August 14, 2020

Read in Browser

Front Office Sports

POWERED BY

Dan Snyder is being pressured to sell the Washington Football Team, Fanatics raises $350 million, sports betting bounces back, and Apple wants to get into fitness.

NFL Team for Sale?

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Minority owners of the Washington Football Team are reportedly pressuring owner Dan Snyder to sell the team. FedEx CEO Fred Smith, Black Diamond Capital Chairman Robert Rothman, and NVR Inc. Board Chairman Dwight Schar have hired an investment firm to sell their shares, which make up 40% of the team. They would likely see their ownership value increase if the entire team was sold.

There is no indication Snyder intends to sell and he recently filed a lawsuit that claims one of the minority owners is behind a defamatory plot against him. Snyder bought the team in 1999 for $750 million. Forbes recently valued the Washington franchise at $3.4 billion.

The pressure to sell is just the latest issue for the team, which recently retired its racist moniker after decades of protest. A detailed report from The Washington Post also revealed a toxic office culture within the organization. Since the report, the Washington Football Team has hired a law firm for an internal investigation.

Last 5 NFL Team Sales

2018: David Tepper purchased the Panthers for $2.75 billion

2014: Terry & Kim Pegula purchased the Bills for $1.4 billion

2012: Jimmy & Dee Haslam purchased the Browns for $1 billion

2012: Shad Khan purchased the Jaguars for $770 million

2010: Stan Kroenke purchased the Rams for $700 million

Fanatics Raises $350M in Likely Final Private Funding Round

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Fanatics has closed a $350 million investment round. As the company reportedly gears up for an IPO, it is now valued at approximately $6.2 billion.

Fanatics has raised about $1.5 billion since 2011 and this is expected to be its last private funding round. It was led by Fidelity Management & Research Co. and Thrive Capital, and also included Franklin Templeton Investments and Neuberger Berman Group.

Past investors include SoftBank Group, the NFL, the NHL and MLB. Fanatics makes and sells licensed fan apparel and has deals with every major U.S. league and more than 150 colleges.

Fanatics Rundown: 

— $2.5 billion in 2019 revenue.

— 30% online sales growth in 2020.

— $20 million revenue hit projected because of the pandemic.

— 80% of revenue comes from direct-to-consumer sales.

SPONSORED

Get On The Winning Tech Team

Once again named one of the 5000 Fastest Growing U.S. Companies according to Inc., Sportsdigita knows exactly what sports professionals deal with in the areas of sponsorship, ticketing, and premium experiences.

For more than ten years, Sportsdigita has been helping teams perfect their ability to pitch to prospects with Digideck: a cloud-based presentation platform that is trusted by over 400 professional and collegiate teams all over the world.

For more info, visit www.sportsdigita.com and www.thedigideck.com today

After Months of Depressed Sports Betting Numbers, Handles On The Rise

Ashley Landis/Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports

Sportsbook operators generated $64.2 million in revenue during the second quarter, a 46.3% year-over-year drop, according to the American Gaming Association. It was the first quarterly decline since sports betting became legal in the U.S. in 2018.

Even with the mass stoppage of live events, sports betting revenue for the first half of 2020 was still up 10.4%. That was aided by 12 states opening legal sportsbooks over the last year. New Jersey is back on the pre-pandemic hot streak as it reported $315 million in July bets, up from $54.6 million in April. 

Reported Sports Betting Handles

Indiana

— April: $26.3 million

— July: $70.9 million

Iowa

— April: $1.6 million

— July: $22.9 million

Apple Looks to Disrupt Connected Fitness Landscape

Apple

After Peloton and Nike saw massive growth for their training apps during the pandemic, Apple is now looking to take a bite of that pie. Apple is reportedly developing a new subscription for virtual fitness classes that can be used via an app on the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.

It will come as part of Apple One, a bundle for the company’s services like Apple Music and Apple TV+. Other add-ons would include Apple Arcade, Apple News+ and increased iCloud storage. The move is meant to help the company extend consumer loyalty beyond hardware.

The fitness aspiration is a piece of Apple’s growing focus on healthcare that has included adding more health-related functions to the Apple Watch. Apple One is expected to launch in October, alongside a new iPhone.

SPONSORED

Pandemic Proof Marketing

Today, over 15,000 athletes — from All-Pros and All-Americans, to walk-on freshman fighting to make a roster — use Opendorse to fulfill social campaigns and publish posts on behalf of brand partners. Hundreds of sports teams and leagues use the platform to promote their property while empowering athletes to build their personal brands. Simultaneously, brands use the platform to access athletes and deliver campaigns that drive results by bringing their message to the fan’s favorite feed.

Join our Partner Showcase on Thursday, August 20 as Adi Kunalic, Co-Founder of Opendorse, walks through their athlete marketing playbook and platform.

What We're Covering

What We're Covering

Epic Games is suing Apple over the removal of Fortnite from the App Store. Apple claimed Epic was violating guidelines by using an in-app payment system. The app was also removed from the Google Play store.

“Hard Knocks: Los Angeles,” the first season of the show to feature two teams, was an ambitious task even without a pandemic.

Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini said she is getting inquiries from more talent looking to make the switch after Deion Sanders left NFL Network for the media company.

NCAA President Mark Emmert announced yesterday that all Division I fall sports championships have been canceled — save FBS football, which operates independently. “Tragically, that’s going to be the case this fall, full stop.”

Question of the Day

Do you own an Apple Watch?

 Yes   No 

Thursday’s Answer
38% of respondents said they would attend a live sporting event this month.

Advertise Awards Learning Events Video Shows

If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here.

Update your preferences / Unsubscribe

Copyright © 2020 Front Office Sports. All rights reserved.
460 Park Avenue South, 7th Floor, New York NY, 10016

Subscribe To Our Daily Newsletters

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.