FEATURED STORY
Three Biggest Business Takeaways for Super Bowl LX
As we’re putting the finishing touches on this week’s piece from a JetBlue Airbus touching down in SFO from New York’s JFK, we initially struggled to pin down just one topic to write about behind the business of the Super Bowl.
Yes, the low-hanging fruit here is to talk about the estimated $440M the Super Bowl is set to bring into San Francisco. And of course The 4th Quarter will be contributing to the local tourism economy with a few In-N-Out burgers.
But, there’s no shortage of storylines leading up to the big event: Anthropic & OpenAI preparing to wage war during commercial break, Belichick & Kraft missing the Hall, and the Pro Bowl making its Super Bowl Week debut for the first time.
So this week, instead of going deep on just one angle, we’re covering the three most unique business developments surrounding this year’s Super Bowl - each with implications that extend well beyond Sunday:
Brands Should Let Content Creators Produce Their Super Bowl Ads
Sportsbooks Showed Their Dominance By NFL’s Ban on Prediction Markets Marketing
Seahawks Sale is a Litmus Test for Buyer Interest in Professional Teams
Here’s why you should be paying attention.
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LEAGUES & TEAMS
Photo: Red Bull’s MotoGP team Tech3 just sold for $50M.
David Blitzer’s Bolt Ventures and Paul Wachter’s Main Street Advisors join $50M buyout of MotoGP’s Red Bull KTM Tech3 team (Jan. 30th)
Firms join IKON Capital in committing $50M for a 100% stake; other investors include Pierre Gasly, ALK Capital, and Barry English
Move follows Liberty’s MotoGP ~$5B acquisition in July 2025 [PEInsights]
AMB S&E’s Arthur M. Blank joins WTGL as the first team owner in the league (Feb. 2nd)
Team adds to Blank’s ATL-based portfolio, including the Falcons, Atlanta United, NWSL (2028), and Atlanta Drive GC (TGL)
Stars set to join the WTGL include Jeeno Thitikul, Charley Hull, Lydia Ko, Lottie Woad, Brooke Henderson, Rose Zhang, and Lexi Thompson [LGPA]
Grand Slam Track’s bankruptcy filings show ~$40.7M in liabilities (Jan. 29th)
Court filings list $40.68M in debts against just ~$831K in assets; league generated just $1.8M in revenue for 2025, with over 340 creditors owed funds [TheAthletic]
United Soccer League unveils three-tier ‘USL Premier’ format, sets stage for promotion/relegation structure in US soccer, set for 2028 (Jan. 27th)
USL launches Division One USL Premier as top tier, Division Two USL Championship, and Division Three USL League One; current Premier League Chief Football Officer Tony Scholes tapped as USL Premier President [USL]
Black Knight FC acquires the remaining 60% of Ligue 1 club FC Lorient, takes full control (Jan. 28th)
Lorient joins BKFC’s multi-club portfolio: AFC Bournemouth (England) and Moreirense FC (Portugal); affiliation agreements with Auckland FC, Orlando City FC, and Kyoto Sanga [CannaeHoldings]
IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru launches sale process that could fetch $2B in partial/full sale (Feb. 3rd)
Citigroup tapped as advisor; bids expected from PE and strategic investors
Franchise was acquired for $111.6M in 2008; Diageo gained control via $1.75B United Spirits Limited majority acquisition [SportsPro]
Rajasthan Royals near sale with consortium interest, receive $1.3B bid (Jan. 29th)
Four groups cleared for next-round bidding; top bids include consortiums backed by Satyan Gajwani and Kal Somani
Preliminary $1.3B offer from existing Somani-backed group investor is reportedly contingent on IPL media rights performance [SportsPro]
Dallas Mavericks plan to renovate their ‘multimillion-dollar’ HQ ahead of future arena move (Feb. 2nd)
Team will renovate 35K-sq-ft Design District HQ despite relocation plans
New arena vision includes adjacent HQ and training facility on ~50-acre site [SBJ]
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STARTUPS & VENTURE CAPITAL
Photo: Arkero raises $6M in pre-seed funding to build AI agents for sports teams.
Arkero, an AI-powered sports business ops platform, raises $6M in Pre-Seed funding (Jan. 29th)
Funds will invest in platform, team partnerships, and key hires; partners include Seattle Sounders & Reign, San Diego FC, and Bolton Wanderers
Investment led by Game Changers Ventures; other investors include 776, BoxGroup, Garuda Ventures, and Founders’ Co-op, among others [Sportico]
Gerard Piqué’s 7v7 soccer format Kings League raises $63M in funding (Feb. 3rd)
Funding will expand men’s & women’s leagues globally, including a US debut; firm hosts leagues in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, and MENA
Investment led by Alignment Growth; other investors include existing investors; total funding tops $160M [SportsPro]
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M&A AND INVESTMENTS
Photo: NFL’s 10% stake in ESPN, valuing the network at ~$30B, officially approved by regulators.
