This Week’s Most Interesting Sports Business Stories

In this week’s SportsMoney Playbook: the NHL’s most valuable teams, Nevada sportsbooks’ bad beat and DraftKings’ push into NFTs. Plus: An esports company nearly triples its valuation.

Sports Business

Nevada‘s casino business had a record October, with $1.2 billion in gambling revenues and $728.6 million wagered on football. But the sportsbooks took a beating. In any case, Nascar sees the lucrative potential of sports betting and is taking major steps to capitalize.

Encouraged by the early returns from its NFT marketplace, DraftKings has signed a deal with the NFLPA that could bring fantasy football games onto the blockchain in the near future.

Baseball

Even amid MLB‘s lockout, all eyes are on a new study that asserts the league used two different balls in 2021.

Tennis

As an executive producer on the film King Richard, Serena Williams has brought the story of her upbringing to the silver screen. Why tell it through the perspective of her father? “I think it was a great opportunity to see how amazing African American fathers are,” says Williams, newly named to Forbes’ list of the world’s 100 most powerful women.

Soccer

A little over 12 months ago, Matthew Hoppe was struggling for playing time in the fourth division of German soccer. A breakthrough in the Bundesliga has taken him to La Liga and earned him a call-up to the U.S. men’s national team.

Esports

Esports, gaming and apparel company 100 Thieves has nearly tripled its valuation with a $60 million Series C funding round.

College Sports

New regulations for transferring schools, receiving educational benefits and leveraging names, images and likenesses for profit have defined a transformational year for college sports. LSU‘s Shareef O’Neal, son of Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, is the latest to cash in, signing a long-term deal with a digital collectibles company.

At age 77, Jim Boeheim is still finding new ways to confound and inspire opposing coaches. The longtime Syracuse coach has no plans to hang it up anytime soon, either.

Skateboarding

Bryce Wettstein, a skateboarding phenom, Tokyo Olympian and budding musician, has quite the résumé at just 17 years old. Now, she’s giving the apparel business a shot.

Triathalon

After a pandemic hiatus that lasted more than a year, the Ironman triathlon series is back.

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Featured Story

NHL Team Values 2021: New York Rangers Become Hockey’s First $2 Billion Team

With a return to an 82-game schedule and lucrative new media deals, the NHL is skating past its pandemic losses, seeing the average value of its franchises jump 32% from last year. The Rangers claim the top spot for the seventh year in a row, at $2 billion, but two clubs have shaken up the top ten. See the full list of the NHL’s most valuable teams here.

Hot Reads:

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Upon Further Review

Maury Gallagher, the CEO of Allegiant Air, a low-cost airline, is paying $19.1 million for a majority interest in Richard Petty Motorsports. When we last valued Nascar’s teams, in 2020, RPM came in at No. 9, worth $28 million, well behind the sport’s powerhouses. See the full ranking, including the team worth $315 million.

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The Last Word

“My equity is going to compound on your passion.” – Chatri Sityodtong

It wasn’t easy turning the Singapore-based ONE Championship into a $1 billion MMA behemoth, broadcast in 150 countries. Three years in, Chatri Sityodtong had burned through millions of dollars and had little to show for it. A breakfast changed everything. Read more about Sityodtong’s path to success.

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