Weekly Sports Business Update

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]

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]

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 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]

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]

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]

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 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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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 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 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]

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]

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]

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]

NBA expanded its Launchpad program in Asia to identify and pilot startups improving the game, player performance, and fan experience

Previously backed tech ranging from sleep optimization to smart basketball sensors, with Asia becoming a larger focus as regional NBA engagement grows [CNBC] [Tom Ryan]

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]

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]

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 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]

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]

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]

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 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 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]