Overtime started from the bottom, now they’re here.
|
|
|
|
Drake/Design: Alex Brooks
|
|
Overtime raised $80 million in a Series C round and is now valued around $250 million.
The company’s investors could form a competitive NBA team: Devin Booker, Klay Thompson, and Pau Gasol were among 25 current and former NBA players to participate in the latest funding round. They join previous investors Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony.
The round also brought in Jeff Bezos, Drake, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and was led by Sapphire Sport and Black Capital.
Overtime produces content for all of the leading social platforms, meeting its audience — 88% under 35 — where they are.
Overtime also recently announced a new basketball league: Overtime Elite, which will pay top high school players at least $100,000 a year plus insurance benefits and allow them to profit off their name and image — a stark contrast to the NCAA.
The league, comprised of around 30 rising high school juniors and seniors, will also function as a high school, providing classes to work toward a diploma.
However, joining Overtime Elite means forgoing traditional high school or college basketball.
|
|
|
|
|
Caesars/Design: Alex Brooks
|
|
Caesars Entertainment completed its acquisition of sportsbook operator William Hill in a deal worth approximately $4 billion.
William Hill has an estimated 29% share of the U.S. sports betting market and is the third-largest sportsbook operator in the country behind FanDuel and DraftKings.
The acquisition comes on the heels of a rough 2020 for Caesars, which experienced a net loss of $1.8 billion, compared to $81 million in losses a year prior.
Caesars confirmed its interest in acquiring William Hill in September and, in March, received approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission to proceed with the transaction.
The process was initially met with resistance by William Hill’s shareholders due to terms of the joint venture agreement not being properly disclosed, but the issue was resolved.
As a combined company, Caesars and William Hill reach 18 jurisdictions in the U.S., including 13 that offer online sports betting, and hope to be live in 20 jurisdictions by the end of 2021.
Caesars previously held a 20% stake in William Hill but will now lead the charge. “We wanted to sit at the steering wheel ourselves,” Caesars CEO Tom Reeg said.
|
|
|
|
|
Gran Turismo/Design: Alex Brooks
|
|
The International Olympic Committee announced the Olympic Virtual Series — a partnership between the IOC and five international sports federations that will use video games in competition.
“The Olympic Virtual Series is a new, unique Olympic digital experience that aims to grow direct engagement with new audiences in the field of virtual sports,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.
Each federation is aligning with a game that features its sport.
The World Baseball Softball Confederation will use Konami’s “eBaseball Powerful Pro 2020.” The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile will have its participants compete using the hit racing title “Gran Turismo.”
World Sailing will use a simulator by Virtual Regatta SAS while Union Cycliste Internationale will see races via cycling game “Zwift.” The World Rowing Federation hasn’t revealed its game yet.
The OVS will run from May 13 until June 23 and serve as a buildup to the Tokyo Games, which begin on July 23, though even that’s been called into question.
|
|
|
|
- George Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, thanked the Las Vegas Raiders for “their support of our family” after the team’s “I Can Breathe” tweet following the murder conviction of Derek Chauvin drew criticism as tone-deaf and insensitive.
- The L.A. Dodgers will debut a fully vaccinated seating section on Saturday. Social distancing will not be required, but fans will have to be masked and show proof that they’re fully vaccinated. The San Francisco Giants have a similar section in their ballpark.
- April Subscriber Giveaway: We’re giving away two tickets to watch a live conversation with former MLB star Wade Boggs on Thuzio on May 6. For every friend or colleague who subscribes to FOS with your custom referral link by the end of April, you get one entry into our giveaway.
- Share in one tap (Email // Twitter // Facebook) or copy-and-paste your custom referral link: [RH_REFLINK]
- UFC returns to Jacksonville with a full crowd for UFC 261. Don’t miss a stacked card with three title fights on ESPN+: Usman vs Masvidal 2, Zhang vs Namajunas, and Shevchenko vs Andrade. Get UFC 261 here.*
*Sponsored Content
|
|
|
U.S. stocks experienced declines across all three major indexes on Thursday following news of a potential corporate tax increase. Here’s a look at how sports-related stocks performed:
Up:
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) gained 4.15%
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) gained 3.69%
fuboTV Inc. (NYSE: FUBO) gained 3.40%
Down:
GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) dropped 4.66%
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) dropped 4.07%
Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: DAKT) dropped 3.78%
(Note: All as of market close on 4/22/21)
|
|
|
The Milwaukee Bucks (35-22) host the Philadelphia 76ers (39-19) tonight. The teams last met in March when the Bucks won 109-105 in OT.
How to Watch:
7 p.m. ET on TNT
Betting Odds:
Bucks -8 || ML -345 || O/U 225.5
Pick: After back-to-back losses, the 76ers travel to Milwaukee for a two-game series against a Bucks team that has also lost two straight. The Bucks are 0-6 against the spread in their last six games at home but that trend must come to an end. Take Milwaukee to cover and lean over.
Who ya got? Reply to this newsletter with your prediction for the 76ers-Bucks winner, final score, and high scorer. Nail it and you get a mention in Friday’s FOS PM. Don’t forget to include your Twitter handle.
Shoutout: On Wednesday, we asked FOS readers to pick the winner, final score, and high scorer of the Suns-76ers tilt. The Suns handed the 76ers a 116-113 loss despite Joel Embiid’s game-high 38 points. David Nagelberg (@SportsGuruDave) predicted Phoenix’s win.
|
|
|
