Weekly Sports Business Update

Cavaliers are nearing a deal to sell a 5%-10% stake to Blue Owl, valuing the NBA franchise and Cleveland’s incoming WNBA team at a combined $5.5B

Blue Owl’s sports strategy fund already holds LP stakes in the Hawks, Hornets, Timberwolves, and Kings, while Dan Gilbert will retain majority control [Sportico]

League opened a six-month evaluation process with the Friedkin family, owners of Everton and AS Roma, for a potential ~$3.5B expansion franchise in Houston or Austin

Owners approved Fenway Sports Group’s sale of the Penguins to the Hoffmann family at a $1.7-1.8B valuation; Hoffmann’s also acquiring SportsNet Pittsburgh [NHL] [The Athletic]

Foley is pursuing a Las Vegas NBA expansion franchise, with plans to house the team at T-Mobile Arena, the Golden Knights’ existing home on the Strip

Expansion fee is expected to land between $7B and $10B, with Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and other investors also circling the market [FOS]

New model will split the PGA Tour into a top-tier Championship Series with ~$20M purses and a feeder Challenger Series with ~$4M purses

Overhaul adds promotion/relegation, a rotating match-play Tour Championship, no sponsor exemptions, and a push into major markets like Boston, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle [Golf Digest] 

Louisville Athletics projects a record ~$30M deficit for FY27, marking its fifth negative balance in eight years

Department is reducing university support from $17.3M to $7.2M while launching Cardinal Ventures to support NIL, revenue-sharing, marketing flexibility, and new revenue opportunities [SBJ]

Will acquire the stake for $30M, in a deal that would end Textor’s ownership of the French club through Eagle Football

Kang, who already controls Lyon’s women’s team, is also pledging up to €71M of fresh capital over the next two seasons, with closing subject to Lyon staying in Ligue 1 [FOS]

Real Madrid formally committed to EuroLeague Basketball’s new long-term structure, becoming the final shareholder club to sign the 10-year agreement

Deal comes amid ongoing NBA Europe discussions, with EuroLeague expected to ratify its franchise model and outline future expansion plans at Friday’s board meeting [Eurohoops]

Kilmer Sports Ventures, led by Larry Tanenbaum, invested $100M into the Professional Women’s Hockey League, with Ilitch Companies also joining as a strategic investor

League was previously capitalized by Mark Walter’s TWG Global and is expanding to 12 teams after drawing 1.1M+ fans during its third regular season [Sportico]

MSP Sports Capital acquired a majority stake in the New Zealand SailGP Team, making the Black Foils the last of SailGP’s 13 teams to secure private investment

Deal adds another major sports investor to SailGP’s ownership model as top team valuations have reportedly climbed from under $5M in 2021 to $80M+ [The Athletic]

League plans to package traditional sumo with seasons, rankings, prize money, championship events, arena entrances, and rivalries, with its first competition scheduled for fall 2026 [Axios]

Arctos Partners, RVX Ventures, and Magellan Development Group formed a $288M joint venture to build a sports-adjacent entertainment district next to the University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium

Project includes a 24-story hotel, apartments, private club, and 100,000 square feet of entertainment space as private capital increasingly targets college sports real estate [Bloomberg]

Club acquired a 25-acre plot from Indurent after separate talks with Freightliner stalled, giving United the majority of the land needed for its new stadium project

Planned venue would become the largest stadium in England and second-largest in Europe, behind Barcelona’s renovated Camp Nou [SBJ]

Mari Group, Ari Emanuel’s live sports & events company, is reportedly in advanced talks with Providence Equity Partners to acquire ATG Entertainment

ATG owns, operates, or programs 70 venues across the U.K., U.S., Germany, Austria, and Spain, including 10 West End theaters and seven Broadway theaters [THR]

Sony Pictures Entertainment invested $100M in Cosm, the immersive venue operator that shows live sports and entertainment in LED dome theaters

Investment gives Sony a minority stake, leads Cosm’s Series C, and will help expand Cosm’s venue network after openings in L.A., Dallas, and Atlanta [SBJ]

UTA and PE-backer EQT were removed from the auction after reportedly balking at price and Casey Wasserman’s noncompete/non-solicit fee

New Mountain Capital, Excel Sports Management/Goldman Sachs, Primera, and Partners Group reportedly remain in the mix [SBJ]

