On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including Aaron Judge’s new contract. On the heels of a historic season, Judge signed a new nine-year, $360 million contract to stay with the New York Yankees.
The hosts debate whether this result is a surprise—there were other suitors for Judge, including the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, and baseball teams have become less willing to hand out massive hundred-million-dollar deals to players after they turn 30. The hosts also debate whether Judge could have achieved the same goal by negotiating just with the Yankees, instead of testing free agency more broadly.
Next they discuss Derek Jeter’s latest venture. The former Yankees captain just raised $10 million for Arena Club, his collectibles platform. Investors include Lightspeed Ventures and Elysian Park Ventures, the VC arm of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lastly, the hosts discuss another massive funding round for Fanatics: Michael Rubin’s company just raised $700 million at a $31 billion valuation. It’s the second round this year, following a $1.5 billion round announced in March that valued the company at $27 billion. Fanatics is rapidly expanding to include NFTs, trading cards, sports betting and iGaming.
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