Ohtani & Dodgers in Perpetuity

Dodgers Higher-Ups Say Ohtani Dividends Have Already Paid Off

November 1, 2024

Good morning! Dodgers celebrate the Ohtani deal while looking ahead to next year

My Blue Heaven: Dodgers' Investment in Ohtani Pays Off in Spades for World Series Winners
SBJ’s Mike Mazzeo writes, “The Dodgers gave Shohei Ohtani a 10-year, $700M deal in the offseason, and it didn’t take long for that investment to pay off. After posting the first 50-50 campaign in MLB history, Ohtani hit three more homers in his first postseason. But he suffered a shoulder injury during the World Series and hit just .105 in the team’s five-game triumph over the Yankees.

“Ohtani has proven to be a financial boom for the iconic franchise in terms of sponsorships, merchandise, tickets and ratings. During an interview on MLB Network, Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said of Ohtani: ‘He contributed as much to that [the win] as anyone ever has.’”
^{Sports Business Journal}

World Series Champion Dodgers Have Eye on Back-to-Back Titles With Ohtani Returning to the Mound in 2025
AP News’ Beth Harris writes, “The Dodgers have eight players who became free agents when the World Series ended: Walker Buehler, Flaherty, Kiké Hernández, Teoscar Hernández, Daniel Hudson, Joe Kelly, Kevin Kiermaier and Blake Treinen. Hudson announced his retirement after Wednesday night’s victory, while Kiermaier had already said he planned to retire.

“The Dodgers hold team options on Austin Barnes and Miguel Rojas for next season. Clayton Kershaw has a player option and has said he plans to be back after a toe injury kept him out of the playoffs.”
^{AP News}

Unrivaled Makes Clark Significant Offer to Join
Caitlin Clark’s offer to join Unrivaled is believed to include significant equity in the business and a three-month salary of over $1M.

On a day that the league expanded its rosters from 30 to 36 players, those SBJ sources said Unrivaled has told Clark she can “take as long as she wants.” But Unrivaled has also strategically signed two of Clark’s closest friends — Fever teammate Lexie Hull and former Iowa teammate Kate Martin — to recent contracts, and, according to sources, speculation is Clark is leaning “60/40" to saying “yes."
^{Sports Business Journal}

Report: Eagles Owner Jeffrey Lurie in Talks to Sell Minority Stake in Team
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is in talks to “sell a minority stake” in the team to the family of technology titan Susan Kim, according to sources cited by Tan & Williams of BLOOMBERG NEWS via SBJ. A transaction would value the team at $8B "or more."
^{Sports Business Journal}

Everyone Wants in on the WNBA Expansion Gold Rush
FOS’ Colin Salao writes, “The WNBA aims to add another expansion team by the 2028 season—and there is no shortage of eager potential owners. The league is already preparing to welcome three expansion franchises over the next two years, but WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has said the league is evaluating up to ‘12 cities.’”

FOS also notes that Patrick Mahomes and wife, Brittany, are reportedly interested in a Kansas City expansion team. And Celtics star Jayson Tatum has joined an ownership group set to bid for a team in St. Louis.
^{Front Office Sports}

Peacock Loss Narrows to $436M as Revenue Rises, Subs Jump to 36M on Paris Olympics Boost
Peacock, the streaming service of Comcast’s entertainment unit NBCUniversal, grew its third-quarter revenue and narrowed its loss to $436 million from a loss of $565 million in the year-ago period, but the loss widened a bit compared with the loss of $348 million posted for the second quarter of 2024 on higher programming costs, driven by the Summer Olympics in Paris.
^{Hollywood Reporter}

Comcast Exploring Spinoff of NBCU Cable Networks Into New Company
Amid the upheaval in the TV biz caused by cord-cutting, Comcast is considering spinning off NBCUniversal‘s portfolio of cable networks into a new publicly traded company.

“We would consider partnerships in streaming despite their complexities, and like many of our peers in media, we are experiencing the effects of the transition in our video businesses and have been studying the best path forward for these assets,” Comcast president Mike Cavanagh said.
^Variety

Bob Costas Retires From MLB Play-by-Play Duties After 4-Plus Decades
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand writes, “Bob Costas is retiring as a Major League Baseball play-by-play caller, marking the end of a legendary run in which he became synonymous with the game over four decades and earned a place in the broadcasting wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“Costas confirmed the news Thursday when reached by The Athletic, but said he would prefer to address the decision and his MLB play-by-play career at a later date. His last game broadcast on TBS was the New York Yankees’ Game 4 clincher in the American League Divison Series.”
^{The Athletic}

Fisher Pledging $1B to A’s Vegas Ballpark
The A's have laid out "how the team plans to finance" their $1.5B Las Vegas Strip ballpark, with team owner John Fisher’s family "set to contribute up to" $1B per SBJ. The A’s will present four letters to board at the Las Vegas Stadium Authority's scheduled Dec. 5 meeting that will "display that they have the needed financing in place to construct the 33,000-fan-capacity stadium."
^{Sports Business Journal}

Will James Franklin, Penn State Finally Win the Big One Against Ohio State? 'I Think It's Our Time'
“I get it,” says Pat Kraft, entering his third year as athletic director. “We all sign up for it. We all come to Penn State to win national championships. It’s why I came here and why we’re investing. You don’t come to Penn State to be mediocre. Michigan won the national championship last year. Ohio State has been in that mix. I think it’s our time.”

For years behind in facilities and trailing in NIL compensation to athletes, Penn State’s leaders believe it has caught up to the elites off the field.
^{AP News}

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