Sport & Story Daily October 3, 2024

Suing and Signing

October 3, 2024

Good morning! Michael Jordan is suing NASCAR and Connor Bedard signs with Fanatics.

'Monopolistic bullies:' Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing one of two teams to file anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed an anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR. The two teams didn’t sign the franchising agreement and accused NASCAR and the France family of being “monopolistic.” 23Xi is owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin. Teams want a greater share of television money as sponsor income is no longer significant enough to run profitable and competitive teams.
^{Yahoo Sports}

Bedard signs memorabilia deal with Fanatics
NHL player Connor Bedard just signed with Fanatics. The deal allows Fanatics to be the exclusive distributor of licensed memorabilia and collectibles for the Blackhawks star. Authentic jerseys, pucks, sticks, helmets, gloves, photos, etc will be sold by Fanatics.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Kelce, Durant, Mcelhenney Invest In Homage Apparel Brand
Homage is a vintage-inspired sports apparel brand. Ryan Reynolds’ venture firm and Maximum Effort kicked off a funding round. Now, five months later, Jason Kelce, Kevin Durant and Rob McElhenney have invested. Homage plans to use the new capital to partner with more schools around the country, expand production capabilities, add personnel and scale its technology and marketing infrastructure.
^Sportico

Diamond Sports Group Plans To Drop All MLB Teams Except Braves
Diamond Sports Group told the U.S. Bankruptcy Court that it has informed its remaining MLB partners that it plans to void its legacy media contracts, with the exception of a standalone rights deal with the Atlanta Braves. Eight teams are freed from their legacy in-market rights deals: Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals and the Tampa Bay Rays.
^Sportico

Drew Brees invests in, becomes brand voice for PlayerX fantasy esports platform
Drew Brees invested in PlayerX. This is his first investment in gaming/interactive media. He is investing an undisclosed amount in World Champion Fantasy’s PlayerX.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Pirates fire hitting coach Andy Haines, bullpen coach Justin Meccage after last-place finish
The Pittsburgh Pirates fired hitting coach Andy Haines and bullpen coach Justin Meccage three days after the Pirates finished last in the NL Central. The team finished with a 76-86 record. The offense failed to show any real signs of progress during Haines’ three seasons at the club. The Pirates finished in the bottom third in the majors in batting average, runs, home runs and on-base percentage this season.
^{AP Sports}

Newcastle United could pay ‘UK£1bn’ to redevelop St James Park
Newcastle United could have to pay around $1.33 billion if they go through with plans to expand and redevelop their St. James’ Park home stadium. The project could lead to a capacity of over 60,000 and would need to begin next year to be ready for Euro 2028.
^{Front Office Sports}

Conference Realignment Continues: Here’s What We Know
The Mountain West Conference and Pac-12 are in the race to find schools to join. Recently, the Pac-12 added Gonzaga, and the Mountain West added the University of Texas at El Paso. Both conferences now have seven full-time, football-playing members. Each needs at least eight schools to retain their FBS status. The Pac-12 needs this by 2026 and the Mountain West by 2028.
^{Front Office Sports}

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