Drew Sheinman

Codie A. Sanchez A. Sanchez reveals the hidden business strategies and deal-making expertise that drive the success of celebrities like #TheRock. This highlights how strategic partnerships, like his Teremana Tequila brand valued at $3.5 billion, play a crucial role behind their public images. They brought the company to this valuation very quickly by: - #Pricing: They didn’t go premium. - #Distribution: Mega partnerships. - #Billboards: Leveraged top influencers on social media. •°•°•°•°•° Dive into the full conversation to hear Codie Sanchez's valuable perspectives. #marketing #influencermarketing #businessdeals #riskmanagement #entrepreneurship https://lnkd.in/d56k-ANg

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Part I: The NWSL and links to MCO through their investors Overview * NWSL formed 2012, began playing 2013 * Expanding to 16 teams 2026 * NWSL collective worth $1.46bn * 57% increase in franchise value 2023-24 * Collective revenues to pass $215m - 91% YoY * All teams to lose $5-10m 2024 * 4yr Broadcast Deal $240m ($4m per team per yr) * Min salary to increase $48-$82 by 2030 * Salary cap to increase $3.3M - $5.1M by 2030 * Attendance increased 42% in 24 passing 1m fans 3yrs in a row * 49 matches passed 10k fans * The Yates Report 2022 (investigation into systemic abuse and misconduct within NWSL) highlighted Thorns, North Carolina, Red Stars, Racing Louisville & Seattle Reign as all failing to protect players Seattle Reign  * Valued $78m * Franchise Fee $0  * Formed 2012 as Seattle Reign FC * 2019 renamed Reign FC due to a relocation (Tacoma) * 2020 OL Group paid $3.5m for 89.5%, name changed to OL Reign * 2024 Sold for $58m, reverted back to Seattle Reign FC * Between time of purchase and sale, OL Group changed ownership to Eagle Football Holdings *OL Groupe was financially distressed & sold OL Reign to Carlyle Group 50% & Adrian Hanauer, owner of Seattle Sounders, 2012 Alan was a past investor in Reign * Hanauer has a minority stake in NHL Seattle Kraken & previously held 15% in EFL Cambridge Utd early 00s * The Carlyle group (AuM $426bn)formed part of the financial vehicle Stephen Pagliuca consortium used to purchase Atalanta Bergamo FC  * Pagliuca acquired a 55% in the holding company that owns 86% of Atalanta for €250m in 2022 * Pagliuca is co-owner of Boston Celtics * Pagliuca in discussion to acquire Red Star FC (France) Portland Thorns  * Valued $93m * Franchise Fee $0 * Formed by Merritt Paulson (Peregrine Sports LLC) who owns Portland Timbers * As a result of the yates report sold the Thorns to RAJ Sports for $63m 2023 * RAJ Sports is led by the Bethal family * 2024 The Bhathal family was awarded WNBA's 15th franchise for Portland (Name TBC) to begin 2026 * The Bhathal family previously owned several Sacramento franchises * Other investors include Sam Garvin (Phoenix Suns) Angel City  * Valued $250m  * Franchise Fee $2m * Formed 2020  * Founding ownership group included Natalie Portman, Serena Williams, Eva Longoria * Longoria is part-owner of Club Necaxa & associated with Wrexham * 2024 Willow Bay and Bob Iger purchased 35% for $87.5m which valued the franchise at $250m * Their total investment is $137.5m providing $50m for operations  * Sept 2024 LAFC invest $50m acquiring a small stake * LAFC acquisition stems from warrants that were part of city stadium lease agreement. These warrants gave LAFC the rights to purchase shares. * Mia Hamm is a minority investor in both LAFC & Angel FC * LAFC own Grasshopper Club Zürich & Austrian club FC Wacker Innsbruck * LAFC formed a JV with FC Bayern (Red&Gold) which owns Racing Club de Montevideo (Uruguay) and Gambinos Stars (Gambia) #multiclubownership #footballbusiness #footballfinance

