Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is trying to change the way pharmacies do business.
Luka Dakskobler/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
In this week’s SportsMoney Playbook: the world’s most valuable sports empires, the crypto crash hitting athletes and a historic NHL hire. Plus: the executive putting Nascar on a global stage.
Blockchain
Since Aaron Rodgers tweeted on November 1 that he was taking an undisclosed portion of his salary in bitcoin, the value of the digital coin has plummeted 39%. He’s not the only athlete getting hammered.
As Sorare expands its U.S. footprint, tennis star Serena Williams is joining the blockchain-based fantasy soccer game as an investor and advisor. ”When we think of web3 and we think of crypto, that’s going to be the biggest space for the next several years in terms of growth,” she tells us.
Sports Business
Social sports betting app Wagr has raised $12 million in a Series A round, with hopes of expanding from Tennessee to five other states in 2022. Meanwhile, athletes including A’ja Wilson and Shaun White are backing fitness app Masters.
Do New Yorkers love to gamble on sports? It seems like a safe bet: The state handled $150 million in wagers during its first weekend of legal mobile sports betting.
Auto Racing
An under-the-radar Nascar executive is elevating the series to global motorsports’ biggest stage for the first time.
After buying a stake in RFK Racing, Brad Keselowski says this is “the biggest year of my life.” The star driver explains why Nascar’s media rights situation gave him confidence this was the right time to jump into team ownership.
Hockey
Emilie Castonguay, the first woman to be certified as an agent by the NHL players’ union, is now the second woman to be hired as an assistant general manager in league history.
College Sports
The NAIA is partnering with Opendorse, giving more than 77,000 athletes access to the company’s NIL platform and a new marketplace.
After graduating from high school early—and going from little-known prospect to No. 1 on ESPN’s ranking—Shaedon Sharpe enrolled at Kentucky this month. While he has yet to see time on the court, he has his first NIL deal.
Soccer
Fatma Samoura is a trailblazer—the first African and first woman to hold the position of FIFA secretary general. That lands her a spot on Forbes’ 50 Over 50 list for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which highlights women who are shattering age and gender norms.
Featured Story
This year’s ranking of the world’s most valuable sports empires has expanded from 20 to 25.
GETTY IMAGES, ILLUSTRATION BY FORBES
The World’s Most Valuable Sports Empires 2022
The owners and ownership groups that dominate the sports world often own much more than a single team. In fact, the world’s 25 most valuable sports empires represent a combined $141 billion in sports properties. Who’s No. 1? See the full ranking here.
Hot Reads:
Upon Further Review
Mark Cuban has launched an online pharmacy that aims to offer generic drugs at cheaper prices. It’s just the latest business venture for the Mavericks owner, who is worth $4.5 billion by Forbes’ count. See where Cuban ranked among America’s richest sports team owners.
The Last Word
“Being a referee is a very empowering job because I get to yell at people and they have to listen to me.” – Aubrey Edwards
Brittany Aubert was working in video games when she discovered a new passion: pro wrestling. That led her to join an indie wrestling show as a referee and eventually to catch on with All Elite Wrestling, where she is better known by the ring name Aubrey Edwards. Edwards took our video team behind the scenes to show how an AEW broadcast comes together.
You can subscribe to the SportsMoney Playbook here.
Discussion about this post