Y! Sports Biz: Down 80%

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Y! Sports Biz: Down 80%

Fri, Oct 2, 2026 ·

7 min read

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👋 Happy Friday!

In this edition:The long tail of Nike's upside down Swoosh, cashing in on Caitlin, the NHL's youth movement, and more.

Time to show you the money...

📉Worse before it gets better

The painful wait continues for those anticipating an energized return to form for Nike, as the company's recovery effort remains more "turn signal " than "turn around ."

Disappointment, now and later:Nike reported Q1 FY27 results Thursday night, underwhelming investors with both its sales and outlook. Sales declined 4% to $11.2 billion in Q1, below analyst projections, while forecasted FY27 sales declines in the high single digits also disappointed. The stock has now fallen 80% from its late-2021 peak to levels not seen since 2013.

Same old story:The sources of Nike's weakness remain consistent with recent quarters.

Lifestyle weakness:CEO Elliott Hill cited a "lack of energy in the lifestyle space," and Nike Sportswear has suffered as a result. The company reduced the Dunk's supply (a $200 million headwind this quarter), but sell-through was also below expectations.
Restoring scarcity in Jordan Brand:Jordan revenue fell by a mid-teens percentage, and as Nike already did with the Jordan 1, the company will reduce the volume and frequency of retro Jordan launches, which have grown stale.
Reset in China:Revenue declined 26% in Greater China, where the company is eliminating some distribution channels to clean up the market, restore premium positioning, and reduce deep discounting. This cleanup process will take "multiple seasons."

Pace yourself:Nike also announced Pace, a program designed to accelerate the company's Sport Offense by evolving the supply chain. Pace is expected to deliver $2.5 billion in savings, but it will also lead to significant role reduction (i.e., layoffs). Investors would prefer to see a reinvigorated top line.

On the bright side:The company's performance business, the core of the Sport Offense, is performing well, up high single digits in the quarter, with growth led by running, global football, tennis, and golf.

Bottom line:There are pockets of optimism at Nike, particularly in performance, where innovation is driving growth. However, Nike rendered those categories secondary during feast years, squeezing lifestyle cash cows until they ran dry. Now, lifestyle is an albatross the company can escape only by delivering more appealing offerings or enduring more pain. For now, it's the latter, as Nike plummets to darker depths below.

👟 Caitlin 1 release "nothing special*"

The news wasn't exclusively bad for Nike on Thursday. Caitlin Clark's first signature sneaker, the Caitlin 1, launched to the masses, and it sold out in minutes on Nike's website in all but the largest sizes.

Better late than never:With Clark's third season as a pro already over, both fans and shareholders alike will ask, "What took you so long?!" If the early reception and positive performance reviews are any indication, though, Nike may have a hit on its hands.

All in on CC:"Today, we activated the largest women's signature shoe launch in Nike's history, the Caitlin 1," said Elliott Hill . "It will launch in 5,000 doors, twice the average for a Nike Basketball signature shoe, supported by our largest Nike product campaign for the holiday season."

Zooming out:Women's basketball stars have grown in their strategic importance to the company, with its women's signature business up nearly 500% from FY 2022 to FY 2026.

Star power:Even if there's "nothing special to see here," as Nike playfully suggested in an ad for the shoe , Clark's box-office appeal could provide a struggling brand with a sorely needed shot of energy.

Go deeper: A look behind the curtain at the shoe's design process .

⚡Lightning Round

⚾️ MLB nixes Grand Teton plan:MLB has discontinued its evaluation of Grand Teton National Park as a potential special event site after local leaders voiced their disapproval. Has the league found the red line for "eventizing" games?

⛳️ ESPN, TGL renew deal:Golf simulator league TGL has reached an agreement with ESPN that will keep it on the network for multiple years. TGL ratings declined slightly in season two.

🏟️ Cubs win Wrigley rooftop lawsuit:The Cubs won a permanent injunction blocking Wrigley View Rooftop from selling tickets to watch live games and concerts from the roof of a building across the street from the ballpark.

🎾 Equal pay at 1000-level events:The WTA announced that women will receive prize money equal to the men's at all combined ATP/WTA 1000-level events (a rung below the Slams). Four of the seven combined 1000s offered equal money last season.

See what else is trending on the Yahoo Sports Business Hub .

🏒 The NHL's wealthy youth movement

This offseason brought the NHL's greatest riches to its youngest players, resuming a trend that was halted during and after the pandemic.

Youth movement:Four of the top 10 highest-paid players (by average annual value of their contracts) are 22 years old or younger. The average age of those 10 players is 26, comfortably the youngest average of the last decade.

Several young stars signed lucrative extensions this offseason, repeatedly usurping the throne as the NHL's highest-paid players in history. Among those shooting to the top of this season's rankings were Leo Carlsson of the Ducks and the Blackhawks' Connor Bedard.
The list will likely get even younger next year, as the record extension signed this summer by 20-year-old Macklin Celebrini begins.

Not sudden:The shift toward youth appears abrupt. In reality, it's the continuation of a trend that began pre-COVID, when a generation of elite stars like Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews signed lucrative, long-term extensions.

However, the salary cap flattened in the years following the pandemic, forcing the next wave into more modest bridge contracts. With little cap space to replace them, the NHL's incumbent high-earners remained at the top of the pay scale.
The salary cap has returned to strong growth in recent seasons, with continued growth projected into the future. Those increases have allowed teams to resume spending heavily on young talent.
The recent expiry of the league's CBA also created a rush of buzzer-beating big-money extensions, as the maximum number of years decreased from eight to seven under the new CBA.

Growth investment:The league's teams are deeply invested in the next generation of superstars. Now, the NHL has to make them household names.

🗳️ The tribe has spoken

On Wednesday, we asked you, our Y! Sports Biz readers, which piece of sports memorabilia you would rather own: Michael Jordan's 1998 NBA Finals Game 3 jersey for $12 million or Cooper Flagg's Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card for $8 million.

The results are in:It's a blowout, 90/10 in the Jordan jersey's favor.

Fly your Flagg:Let's hear from those in the minority. Why the Flagg card? A case of cardboard over everything? Mavs fans? Obsessive contrarian disorder?

⚾️ Patch things up

MLB has a deal which puts a company's logo on batting helmets during the postseason, for international games, and throughout the MiLB season.

Patch things up:We've removed that logo from Michael Harris II's helmet in the above photo. What company is it?

Hint:German.

Answer at the bottom.

🏀 Tip-off time in Yahoo Fantasy hoops

Fantasy Basketball is back! Grab your squad and play in a private league or join a public league to compete against other fans all season long.

What's new:We've made some exciting changes for the season ahead. Here's what's on tap .

Faster, smarter live drafts:We rebuilt the live draft room to make drafts quicker, cleaner, and easier to follow. Plus, a new Draft Tab in the app gives you quick access.
Play your way:Head-to-head points is the default setting, but private-league commissioners can tweak the setup to your preferred style.
High Score:Don't want to set a lineup every night? High Score is for you. Draft 10 players and start six each week — only their highest-scoring game counts.

Tap in: Join a public league or start a private one today!

(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Patch Things Up answer:Strauss. The German company is the official workwear sponsor of the MLB. The deal began in 2024, shortly after the company opened its first store in the U.S.

Thanks for reading! Wanna talk shop? Follow me on X and Linkedin , or drop me a line: dylan.dittrich@yahooinc.com .

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