Y! Sports Biz: Don't blink

News

Finance

Sports

Mail

Story by

Story by
Y! Sports Biz: Don't blink

Dylan Dittrich Staff writer

Fri, Aug 21, 2026 ·

4 min read

About Our Ads

👋 Happy Friday!Who's ready for a full slate in the sports world this weekend?!

In today's edition:A new pack leader for the Wolves, PE "rises up" for the Falcons, the Prem bets on a gambling ban, Flushing Meadows is flush with dollars, schools trade cash for content, social media reach is bigger in Texas, and more.

Time to show you the money...

⚡Lightning Round

🏀 Wolves, Lynx sold:Tech investor Marc Stad has reportedly completed a deal to purchase the majority of Marc Lore's stake in the Timberwolves and Lynx at a $4.5 billion valuation, becoming the team's controlling owner and largest shareholder. Stad was previously a minority owner. Lore and Alex Rodriguez, who will reportedly increase his equity in the teams, bought into the Wolves in 2021 at a $1.5 billion valuation, officially taking control in June 2025.

🏈 Arctos to buy Falcons stake:Private equity firm Arctos has reportedly reached an agreement to acquire a 10% stake in the Atlanta Falcons. According to Sportico , the firm will buy an initial 7.5% tranche at a $10 billion valuation and the remainder in 18 months at an $11 billion valuation. The Falcons would become the fourth NFL team in Arctos' portfolio.

🏎️ Johnson buys F1 stake, Cadillac not for sale:Jets owner Woody Johnson has acquired a minority stake in Aston Martin Formula 1. Johnson, who also owns a 43% stake in Crystal Palace, will join the team's board of directors. In other Formula 1 ownership news, Mark Walter's TWG Global has declared that it is not considering a sale of Cadillac F1.

📺 NFL at odds with Nielsen methodology changes:Nielsen rolled out enhancements to its ratings methodology this week, most notably introducing an updated co-viewing measurement. The NFL, however, has bristled at the rollout, expressing concern that it's " overly rushed " and that some of the methodological changes " look like a negative for sports ."

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

⚽️ The Premier League's shirt gamble

The 2026-27 Premier League season, which begins this afternoon, will be the first in which gambling companies have been banned from front-of-shirt sponsorships, creating a massive shift in commercial partnerships. But the betting companies haven't gone far...

What happened:In 2023, Premier League clubs collectively agreed to a self-imposed ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsors beginning with the 2026 campaign. However, betting advertisements would remain in place just about everywhere else.

Moneymakers:The Premier League's elite boast premium sponsorships outside of the gambling industry. Arsenal's front-of-shirt, training kit, and stadium naming rights deal with Emirates is worth a reported £65 million per year. Manchester United's front-of-shirt deal with Qualcomm is reportedly worth £60 million annually.

( Football Kit Archive )

Industry shift:Those premium deals don't come as easily to the middle and lower portions of the table, where the league's also-rans were more reliant on gambling. Despite the advanced notice, those teams weren't proactive in ripping the lucrative band-aid from the front of their shirts prematurely, scrambling this summer to replace gambling sponsors and their above-market rates. A variety of industries, primarily financial services and technology, filled the void.

One club executive told the Guardian that the shift could cause a collective loss of income amounting to £80 million.
Financial reports on the new deals, though scarce, have been mixed where available. Brentford and Bournemouth are believed to have taken a financial step back, while Everton's agreement with CMC Markets is reportedly worth 30% more than its prior deal.

Heart on sleeve:The ban was not a blanket one, as betting companies are still permitted to serve as sleeve and training kit sponsors, and they have embraced those permissions. The prevalence of the partnerships raises questions about the ban's efficacy.

Betano was the front-of-shirt sponsor for Aston Villa. Now it's the club's sleeve sponsor and Spurs' training kit sponsor. Everton's former front-of-shirt sponsor, Stake, also migrated to the club's sleeve.
Betway became Manchester United's training kit sponsor in a deal reportedly worth £20 million per year.
Online casino MrQ became Bournemouth's sleeve sponsor after Vitality replaced Asian sports betting company bj88 as front-of-shirt sponsor.
Hollywood Bets, which sponsored Brentford's kits for the last several seasons, announced a five-year extension with the club as its official betting partner.