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⚽️ Even More Celebrity Investment in Soccer Teams While Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney weren't the first ever celebrity investors into a soccer team, their investment in Wrexham AFC has made the pair the prototypical celebrity investors in a soccer team. Wrexham has become "Hollywood's Team" and is considered a template for what many other influencers are trying to replicate--across different sports, different geographies, and different levels. Ryan and Rob are basically thought leaders when it comes to celebrities getting into the sports business and now they've bought a stake in Mexican soccer club Necaxa. Alongside other celebrity investors like Eva Longoria, Ryan and Rob have the opportunity to build another success story like Wrexham. Two interesting factors here are A) the role of content and B) the choice of geography. A large part of Wrexham's success has come from their FX series "Welcome to Wrexham," and and overall focus on creating relevant social media content. Will they employ a similarly aggressive content strategy for Club Necaxa, maybe even creating a docuseries about the club? And in the very global world of soccer, Ryan and Rob have strategically decided to pick a team in Mexico as their next focus. With the World Cup being hosted across Mexico, Canada, and the US in 2026 and Liga MX as the most watched soccer league in America, buying a team in Mexico makes a lot more sense vs. buying a soccer team in many other countries. More influencers will be investing in more sports teams and on an international scale, influencer-sports tea fit will be an important factor to ensure successful investments. https://lnkd.in/e3uS_vqR #football #soccer #sportsinvestment #sports #sport #media #entertainment #sportsbusiness #celebrity #influencer

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The U.S. sports betting market continues to grow as more Americans wager more money on live events. The AGA reported YTD commercial sports betting revenue reached $8.36bn through August (+30.4% YoY). However, the related advertising dollars are not flowing as easily as they once did with FanDuel and DraftKings Inc. entrenched as the regulated market leaders in all 30 legal mobile betting jurisdictions and the pace of states adding new OSB or online casino legislation having slowed to a crawl. Logic would suggest that reality will begin to impact sports rights owners and holders over time–if the trend doesn’t change. One “shouldn't assume that just because available ad dollars have dropped off this year, spending will stay at this level or drop off further in the future," Chris Grove (co-founding partner, Acies Investments) said. "There are numerous reasons why marketing spend could turn back upward.” But there is a new class of gaming companies –social sweepstakes casinos (think: VGW Play, Stake.us) and sportsbooks (think: Fliff Inc)– capable of helping sports properties and their media partners replace lost revenues in the interim. These entities are growing faster, operating in more states, and can be more profitable than regulated counterparts (though, none are nearly as profitable as FanDuel or DraftKings). For context, Virtual Gaming Worlds reported in September that it increased annual net profits by 30% YoY to $335mm on record revenues of $4.15bn. Sweepstakes are games of chance where no purchase is necessary to win. In a social sweepstakes sportsbook or casino players can also buy virtual coins that can be wagered and redeemed for real cash prizes. #sweepstakes #gaming #sportsbetting #sportsbiz #marketing #advertising #trends https://lnkd.in/egRbEuQp

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Excited to be back at Cipriani for Flutter Entertainment Investor Day, where we presented how FanDuel – our US business - is maintaining its #1 position by driving key sportsbook growth strategies.   Our highly effective acquisition strategy, superior product offerings, world-class promotions, unparalleled generosity, and market-leading pricing — all supported by our unmatched local scale and access to the Flutter Edge — ensure we continue to win and capture market share.   We also highlighted FanDuel’s US market leadership in Parlay innovation and beyond, with expansion into live betting and player-driven narratives.   As the #1 rated sports betting app by customers, keeping the customer at the center of everything we do helps us maintain this top spot.   It’s a winning formula, and with the significant market opportunities ahead, we look forward to extending our lead in the next phase of growth.   See more from Investor Day here: https://lnkd.in/d2nuBv-g   #FlutterInvestorDay

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This is so unique, access to experts on the ground in sports. In Tech, we always had access to industry analysts to guide our business decisions. However, in sports many analyst groups I used to rely on like Gartner, IDC, don't cover an industry that contributes around 1% to the GDP (yet). Not to mention that sports technology is 🔥 Private Equity are heavily investing, so are large brands. I bet they all have lots of questions. I know a group who just might have some answers ! #sports

