore to Own Timberwolves After Standoff
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports: “Glen Taylor has agreed to the Marc Lore-Alex Rodriguez group acquiring 100% ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx at the same $1.5 billion price the sides reached agreement on in 2021, sources told ESPN. As part of the agreement, Taylor decided not to appeal an arbitrators' ruling from February that ruled in favor Lore-Rodriguez in a dispute over the sale contract.”
^ESPN

UFC Eyes Innovative Activations Through Meta Deal
The UFC’s new tech partnership with Meta, announced by both sides Wednesday morning, will encompass a range of activations across Meta’s product portfolio.

While specifics are in some cases to-be-determined as they embark on the early stages of their multiyear agreement, integrations with everything from Meta’s AI glasses to social media platforms (mainly, Threads) are on the roadmap, TKO EVP & Head of Partnerships Grant Norris-Jones told SBJ.
^{Sports Business Journal}

MLB’s Average Salary Tops $5 Million for First Time, AP Study Shows
The New York Mets, with Juan Soto’s record $61.9 million pay, led MLB for the third straight opening day with a $322.6 million payroll, just ahead of the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers at $319.5 million. Those two teams each spent roughly five times as much as the Miami Marlins, who at $64.9 million ended the Athletics’ three-year streak as the lowest spender.
^{AP News}

49ers Open to Selling Minority Stake Under Right Circumstance
York during the NFL owners meeting said, “If there’s an opportunity that makes sense, we would always explore that. But I’m not sure what we’re going to end up doing. And if we do, we would try to find the right people who would help bolster everything in and around the team.” The York family owns 97% of the franchise, but Bloomberg in February reported there has been consideration given to selling up to 10% of the franchise to a PE firm.
^{S.F. Chronicle via Sports Business Journal}

TNT Sports Hires Andre Agassi as Analyst for French Open Coverage
TNT Sports has hired eight-time Grand Slam winner Andre Agassi as a studio commentator for the network’s coverage of the French Open this year. Agassi, who won the 1999 French Open and was runner-up three other times, will be a studio analyst during the semifinal and championship rounds at Roland-Garros. In 2024, TNT Sports reached a 10-year, $650M agreement with the French Tennis Federation to add the French Open to its portfolio of premium sports rights in the U.S.
^{TNT Sports via Sports Business Journal}

Bettman: Rogers Deal ‘Perfect’ for Canadian Market
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league negotiated its new 12-year, $7.7B Canadian media rights extension solely with Rogers, going as far to extend the company’s 60-day exclusivity window by an additional 15 days into mid-March to get the deal done. He said the decision to partner with just one media company rather than multiple networks, as is in vogue in the U.S., reflects the different realities of the Canadian market.
^{Sports Business Journal}

US Olympic and Paralympic Officials Fire Coach and Director After AP Report on Sexual Abuse
“Following our thorough internal evaluation, we can confirm that Gary Colliander and Eileen Carey are no longer affiliated with the USOPC,” spokesman Jon Mason told the AP.

Colliander was accused of sexually abusing Grace Boutot, a biathlete he coached at the Maine Winter Sports Center over four years beginning in 2006 when she was 15, the AP reported. Colliander quit the job after Boutot’s October 2010 suicide attempt and was later hired by the U.S. Paralympic Nordic team.
^{AP News}

Bears Shift Some of Their Focus for New Stadium Back to Suburbs, With Chicago Still in Play
The Chicago Bears seemed to shift at least some of their attention for a new stadium back to the suburbs, with president Kevin Warren saying Wednesday the team’s focus is split between a tract of land it owns in Arlington Heights and the Chicago lakefront.

“The focus now is both downtown and Arlington Heights,” Warren said at the NFL meetings. “These are not linear processes or projects. They take time. They take a lot of energy and effort. I am very, very pleased with where we are.”
^{AP News}

NWSL Expansion Team Boston Legacy Gets White Stadium Court Win
The Athletic’s Melanie Anzidei reports: “A Superior Court Justice on Wednesday ruled that the renovation of White Stadium, the future home of Boston Legacy FC in the NWSL, is not in violation of state law.

“The decision is a major win for Boston Legacy and the City of Boston, which have long championed their vision of bringing professional women’s soccer back to the city through a public-private partnership that would renovate the historic stadium, which will remain at 10,000-seat capacity once the work has been completed.”
^{The Athletic}

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There’s No One-and-Done Path in Women’s College Basketball. And NIL Money Makes That a Good Thing
AP News’ Tim Reynolds and Alanis Thames write, “The NBA and WNBA have different rules regarding draft eligibility. For years, that impeded how and when women’s players could start making money. The name, image and likeness era of college sports has changed just about everything, leveling the playing field in some respects for female athletes like Bueckers and allowing her to have deals with Nike, Gatorade and other sponsors while still wearing UConn colors.”
^{AP News}

Small-School NIL Entrepreneurship: Moolah Kicks, Shoes ‘Built By and For Female Ballers’
AP News’ Cliff Brunt writes, “For most of this season, the Columbia women’s basketball star [Kitty Henderson] wore shoes that helped her often-injured feet stop hurting, and she supported other women while doing it. The company calls itself ‘the first and only performance basketball brand built by and for female ballers.’

“It is an example of how NIL entrepreneurship is working under the radar at small schools. Henderson said Moolah also is a reflection of what’s happening in the sport.”
^{AP News}

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