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 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.

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.