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Golf - The Evolving Business Model. The men's professional game of #golf continues to be as divided as many of the stakeholders in the US political arena. We saw it yet again this past weekend, when one of the games showcase events "The Masters" was played at Augusta in Georgia, USA. Broadcasters seemingly, and incredibly unprofessionally, went out of their way to discredit the presence of the #LIVGolf league players who were in attendance along with their #PGATour colleagues over the course of the week. All of the sly and sarcastic interludes throughout the broadcast did not get lost on the fans of the game, as the internet lit up as if it were some kind of heated debate between passionate #Democrats and #Republicans. #PGA pundits making sly remarks about the LIV players not being able to manage playing 72 holes over the week, because the rival LIV tournaments are played over 54 holes over three days. This got me thinking. Who actually invented the concept of 18 holes for a round of golf, and how did 72 holes become the 'norm" for a golf tournament? Well you might be surprised to learn that at the traditional home of golf, St Andrews in #Scotland, the course originally consisted of 22 holes. 11 holes out, and 11 holes back in. This was later shortened when holes were merged together. Yet back then there was no standard, some tournaments even featured courses that had just 12 holes. It's when we jump back over the Atlantic once again to understand that The Masters tournament was originally played over eighteen holes over three days, eighteen holes were played each day for the first two days, and then a final 36 holes were played on the third day. Co-founder of 'The Masters" , Amateur golfer Bobby Jones suggested that the tournament should be played over four days so more tickets could be sold, and other events could be built around the week, so it was born, the concept, and norm that a golf tournament was to be played over eighteen holes over the course of four straight days. Other major tournaments followed suit such as 'The Open' and the 'PGA Championships'. In June 2021 the disruptors came into the game, the LIV Golf league. LIV introduced three day and fifty four hole tournaments. Ever since then the internal flames on mens professional golf has become an out of control wildfire. Players, fans and administrators are all embroiled in a never ending circus that started in 2021, over 250 years after the game was invented. The question is, when will the adults enter the room and realize that for mens professional golf to prosper the ego's need to be put aside so that the sustainable future of the game can be created which for now, is the only thing that matters. The only thing that matters.

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As we bask in the aftermath of the Masters Tournament, it's thrilling to see how vibrant the golf scene has become. The latest findings from The Pulse of the Golf Consumer report reveal a significant upswing in golf's popularity. 📊 Key Insights: ⛳️123 million Americans engaged with golf last year in various forms, marking a 14% increase over five years. ⛳️An impressive 95% of core golfers are planning to play as much or more in 2024. ⛳️The female golf segment is showing particularly strong growth, with a 25% increase in participation over the last four years. ⛳️Social media continues to be a powerful platform for golf, with over 50 million Americans consuming golf-related content. The momentum in the golf industry is undeniable, and it’s exciting to see such enthusiasm and participation across the board. Whether it’s playing, watching, or discussing, the game is reaching more people than ever. Let's keep this momentum going!

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Multiple baseball teams set records for single game ticket sales revenue during the 2024 playoffs. That achievement is the byproduct of strong demand for Major League Baseball (MLB)’s postseason product and a savvy –albeit debatable– ticket sales strategy intended to recapture revenue leakage. Clubs recognize that “fans are agnostic to where they get their tickets and have started making pricing decisions for both the primary market, which they obviously control in full, and large portions of the secondary market, which is a mix of the organization and other sellers,” one BI executive said. That is why the two have moved more in concert with one another this fall than typically seen. But while the blending of ticketing markets is enabling teams to maximize gate receipts, it is also contributing to a potentially troublesome trend across sports: loyal fans are getting priced out. “The short-term gain that comes with overcharging your core fans is juxtaposed with the long-term problem that creates with fandom in general,” the club exec said. #sports #sportsbiz #ticketing #ticketsales #strategy cc: JohnWallStreet Shripal Shah Ryan Dastrup, PhD Randall Friedman Jacie Brandes https://lnkd.in/ejrBAAfu

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4 years after merger, Callaway Golf mulls Topgolf spinoff; Endeavor shedding OpenBet & IMG ARENA; GameSquare Holdings Inc. scores National Football League (NFL) deal, other projects; #Beckham's Guild Esports set for takeover; Justice Dept. asked to review #Venu over broadcast monopoly concerns; PENN Entertainment, Inc to expand #ESPNBet despite w/ flagging rev$; #Olympics2024 #gamification #sportsindex #sportsstockmarket #sportsbusiness #cryptosports #blockchaingaming much more...

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This is a very thorough analysis of the impact a franchise player could have when signed to a Club, if, and only if the relationship is exploited in more ways than just the game performance and also thinking long term. https://lnkd.in/eM-2axKF

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ESPN vs Topgolf .... Who Did It Better? From ESPN’s high-energy #Football Island to Topgolf’s creative #Minigames, brands are taking over Fortnite’s UEFN in exciting ways. But why has ESPN seen significantly higher engagement? Find out in our latest analysis where we dive into: Player engagement stats.... What makes ESPN's island more successful? Lessons brands can learn from both experiences.... Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/erEA-egJ #Fortnite #GamingMarketing #DigitalEngagement #BrandStrategy #UGC

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It was a great conversation diving into the innovative work you're doing at BettorTakes. Excited to see how your platform continues to evolve and provide value in the sports betting landscape. For anyone interested in the intersection of sports tech and betting, be sure to check out the episode! #sportsbusiness #sportstech #sportstechnology #sportsbetting #betting #sports #technology

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