On June 1, 2021, eight months after Topgolf and Callaway agreed to merge, the combined company’s stock hit an all-time peak of $37.29 per share. It has since plunged 71%, closing at $10.58 last Thursday—the day before The Wall Street Journal reported private-equity firm Leonard Green & Partners was in talks to buy Topgolf. 

On Tuesday, that deal was announced. Leonard Green is taking control of Topgolf and Toptracer, the ball-tracking technology used in Topgolf venues, in a deal that values the business at $1.1 billion and unwinds the 2020 merger of Topgolf and Callaway.

Funds managed by Leonard Green will acquire a 60% stake in Topgolf. The PE firm—whose portfolio also includes Crunch Fitness and Authentic Brands Group, a holding company that owns Reebok and Champion—already held roughly 4.9% of Topgolf Callaway Brands. That entity will cease to exist; Callaway Golf Company will be the new name for Callaway, which will stand alone as a golf equipment and apparel manufacturer and remain publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

The transaction is expected to generate about $770 million in net proceeds for Callaway.

Topgolf will continue focusing on its entertainment venues that combine driving ranges with socialization, much like bowling alleys. As of the end of last year, Topgolf owned and operated 100 venues, with 96 of them in the U.S. and four in the U.K.

The $1.1 billion valuation reflects Topgolf’s struggles since the October 2020 merger, which valued Topgolf at about $2 billion. ​​Topgolf’s post-merger momentum was buoyed by the pandemic-era golf boom, but that surge has since faded, and in September 2024, Topgolf Callaway announced plans to separate into two independent companies. While a spin-off was considered the most likely path, other options were also being explored. Tuesday’s deal represents the culmination of that process.

Topgolf Callaway president and CEO Chip Brewer said in Tuesday’s press release that after undergoing a “thorough evaluation of a range of alternatives, we believe this sale is the best outcome for our shareholders, as well as our employees and other stakeholders.”

Brewer will continue to lead Callaway Golf Company once the deal closes—it’s expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year. Topgolf’s former CEO, Artie Starrs, resigned in July to join Harley-Davidson. A replacement for Starrs has not yet been appointed. 

Analysts are mixed on the transaction. Jefferies called it a “win,” saying it simplifies both businesses and delivers “meaningful benefits” to Callaway while preserving “upside” through its remaining 40% stake. “In our view, this transaction is a decisive step toward simplification and value creation,” Jefferies wrote. 

B. Riley Securities echoed the simplification point, billing the separation of Topgolf and Callaway as a “fundamental positive,” but highlighted the steep drop in implied enterprise value since 2020. (Topgolf was valued at roughly $2 billion in the 2020 merger, while its implied enterprise value in Tuesday’s deal is $1.1 billion.)

Analysts at Trust Securities raised questions, including why Callaway is retaining a 40% stake, what changes might be implemented at Topgolf under Leonard Green, and whether any capital will be returned to shareholders.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agree the country has a sports integrity problem due to the proliferation of betting.

A coalition of bipartisan lawmakers is demanding MLB commissioner Rob Manfred explain how the league failed to catch the illegal sports betting scheme that resulted in the indictment of Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz. 

The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which is made up of 28 lawmakers—led by Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.)—issued a letter Nov. 14 to Manfred requesting written responses to a series of six questions no later than Dec. 5. The questions relate to how the alleged activity from Clase and Ortiz went undetected for so long, when the league first found out, and what it is doing to prevent future issues. 

The lawmakers also want the league to provide documents and information, such as “communications between MLB and any sports-betting platform or sports gambling integrity monitor regarding suspicious or flagged sports wagers.”

“The integrity of the game is paramount,” the letter says.

The U.S. Department of Justice indicted Clase and Ortiz just over a week ago, alleging they engaged in wire fraud conspiracy. The government claims the two players played significant roles in a “scheme to rig bets on pitches” during MLB games. According to the indictment, the scheme went on for more than two years, starting with Clase in May 2023. He allegedly recruited Ortiz to join the scheme later—Ortiz is accused of starting to rig specific pitches this past June.

“Perhaps most shockingly, this scheme lasted more than two years before MLB found out,” the letter says.

Both players pleaded not guilty. The league, which has been investigating the pitchers since the summer, says its probe remains ongoing. Ortiz, a 26-year-old right-handed starter, was placed on paid non-disciplinary leave by MLB on July 3. A few weeks later, on July 28, Clase—a 27-year-old righthander who is a three-time All-Star—got caught up in the fray. 

A representative for MLB declined to comment Tuesday. The day the indictment came out, the league said it “contacted federal law enforcement at the outset of its investigation and has fully cooperated throughout the process.”

The following day, the league said all of its authorized gaming operators, including FanDuel and DraftKings, had agreed to cap wagers on pitch-level markets at $200 and exclude those bets from parlays.

The NBA

The lawmakers recognize the issue of illicit sports betting is not unique to baseball, writing that “Major League Baseball, and American sports generally, are facing a new integrity crisis.”

The same committee wants answers from NBA commissioner Adam Silver on that league’s sports betting issues. A separate group of lawmakers—a bipartisan collection of six members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce—has also demanded answers from Silver.

The NBA gambling scandal erupted last month, with the DOJ producing two indictments—one focused on the sharing of insider information for sports betting, and another targeting a series of Mafia-backed poker games that were allegedly rigged.

Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player and coach Damon Jones were named in the betting indictment; Jones and Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups were named in the poker indictment—although the sports betting indictment suggests Billups tipped off bettors that the team was tanking. Free agent Malik Beasley, who was not named in either indictment, is being investigated by the NBA for sports betting allegations; his lawyer says while he’s “not barred” from the league, he’s “stuck in investigative purgatory.”

