FEATURED STORY
Our 100th Newsletter & Our New Show
🚨 OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: We’ve launched The 4th Quarter Show - if CNBC and ESPN had a baby.
This coming Saturday marks the 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence from Great Britain.
Coincidentally, it lines up with a big milestone for us as well. This very piece marks our 100th weekly newsletter for The 4th Quarter.
While we won’t pretend that building a sports business newsletter (before they were popular) – during our nights and weekends, while working full-time jobs at Fanatics and Bank of America at the time – is even comparable to the brave Founding Fathers literally forming a new country, we can’t help take a step back and appreciate what we’ve built so far:
~5,000 loyal subscribers: consisting of pro team owners, league executives, and every investor in the industry.
A partnership with Yahoo that has put our content across Yahoo Finance & Yahoo Sports, reaching 100M people every month.
Support from Courtside Ventures to turn a newsletter into a full-fledged media company.
And now, we’re excited to announce what we’ve been incubating for the last three months: The 4th Quarter Show.
A ‘new media’ newscast – think CNBC meets ESPN – for the sports business world.
Once a week, you can expect an hour-long show breaking down the most important headlines shaping our industry – and we’ll continue to scale from there.
You can subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.
Why Did We Do This?
While there are a plethora of video platforms that cover what happens on the field & on the court (SportsCenter, Pat McAfee, First Take, Pardon the Interruption, etc.), it’s shocking to not see a similar abundance of high-quality productions that cover what happens off the field & court.
We believe that the throne is for the taking.
Media is changing fast. TBPN started a tech business “show” 19 months ago, and recently got bought by OpenAI for $100M+.
Now, we see an identical opportunity to create the leading “sports business show” for this industry.
This wasn’t done on a whim.
Over the past few months, we’ve been strategically seeding short-form clips from our show across LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok and have generated 5M+ cumulative views.
There is real demand for our type of content.
The Floodgates Have Opened
From the 2024 Wall Street Journal article on private equity stakes coming to the NFL, to 16 straight weeks of new sports investment funds being announced – yes, we’ve been keeping track – there has been no shortage of sports business coverage.
However, most of the commentary in this space has been split into two buckets: 1) breaking news or 2) good, but not deep, coverage.
Our initial thesis to start The 4th Quarter was simple: if the institutional capital floodgates open into sports, the industry will need an equity-research-grade outlet that provides deep & original analysis. This way, decision-makers & capital allocators can leverage innovative insights to drive the industry further.
Now, it’s safe to say that The 4th Quarter has become that.
We’re just getting started. Thanks for being on this journey with us.
Happy 4th (Quarter)!
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LEAGUES & TEAMS
U.S. League & Team News
Former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Thrive Capital’s Josh Kushner explore majority bid for Las Vegas NBA expansion team (June 29th)
Hired investment bankers and discussed bidding for a majority stake in a potential Las Vegas NBA expansion franchise
Bid reportedly made through Thrive Eternal, Kushner’s permanent-capital vehicle built to invest in iconic brands, cultural assets, and sports properties [Bloomberg]
Walmart heir Lukas Walton buys reported 10% stake in Chicago Bulls and United Center (June 26th)
Lukas Walton and his wife Samantha acquired a minority stake in the Bulls and United Center through purchases from existing limited partners
Reinsdorf family remains controlling owner as the Bulls are valued at $6.45B, while the United Center remains tied to the $7B 1901 Project redevelopment [CNBC]
Seattle Seahawks first-round bids due as sale process could reach $9B-$10B valuation (June 29th)
First-round bids for the Seahawks are reportedly due, moving the sale process toward a potential close before the 2026 NFL season
Reported bidders include Aditya Mitta, Wyc Grousbeck, Vinod Khosla, and potentially Todd Boehly; team expected to surpass the Commanders’ $6.05B NFL record sale [SBJ]
MLB proposes five-year free agent contract limit under new salary cap framework (June 26th)
MLB proposed limiting most free agent contracts to five years and 15% of a team’s salary cap, while eliminating deferred compensation
Proposal would add a $245.3M cap and $171.2M floor next season, setting up a major fight with the MLBPA before the current CBA expires Dec. 1 [AP]
