Welcome to Sportico‘s Transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and purchases across the sports business industry.
Playfly Sports Names Craig Sloan COO
Playfly Sports, a sports marketing company specializing in sports, media and technology, announced the promotion of Craig Sloan to Chief Operating Officer. Sloan’s responsibilities will expand to include oversight for Playfly Sports Properties, in addition to his continued leadership of Home Team Sports and Impression Sports & Entertainment.
Playfly also announced the promotion of Geoff Kalan to Chief Strategy Officer. Kalan, who previously served as Chief of Staff and Head of Strategy, came to Playfly following a career in investment banking with Lazard.
Detroit Pistons Name George David Assistant General Manager
George David is rejoining the Detroit Pistons after spending six years at Wasserman Media Group as Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations. The Farmington, Mich., native worked closely with many of Wasserman’s high-profile NBA players and previously served as Assistant GM with Detroit from 2012-14.
STATSports Signs Soccer Stars in Equity Deal
STATSports,, a provider of GPS hardware and software in professional sports, announced the signing of five new strategic athlete partners: Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Timothy Weah, Tyler Adams and Caden Clark. With this announcement, STATSports aims to give soccer players across the U.S., at all levels, access to its proprietary equipment, technology and analytics, in order to track player movements.
Big Sky Conference Announces Partnership with U.S. Integrity
The Big Sky Conference announced Wednesday a multi-year partnership with U.S. Integrity Inc., a technology and data-driven analytics company that monitors match-fixing, game manipulation and other unethical or illegal betting-related activity.
Panini, Christian Pulisic Extend Exclusive Partnership
Panini America, the officially licensed sports and entertainment collectibles producer and exclusive trading card partner of FIFA and the Premier League, has announced it has signed USMNT and Chelsea FC star Christian Pulisic to a new exclusive long-term agreement for autographs and media, running through the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Pulisic and Panini have been partners since 2016.
As part of the agreement, Pulisic’s autographed memorabilia will be made available exclusively through Panini Authentic. The partnership will also include marketing initiatives and several special joint projects between Panini and Pulisic through the 2026 FIFA World Cup set to take place in North America.
Kingston FURY Announces Partnership with Cloud9 eSports Team
Kingston FURY—the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a producer of memory products and technology solutions—has extended its partnership with world renowned premiere eSports team Cloud9.
Wearables Startup WHOOP Acquires Sports Tech Firm PUSH
Fitness and health band maker Whoop has acquired PUSH, a velocity-based training coaching solution, in a cash and stock transaction. The news follows a round of fundraising that drove WHOOP to a $3.6 billion valuation.
PUSH is a Toronto-based sports technology startup that focuses on velocity-based training data with a sensor that can live in multiple locations on the body to help quantify weightlifting performance via metrics like speed, power, force and acceleration.
North Sixth Group Acquires Ownership Interest in Ascoli Football Club
North Sixth Group announced it has acquired an ownership interest in Italian professional football club Ascoli Calcio FC, in partnership with Massimo Pulcinelli and Bricofer S.p.A, a retailer in the home goods and DIY sector in Italy. Ascoli currently competes in Serie B.
North Sixth Group will co-own the club alongside Pulcinelli and his family, which founded Bricofer in 1979.
