Former NBA All-Star Baron Davis and hip-hop mogul Percy “Master P” Miller are in talks to purchase Reebok. Parent company Adidas is reportedly asking for approximately $2.4 billion.

Davis and Miller believe they can help rejuvenate Reebok, which has seen its cultural relevance decline in recent years.

Reebok was the first global athletic company to sign rappers to signature shoe deals, starting with Jay-Z and 50 Cent in 2003. The trend has since exploded with Nike, Jordan Brand and Adidas all doing big business with rappers.

Davis said he thinks Reebok is undervalued and wants the “athletes, influencers, designers, celebs to sit at the table” with him. 

“As we focus on turning Reebok into a lifestyle brand not just a basketball brand,” Miller added, “our most important initiative will be to put money back into the community that built this company.”

Rumors of a potential Reebok sale emerged in October, following a 42% year-over-year drop in second-quarter sales, making up just 8% of Adidas’ overall sales. A few potential suitors were connected to Reebok, including Timberland and North Face owner VF Corp. and China’s Anta. 

Adidas acquired Reebok for $3.8 billion in 2005, looking to capitalize on the company’s bygone reputation.

Reebok was the exclusive uniform supplier for the NBA and WNBA in the early 2000s and the NHL until 2017, and had endorsement deals with athletes including Allen Iverson and Davis.

“These companies have been benefiting off us, this could be history for this company going Black-owned,” Miller told ESPN.

La Liga is the latest European soccer league to offer up a stake in its business to private equity firms. 

The Spanish soccer league formed a new media company called LaLiga Tech, which encompasses digital services that it licenses to nearly 70 other sports organizations. For example, La Liga supplies MotoGP promoter Dorna and the Belgian Pro League with anti-piracy tools. 

Valued at $548 million, La Liga will look to further scale its technology business with the outside investment. The league has already invested more than $240 million in advancements like artificial intelligence and business analytics.

CVC Capital Partners and Bruin Sports Capital are already in conversations with the league to purchase as much as 60% of LaLiga Tech. 

A deal would mark the latest entry from private equity firms into European soccer.

• Advent and CVC bought 10% of a new company that will handle media rights for Italy’s Serie A for roughly $2 billion in November.
• Germany’s top soccer league, Bundesliga, offered a minority stake in its new digital media company — valued at over $1 billion — for a minimum of $240 million. Advent and BC Partners are reportedly interested.

The investments come as European soccer leagues try to navigate significant revenue losses due to the pandemic. 

La Liga President Javier Tebas said the league would lose more than $360 million without fans in attendance at matches. FC Barcelona, the richest soccer club in the world, said it alone lost more than $118 million this year.

Congress’ latest $900 billion COVID-19 relief package includes expanded individual benefits, funding for higher education, and loans for small businesses. 

But how much of that could trickle down into sports?

Individual Benefits: The unemployment rate in sports-related industries was severely impacted by the pandemic.

Nearly a third of the 1.3 million people employed in sports-related jobs before the pandemic were out of work in April, according to The New York Times. As of October, 111,000 were jobless.

University Funding? The bill’s $22.7 billion allocation for higher education relief comes with strict guidelines, including rules that prohibit schools from using the money for the following:

• Funding to build athletic facilities
• Recruiting or marketing expenses
• “Senior administrator or executive” salaries
• Contract incentives or bonuses

Small Business Funding: The $285 billion allocated to Paycheck Protection Program loans will be available to nonprofits like the NCAA and college conferences, smaller pro teams and leagues, national Olympic governing bodies, and local media. Private companies, like agencies, will also receive relief.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Los Angeles Lakers previously received multi-million dollar PPP loans, though the latter returned theirs. 

The government will fund another $20 billion worth of Economic Injury Disaster Loans, which also provides small business and nonprofit relief, and allocate $15 billion to arts and entertainment venues, including sports stadiums.

Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith still appears to be a frontrunner to buy MLS club Real Salt Lake. 

Smith toured the facilities owned by Real Salt Lake’s parent company Utah Soccer Holdings in September, but his interest in RSL came into question after he purchased the Jazz for $1.66 billion in October.

Utah Soccer Holdings owner Dell Loy Hansen has since sold the National Women’s Soccer League’s Utah Royals — which will relocate to Kansas City.

If a sale for Real Salt Lake can go as smoothly as the deal for the Jazz, Smith thinks “that would be great,” he told the Salt Lake Tribune.

Smith is the co-founder of Utah-based software company Qualtrics and has an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion.

Hansen reportedly put a $500 million price tag on Utah Soccer Holdings in September. Real Salt Lake was valued at $235 million in Forbes’ latest MLS franchise rankings. 

Most Valuable MLS Clubs As of 2019:

• Atlanta United — $500 million
• LA Galaxy — $480 million
• LAFC — $475 million
• Seattle Sounders — $405 million
• Toronto FC — $395 million

While a few potential Real Salt Lake purchases have fallen through, there’s still reportedly interest from other bidders, including an international group looking to establish its presence in U.S. soccer.

MLS will take over the sale process from Hansen on Jan. 8 if a deal isn’t struck by then.