International 🌍
NBA Europe franchise bidding officially ends with all 12 target cities drawing $500M+ bids (June 30th)
Final bids came in at $500M+ across all 12 target cities, with multiple groups offering more than $1B
NBA & FIBA plan to launch in Oct. 2027 with 12 permanent teams, four rotating clubs, and an initial 50/50 equity split between NBA owners and franchise owners [Sportico]
Pau Gasol’s Gasol16 Ventures completes €55M Liga F investment despite Real Madrid opt-out (July 1st)
Gasol16 Ventures acquired 35%-49% of future commercial revenue rights from participating Liga F clubs through 2050-51
Deal gives clubs €40M, Liga F €12M, and reserves €3M for player image rights, though four of 16 clubs opted out [Sportcal]
Swansea City A.F.C secures strategic investment from private equity firm Shamrock Capital to support commercial growth (June 29th)
Announced strategic partnership with Shamrock Capital, which committed capital gives access in return for “participating in the club’s future success”
Shamrock’s Content Strategy will give Swansea access to media, sports, and entertainment expertise as it expands its commercial platform [Swansea City]
LAFC sells 96.5% stake in Grasshopper Club Zurich to consolidate European soccer strategy (June 30th)
LAFC sold its 96.5% stake in Swiss side Grasshopper Club Zurich to Bridge Football Group Switzerland AG after prior fan protests over its ownership
Club will now focus its European resources on FC Wacker Innsbruck, its Austrian partner that has earned three straight promotions [Sportcal]
Cannae Holdings’ Black Knight Rugby acquires 100% of English Premiership club Exeter Chiefs (June 30th)
Black Knight Rugby, a new Cannae subsidiary backed by Bill Foley (LV Golden Knights, AFC Bournemouth), acquired 100% of Exeter Rugby Group, with longtime CEO Tony Rowe staying on as the club enters a new ownership era [Exeter Chiefs]
Emerging Properties
Premier Lacrosse League raises $100M Series E from Ares, Joe Tsai, ESPN, and celebrity investors (June 30th)
PLL raised a $100M Series E led by Ares funds and Joe Tsai, with participation from ESPN, Glen Powell, Rob Mac, Next 3, and David Blitzer’s Bolt Ventures
Capital will support the WLL, youth lacrosse, media distribution, sponsorship growth, and future team ownership expansion ahead of lacrosse’s 2028 Olympic return [Sportico]
Frank McCourt-backed Premier Jumping League sells first equestrian franchise to McCarthy Jumping Team for $50M (June 29th)
Jason McCarthy, founder of a proprietary trading firm active across global markets, acquired the first PJL team through McCarthy Jumping League ahead of the 2027 season
League plans 16 teams across 14 international events, supported by McCourt Global’s $300M prize money commitment over its first three years [PJL]
Real Estate Deals
Las Vegas Diamond Arena backers spend nearly $30M to secure land for NBA-ready arena and private aviation terminal (July 1st)
Chetak Development purchased a 3-acre parcel for ~$23M and has a separate $5.1M deal in escrow for adjacent land
Project would include a 21,000+ seat arena and private air terminal connected by underground tunnel, but depends on Las Vegas landing an NBA expansion team [SBJ]
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INVESTMENTS
M&A
William Blair completes acquisition of sports investment bank Inner Circle Sports (July 1st)
William Blair closed its acquisition of Inner Circle Sports, the boutique advisory firm behind major team sales, LP stake transactions, and NWSL expansion
Inner Circle will operate separately within William Blair, with Steve Horowitz and Rob Tilliss continuing to lead the firm as it expands headcount [SBJ]
Animal Capital acquires sports social media brand Best Celebrations to support growth (June 30th)
Animal Capital acquired Best Celebrations, a Seattle-based social media brand with nearly 3M followers built around sports celebration content
Brand has collaborated with Nike, the NFL, MLS, Seahawks, and Eagles, with financial terms undisclosed [Traded]
FlexWork Sports, operator of pro athlete-led youth camps, acquires ProCamps in eight-figure deal (June 29th)
FlexWork Sports acquired rival ProCamps, more than doubling its youth camp business to roughly 1,000 events annually
Deal also adds ProCamps’ G3 Marketing agency, expanding FlexWork into brand-led meet-and-greets, sponsor activations, and athlete-driven community events [SBJ]
Spin-Off’s
Comcast reverses course with plan to spin off NBCUniversal into separate public company (June 29th)
Comcast plans to spin off NBCUniversal, including NBC, Telemundo, Peacock, Bravo, Sky, theme parks, studios, and NBC Sports
Split leaves Comcast focused on connectivity / cable, while NBCUniversal prepares for a major sports rights cycle across the NFL, MLB, World Cup, and NHL [FOS]
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STARTUPS & TECHNOLOGY
