Sport & Story Daily April 23, 2024

Stay Ahead of the Game

April 23, 2024

Good morning! Olympic Buzz Abounds

Caitlin Clark’s Early Play in WNBA Will Be Her Tryout for a Roster Spot on US Olympic Women’s Team
Unable to attend the U.S. training camp this month, Clark will have the start of her WNBA career to show the U.S. women’s basketball selection committee whether she deserves a spot on the team.

“You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it’s for now or the future,” selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti told The AP. “We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It’s got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It’s still not going to be fair to some people.”
^{Associated Press}

WADA Stands by Decision to Clear Chinese Swimmers for Tokyo Olympics, Citing Contaminated Samples
“Following WADA’s review of the documentary, the agency still stands firmly by the results of its scientific investigation and legal decision concerning the case,” WADA said in the statement before putting forward its senior managers up for questioning on Monday.
^{Associated Press}

NASCAR Revels in an M.J. Moment. His Airness Gives a Big Boost to His Posthoops Passion
As the AP’s Paul Newberry writes, “Judging by the reaction on social media at seeing His Airness celebrating wildly in the pits, like he once did on the court, Reddick’s victory is sure to move the needle even more.”

“Yeah, 23XI is very important to this sport, absolutely,” co-team owner Denny Hamlin said. “It’s good for everything you can imagine. You’re talking sponsorship, your manufacturers, your team morale. It’s just so good, and it is in so many different ways.”
^{Associated Press}

Streaming TV Measurement’s Biggest Issue Revealed By Brands, Agencies and Networks
“It is slightly unclear, but I think at minimum, it requires opt-in consent [from consumers],” Lartease Tiffith, executive VP for public policy at the digital advertising trade group IAB, told Ad Age’s Garett Sloane, “but even more, maybe even a total ban on the ability to have cross-site tracking and web browsing data being shared, and used, for targeted advertising.”
^{Ad Age}

Nike Faced Competitive Bidding Process in Landing Caitlin Clark
WNBA Indiana Fever G Caitlin Clark is set to sign an eight-year deal with Nike worth up to $28M, but the "reality is that Clark striking a deal with Nike was far from a slam dunk,” according to Rachel Bachman of the WALL STREET JOURNAL via SBJ. Adidas’s bid “fell far short of the mark” at $6M over four years. In the end, the “closest contender for Nike was Under Armour," who reportedly offered $16M over four years with a signature shoe. Nike’s initial offer of $3.5M a year “didn’t initially come with a signature shoe,” but the brand “upped its offer to include a signature shoe.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Apple Reportedly Close To Winning Broadcast Rights for Club World Cup
Two years after Apple agreed to a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal for Major League Soccer’s global streaming rights, The New York Times reported the technology company is nearing a deal with FIFA for the worldwide television rights for its new Club World Cup, which will debut in the summer of 2025. The United States will host the tournament. 
^{Front Office Sports}

Report: NBA Looking to Alter How it Delivers Games in New Media Deals
The NBA is “seeking new decade-long -- or longer” -- media rights contracts that will “alter how it traditionally delivers games, with streaming becoming the principal distribution method,” according to sources cited by Andrew Marchand of THE ATHLETIC via SBJ. While ESPN/ABC and TNT Sports “remain intensely interested and very well could retain their rights,” it is “nearly assured that a new tech partner will join the mix, with Amazon Prime Video the perceived favorite.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Max Homa, Tom Kim, Kevin Kisner Join Tiger's Virtual TGL Team
Tiger Woods announced Monday that Max Homa, Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner have joined his Jupiter Links GC TGL team. The virtual golf league headed by Woods and Rory McIlroy will begin its inaugural season next January. Woods also unveiled the team's logo.
^ESPN

Ryan Smith’s Ascension in Sports Ownership: Four Teams in Five Years
FOS posted Ryan Smith’s sports ownership portfolio in the last five years:

• 2020: Buys the NBA’s Utah Jazz for $1.66 billion

• 2022: Acquires MLS club Real Salt Lake with David Blitzer for roughly $400 million

• 2023: Revives the NWSL’s Utah Royals franchise for $2 million, again with Blitzer

• 2024: Purchases yet-to-be-renamed NHL team for $1.2 billion

As David Rumsey writes, “The 45-year-old billionaire’s sports interests all fall under his company Smith Entertainment Group, which is already starting to stack up nicely against rival heavyweights in the industry…”
^{Front Office Sports}

Signing off: Sean McManus Calls it a Career, Leaving a Sterling Reputation That Reaches Well Beyond Sports Media
“He’s truly a legend. Very few people, if any, have ever had as much impact on the sports media industry,” said David Berson, who will succeed Sean McManus as CBS Sports president and CEO after McManus’s nearly 28-year tenure. McManus hired Berson 13 years ago.
^{Sports Business Journal}

How the New College Football Playoff Format Came to Be and What it Means for the Sport's Future
“Our inability to conclude a deal two-plus years ago had a pretty significant impact on where the financials ended up,” said MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, a leading voice in college sports who often chairs the CFP commissioner meetings. “What was on the table in 2022 was simply different. The delay opened the door for continuing changes to where we ended up.”
^{Yahoo! Sports}

Transgender Athletes Protected By TITLE IX, Federal Court Rules
Sportico’s Michael McCann reports: In a decision that could supply the U.S. Supreme Court with an opportunity to clarify the eligibility of transgender athletes nationwide, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held last week that Title IX empowers a 13-year-old transgender girl to compete on her school’s cross country and track teams.
^Sportico

Robert Kraft Withholds Columbia Support Due to Gaza War Protests
“It is my hope that Columbia and its leadership will stand up to this hate by ending these protests immediately and will work to earn back the respect and trust of the many of us who have lost faith in the institution,” Kraft said in the statement.
^Sportico

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 reads 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