KKR agrees to acquire sports investment firm Arctos Partners in a $1.4B deal (Feb. 5th)
Deal includes $300M in cash, $900M in equity to existing Arctos shareholders, and $200M to be distributed to Arctos employees.
Arctos MPs Ian Charles, Doc O’Connor, and team are set to join KKR's newly established KKR Solutions [Sportico]
ESPN receives regulatory approval to close NFL media assets acquisition (Feb. 1st)
NFL takes 10% stake in ESPN (est. $30B valuation); ESPN gains NFL Network, RedZone rights, and integrates fantasy football operations [TheAthletic]
Otro Capital, a SME & Gaming PE firm, closes the largest first-time sports fund with an oversubscribed $1.2B to pursue controlling stakes (Feb. 3rd)
Fund targets 10+ new investments in teams and middle-market sports businesses
Follows the firm’s major PE entrance into college sports via University of Utah; portfolio includes Alpine F1, Two Circles, FlexWork Sports [ΟtroCapital]
Ariel Investments’ ‘Project Level’, a women’s sports fund, closes with $250M in committed funds (Feb. 3rd)
Fund targets stakes in teams & leagues and youth sports across the US and Europe; fund’s portfolio already includes Denver Summit FC and LOVB [WSJ]
Apollo to acquire a minority stake in Canada’s largest fitness provider, The GoodLife Group, at a ~$1.46B valuation (Feb. 2nd)
Founder David ‘Patch’ Patchell-Evans remains chairman and investor; investment will fund growth, long-term strategy, and leadership expansion beyond 400+ clubs and 1.5M members [Apollo]
Adidas announces a $1.2B share buyback, amid record revenues in 2025 (Jan. 29th)
$1.2B share repurchase starts in February; to be funded by the company’s 2026 cash flows [Adidas]
Peter Chernin’s North Road Company, parentco of Words + Pictures, sells to French media conglomerate Mediawan (Jan. 30th)
W+P’s sports projects include NASCAR: Full Speed, Super League: The War for Football, and Full Court Press, among others
Backers of the transaction include KKR, QIA, Providence Equity, Raine Group, and Bpifrance [HollywoodReporter]
Travis Kelce backs and partners with adjustable smart bed brand Sleep Number (Jan. 28th)
Kelce joins as a strategic partner and is set to feature in TV/digital campaigns
Kelce acquires an under 5% stake; investment includes open-market stock purchase plus restricted stock units vesting over three years [Deadline]
Dragons' Den judge Peter Jones nears acquisition of UK-based golf retail chain ‘American Golf’ (Feb. 4th)
Jones is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire the firm from British PE firm Endless; aims to grow the brand's online presence and sales [GolfMonthly]
Seattle Seahawks expected to sell a team stake, following a Portland Trail Blazers sale (Jan. 30th)
Sale to begin post-Blazers transaction (~March), fulfilling Paul Allen’s estate mandate
Valuation likely to exceed Commanders’ $6B sale; Jeff Bezos, Steve Ballmer, and local Seattle investors are among the speculated prospective buyers [ESPN]
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STRATEGIC VENTURES
Photo: Washington Post shuts down its sports department; ~45 staff members impacted.
Washington Post shuts down its sports department amid mass layoffs (Feb. 4th)
Entire sports section closed, with ~45 staff members impacted, some reassigned roles; several reporters will remain to cover sports as a ‘cultural and societal phenomenon’ [ESPN]
Premier League club Fulham FC names wellness tech brand Bon Charge its Official Recovery Partner (Feb. 1st)
Brand to provide red-light, PEMF, infrared sauna, and blue-light-blocking recovery tech
Partnership includes stadium activations and Fulham Pier wellness space in a three-year term [Fulham]
PGA TOUR, DraftKings, ESPN collaborate on PGA TOUR LIVE Betcast for full-day golf live betting coverage (Feb. 1st)
Airs 8+ hrs/day on ESPN+ across 12 marquee events, with live betting analysis
Hosts and analysts to provide previews, tournament insights, and betting content for 400+ hours this season [ESPN]
Videocites, a social media analytics company that works with major pro sports leagues, rebrands to Ripple Analytics (Jan. 28th)
Platform tracks UGC and social engagement for leagues/brands, informing fan engagement and sponsorship strategies
Ripple Analytics’ MediaTrack splits into Lens (sentiment analysis) and Landscape (benchmarking vs competitors) [SBJ]
Wearable light therapy device brand DNA Vibe expands partnership with pro women athlete partnerships Parity to grow SHINE campaign (Feb. 4th)
Parity affiliates to receive DNA Vibe’s Jazz Band wearable, plus ambassador & employment opportunities
Move supports SHINE campaign: scaling athlete access to light-therapy tech and future US-based manufacturing pods [SBJ]
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JOB BOARD
Here are some cool roles we found and personally curated this week - enjoy!