FEATURED STORY
Recap of 2025: 52 Consecutive Newsletters
Our final newsletter of 2025 marks a major milestone: one full year of weekly newsletters.
52 consecutive editions with zero missed weeks.
From AI gaming agents and protein soda startups to breaking down every emerging league imaginable and why sports prediction markets could spawn the next Citadel-like hedge funds, we spent the year dissecting every major development across sports & entertainment.
This was also the year we partnered with Courtside Ventures. Together, we’re building a next-gen media platform for our industry – filling a gap we’ve long seen in the market. While the newsletter has become the go-to read for pro team owners, executives, and investors, we have many more exciting things coming in 2026.
If you feel inclined to spend time reading this break, feel free to skim our archive or revisit a few of our personal favorite pieces from this year:
And for the final time this year, here’s the latest sports & entertainment market activity.
Happy Holidays. See you in 2026!
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LEAGUES & TEAMS
Photo: Kansas City Chiefs agree to relocate to a new $4.4B stadium, moving from Missouri to Kansas.
Washington-based Monumental Sports & Entertainment sells minority stake to Arctos and SWF Qatar Investment Authority, valuing group at $7.2B (Dec. 17th)
Laurene Powell Jobs reportedly sells passive minority shares; no governance rights
QIA already owns ~5%; Arctos holds NBA stakes across Warriors, Jazz, Kings, and 76ers, among others [Sportico]
NBA reportedly expands its five-team PE ownership limit to allow funds stakes in up to eight teams (Dec. 18th)
Move raises PE cap from five to eight franchises per firm; single-fund cap stays at 20%
Arctos reportedly adds an undisclosed sixth team; follows its Wednesday Monumental S&E stake announcement [SBJ]
NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs agree to relocate in $4.4B stadium and mixed-use development deal (Dec. 22nd)
KC to fund ~60% via STAR bonds; project includes new stadium + HQ/training campus
Arrowhead lease runs through 2030; new venue targeted for 2031 season in Wyandotte County [SBJ]
Fenway Sports Group agrees to sell NHL side Pittsburgh Penguins at a reported $1.7B valuation (Dec. 19th)
FSG’s ~$900M acquisition in 2021 implies a ~90% valuation uplift in four years
Investment backed by the Hoffmann family; deal pending NHL approval [Penguins]
Big 12 Conference develops talks with RedBird Capital’s Collegiate Athletic Solutions for up to $500M in private capital deals (Dec. 19th)
CAS and Weatherford Capital proposal includes $25M into Big 12 Properties plus an optional $30M per school
CAS would earn rev-share only above thresholds 10%+, capped at 15%; plus 10% deal commissions [FOS]
MLB’s Minnesota Twins sells over 20% in minority stakes, valuing the club at $1.75B (Dec. 17th)
Glick Family Investments, George G. Hicks, and Craig Leipold acquire >20% combined; deal addresses $400M–$500M debt as the Pohlad family retains control and ops [FOS]
Houston Rockets ownership reportedly discusses acquisition and relocation of WNBA’s Connecticut Sun (Dec. 19th)
Tilman Fertitta-led group offers improved ‘substantive’, non-exclusive talks
WNBA has signaled interest in a Houston return after awarding $250M expansion teams elsewhere [SBJ]
Juventus’ Agnelli family rejects crypto-backed Tether takeover offer (Dec. 13th)
Exor, Juve’s holdco, unanimously rejects Tether’s $1.17B all-cash bid
Juventus has lacked an annual net profit in nearly a decade; shares down ~27% YTD [Reuters]
OnDeck Partners, a Marc Lasry-backed sports ownership platform, acquires Rays and D-backs MiLB teams (Dec. 11th)
Deals include the Montgomery Biscuits (AA) and Visalia Rawhide (A)
Avenue Capital closed a $1B+ debut sports fund in September; OnDeck positions MiLB as year-round venues [FOS]
MiLB investor Diamond Baseball Holdings acquires three Houston Astros minor-league affiliates in an M&A deal (Dec. 9th)
Firm acquires Sugar Land (AAA), Corpus Christi (AA), and Fayetteville (A)
Deal brings DBH to 48 teams; firm has invested ~$2B and sits two teams below MLB’s 50-club cap, hitting the cap of 14 AA and AAA teams [SBJ]
League One Volleyball (LOVB) expands with latest San Francisco franchise that debuts in 2027 (Dec. 18th)
Brings LOVB to nine teams, follows LA and Minnesota franchise additions
Women-led ownership group includes Bay FC co-founders, Olympian Kelsey Robinson Cook, and Rebel Girls CEO Jes Wolfe [LOVB]
Grand Slam Track files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, owes $31.4M in debts (Dec. 22nd)
League has ~$143K cash on hand; debts include ~$11.4M to Winners Alliance, ~$7M to athletes, and ~$13M to vendors
GST seeks $2.9M DIP financing from Winners Alliance at 14.5% interest to continue operations [FOS]
Buss Sports Capital, an investment firm led by fired Lakers execs Joey and Jesse Buss, explores an ownership stake in the Oakland A’s (Dec. 9th)
Preliminary discussions; move follows launch of Buss Sports Capital, targeting high-impact investments across sports [LATimes]
Former Bama football coach and ESPN analyst Nick Saban acquires minority stake in the NHL’s Nashville Predators via Dream Sports Ventures (Dec. 16th)
Newly formed DSV is controlled by Saban and Joe Agresti; Saban-Agresti auto group generates ~$2B in annual revenue and pursues broader sports ownership [NHL]
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STARTUPS & VENTURE CAPITAL
Photo: Ben Webb (Trent Seven) is spearheading Project Fight, a new European wrestling promotion.
