Sports & Entertainment Beat

Welcome back to the Spotlight! As Winston Churchill once said, “a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” Of course, Churchill predated the proliferation of social media that has enabled a lie to go even further in a fraction of the time.  Earlier this week, we witnessed how damaging the effects can be, as hasty journalists took a genocidal terror organization at its word and reported that an alleged Israeli airstrike on a Gazan hospital caused an explosion that allegedly killed 500 people.  Spoiler alert: the Israelis were not responsible for the blast, but rather the aforementioned terror organization was. Unfortunately, in the click-driven economy we live in, a premium is placed on speed rather than on truth.  By the time the truth came out, mass protests, riots and antisemitic violence (Including the destruction of synagogues) had already taken place.  Worse, because people are going to believe what they want to believe to fit their own narrative or agenda – even in the face of evidence to the contrary – the proverbial bell cannot be un-rung. No retractions, no mea culpas, no apologies.

A microcosm of this (clearly with not the same gravity, but humor me here) was when it was widely reported that now former Major League Baseball pitcher Trevor Bauer had committed heinous acts of sexual assault against an alleged victim. Bauer was dragged through the mud in the media and released by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a result. Just two weeks ago, we learned that after a two year court battle, it was evident that Bauer had been set-up and was the victim of blackmail.  Unfortunately for Bauer, the exoneration story does not get quite the level of interest as the one that implicated him in wrongdoing – and his baseball future in the US (he currently plays in Japan) remains uncertain at best.  The lesson from these parables? Perhaps we could all refrain from rushing to judgment or jumping to conclusions before casting a story in the spotlight. 

Some highlights from the week:

• • Cincinnati Bengals Wide Receiver Ja’Marr Chase forges a convenient endorsement deal with convenience store chain 7-Eleven because they’re both “always open.”  A much better fit for a wide receiver than a deal with Butterfinger.
    
    
  • Milwaukee Bucks Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo sues luxury mattress company Maree for allegedly failing to deliver on quality and quantity while using Antetokounmpo’s name, image and likeness without his consent. Those allegations are enough to lose sleep over. 
    
    
  • Taylor Swift’s film chronicling her Eras Tour opened last weekend to millions of screaming and shrieking fans, grossing about $92.8 million in North America and $123.5 million internationally in the opening weekend—a new record for concert films. Fortunately, that should be just enough to cover the cost of repairing the resulting shattered glass mirrors and windows.

Welcome back to the Spotlight. I would have loved nothing more than to write about sports and entertainment with levity and dad jokes as per usual. But, in light of the unspeakable, antisemitic terrorist acts committed in Israel in which no one, not even babies, was spared this past week—let alone the callous, hateful “justifications” for them—I am in no mood. I wanted to skip this week altogether, but could not remain silent—and neither should you. So, no bulletpoints (G-d knows there have been enough of those). If you’re looking for ways to help, I encourage you to donate to legitimate organizations that will provide on-the-ground humanitarian aid to those affected. Thank you for reading and stay safe. Am Yisrael Chai.

First things first, I owe you an apology for having startled you all the other day. You see, I was piloting a new distribution method for taking the Spotlight to the masses, and (oops!) I ended up setting off alerts on everyone’s mobile phones across the country. I take full responsibility and I really should have known better, particularly after seeing how ticked off people were to have U2’s album automatically pushed to their phones years ago. Although, things seem to have worked out for Bono and Co., adding to their accolades the opening of their residency at the $2.3 billion MSG Sphere in Las Vegas…  There’s also the possibility of dating Taylor Swift to reach a new audience, but I don’t think my wife (let alone Taylor Swift) would appreciate that. So, I think I would prefer good ol’ fashioned word of mouth for increasing my reach – that’s where you come in.

And here I come in with this week’s spotlighted stories:

• • Wallets are out for content streaming companies Apple and Netflix in the sports and film industries. Apple is rumored to be looking into acquiring Formula One racing rights. Netflix is acquiring “His Three Daughters” – a sentence a lot more troubling to hear than it is to read.  
     
  • The sports sponsorship market is hot and growing by an expected $22.64 billion between 2022 and 2027.  Jimmy Donaldson’s (also known as Mr. Beast) food brand Feastables, strikes a jersey patch sponsorship deal with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets in an effort to get consumers buzzing.
    
    
  • Meanwhile, English Premier League Football Club Chelsea entered into a 40 million pound ($49 million) shirt sponsorship deal of its own with sports technology company Infinite Athlete. Chelsea players will need infinite athleticism to carry all that weight up and down the field.
    