Still searching:Meanwhile, Chelsea is set to begin a fourth consecutive season without a permanent front-of-shirt sponsor. While the club has struck deals for portions of the season in recent years, it has reportedly been holding out for a premium sponsor at a premium valuation. Mind you, this club lost $349 million pre-tax in the 2024-25 season. Now there's a gamble.

📊Charted: US Open Edition

The USTA announced the player compensation for this year's US Open on Thursday, becoming the first Slam to reach nine figures (in USD) at $108 million, up 20% from last year. The winners of the men's and women's singles draws will take home $5.5 million apiece, rising from $5 million in 2025. The increase comes amid a season of player consternation about prize money as a percentage of revenues.

Fastest riser: Since 2021, the tournament's prize money is up nearly 88%, the biggest increase of any Slam, though closely trailed by Wimbledon's 83% rise. The French Open is up 80% over the same period, while the Australian Open may face further pressure from players, as its prize money is up just 56%.

Fans continue to express frustration with the tournament's inaccessibility, and secondary market prices are fueling the fire. The average get-in price for the 2026 tournament is 15% higher than the same point last year, and sessions at Arthur Ashe are more expensive in every round than they were at the same stage in 2025. The average get-in price for a mere grounds pass at this year's tournament is currently $250, per TicketData .

Playing the waiting game: Prices for grounds passes have tracked last year's prices very closely thus far, which indicates there may be some softness to come heading into the tournament's start. Get-in prices for most sessions have also fallen over the last week. How will the return of Carlos Alcaraz and the absence of Jannik Sinner change the momentum?

Fans of the US Open's famous novelty drink, the Honey Deuce, can rejoice, as the price was frozen at an ever-so-modest $23 this year. Despite the freeze, the drink's price has still risen far more sharply than broader inflation and alcoholic beverage inflation since its 2007 introduction at $12. All together now, frugal friends: "No, we have Honey Deuces at home."

No deterrent: The price has not hampered demand. The USTA sold 738,459 Honey Deuces (+32%) at last year's tournament, grossing over $17 million in revenue.

🎥 Schools trade cash for content

The patch levy in college sports has finally broken, as high-profile deals with the nation's elite have sent the newest revenue stream flowing downhill. But not every school will bring in Notre Dame and Ohio State's millions. Smaller schools need to think beyond immediate cash in extracting value from their patch sponsors.

Enter the content creator:Just this week, two digital media creators have inked patch deals outside of the Power 4 conferences.

Cullen Honohan, also known as All Hail Bball, and Robert Morris men's basketball unveiled a patch deal, which will see Honohan's 372k-subscriber YouTube channel produce a series on the upcoming season. Honohan is paying nothing to RMU for the deal.
Digital media company Snapback Sports announced a one-year patch partnership with Sam Houston State football, through which the company will produce content across social media and YouTube featuring the Bearkats.

Overcoming hurdles:In his newsletter , Snapback founder and CEO Jack Settleman chronicled the process of landing a patch.

The company has been pursuing a deal since last July, transparently offering $100,000 and nearing deals on several occasions.
One of the key impediments to closing, according to Settleman, was the role of multimedia rights companies, which he suggests are incentivized to avoid low-dollar-value deals to protect the broader market for their larger rosters of schools.

Far-sighted:Impressions, engagements, views, and follows have real value, but that value is harder to quantify than the cash payments held so dearly in the era of player compensation. Sacrificing that immediate cash for exposure could prove savvy longer term as smaller schools vie for national attention in a crowded landscape.

Snapback's "Snapback Saturdays" YouTube series , which takes viewers inside some of the best game-weekend experiences in college football, routinely generates six-figure view counts, with millions of social-media impressions amplifying the content.
Bolstering the Snapback Saturdays roster this fall is the addition of former Wisconsin standout, 2014 Heisman Trophy runner-up, and nine-year NFL veteran Melvin Gordon.
Sam Houston State will feature in a dedicated episode this fall, highlighting the program and Huntsville. Members of the Snapback team will also travel alongside the Bearkats to an away game.

Check this out:As the excitement surrounding the announcement fades, the operational reality sets in. Settleman shared that the Snapback team had to order, expedite, and pay for the patches. The patch production footage is mesmerizing, though. Extra points for clean, color-matched aesthetics.

🏒 Dream Job: Ice Influencer

Welcome to "Dream Job," where we explore some of the most fascinating and desirable job openings in the sports industry. Along the way, we'll learn just how diverse the sea of sports opportunities really is.

