April 28, 2021

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Conor McGregor’s prize money from his first UFC fight? $76K. He’s come a long way.

Microsoft and Sony Booming Off Gaming

Xbox/Playstation/Design: Alex Brooks

Microsoft and Sony gaming consoles have brought their respective company’s businesses to a whole new level, based on each company’s latest earnings reports.

Microsoft reported revenue of $41.7 billion for its fiscal Q3 2021 — its best quarter in four years, helping bring its stock within 1% of the extremely rare $2 trillion market cap. 

Part of the reason? The meteoric rise of its gaming division. 

Microsoft launched its Xbox Series X|S console during the company’s fiscal Q2 in November and saw its first $5 billion quarter for gaming revenue. 

Tuesday’s earnings report revealed that Xbox hardware revenue grew 232% year-over-year in the first three months of 2021. Overall gaming revenue was down to $3.53 billion but was still a 50% increase over the same period last year.  

Estimates suggest Microsoft has probably sold around 5.8 million units of its new Xbox consoles, but the company doesn’t disclose exact hardware sales figures.

Sony, however, does — and the PlayStation 5 is flying off the shelves.

  • Since its launch in November, 7.8 million units have been sold.
  • It’s the company’s strongest console debut ever.

The Tokyo-based company released its latest earnings on Wednesday, reporting $82.5 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021. Of that amount, $24.4 billion came from Sony’s Game & Network Services group.

Conor McGregor Whiskey Deal Nets $600M

Proper No. 12/Design: Alex Brooks

Conor McGregor will be raising a glass to Proximo Spirits: The liquor brand just bought a $600 million majority stake in his Irish whiskey. 

That’s not a bad haul for a spirit that launched only three years ago. Originally called “Notorious,” Proper No. 12 has partnered with Becle-owned importer and distributor Proximo Spirits for distribution from the get-go. Becle, which also makes Jose Cuervo, has a market value of $8.88 billion.

Proximo has steadily grown its stake in Proper No. 12 from 20% to 49% — a majority stake with this latest deal.

The deal, which was rumored to be in the works last month, is worth around $350 million in new money because it includes the $250 million the Proper No. 12 team has already pocketed through its partnership with Proximo. 

That will be split primarily between McGregor, his agent Audie Attar of Paradigm Sports Management, and Ken Austin, an entrepreneur who founded the Tequila Avión brand.

Such rapid growth of Proper No. 12 is a testament to McGregor’s popularity:

  • 213,800 cases were sold in 2019, its first full year.
  • Sales grew 61% to 345,000 cases in 2019.

The brand, the fourth-most popular Irish whiskey in 2019, likely benefited from the similar demographics of Irish whiskey drinkers and UFC fans. 

McGregor, who was reportedly worth $120 million prior to this sale, has endorsement deals with Reebok, Beats by Dre, Monster Energy, and Bud Light. He’s predicted that he will be a billionaire by the time he’s 35 in 2023.

SPONSORED BY PANINI

Drafted One Minute, Rookie Cards the Next

During tomorrow’s first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, history will be made and dreams will come true for 32 of the NFL’s future stars — and Panini America will be ready to celebrate by making a little trading card history of its own.

Yesterday, the Panini Instant website launched the 40 cards that will comprise the 2021 NFL Draft offering. Although the cards feature silhouetted images now, Thursday night and throughout the weekend, the cards will be updated in real-time as selections are made, meaning each new draftee’s first trading card with his new NFL team logo will be available just minutes after his name is called.

Don’t miss this limited time offer. Shop 2021 Panini Instant NFL Draft cards today.

Premier League Tries to Exit Media Rights Auction

Premier League/Design: Alex Brooks

The Premier League is asking British authorities for approval to skip out on this year’s scheduled media rights auction and keep its $6.53 billion deal in place for the next three years.

Rolling over the deals would mean keeping current terms set with Comcast’s Sky Sports, BT Sport, the BBC, and Amazon. 

Those terms, agreed upon in 2018, are worth 10% less than the media deal before it. Avoiding the 2021 auction would provide a bit of security for a league expected to lose roughly $2.8 billion by the end of the season.

But the proposed rollover may draw complaints from networks and could even violate competition law.

In March, Kevin Meyer, chairman of DAZN, told CNBC that the company is interested in Premier League rights after acquiring domestic Serie A rights in Italy. Sky, which previously held the contract, bid $2.65 billion; DAZN beat them out with $2.95 billion. 

DAZN recently denied any involvement in the short-lived European Super League.

Last year, in response to a move that was, like the Super League, heavily protested by soccer fans, the Premier League removed its pay-per-view systems with BBC and Amazon and returned to only airing live broadcasts.

Conversation Starters

Conversation Starters

  • Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Logan Paul agreed to an exhibition bout on June 6 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Logan’s brother, Jake, knocked out former UFC fighter Ben Askren in the first round of their fight earlier this month.
  • Naomi Osaka is set to launch a skincare line formulated for people of color. Kinló is expected to hit the market this fall and will have five products that all retail for under $20. Osaka will serve as CEO of the line.
  • 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]
  • Tigris is looking for a market research expert with a passion for sports to lead its Client Insights Team by applying data to tell stories that drive executive decisions around sponsorship. Learn more.*

*Sponsored Content

SPONSORED BY PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE

MMA’s League is Back!

The Professional Fighters League returns Thursday April 29 on ESPN2. Watch as the battle for the $1M belt continues!

Rory “The Red King” MacDonald steps into the cage against Curtis Millender. Also, PFL Light Heavyweight Champion Emiliano Sordi goes for his 5th straight finish against his toughest test yet in Chris Camozzi.

Watch all the action Thursday, April 29 at 9 PM ET on ESPN2 as 60 fighters compete for one of the richest paydays in MMA.

Market Movers

Market Movers

U.S. stocks were mixed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve opted to keep interest rates near zero. Here’s a look at how sports-related stocks performed:

Up:

Scientific Games Corporation (NASDAQ: SGMS) gained 4.96%

Genesco Inc. (NYSE: GCO) gained 2.91%

Manchester United plc (NYSE: MANU) gained 2.75%

Down:

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) dropped 3.88%

Allied Esports Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: AESE)  dropped 3.81%

ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC) dropped 3.22%

(Note: All as of market close on 4/28/21)

What to Watch

What to Watch

The Phoenix Suns host the Los Angeles Clippers tonight in a matchup between two Western Conference contenders. The Clippers beat the Suns 113-103 a few weeks ago.

How to Watch:

10 p.m. ET on ESPN

Betting Odds:

Suns -4 || ML -174 || O/U 221.5

Pick: The Suns are hot, winning 14 of their last 18 games. The Clippers are also on a roll with a 12-2 record in their last 14. But with Serge Ibaka out and Kawhi Leonard listed as doubtful, expect the Suns to come out firing. Take Phoenix to cover and lean under. 

Who ya got? Reply to this newsletter with your prediction for the Clippers-Suns winner, final score, and high scorer. Nail it, and you get a mention in Thursday’s FOS PM. Don’t forget to include your Twitter handle.

Shoutout: On Tuesday, we asked readers to predict the outcome of the Red Sox-Mets tilt. The Red Sox beat the Mets 2-1. FOS readers must love the Mets because John Hardy (@johncyclejohn) was the only person to call a Red Sox win.

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Written by Justin Byers, Owen Poindexter, Abigail Gentrup

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