    
  • The WNBA is expanding for the first time in its history, adding two teams: one in the San Francisco Bay Area and the other likely to be in Portland. Exciting news for sure, but not the first time that trailblazers have played in Portland. 

This past week a Sports & Entertainment Spotlight unto itself shone bright at Arrowhead Stadium as Taylor Swift cheered on her rumored love connection Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.  In the wake of that game (Kelce scored a touchdown and his team won, by the way) the media has been abuzz about the budding romance, and Kelce has seen his social media following, podcast listeners and jersey sales go through the roof. Is that the Taylor Swift effect? Probably.  But, in fairness to Kelce (a future hall of famer and two-time Super Bowl champion tight end), for that same game, he did shed his goatee in favor of a firefighter-chic mustache—so maybe there is some correlation there...?  We already knew from Swift’s global tour that tickets were hard and expensive to get – but that was when she was performing.  Now with the price of Chiefs tickets ballooning (including for this week’s tilt against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, at which Swift is rumored to be in attendance), you still have to break the bank when she is a spectator. All of this is coming together at the perfect time. The Writers’ Guild of America and Hollywood studios agreed on terms to end the months-long strike. Surely, some writers will be inspired to retell the story on the big screen, while others will be able to write jokes for late night television. Worst comes to worst, Swift will have a memorable breakup song to perform in the future under her stadium spotlight (on the stage—not in a suite).  

• • The Dallas Cowboys’ home stadium pilots an artificial intelligence-powered version of owner Jerry Jones to answer various questions. AI Jerry has been strategically placed near restrooms for convenience of those who inevitably soil themselves in fear.
    
    
  • Goddess of Pop, Cher is alleged to have hired men to kidnap her son amidst a divorce fight between her son and daughter-in-law. A shocking but not surprising revelation for a singer of the song, “I Got You Babe.”
    
    
  • Iowa Pork Producers Association shows their humor chops cutting a squeal deal with Iowa State Cyclones football players Myles Purchase, Tyler Moore, Tommy Hamann and Caleb Bacon  (Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon), and in so doing, temporarily assuaged my beef with humanity. 
    
    
  • League One Volleyball (LOVB) launches with $35 million in Series B funding to be the first season-long professional women’s volleyball league, setting themselves up for a bump and spike in interest in the sport.  

For those of you that were already feeling overwhelmed by the early onset of pumpkin spice at the end of summer, with autumn now being upon us, it is now socially acceptable for those flavors and aromas to pervade daily life.  Autumn also means that football season is in full swing. And while certain fanbases take football season as license to be lunatics (looking at you, Buffalo Bills fans), it is never socially acceptable to threaten violence upon athletes.  Last weekend, the University of Colorado football team, that has been enjoying a name, image and likeness (NIL) fueled renaissance under new coach Deion Sanders faced off against its in-state rival, Colorado State University. In the midst of a hard-fought game with emotions amplified by rivalry and media fervor centering around a war of words between the larger-than-life Sanders and CSU coach Jay Norvell, CSU defensive back Henry Blackburn delivered a late hit on Colorado’s star player and future NFL draft pick, Travis Hunter, knocking Hunter out of the game.  Although Hunter’s team ended up winning the game, we later learned that Colorado fans had sent death threats (via social media, text and phone) to Blackburn in the aftermath of the late hit. Sadly, the lack of human decency is not new, but with NIL driving media prominence for college athletes who are connected with fans like never before, more needs to be done to discourage this type of behavior. After all, it is just a game. With that off my chest, let’s see what else we have in the spotlight. 

• • Pop singer-songwriter Katy Perry sells her music catalog (both her interests in master recordings and musical compositions) to private equity-backed Litmus Music for a teenage-dream exceeding sum of $250 million.
     
  • Hellmann’s Mayonnaise becomes the official mayonnaise of six top football universities, opening up the door for cardiology sponsorships at six top football universities.
     
  • Hollywood talent management company Brillstein Entertainment Partners is acquired by sports, entertainment and media representation agency Wasserman. Details of the tie-up were not disclosed, but I’m told someone stomped on a glass at closing.

