The world’s largest athletic footwear and apparel merchant reigns supreme. 

Nike reported $12.3 billion in revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter, a 96% increase year-over-year. The retailer beat Wall Street estimates of $11.8 billion. 

The strong quarter was in part fueled by increased shipments to reopening brick-and-mortar stores — Dick’s Sporting Goods, Foot Locker, and JD Sports are key partners. 

Nike’s membership model is also thriving. With more than 300 million members globally, online purchases from members hit a record $3 billion during the quarter. Overall, the Swoosh’s digital sales were up 41% compared to the prior year.

North America continues to be Nike’s biggest market and sales more than doubled there, hitting a record $5.38 billion. 

Despite the growth, Nike’s athlete roster sustained a couple blows during quarter:

• In April, four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles left Nike for Athleta, a Gap-owned brand that designs activewear for women and girls.
• The same month, Kobe Bryant and his estate’s contractual relationship with Nike ended on contentious terms. He had been with the company since 2003.

Still, Nike’s full-year revenue reached $44.5 billion in 2021, a 19% uptick compared to FY2020.

The threat of Chinese boycotts over Nike’s stand against the alleged mistreatment of Muslim Uyghurs in the country’s Xinjiang region had no material impact, either. Nike’s sales in China rose 17% to $1.93 billion.

Major League Soccer is expanding its reach with a new professional league created to develop rising soccer talent.

The league kicks off with 20 clubs in 2022 and will serve as a pipeline to MLS for the most promising players — who will be paid unless they wish to retain college eligibility.

Several MLS clubs already participate in the USL Championship, a Division II soccer league, to source talent. That relationship remains intact, though likely not forever.

“Over time, I would anticipate that most [MLS] clubs will ultimately be in this league,” MLS president Mark Abbott said about the new, still-untitled league.

• Last year, MLS Next was introduced as a successor to the disbanded U.S. Soccer Development Academy.
• A record 20% of MLS roster spots are currently filled with players from academy systems.

MLS is growing quickly on other fronts, too. FC Cincinnati, Inter Miami CF, Nashville SC, and Austin FC have all entered the league since 2019. Charlotte FC and St. Louis SC are slated to join in 2022 and 2023.

MLS might also merge with Liga MX to form one giant North American league.

Earlier in June, Houston Texans running back Mark Ingram II bought a minority stake in D.C. United at a $710 million valuation, per Sportico.

That figure represents one of the highest club valuations in MLS history. LAFC also recently received a valuation north of $700 million when some of its owners bought out Vincent Tan, a Malaysian businessman who owns Wales-based Cardiff City FC. 

Later this year, a new sport will take flight using four propellers and an electric engine.

Think of it as the Formula 1 of the skies. 

Flying car producer Alauda is launching the Airspeeder racing series after announcing a successful test flight earlier this month. It will host a race with remotely piloted vehicles in 2021, with crewed races planned for 2022.

The races will happen on electronically created tracks at heights of up to 131 feet and speeds of 124 miles per hour. 

“This is a sport born in the streaming era, and beauty is a requirement in everything we do,” said Alauda and Airspeeder founder Matthew Pearson.

What looks like a video game come to life may grow into a massive new industry: Morgan Stanley estimates that the flying car market could reach $1.5 trillion by 2040, more than half the current global automobile market of $2.7 trillion.

Airspeeder announced a partnership with watchmaker IWC earlier this month. It also partners with shipping company DHL — which has sponsored drone racing competitions — and technology company Acronis.

Pearson hopes to use the competition to promote the acceptance and technological underpinnings of the flying car industry.

“Flying cars are an essential part of the future we have been promised for so long,” he said.

NBA Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett and The Players’ Tribune founder Jaymee Messler are launching a sports betting and gaming startup for casual fans called The Gaming Society. 

“We are creating something that doesn’t exist in the current landscape,” Messler, the company’s CEO, told FOS. “No platform is catering to sports fans that don’t know or understand how to bet.”

The Gaming Society has launched a newsletter, a sports betting course, and a podcast. It does not operate a sportsbook, but its website currently offers a betting promotion with FanDuel.

“Education is 100% needed in the betting space,” Garnett told FOS. “Sports betting is almost set up so that you will fail. But our education will hopefully set more people up for success and give them confidence to make bets.”

• Sports betting is active in 21 U.S. states and legal, but not yet established, in nine more. 
• The sector brought in gross revenue of $283.9 million in April, bringing the 2021 total up to $1.24 billion, according to the American Gaming Association. 

With $334 million in NBA salary earnings and a 2008 NBA Championship, Garnett is the second highest-paid NBA player of all time. Asked if he sees team ownership in his future, Garnett replied: “Hell yeah! I am really interested in emerging sports and women’s sports, in addition to the obvious.”

Garnett was interested in purchasing the Minnesota Timberwolves before the team, along with the Minnesota Lynx, was bought by a group led by Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore for a total believed to be around $1.5 billion.