Project Fight, a Europe-based pro wrestling promotion startup, seeks £5M to launch a European wrestling league (Dec. 15th)
Fundraise targets ~£10M pre-money valuation; aims to break-even by year three; capital will fund a televised series, production partnerships, and a roster buildout
Ben Webb, AKA Trent Seven, spearheads the raise; taps sports advisory firm Oakwell [Sky]
Peripheral Labs, a photorealistic 3D volumetric sports video startup, raises $3.6M in Seed funding (Dec. 21st)
Funding will expand the firm's engineering talent and scale the neural rendering platform, turning 2D broadcasts into real-time volumetric video
Investment led by Khosla Ventures; other investors include Daybreak Capital and Entrepreneurs First, among others [FinSMEs]
Orreco, a bio-analytics and performance science computer vision company, raises $4M in Series A funding (Dec. 15th)
Funding will generate ~55 new jobs and support a new athlete monitoring data center at the company HQ
Investment backed by Mark Cuban and Enterprise Ireland, among others [SBJ]
Playtomic, a racket sports match-booking and community platform, raises €5.1M (~$6M) in equity crowdfunding (Dec. 16th)
Funds to scale tech, operations, and global expansion, and expand into other sports
Investment backed by 4.6K+ investors participating via private investment platform Crowdcube [Athletech]
NextFoods, a functional nutrition company targeting gut health, recovery, and sleep, raises $10M in Series 3 funding (Dec. 18th)
Funds will accelerate product innovation across Cheribundi and GoodBelly brands; capital earmarked for distribution expansion and national retail partnerships
Investment led by ECP Growth [NextFoods]
Neurable, a noninvasive neurotech startup developing brain-computer interfaces, raises $35M in Series A funding (Dec. 19th)
Accelerates the commercialization of Neurable AI, embedding EEG-based brain insights into everyday consumer devices like headphones
Investment led by Spectrum Moonshot Fund; brings total capital raised to $65M [Neurable]
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M&A
Photo: Coinbase enters the sports prediction market arena via its acquisition of The Clearing Company.
BlackRock’s private credit arm, HPS Investment Partners, enters talks to finance CVC’s Global Sports Group (Dec. 14th)
HPS in talks to provide hundreds of millions of pounds for CVC’s sports vehicle
Ares is also reportedly in discussions for possible debt and equity solutions [Sky]
Initial Group, a TPG-backed talent management entertainment company, acquires digital media production company Silver Tribe Media in sports media expansion (Dec. 17th)
Silver Tribe to rebrand as Initial Digital; founders Michael Klein and Jack Rose stay on as president and COO
Initial serves sports clients, including Omaha Productions, The Volume, Dirty Mo Media, and Bussin’ with the Boys [Variety]
Coinbase, among the latest to enter sports prediction markets with ‘The Clearing Company’ startup acquisition (Dec. 22nd)
Adds event-contract expertise to scale prediction markets inside Coinbase’s trading app
Deal supports Coinbase’s Everything Exchange vision across sports, crypto, equities, derivatives, and world events [Coinbase]
Teamworks, The Operating System for Sports™, acquires athlete-monitoring wearables platform Opteamal to expand its European football footprint (Dec. 18th)
TW unifies platforms to centralize athlete info; Opteamal’s entire team to join TW
Opteamal brings deep soccer penetration, including ~75% of Belgium Pro League clubs; deal extends Teamworks’ reach to all Premier League teams [Teamworks]
Mets owner Steve Cohen clears the final regulatory hurdle for the $8B casino and entertainment district near Citi Field (Dec. 15th)
NYS Gaming Commission approves Metropolitan Park’s gaming license with Hard Rock; project includes casino, hotel, 5K-seat venue, green space; construction, opening ~2030
Licenses were also granted to Bally’s $4B Bronx resort complex and Resorts World NYC Queens Aqueduct Racetrack [FOS]
SkillCorner, an AI/computer-vision sports intelligence provider, raises $60M in Growth funding (Dec. 17th)
Funds will accelerate North America expansion, extend beyond soccer into basketball and football, and scale data engineering and product development
Investment led by growth equity firm Silversmith Capital Partners [Silversmith]
