On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the curious saga of a company called Rokit, which was once a big spender for sports sponsorships and now owes millions to those same teams.
Rokit is the subject of a big Sportico story published Monday, which examines the company’s history and its brief push into sports, including deals with the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Rockets, Las Vegas Raiders and F1’s Williams Racing. Other creditors include Manchester United, the Sinclair-owned Tennis Channel, and Chargers all-pro safety Derwin James.
The hosts discuss the due diligence process that led many sports teams to ink long-term partnerships with a relatively unknown entity. Teams allowed other deals to serve as a vetting of sorts, and took confidence from the presence of John Paul DeJoria (co-founder of Patron tequila and Paul Mitchell) who has backed Rokit for two decades.
Lastly, the hosts discuss the start of the NHL season, and how a pair of developments at MSG Sports (NYSE: MSGS) shifted $70 million to the Dolan family late last week.
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