On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including a recap of the technology on display at the NBA All-Star Game. Each year, the league uses the game to bring owners and executives together to discuss the future of sports consumption, and Soshnick was in Cleveland taking in the scene.
The hosts talk about news that the XFL’s third iteration will be partnering with the NFL in areas like player safety, scouting and best practices. The upstart football league–now owned by RedBird Capital, Dany Garcia, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson–is looking to launch in February 2023. Many pro football leagues have launched and failed in the past decade or so, but none had the explicit cooperation of the NFL.
The also discuss the latest Fanatics acquisition. The world’s largest seller of licensed sports apparel teamed up with a star-studded investment group (Jay-Z, Lil Baby, Meek Mill, Maverick Carter and the D’Amelio Family) to purchase Mitchell & Ness for about $250 million. Fanatics will own 75% of the company, while the other investors will own a combined 25%. Mitchell & Ness had about $350 million in revenue in 2021.
Lastly, the pair discusses the end of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, and the ugly post-game incident involving Michigan men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard.
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