Penske Media Corp., owner of Sportico, Variety, Rolling Stone, and Billboard, agreed to acquire Vox Media brands including SB Nation, The Verge, POPSUGAR, The Dodo, Punch, and Thrillist

Deal adds Vox’s Concert ad marketplace and Forte first-party data platform, expanding PMC’s digital publishing, sports media, events, and ad-tech footprint [Sportico]

Walmart acquired Vibe.co, a French connected-TV advertising technology company, for $1.4B

Deal adds self-serve CTV ad tools for small and mid-sized advertisers as Walmart expands its retail media business beyond Vizio [WSJ]

Deal gives CVC exposure to regulated gaming infrastructure as GLI operates across 710+ jurisdictions and iGaming continues expanding globally [Complete iGaming]

Mantis VC is raising a $100M Fund IV, which would push the LA-based firm’s AUM above $300M

Firm is scaling from emerging manager to established early-stage VC, with prior sports-related investments including Underdog, Kalshi, and FitOn [The Tech Buzz]

Kalshi is reportedly in talks to raise new funding at a ~$40B valuation, just one month after raising $1B at a $22B valuation

Platform generated $17B+ in trading volume last month, with sports accounting for ~65% of activity as it continues challenging sportsbooks and derivatives exchanges [FT]

ALT Sports Data raised $5M led by Game Changers Ventures, with participation from Relay Ventures, Scrum Ventures, and others

Works with 30+ sports properties including F1, WSL, X Games, SuperMotocross, BKFC, and PBR across data, integrity, media, fan engagement, and betting activation [InterGame]

Sportway Media Group raised ~SEK 200M / €20M led by Gamma Waves, valuing the AI-driven sports media company at SEK 1B post-money

Company works with 70+ federations and leagues, has installed 2,200+ AI-powered camera systems, and produces 250,000+ live sporting events annually [Sportway]

URUNN, the running app co-founded by Sir Mo Farah and elite marathoner Adam Clarke, raised a seven-figure round from 10XU and private investors

App has users in 110+ countries and partnerships with Huawei, Vodafone, Puma, and Adidas, with funding going toward product, talent, and global user growth [Fitt Insider]

UFC and Meta launched Meta UFC Rankings, a new athlete evaluation system determined entirely by fight data

Model updates after every UFC event and weighs fight outcomes, win type, opponent quality, recency, inactivity, and weight-class context  [UFC] 

ESPN launched ESPN Fan House, a college sports fan engagement platform powered by Flowcode

Hub gives fans access to polls, trivia, sweepstakes, merchandise, rewards, and brand activations, with Publicis Sports first to activate [ESPN]

MTVG Production Platform handles on-site production, signal transport, media control, and distribution through one live broadcast solution

Platform powered Angels.TV’s launch in one month and is built around MTVG’s 300,000-square-foot Mountain Media Center in Colorado [Mobile TV Group]

Meta is reportedly developing Arena, a standalone app that would let users make predictions using points instead of real-money wagering

Experimental product could compete for attention with Kalshi and Polymarket as Meta builds around emerging online behavior [New York Times]

Could generate $500M+ in incremental World Cup ad revenue from mandatory hydration breaks, with 30-second spots reportedly selling for $200K-$750K [SBJ]

Wondery will handle exclusive podcast and digital series distribution and ad sales for Boardroom across Amazon platforms starting in 2027

Partnership also expands Boardroom’s live events, Twitch livestreams with Durant, and broader brand partnership opportunities [Variety]

Adam Wexler launched EightState Studios, an unscripted production company focused on original series and documentaries for digital, streaming, and TV distribution

Its first project is an eight-episode live YouTube spelling competition series featuring celebrities, influencers, and creators, premiering Aug. 11 [Variety]

Polymarket will become the Bundesliga’s Official Prediction Market Partner in the U.S. starting with the 2026-27 season

Deal gives Polymarket rights to use Bundesliga and club IP while users trade contracts on match outcomes [Relevent]

MotoGP Group signed a new five-year agreement with Aprilia, Ducati, Honda, KTM, and Yamaha, securing all current manufacturers on the grid

Deal creates a unified long-term framework across sporting, technical, and commercial operations as MotoGP looks to grow globally [MotoGP]

World Surf League expanded its Apple partnership to show athlete metrics like wave speed, distance traveled, and heart rate during live broadcasts

Deal also makes iPhone the league’s official mobile phone, with WSL using iPhone 17 models to capture social and broadcast content [SBJ]