August 25, 2021

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Major League Baseball announced Wednesday that Game 7 of the World Series is scheduled for Nov. 3, its latest since 2009. 🥶

Dick’s Reports Huge Q2 Earnings

Design: Alex Brooks

Dick’s Sporting Goods raised its forecast for the rest of the year on Wednesday following its latest earnings report.

The retailer generated $3.27 billion in revenue in Q2 2021, a 20.7% increase compared to the same period a year prior. 

Dick’s surpassed Wall Street estimates of $2.85 billion in revenue. 

The quarter was driven by same-store sales, which increased 19.2% year-over-year. E-commerce sales decreased 28% compared to Q2 2020 following the lifting of temporary store closures due to the global pandemic. 

The company’s net income reached $495.5 million in Q2 2021, up from $276.8 million during the same period last year. 

Dick’s continues to diversify its portfolio as the largest sporting goods retailer in the U.S. 

  • The company launched men’s athleisure line VRST in March. 
  • In April, it opened its largest store, “House of Sport,” in Victor, New York. The 100,000-square-foot store includes a rock-climbing wall, health and wellness store, and track-and-turf field. 

Dick’s has more than 850 brick-and-mortar locations in the U.S. The company will add six new locations and eight specialty concept stores by the end of this year.

The company expects full-year earnings to range from $11.52 billion to $11.72 billion.

Fanatics Strikes 20-Year Trading Card Deal with NFLPA

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

Fanatics completed the hat trick Wednesday, as reports confirm details of the company’s trading card deal with the NFL Players Association.

The 20-year pact begins in 2026, when the league’s current deal with Panini expires. There is no indication that Fanatics has finalized a deal with the NFL itself, but doing so would follow the pattern of Fanatics’ other recent deals. 

The NFLPA licenses players’ names, images, and likenesses, while the NFL holds rights to team and league logos.

Fanatics now has deals connecting them to the three biggest sports leagues in the U.S.

  • Earlier this month, Fanatics struck a deal with MLB and MLBPA to make baseball cards starting in 2023.
  • This week, Fanatics made a similar deal with the NBA and NBPA to replace Panini as its cardmaker in 2026.
  • Fanatics will launch a trading card company, and MLB, MLBPA, NBA, NBPA, and NFLPA will all hold equity stakes.

Fanatics, which raised $325 million on an $18 billion valuation this month, has indicated that it will expand into sports betting, gaming, and ticketing.

The company’s rise in value also benefits the NFL: The league bought a 3% stake in Fanatics in 2017 for $95 million.

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Soccer’s Governing Bodies Granted $201M Following Scandal

Design: Alex Brooks

The U.S. Department of Justice is granting FIFA, CONCACAF, and CONMEBOL $201 million in forfeited funds six years after the sport’s biggest corruption scandal.

In 2015, FIFA executives were arrested for bribery, racketeering, and money laundering, and the stolen money was seized.

Fourteen men were arrested in May of that year, but more than 40 administrators and executives have been indicted since then. El Salvador FA president Reynaldo Vasquez pleaded guilty to fraud charges earlier this week, the 27th man to do so in the case. 

FIFA has been working to amend its reputation ever since.

“Thanks to their intervention, we have been able to fundamentally change FIFA from a toxic organization…to a highly esteemed and trusted global sports governing body,” said current FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

  • An independent board will make the decisions on how to allocate the funds, with the goal of having a positive impact on communities and the sport.
  • The DOJ said an initial distribution of $32.3 million in forfeited funds has been approved.

FIFA recorded a net loss of $683 million in 2020, with revenue down 65% due to COVID-19 cancellations.

Conversation Starters

Conversation Starters

  • ESPN announced Wednesday that it has taken Rachel Nichols off of all NBA programming and is canceling her weekday afternoon show “The Jump.”
  • If you haven’t read Front Office Sports’ morning edition, why not give it a listen instead?  The Leadoff covered today’s AM newsletter detailing Samsung’s latest investment, the NFL’s position on the Bills, a big acquisition in Italian soccer media, and the rise of microbetting. Click here to listen.
  • Barcelona defender Gerard Pique’s company Kosmos Holding has purchased the rights to Ligue 1 in Spain for the next three years.
  • Business professionals, personal brands and individuals can create professional-looking websites with Wix. With over 500 designer-made templates available, Wix has everything you need to bring your ideas to life.*

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Market Movers

Market Movers

U.S. stocks experienced gains across all three major indexes for a third straight session. Here’s a look at how sports-related stocks performed:

Up:

DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE: DKS) gained 13.30%

Penn National Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) gained 8.66%

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG) gained 6.45%

Down:

GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) dropped 5.06%

Manchester United plc (NYSE: MANU) dropped 3.35%

Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) dropped 2.23%

(Note: All as of market close on 8/25/21)

What to Watch

What to Watch

The San Diego Padres (68-59) host the Los Angeles Dodgers (79-47) tonight at Petco Park. 

How to Watch: 10 p.m. ET on ESPN

Betting Odds: Dodgers -1.5 || ML -145 || O/U 8*

Pick: The Dodgers face a tough pitcher in Blake Snell. Take San Diego to cover. 

Who ya got? Reply to this newsletter with your prediction for the Padres-Dodgers winner, final score, and home run hitter(s). 

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

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