Two of the biggest figures in U.S. culture and business are teaming up to buy the Washington Commanders.

Jeff Bezos and Jay-Z are both interested in buying the NFL team, according to multiple reports, following an announcement that team owner Dan Snyder had hired Bank of America to explore a sale — and they’re not alone.

• Byron Allen, who would be the first Black NFL principal owner, is reportedly preparing an offer. 
• Robert Griffin III, who played in Washington for four seasons, also expressed interest in buying a stake. 
• Josh Harris — who owns stakes in the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Premier League’s Crystal Palace — is reportedly looking to buy the team. 

Bezos is considered the frontrunner due to his $114.4 billion net worth and the strategic alliance afforded by his position as founder of Amazon, which holds exclusive rights to “Thursday Night Football.”

He is reportedly willing to pay more than $5.5 billion, and the bid could value the team as high as $6 billion. 

Conflict of Interest?

It’s not immediately clear how Jay-Z’s potential ownership role would affect his other work with the NFL. His Roc Nation company is the league’s official live music entertainment strategists.

Roc Nation’s agency represents a potential conflict of interest: It lists 58 NFL players as clients on its website, including Saquon Barkley and Leonard Fournette. Jay-Z gave up his stake in the Brooklyn Nets because his agency also represents NBA players.

Revenue increases across Formula One Group, Braves Group, and Liberty SiriusXM Group fueled Liberty Media’s third-quarter earnings, the company announced Friday.

F1 reported a 7% year-over-year increase in revenue to $715 million, while operating income fell to $64 million from $68 million during the same period last year. 

During the quarter, F1 announced a 24-race calendar for 2023 — its largest ever — and announced several new deals.

• It extended its broadcast deal with Sky through 2029 and ESPN networks in the U.S. through the 2025 season.
• Audi announced its F1 entry as an engine supplier in line with F1’s new engine regulations in 2026.

Braves Group — owner of the Atlanta Braves, who won their fifth consecutive NL East Championship and enjoyed their highest ticket sales since 2000 at 3.2 million — reported $252 million in revenue, up from $234 million during the same period last year.

SiriusXM, which recently expressed interest in increasing its investment in live sports rights, reported a 4% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.28 billion and net income of $247 million. As of Oct. 28, Liberty Media owns 82.4% of the brand.

Vegas Values

On Friday, F1 revealed its newly added Las Vegas race would be called the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023. Heineken Silver comes to the U.S. in early 2023.

Las Vegas hotels are causing an uproar for their soaring prices, with the average room rate reportedly increasing 305% year-over-year during the event.

DraftKings is still on the road to profitability, according to its latest earnings report. 

The Boston-based fantasy and sports betting giant generated $502 million in revenue in Q3 2022, a 136% increase compared to the same period last year. 

The results were attributed to strong customer acquisition and retention, launches in new markets, high hold rates largely from NFL wagering, and reduced spending on promotions. 

On the company’s quarterly earnings call, DraftKings CFO Jason Park said that its sports betting business seems unaffected by recent economic uncertainty.

• DraftKings raised its full-year revenue to range between $2.16 billion and $2.19 billion.
• Its previous guidance was between $2 billion and $2.18 billion.
• The company operates sports betting in 18 states — roughly 37% of the U.S. population.
• In May, it launched its sportsbook and iGaming products in Ontario, Canada. 

Despite the growth in revenue in Q3, DraftKings projects heavy losses. 

It expects an adjusted EBITDA loss of between $780 million and $800 million in FY2022 — an improvement from an estimated loss of between $756 million and $835 million last quarter. 

Shares of DraftKings tumbled as much as 25% on Friday. 

Imminent Deal

DraftKings and ESPN are close to signing an exclusive deal that “will have shows and perhaps odds integrated into game broadcasts,” according to The Action Network.

ESPN previously secured co-exclusive deals with Caesars Entertainment and DraftKings in 2020.

Disney owns roughly 5% of DraftKings after purchasing more than 18 million shares in 2020.