Startup Fundraising
Polymarket-backed intelligence platform Polysights raises $1.5M to detect prediction market anomalies (June 24th)
Polysights raised a $1.5M pre-seed SAFE round to build AI tools for wallet clustering, anomaly detection, and suspicious trading activity
Platform is supported by Polymarket, Predict.fun, and Underdog Fantasy as prediction markets scale toward institutional-grade market intelligence [CNBC]
Red Bull Ventures backs TwelveLabs’ $100M Series B for AI video platform with sports broadcast applications (July 1st)
TwelveLabs raised $100M co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Red Bull Ventures, Amazon, Index Ventures, and others
Platform helps sports and broadcast teams search video by meaning, surface highlights, personalize fan content, and analyze game footage at scale [TwelveLabs] [Red Bull Ventures]
New Accelerator
NBA’s tech accelerator NBA Launchpad expands to Asia to source emerging basketball and fan experience startups (June 26th)
NBA expanded its Launchpad program in Asia to identify and pilot startups improving the game, player performance, and fan experience
Product Launches
CrossFit taps WurQ as official performance analytics partner for wearable training platform (June 30th)
WurQ will launch a CrossFit-specific dual-sensor wearable that tracks reps, range of motion, velocity, and power output
Platform includes an AI assistant trained on 100,000+ workouts and will support affiliate gyms, athlete programming, and real-time CrossFit Games broadcasts [Athletech]
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STRATEGIC VENTURES
Media Deals & Updates
World Series of Poker returns to ESPN with Omaha Productions modernizing TV coverage (June 29th)
WSOP signed a new multiyear media pact with ESPN, structured around sponsorship rights and ad inventory rather than a traditional rights fee
Omaha Productions will produce the event, blending live poker with edited storytelling and a new LED-heavy “Poker Sphere” set [SBJ]
Pro Padel League lands first national U.S. TV deal with CNBC for 2026 season (July 1st)
CNBC will air Sunday championship matches from all five PPL events in 2026 through a new USA Sports deal
Deal marks PPL’s first exclusive national network coverage as the league expands sponsorships and targets 10 events in 2027 [SBJ]
Omnicom set to win Adidas’ $512M global media account from WPP (June 30th)
Omnicom Media Group is reportedly set to secure Adidas’ $512M global media account, beating Publicis and incumbent WPP
Account will be led by PHD, Omnicom’s media agency whose clients include Volkswagen, Google, and 7-Eleven [Adweek]
AI Partnerships
Chelsea FC signs multi-year training kit sleeve partnership with legal AI platform Legora (June 25th)
Legora will become an official Chelsea partner, with branding on men’s, women’s, and Academy training kit sleeves
Founded in 2023, Legora supports 100,000+ legal professionals across research, review, and drafting, and is already used by Chelsea’s legal team [Chelsea FC]
Golden State names AI cloud provider IREN as Warriors jersey badge partner in multi-year deal (June 25th)
IREN will become Golden State’s Official AI Cloud Partner, with its badge appearing on all Warriors jerseys beginning in 2026-27
Deal spans the Warriors, Valkyries, Santa Cruz Warriors, and Chase Center, with community programs focused on AI, STEAM literacy, court refurbishments, and youth jersey distribution [Warriors]
Other Partnerships
Tennis Great Novak Djokovic joins global investor General Atlantic as strategic advisor (June 26th)
Djokovic will advise General Atlantic leadership, portfolio companies, and investors across leadership, performance, wellness, and innovation
Role brings another elite athlete into private markets advisory as GA backs high-growth businesses across healthcare, life sciences, consumer, and technology [General Atlantic]
Fanatics enters UAE gaming market through regulated JV with licensed operator Momentum Group (June 29th)
Fanatics and Momentum formed a JV combining Momentum’s UAE gaming licenses with Fanatics’ sportsbook/iGaming technology
Venture will operate licensed UAE lottery, iGaming, sportsbook, and gaming content businesses after GCGRA approval [Fanatics]
PrizePicks signs first NBA team partnership with hometown Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena (June 29th)
PrizePicks will become a Proud Partner of the Hawks, with integrations across broadcasts, arena signage, digital, and player imagery
Deal includes a dedicated PrizePicks Party Deck at State Farm Arena and presenting sponsorship of Hawks AF, the team’s original podcast [PrizePicks]
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JOB BOARD
If you find our weekly job board helpful, join the T4Q Talent Network.
Now - here are some cool roles we found and personally curated this week. Enjoy!