Week one of the NFL season is in the books, leaving many teams, players and fans (whether it be New York Giants fans such as myself bemoaning a Sunday night beat down at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys, or Los Angeles Chargers fans frightened by the experience of sitting in the stands next to humanoid robots) trying to tear pages out. The week was also riddled with injuries—not all that surprising in the sport of football. However, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ tearing his Achilles tendon was entirely unexpected particularly after an offseason of hype (chronicled on HBO’s “Hard Knocks”) and Super Bowl aspirations. Brands, sponsors and media companies who staked significant sums on the Jets bandwagon certainly got their money’s worth with the Jets and Buffalo Bills’ matchup on Monday Night Football earning the highest ratings for the program in history, but whether that value will hold over the course of the NFL season seems like a riskier proposition.  Going forward, it’s fair to wonder whether in negotiations, companies will be more attuned to the risk that a star player’s injury could end up squandering their investments. After all, Inter Miami Football (Soccer) Club without Messi is messy. And the Jets without Rodgers may well be stuck at the gate.

• • The two major pickleball leagues merge in a deal valued at $50 million, signaling yet again that pickleball is ready for brinetime.
     
  • Speaking of pickles, DJ Steve Aoki is the latest recording artist to wade into the fast food industry, joining forces with Burger King to create a “Whopper” track. When Aoki asked for creative control, Burger King said “have it your way.”
     
  • Tom Brady joins Delta Airlines as a strategic adviser for its workforce. Amongst Brady’s likely tips: have multiple retirement parties and whatever you do, don’t eat bread.
     

Welcome back to the Spotlight! I am just a few days removed from hand surgery, so on the one hand, I’d ask you to excuse my brevity. But on the other hand I’d sheepishly ask, hat in hand, for you to clap your hands for my shorthanded effort. Your handsome award for handling my handwringing puns?: this week’s installment will ensure your finger is on the pulse for the latest in Sports and Entertainment. 

• • On the heels of a statement upset by the Deion Sanders-coached University of Colorado football team over Texas Christian University, Colorado’s star players Shedeur Sanders (Deion’s son) and Travis Hunter saw their name, image and likeness valuations soar by a combined $5.3 million. Talk about a Rocky Mountain high!
     
  • Just as Universal Music Group and Deezer forge a pact on a royalty model that incentivizes popular human recording artists over those of artificial intelligence, AI music creator, Ghostwriter releases a fake Travis Scott track and Warner Music Group signs digital influencer Noonoouri to a record deal. To Noonoouri’s credit, “she” was gracious in thanking her ardent supporter, 001101011100.
     
  • Hedge fund billionaire and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen purchased a New York based team in Tiger Woods and Rory Mcilroy’s TGL Golf League. Because if there’s one thing the Mets know better than the baseball diamond, it’s the golf course. 
     

Welcome back to the Spotlight! As we approach Labor Day Weekend here in the US, I became curious as to the origins of the federal holiday.  Gather round, class – Mr. Bloomgarden has a history lesson to share. (Clears throat…) In 1894, President Grover Cleveland (my second favorite Grover to the blue Muppet and second favorite Cleveland to the city) signed into law a bill to make Labor Day a federal holiday to celebrate (traditionally via barbecues and parades) the contributions of American workers to the economy and society. Fast-forward some 129 years and—far from a celebration--we continue to have labor strikes by actors and writers that have ground new film and television production to a screeching halt. So, it is with rather conspicuous timing that five of the most prominent late night television hosts (Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver) have banded together to create a podcast “Strike Force Five” in solidarity with their respective writers’ rooms to comedically discuss (amongst other things) the strikes plaguing their industry. Commendably, the proceeds from the podcast will be distributed amongst each of the five talk shows’ writing staff to provide relief while the impasse continues.  Hopefully, one of the most courageous acts we see post-Labor Day (close runner-up to wearing white) is that the writers, actors, networks and studios return to their sides of the negotiating table to iron out deals once and for all. Regardless, it is refreshing to see the Strike Force Five using their outsized platforms to support their workers.

• • Brad Pitt’s Production Company Plan B Entertainment named a new President of Television – presumably because its first choice did not pan out.
    
    
  • The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) continues to make substantial investments in sports – most recently investing $100 million in the mixed martial arts league, Professional Fighters League – in its push to become a sports mecca.  I guess it is not enough to have the Mecca of meccas.
    
    
  • Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls are in talks to sell naming rights to its stadium from Red Bull Arena. If anyone in the marketing department at The Toro Company or at Matador Travel Equipment is reading this, you’re welcome.
    