The NBA hired Wachtell Lipton to probe the sports betting claims, and this week it became clear that action is being taken, as the law firm has reached out to multiple teams, including the Lakers, to seek documents, cellphones, and other information.

“As is standard in these kinds of investigations, a number of different individuals and organizations were asked to preserve documents and records,” an NBA spokesperson told Front Office Sports in an email. “Everyone has been fully cooperative.”

The NCAA

It’s not just the pros. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has 54 total members and contains a mix of Republicans and Democrats, has been looking into sports fixing and illegal gambling in the college ranks since October. 

Its probe relates, in part, to the fact that the NCAA recently approved new rules to allow current college athletes to bet on professional sports. Implementation was delayed following the NBA gambling scandal and the NCAA’s own investigation into about 30 current or former men’s basketball players for potential gambling violations. 

A few days after the delay, the committee issued a letter to NCAA president Charlie Baker saying that the planned policy “raises questions about sports betting and integrity of sport in the NCAA.” The letter featured nine questions, including why the organization is planning to change its sports betting policy, whether it has “conducted any studies, analyses, or reviews of the impact of gambling on student athletes,” and what guardrails it has in place to prevent illegal activity.

The committee demanded answers by Nov. 13. That same day, New Jersey law enforcement authorities charged 14 people for crimes including money laundering and gambling offenses; college athletes were allegedly involved.

Tim Buckley, SVP of external affairs for the NCAA, told FOS in an emailed statement the organization “has the most aggressive approach of any U.S. league in taking sports betting head on.”

“The most significant threats to competition integrity are in states that continue to offer risky prop bets as well as the emerging grey market made up of futures and predictions trading sites that operate without oversight,” he said. “For the last two years, the NCAA has been urging regulators to push for adoption of stronger protections for college athletes and for stronger integrity measures and, while several states have made changes, more work remains.”

A representative for the House committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

When Shaun White’s pro winter sports platform Snow League announced a $15 million funding last week, it wasn’t obvious that the Jets, Pacers, Bruins—and even Major League Baseball—are technically among the investors.

That’s because the ownership groups of those organizations are among the limited partners, or LPs, for 359 Capital—a venture-capital fund that invests in companies adjacent to the sports, media, and entertainment industries. 359 Capital, one of the anchor investors of Snow League’s new $15 million funding, had a major announcement of its own last week: It spun out from Sapphire Ventures into its own independent entity, led by Michael Spirito, managing partner and cofounder.

Private-investment firms are typically tight-lipped about the investors who contribute capital to their funds, other than vague descriptors like “pension funds” and “family offices.” But 359 Capital wants the public to know where the money it’s investing comes from. In addition to the Jets, Pacers, Bruins, and MLB, 359 Capital’s LP pool includes the ownership group of the NHL’s Sharks, Madison Square Garden Sports—which owns the Knicks and Rangers—and Adidas, private-equity firm Arctos Partners, and media giant Sinclair.

“We want to bring down the veil between LPs and portfolio companies, [general partners], and the consumer public,” Spirito tells Front Office Sports. “That doesn’t exist at other funds. It’s really one of our calling cards, something we hang our hat on.”

Previously called Sapphire Sport, 359 is now completely independent from Sapphire Ventures, although all the people who worked on the funds that already exist are coming along for the new ride. Sapphire Ventures has no ownership of 359 Capital, Spirito says.

“Everything that was Sapphire Sport is now 359 Capital,” he tells FOS. “It’s the whole team that’s coming along. But we are completely independent.”

The firm does not invest in teams, but instead focuses on investments in consumer-facing companies that are adjacent to the sports, media, and entertainment world—portfolio companies include sports-media company Overtime, AI company Perplexity, and online content platform Beehiiv. 

The firm is still investing out of its second fund, which closed in 2023 with $181 million in committed capital. Spirito says they’ve deployed about half of that capital. The firm is not currently fundraising.

“We have our heads down investing out of that second fund and supporting our portfolio companies,” he tells FOS. “We will contemplate our next fundraise starting at the back half of next year.”

The Snow League investment is unique compared to 359’s other portfolio companies. First launched last year and led by Olympic gold-medal-winning snowboarder Shaun White, its first season features a four-event global format for snowboarding and freeskiing with a prize purse of more than $2 million. The events are broadcast on NBC Sports and Peacock in the U.S. The Snow League’s season spans multiple months; its season began this March in Aspen, and the next set of events will be held in China starting Dec. 4. It returns to Aspen in February and concludes in Switzerland in March 2026. Participating athletes include Zoe Atkin, a U.K. freeskier who competed in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, Queralt Castellet, a Spanish snowboarder who won a silver medal in those same Olympics, and Nick Goepper, a U.S. freeskier with three Olympic medals, two silver, and one bronze.

Spirito says the Snow League stood out as a “new product company that has come onto the scene as a start-up and is going after a large market, with a new way to service that market.” 

It’s the first “direct investment into a purely new sport/league company” that 359 Capital has made.

“New league formation, new IP, that’s inherently interesting to us,” he says. 

Moving forward, 359 will look to carve out its own identity, separate from its history with Sapphire Ventures. The new name is a reference to the four-minute mile, a task that was once thought impossible but has now been achieved by roughly 2,000 men; although no woman has yet accomplished the feat, it is not out of reach. Faith Kipyegon recently came close, running a 4:06.42 mile.

“I can assure you there’s nobody on our team who is even close to approaching that,” Spirito says with a laugh. “It’s just one of those markers that when you hear it, it resonates. Our core mission is helping founders do the impossible.”