In today's edition:The NHL wants you to help it harness the vast power of the creator-verse both within and outside the hockey ecosystem to reach new and diverse audiences.

Role: Senior Manager, Creator Marketing
Employer:National Hockey League
Compensation Range:$110,000-$125,000

Responsibilities:You'll determine how the NHL shows up in culture through creators and influencers. Pick the players, platforms, and content to drive the brand forward.

Lead creator campaigns from concept to execution, including strategic planning, creator identification, content development, creative briefing, fee negotiation, contracting, timeline management, and performance evaluation.
Build and maintain authentic, long-term relationships with creators and influencers, prioritizing sustained partnerships while continuously identifying emerging talent and expanding a diverse creator network.
Identify and activate creators across sports, entertainment, lifestyle, gaming, and culture to extend the NHL's reach beyond core hockey audiences.
Stay ahead of emerging social platforms, content trends, creator ecosystems, and cultural conversations to ensure activations remain innovative, platform-native, and culturally relevant.

Help wanted:The NHL's business is strong, with annual revenue between $7.5 and $8 billion, and every revenue source growing, according to commissioner Gary Bettman. However, the league has also become a punching bag in many national TV viewership comparisons.

The league's national package in the U.S. averaged 546,000 viewers this past season, growing 25% from the prior year and representing the biggest audience in 14 seasons. But that viewership still trails other major leagues.
Contrast it with the NBA ( averaged 1.78 million viewers in 2025-26) and WNBA (averaging 742,000 viewers at the All-Star break). Of MLB's exclusive national broadcast partners, ESPN/ABC is averaging the lowest viewership so far this season at 1.12 million.*

Skate where the puck is going:A creator strategy is a requisite of every sports property's growth efforts. For example, MLB invested in and partnered with Jomboy Media. FIFA brought TikTok and YouTube creators behind the scenes at the World Cup. Growing young audiences requires meeting them on their platforms with their people. Leagues need the "like, comment, subscribe" tribe, and the NHL wants them rink-side.

*Part of the delta is due to greater broadcast network exposure among other leagues, but the comparisons are unflattering, particularly when an NFL preseason game outdraws every Stanley Cup game in the U.S.

🤘 HOOK 'EM: THE LONGHORNS' LONG DIGITAL REACH

Which NCAA schools have the biggest digital reach? Thanks to Zoomph's College Athletics Rankings Dashboard , released this week, now we know.

Hook 'em:Texas has by far the most valuable athletic department on social media, generating $9.6 million more in social value, 229 million more impressions, and almost 9 million more engagements than second-ranked Ohio State.

It just means more:SEC schools account for seven of the top 10 and 13 of the top 30. The Big Ten placed 10 teams in the top 30, but seven of them were ranked between 20th and 30th.

Big impact from women's sports:At eight of the top 10 schools, a women's program featured in the top three sports with the most social media value. Softball was in the top three at four of those schools, while women's volleyball was the top driver of social media value at Nebraska, the only school in the top 10 where football didn't hold that distinction.

🇪🇸 Patch Things Up: Barca's Dance Partner

Lamine Yamal and Barcelona begin their La Liga title defense on Sunday, kicking off the campaign against Elche.

Question:We have removed Barcelona's front-of-shirt sponsor from the image above. What company is it?

Hint:Music.

Answer at the bottom.

🍻 This Bud's for you

If you must have a cold one this weekend — and you happen to be a high-profile spokesperson for a global beer brand — please make sure you're enjoying that brand while out in the wild.

Busted, bud:Last weekend's broadcast of Austin FC's loss to Dallas featured a lingering shot of Bud Light spokesperson Shane Gillis speaking to Austin co-owner Matthew McConaughey. Astute viewers noticed a Dos Equis, a beer brand owned by Heineken, in the cupholder next to Gillis.

It's not what it looks like!Within seconds, a quick-thinking and commercially savvy bystander had armed Gillis with a Bud Light, label facing out. Even TMZ has weighed in on the saga, reporting that the Dos Equis did not belong to the comedian. Nothing to see here, folks!

Thought bubble:See?! This is why we haven't taken on any endorsements. It's all fun and games until your beverage choice becomes gossip.

Have a good weekend:Stay thirsty, my friends.

Patch Things Up answer:Spotify. The company sponsors Barcelona's kits and training wear, and also holds the Camp Nou naming rights.

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

Mobilize your Website

View Site in Mobile | Classic

Share by: