The Pac-12 will need a new commissioner to renegotiate its expiring media rights contracts.

Yesterday, the conference announced Commissioner Larry Scott will step down in June — a year before his contract was set to expire. The media deals expire in 2024.

“Now is a good time to bring in a new leader who will help us develop our go-forward strategy,” Pac-12 Executive Committee Chair Michael Schill said in a statement. “At one point, our television agreement was the most lucrative in the nation.” 

Pac-12 schools each received around $29 million in conference distributions in 2018, recent tax filings show. That’s about the same as what most ACC schools received. 

But the Pac-12 trails three of its Power 5 peers in conference distributions, which largely consist of media rights revenue.

• Most Big 12 schools received $33-36 million, most SEC schools got $42-$45 million, and most Big Ten schools notched more than $53 million.
• The SEC recently signed a blockbuster deal with ESPN, reported to top $300 million a year, which could increase yearly payouts by $20 million per school.

Deals with the Big Ten and Big 12 will expire in 2023 and 2025, respectively. 

In his 11-year tenure, Scott — who has made more than $40 million in salary — led the Pac-12 through expansion, the launch of the Pac-12 Networks and a reported $3 billion media rights deal with ESPN and FOX.

Confusion in the air caused premature excitement for Virginia bettors and sportsbooks awaiting the launch of legal sports betting in the state.

FanDuel Sportsbook tweeted Wednesday that it would go live in the state in “less than 24 hours,” but the company’s message was the first word of any launch date. 

• FanDuel users in Virginia also received activation emails with language indicating a Jan. 21 launch. 
• After the tweet was posted, the sportsbook amended the launch timeline to “soon.”

The Virginia Lottery released a statement clarifying that FanDuel was approved for the state’s first sports betting permit through its partnership with the Washington Football Team. 

The agency said that decisions on additional permits are “imminent” and that it expects that more than one sportsbook will be able to accept legal wagers in time for Super Bowl LV. Twenty-five sports betting operators applied in October to launch in Virginia. 

The potential launch comes after a failed first attempt to legalize sports betting in the state in 2019. 

The practice was eventually passed last year with backing from pro sports teams and neighboring states.

However, Virginia bettors cannot wager on Virginia college teams or the Olympics. 

Former WWE co-presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios are jumping into the SPAC space.

The duo filed plans to launch Isos Acquisition, a blank-check company targeting digital media and entertainment acquisitions. Isos aims to raise $200 million through an IPO, and could add an additional $75 million through a forward purchase agreement with Apollo Global Management.

If all goes according to plan, Isos will hold a market value of $250 million.

Isos’ filing specifically highlights growth projections for video games, amusement parks, sports betting and esports. The sports betting industry is projected to grow 65.4% from 2019-23 to $19 billion, the filing said; esports are projected to grow 58.5% to $7 billion in that period. 

The number of early filings suggests SPACs will continue to pile into the market throughout 2021. 

Last year, there were more than 250 SPAC shell companies listed in the U.S., and they raised nearly $79 billion combined.

The Isos SPAC comes after Wilson and Barrios formed Isos Capital Management earlier this month, eyeing investment opportunities in global media, entertainment, and sports.