Win Reality, a baseball and softball VR training company, acquires pitch-tracking startup Yakkertech to launch SmartPark (Dec. 16th)
Deal adds camera-based ball-flight and biomechanics tracking to Win’s VR/sensor stack
SmartParks platform targets youth, HS, and college venues with analytics and automated officiating [WIN]
Sports Attack, a sports-tech training equipment manufacturer, receives backing in Growth investment from Sound Growth Partners (Dec. 19th)
Capital to expand operations and accelerate product development
Sports Attack builds high-velocity machines for baseball, softball, volleyball, and football, among others [FinSMEs]
Hedge fund Standard General is reportedly in talks to invest in Warner Bros. Discovery’s cable TV assets (Dec. 18th)
Soo Kim approached by a shareholder about buying or backing part of WBD’s spun-off networks; capital could support a debt-heavy business amid declining linear TV viewership [Reuters]
Catch12, Ja Morant’s athlete-led media and investment firm, invests in EuroStep Ventures (Dec. 20th)
EuroStep owns Levallois Metropolitans, a prominent Paris-based pro basketball club
Deal positions Catch12 in France amid rising global interest in Paris basketball culture [HoopsHype]
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STRATEGIC VENTURES
Photo: Netflix partners with Barstool Sports to stream three of their best performing podcasts.
Netflix adds three Barstool Sports video podcasts in multiyear deal (Dec. 17th)
Deal brings sports-focused Pardon My Take, Spittin’ Chiclets, and The Ryen Russillo Show to Netflix in 2026
US launch first, with global rollout later; move follows Netflix’s addition of The Ringer podcasts [Netflix]
Rory McIlroy launches production brand ‘Firethorn Productions’ and extends his GolfPass deal through 2038 (Dec. 17th)
New studio will produce docs, brand campaigns, long-form, and instructional content across Versant platforms; extension deepens McIlroy’s role as the face of GolfPass [SBJ]
FIFA partners with Netflix to launch an official football simulation video game (Dec. 18th)
New FIFA-licensed game will debut ahead of the 2026 World Cup, exclusively on Netflix; developed by Delphi Interactive [SportsPro]
GameChanger, a youth sports management platform, partners with automated sports camera startup Pixellot to improve stream quality among diamond sports (Dec. 18th)
Fixed Pixellot cameras enable automated baseball and softball streams via QR activation; pilot across 32 rec leagues doubled viewership and team following vs. phone-based streams [SBJ]
DraftKings launches a standalone prediction-markets app in partnership with CME Group (Dec. 19th)
DraftKings Predictions app debuts in 38 states, initially routing markets via CME Group
Follows ~$250M Railbird exchange acquisition to be integrated later as DraftKings pursues vertical control [Sportico]
FanDuel launches a standalone prediction-markets app with CME Group (Dec. 22nd)
FanDuel Predicts debuts in 5 states, offering CME-cleared event contracts
Will analyze the app’s customer engagement before expanding to other states in 2026 [CME]
Robinhood delves into customizable sports parlays powered by Kalshi’s prediction-market tech (Dec. 16th)
Product will broker multi-leg ‘combo’ bets via Kalshi’s Request for Quote system ahead of NFL playoffs next year; plans to expand combos beyond sports into economics, culture, and weather [Sportico]
Borussia Dortmund partners with saliva diagnostics company Biolyz to deploy biomarker testing for injury prevention and performance insights (Dec. 17th)
Integrates 100+ biomarkers to track stress, recovery, inflammation, and readiness
Pilot collected 12K+ samples in 2024–25; testing used 2–5x weekly to guide workload management [Athletech]
Governing body European Athletics partners with LIVE sports commentary platform CAMB.AI to launch multilingual fan experiences (Dec. 23rd)
NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks become the first team-level partner with Kalshi (Dec. 23rd)
Agreement enables co-marketing, in-arena promotion, and broadcast integration
Builds on first league-wide partnership with the NHL; with Kalshi and Polymarket partnerships under CFTC oversight [Kalshi]
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JOB BOARD
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