Fanatics is bringing in star power as it looks to get in on the New York State sports betting market.

Jay-Z has joined the board of Fanatics Betting and Gaming as vice chairman as the merchandising company expands into sports betting.

New York’s mobile sports betting market will open up at the start of next year and is set to be incredibly lucrative.

• New York, which currently only allows sports betting at four non-tribal casinos, had an estimated sports betting handle of $231.1 million from July 2019 through April 2021.
• Neighboring New Jersey, which allows mobile sports betting, leads among all U.S. states with a lifetime handle of $16.7 billion.
• The New York State Gaming Commission received bids this month from a handful of companies to operate mobile sportsbooks, including FanDuel, DraftKings, Bally’s, BetMGM, and Caesars Sportsbook.

Jay-Z and Roc Nation each invested in Fanatics’ recent $325 million funding round that valued the company at $18 billion, nearly triple its valuation from one year ago. Along with sports betting, Fanatics will use the funds to expand into ticketing and media.

Roc Nation and Fanatics chairman Michael Rubin both recently invested in Certified Collectibles Group, as well. That round valued CCG at more than $500 million.

A T206 Honus Wagner baseball card sold for $6.6 million on Monday, making it the most expensive sports trading card ever.  

Bids for the card opened on July 23 at $1 million and closed at $5.5 million, with a 20% buyer’s premium tacked onto the final sale price. 

The record-breaking card surpassed Alt Fund II’s purchase of a 51% stake in a 2009 Stephen Curry autographed National Treasures rookie card at a $5.9 million valuation last month.  

The sale also beat out a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card that sold for $5.2 million in January. A 2003-04 Upper Deck LeBron James autographed rookie card fetched the same price in April. 

The highly coveted Wagner card’s condition was the driving force behind its price tag. 

“There’s only about 60 of these,” Brian Dwyer, president of Robert Edward Auctions told ESPN. “Most are rated poor, authentic, or good, at best. It’s one of the best examples available.” 

The rapidly growing sports trading card market is projected to reach $98.75 billion by 2027. 

• Topps, a producer of sports cards, went public in April via merger with Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corp II, a blank-check company, at a $1.3 billion valuation. 
• Goldin Auctions is being sold to Collectors Holdings — owned by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen — for an undisclosed sum. Goldin generated more than $100 million in revenue in 2020. 

Both the seller and buyer of the T206 Honus Wagner card prefer to remain anonymous.

The Pac 12, ACC, and Big Ten are discussing an alliance that would see the three NCAA conferences coordinate on scheduling — and potentially playoff alignment, as well as NCAA governance.

The news comes in the wake of the SEC beefing up its ranks with Texas and Oklahoma, which will join the conference from the Big 12 in 2025.

Talks have been ongoing for several weeks between the Pac 12, ACC, and Big Ten’s commissioners as they seek to consolidate their power and counteract the SEC’s clout. 

The three conferences and the SEC will meet in September to discuss the specifics of an expanded College Football Playoff.

• ESPN currently holds the media rights for the College Football Playoff on a $5.6 billion deal that runs from 2014 to 2025, paying $470 million to $475 million annually.
• The Big Ten distributes an annual $54 million to each of its members from media rights deals, the highest among all college conferences.
• The Pac 12, ACC, and Big Ten collectively wield 41 votes to the expanded SEC’s 16 in upcoming governance negotiations.

The Big 12 is not believed to be part of the new alliance discussions. 

The conference, which will be down to eight teams when Texas and Oklahoma depart, may still seek to expand or to ally with another conference. The Big 12 and Pac 12 had discussed teaming up, according to previous reports.