Disney is making sure you need its platforms to watch top sports for the next decade-plus. 

The media giant most recently announced that it has extended ESPN’s broadcast rights deal with Wimbledon for another 12 years, adding to the network’s robust list of high-profile sports packages.

• Eleven-year deal with the NFL begins in 2023 at $2.7 billion per season
• Seven-year, $4 billion MLB extension goes into effect in 2022
• Ten-year, $3 billion deal with SEC football and basketball begins in 2024
• Seven-year, $2.8 billion deal with the NHL starts in 2021
• Eight-year, $1.4 billion deal with LaLiga kicks off in 2021

Disney-owned ABC will air matches as part of the Wimbledon deal, with ESPN+ streaming coverage from all courts starting in 2024.

In May, Disney reported that ESPN+ subscriptions were up 75% year-over-year for a total of 13.8 million users. On Monday, the company announced a $1 price increase for the service, to $6.99 per month.

Streaming services Hulu and Disney+ also fall under The Mouse’s umbrella. CEO Bob Chapek said in June that 40% of upfront ad commitments for fall TV went to streaming.

Linear is far from dead, though. ABC alone locked in about $2 billion during upfronts.

A Florida doctor’s collection of sports cards and memorabilia brought in more than $21.5 million at public auction, according to USA Today.

The late Dr. Thomas Newman’s collection included a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth card that Newman purchased for $20,000 in the 1990s. 

The Ruth card went for for $4.2 million in the auction, per Memory Lane Auctions.

Analysts project that the sports card trading market will reach $98.75 billion by 2027. 

• Blackstone bought a majority stake in Certified Collectibles Group this month, valuing the company at $500 million.
• Collectbase completed a funding round led by PayPal cofounder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel shortly after.
• Whatnot raised $50 million at a $500 million valuation in May.
• Topps is going public via a merger with Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corp II, a blank-check company, valuing the company at $1.3 billion.

Earlier this year, a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card sold for $5.2 million — a record until an autographed Steph Curry card sold for $5.9 million last week.

The pandemic forced WWE to explore new ways to create a spectacle, and some of those will stick going forward.

“We learned so much about augmented reality, virtual reality — we could use pyro in ways that we never could before,” WWE chief brand officer Stephanie McMahon told FOS. 

The biggest change is in how people watch WWE. The company shut down its U.S. streaming service in April after migrating to Peacock in a deal worth a reported $1 billion.

“We actually made the decision that we wanted to license the content of WWE Network before the pandemic,” said McMahon. “Sports league rights [values] are increasing.”

• With 78.7 million subscribers, WWE is the most popular sports channel on YouTube and sixth-most popular overall.
• WWE has 11.6 million followers on its official TikTok account, outpacing the NFL, MLB, and NHL. 

WWE has existed for 68 years under various names, and McMahon acknowledged that part of the brand’s value lies in its cross-generational appeal.

Other than the NFL, “more families watch WWE programming together than any major sports franchise,” she said. “We always want to target and grow that next-gen audience.”

Four-time golf major champion Rory McIlroy and his investment group, Symphony Ventures, are investing in Puttery, an indoor golf experience from Topgolf rival Drive Shack.

Symphony has committed at least $10 million for 10% ownership of each Puttery venue that opens through 2023. Dallas and Charlotte are slated for the first locations.

The move is the latest to capitalize on the growing trend of golf-related entertainment.

• Tiger Woods kicked off his partnership with putt-putt chain PopStroke in 2019.
• After merging with Callaway, Topgolf added mini-golf courses to its locations. Topgolf’s founders also created Puttshack, which is open in Atlanta and coming to other cities.
• Swingers, a high-end mini golf experience from the U.K., is opening in Washington, D.C. and New York after raising $20 million from Cain International.

More than 130 million people play mini-golf each year and the industry’s annual revenue exceeds $1 billion.

McIlroy was a part of Whoop’s $100 million Series E funding round last year. The 32-year-old signed a 10-year, $100 million deal with TaylorMade in 2017 and a reported $200 million deal with Nike in 2013.