Peloton is branching out beyond the home into public spaces.

The fitness leader is leveraging April’s $420 million acquisition of Precor — which supplies workout machines to hotels, health clubs, and universities — to get hotel guests and others to sample its offerings.

“We’ve been selling Peloton bikes into hotels and resorts for years,” said Brad Olson, Peloton’s chief business officer. “But this is really the culmination and one of the big elements of the deal rationale of why we purchased Precor.”

It’s been a dizzying year for Peloton. The company has faced a slew of lawsuits and government investigations related to a voluntary recall of its treadmill in May after reports of at least 70 injuries and one death — yet it company continues to rapidly expand.

• In September, the company launched its own apparel line. 
• It’s working on a video game in which its connected bike would act as the controller.
• It’s expanding into wearables, starting with a wristband that monitors heart rates.
• App updates suggest that Peloton is preparing to roll out a rowing machine.

The company stumbled in its fiscal fourth quarter, with revenue down 25.8% from the previous quarter, though the $937 million figure was an increase of 54% year-over-year.

Peloton, which lowered the price of its bike from $1,895 to $1,495 in August, lost $313 million in the quarter and doesn’t anticipate a return to profitability until fiscal 2023.

Electronic Arts is buying up another major producer of sports games with its acquisition of Playdemic from Warner Bros. Games.

The $1.4 billion deal for the U.K.-based mobile game maker adds hits like “Golf Clash” to EA’s portfolio. “Golf Clash” has over 80 million downloads. 

The transaction closed on Monday after an initial agreement in June.

EA, publisher of the “FIFA” and “Madden” series, has spent heavily on inorganic growth during the past year.

• In February, EA dropped $2.4 billion to acquire sports and lifestyle game maker Glu Mobile. Glu’s top games include “MLB Tap Sports Baseball” and “WWE Universe.”
• In December, EA bought Codemasters for $1.2 billion. Codemasters makes racing games, including the “F1” series.
• The company had $2.8 billion to work with for future acquisitions as of June. 

EA’s revenue climbed 6% year-over-year to $1.55 billion in the quarter ending June 30, though net profits slipped 44% to $204 million. At the time, EA boasted over 140 million EA Sports players over the previous 12 months.

The Playdemic deal offloads a major piece of Warner Bros. Games, which will become part of Warner Bros. Discovery when the $43 billion merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery closes. 

The gaming unit was rumored to be for sale last year for $4 billion.

Vietnam has been forced to shut down several retail manufacturing facilities due to COVID-19 outbreaks, forcing many sports retailers to consider looking elsewhere.

The country is the second-largest supplier of shoes and apparel to the U.S. behind China.

• Adidas sources 28% of its product from Vietnam, but the company said in late August that most of its factory capacity hasn’t been available since mid-July, contributing to $600 million in lost sales.
• Nike could lose an estimated 160 million pairs of shoes due to its Vietnam facility closures, according to research firm BTIG. Ahead of the company’s earnings report on Thursday, analysts have downgraded their estimates on full-year sales.
• Reports suggest Dick’s Sporting Goods will be negatively affected by Nike’s problems. Wells Fargo analysts favored Academy Sports over Dick’s based on its H2 outlook.

Supply-chain experts say the shutdowns will further increase prices of goods — shoe prices rose 4.6% year-over-year in July. Adidas already said it will look to raise prices.

It could be “at least 12, if not 18 months before supply chains get back to the state of equilibrium,” says Nick Vyas, co-founder of the USC Marshall Center for Global Supply Chain Management. 

Per Our World in Data, only 6.6% of Vietnam’s population had received two vaccination doses, and 21% had received one, as of Sept. 18.

Athletes First is the top sports agency for NFL players, with roughly $2 billion in negotiated contracts for 75 active players, according to a study by Pickwise and ICS-digital.

The California-based agency is led by agents Todd France and David Mulugheta, whose clients include NFL stars Jalen Ramsey, Deshaun Watson and Dak Prescott. 

France is the top-ranked NFL agent by commissions, with roughly $36 million earned from $1.19 billion in contracts negotiated among 33 active players. Mulugheta ranks third with $25 million in commissions on the back of $830 million in deals for 42 active players. 

Athletes First has negotiated multiple historic deals for its clients since 2020. 

• Last year, Ramsey agreed to a five-year, $105 million extension, making him the first defensive back in NFL history to secure a nine-figure deal.
• The same year, Watson signed a four-year, $160 million extension, which included $111 million in guarantees.
• Prescott signed a four-year, $160 million extension in March, which included a $66 million signing bonus and a no-trade clause.

Athletes First has $4 billion in contract value under management as of Dec. 22, 2020, including players who have retired and been cut, per Forbes. The agency has pocketed roughly $85 million in commissions. 

NFL contracts will continue to reach new heights with a higher salary cap. In May, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to a salary cap ceiling of $208.2 million for the 2022 season, up from $182.5 million in 2021.