The opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics is just three days away, but there’s a chance that the Games could be canceled altogether — and that’s coming from the organizing committee’s chief.

Tokyo is under its fourth state of emergency until Aug. 22, and Olympic organizers said 71 people have tested positive for COVID-19 so far.

Committee chief Toshiro Muto said it will “continue discussions” about canceling if there is a spike in cases. IOC president Thomas Bach, however, said canceling was never an option.

The Olympics are already expecting an estimated $25 billion bill.

• Delaying the games for a year cost organizers $3 billion. The total insurance coverage for the games is estimated to be around $2.5 billion.
• Roughly 60 Japanese companies spent $3 billion for 2020 sponsorship rights — and another $200 million for contract extensions when the games were delayed, according to Reuters.
• Toyota, which became a global Olympics sponsor in a nearly $1 billion deal, pulled Olympic-related ads from Japanese TV on Monday.
• Before banning spectators, Japan expected ticket revenue to reach $815 million.

The biggest loser from a cancellation could be NBC, which agreed to a $7.75 billion media rights deal with the IOC in 2014 that runs through 2032. The network expects the Games to drive a 30% jump in Peacock users.

Are NFTs here to stay? A group of investors, including Kevin Durant, put down $100 million on the answer being a resounding “yes.”

OpenSea, an auction platform for non-fungible tokens, completed a Series B funding round led by Andreesen Horowitz. In addition to Durant, the round included Creative Artists Agency and Ashton Kutcher.

CAA represents numerous athletes across the NBA, NFL, MLB, and combat sports, including Chris Paul, Zion Williamson, and Buster Posey.

The round values OpenSea at $1.5 billion. OpenSea raised $23 million in its Series A round in March.

• The platform hosts NFTs produced by the Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat, and Candy Digital, which partners with MLB.
• It hosts sports-related NFT games such as Sorare, ZED Run, and MLB Champions. 
• OpenSea gained notoriety as the host of the artist Beeple’s $69 million NFT sale. 

OpenSea will use the funds to grow its staff and develop solutions to reduce the carbon emissions connected to its technology. 

The platform said it sold $160 million in digital assets in June.

It remains to be seen if the A’s are leaving Oakland, but on Tuesday, the city council made a clear statement that they insist on being an equal negotiating partner.

The council made a nonbinding vote agreeing to continue negotiations with the team based on its own term sheet, which has conditions that A’s president Dave Kaval said won’t work for the team.

The vote may prompt the team to more aggressively explore Las Vegas, Portland, and other potential relocation sites. While the two sides have both said they want to keep the A’s in Oakland, they have had trouble hammering out the specifics. 

• The team initially proposed a $12 billion project, which would develop the surrounding Howard Terminal area with housing and commerce.
• The proposal included two infrastructure funds that the A’s would pay for, then recover through tax dollars generated from the stadium and surrounding area.
• The city responded with a counter proposal that allowed the team to collect tax revenue from stadium-related infrastructure, but removed $352 million in paybacks from tax revenue generated by the nearby Jack London Square area.

Oakland has traditionally avoided offering tax payer dollars to fund sports stadiums. The city has seen the Golden State Warriors leave for San Francisco in 2019, and the NFL’s Raiders move to Las Vegas in 2020.