    
  • Rapper Eminem puts the kibosh on Republican Primary candidate Vivek Ramaswany’s performance of his musical compositions at campaign events. Will be interesting to see if it is enough of a deterrent to one of his debate competitors saying, “nowadays Ramaswany wanna talk like he got somethin’ to say, but nothin’ comes out, when he moves his lips, just a bunch of gibberish…”

We here at the Spotlight are a family-oriented program committed to giving you sports and entertainment industry business and legal news and insights interspersed with dad jokes (though sometimes I wonder whether it is the other way around…). In any event, I feel it is important to address a story that blends familial (or maybe pseudo-familial) elements with the subject matter of the Spotlight. Nowhere is that more apparent than with that of news of the legal dispute between former NFL Offensive Tackle, Michael Oher and his (supposed/alleged) adoptive parents, Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy.  Oher has filed an action to dissolve his conservatorship with the Tuohys, alleging that they had tricked Oher into signing conservatorship documents allowing the Tuohys to represent Oher’s business interests was the same as being adopted and concocted the (once) heart-warming story of a white Tennessee family adopting a black football player out of abject poverty that served the basis for the film, “The Blind Side” (for which Sandra Bullock won the Oscar for Best Actress in 2009), allegedly to enrich themselves at his expense. On the other hand, the Tuohys’ lawyer fired back with allegations that Oher had sought to extort $15 million from the family to prevent him from going public with his side of the story. The whole saga is troubling, because you tend to hope that neither side is true, though that would mean that the only ones being bamboozled are you and I. if there is a winner to emerge from the fray, it might well be Sandra Bullock, who might yet break her streak of awful sequels (i.e., Speed 2 and Miss Congeniality 2) with her being positioned to reprise her role of Leigh Ann Tuohy in the yet-to-be-created, The Blind Side 2: Blind Justice. That is, if Hollywood movies are ever made again.  Before we jump into the rest of this week’s Spotlight, a brief programming note that I will be on vacation with my family next week, so the Spotlight will be recharging in my absence.

1. Fantasy Football guru, Matthew Berry raises $2 million for his startup fantasy sports media company, Fantasy Life. My fantasy football team can only hope to bring in a fraction of that amount this year.
    
2. McDonald’s launches a collectible, but non-transferable Grimace NFT. Just another way for McDonald’s (and a grimace) to stay with you long after your meal.
    
3. Just as Netflix renews its series, “The King of Collectibles” a Michael Jordan rookie card goes up for auction with a starting bid of $500,000. On that note, I am going to head out to go through my wife’s grandfather’s sports card collection gathering dust in my basement.

Welcome back to the Spotlight! While the tumbleweed continues to blow across studio lots in Hollywood as a result of the impasse with SAG-AFTRA and WGA, the sports world continues to experience kinetic, disruptive activity. In the college sports landscape, time honored college conferences such as the PAC-12 are crumbling like a dry shortbread cookie as their member schools reconsolidate (like wet shortbread cookie dough) around mega conferences such as the Big Ten that enjoy multibillion dollar TV rights deals. Where the chips fall from here—particularly in relation to the role (if any) of the NCAA—is anyone’s guess. Two things are for certain: 1) with at least sixteen (not ten) colleges, maybe it is now time to think of a rebrand for the Big Ten conference); and 2) with apologies to many of my Foster Garvey colleagues, the true UW in the Big Ten remains Wisconsin (not University of Washington, despite its impending move to the Big Ten). Additionally, through a tie-up with Penn Entertainment, ESPN finally jumps into the sports gaming business. Now ESPN, whose parent company Disney is famous for the letters M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E, can add three more letters to its portfolio: B-E-T. As part of the deal, Penn Entertainment is paying Disney approximately 2X its market capitalization. Regardless of whether this turns out to be a moneymaking bet for Penn or Disney, rest assured your odds to make money are slimmer than—well, an over-rolled shortbread cookie.

While I excuse myself for a snack, here are some other knowledge morsels on which to nibble:

• • Fan memorabilia company Fanatics and trading card company Panini America are in dueling lawsuits alleging unfair competition. To take on Panini, Fanatics’ legal strategy will undoubtedly involve a full court “press.”
     
  • YouTube personality MrBeast filed a lawsuit against Virtual Dining Concepts alleging that the food quality at the virtual kitchens created for his MrBeast Burger brand injured his reputation. The court will decide whether the suit is a fry in the sky or whether he has a legitimate beef.
    
    
  • Universal Music and Google are said to be in talks related to the development of an AI-generated music tool. Japanese users will be advised not to thank the AI so as not to inadvertently infringe Styx’s “Mr. Roboto.”