UPDATE: World Wrestling Entertainment and UFC “have signed a definitive agreement” to form a new publicly traded company, the two companies announced Monday morning.

The announcement notes that Endeavor will hold a 51% controlling interest in the newly formed company. Existing WWE shareholders will hold a 49% interest.

The publicly traded company will be controlled by Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel. The deal values WWE at $9.3 billion, according to CNBC. 

While the transaction would require WWE shareholder approval, that shouldn’t be a significant hurdle. WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon is the promotion’s largest shareholder and holds about 80% of WWE’s voting shares. 

McMahon unexpectedly announced his retirement from WWE in July amid allegations he used the company’s money to suppress sexual misconduct and infidelity allegations. 

McMahon, who returned in January, is expected to retain his executive chairman title. UFC President Dana White has remained in charge after Endeavor purchased a controlling interest in the leading MMA promotion for $4 billion in 2018. 

“It seemed like since Vince left WWE over the summer and even before he came back, this was the inevitable outcome,“ LightShed Partners analyst Brandon Ross told Front Office Sports.

WWE CEO Nick Khan is slated to stay on as president of the wrestling side of the new company, while White will continue to run UFC. 

Suitors like Netflix, Amazon, Disney, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund explored a purchase of WWE. Still, a source with knowledge of the process told FOS that Endeavor had been the favorite for several weeks. 

Messages left with WWE and Endeavor were not immediately returned. 

DALLAS — Last week, LSU coach Kim Mulkey told reporters that the Southeastern Conference has been “disrespected all year.” 

But after the Tigers took down the Iowa Hawkeyes in a decisive 102-85 win at the American Airlines Center, the SEC can now boast championship streaks in FBS football and women’s basketball.

“We’ve had the trophy in our office for a year with South Carolina’s national championship,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey told Front Office Sports after the confetti fell. “So it’s nice that it’s found a home. To have multiple programs in our conference compete at this level…is really meaningful.” 

The championship is the first for LSU and the fourth for Mulkey. 

A Win For The Sport

LSU’s title ended a historic season for all of women’s college basketball. The Final Four semifinals were the most viewed on record, and the tournament drew more aggregate fans than any other in women’s NCAA history.

Still, the women’s media rights deal and the NCAA’s sponsorship agreement must be renegotiated to reflect the tournament’s growing value, according to a 2021 NCAA equity review. The next steps will be to “test the market on all this stuff,” NCAA President Charlie Baker told reporters before the game. 

“One media consultant’s opinion is not validation,” Sankey said, referring to the equity review. “I think what happened this weekend is actually validation.”

On Monday night, UConn and San Diego State will face off in the men’s Final Four title game at NRG Stadium in Houston. 

But no matter the final score, San Diego State — making its program debut in the Final Four — has already won off the court. 

Players are capitalizing big through name, image, and likeness deals. 

• Matt Bradley, the team’s leading scorer during the regular season, has seen 130% growth on Instagram in the past month, according to his agent Jordan Green, founder of Glacier Marketing Group.
• Bradley has inked five figures worth of deals this weekend alone.
• He also received VIP care packages from Oakley, Sprayground, and Cuts. 

“It was difficult for us to find suitable opportunities for Matt throughout the year on a national level,” Green, who just turned 20 years old, said. “Only local San Diego brands expressed interest before the tournament. … With all this national coverage, we’ve been able to talk with some of the biggest brands.”

Conference Benefits

SDSU is the conference’s first team to make it past the Sweet 16, let alone make it to the national championship game. 

In the immediacy, the team has earned millions in NCAA “units,” or men’s tournament prize money. The governing body distributes $170 million to conferences based on how many of their teams qualify and advance in the Big Dance. 

“I’m optimistic this is an upward trend,” Commissioner Gloria Nevarez told FOS when the team advanced to the Elite 8 last week.

The NBA and National Basketball Players Association announced early Saturday morning that a tentative agreement was reached on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement. 

The joint release didn’t specify any details on the deal that will require ratification by players and approval by team owners before it goes into place ahead of the 2023-24 season, the final season under the existing seven-year CBA. 

The new CBA seeks to curb spending by teams like the Golden State Warriors, which is currently more than $70 million over the NBA’s soft cap. The Warriors’ luxury tax is projected to be around $500 million next season. 

While the luxury tax system will remain, the new CBA has put a secondary cap that limits a team’s ability to sign free-agent players with the mid-level exception. 

ESPN reported that teams surpassing the new second salary cap apron by more than $17.5 million would be unable to add free agents via the mid-level exception. Under the existing CBA allowed teams, to sign new players via the mid-level exception no matter how much over the cap they were. 

The other changes include: 

• Already one of the most lenient marijuana policies will effectively disappear in the new CBA. The Athletic reported that marijuana had been removed from the test protocol. 
• The in-season tournament will debut next season and will pay each player on the winning team $500,000. 
• Players must play at least 65 games to be eligible for postseason awards. 
• Veteran contract extensions limits will increase to 140% from their current contracts, up from 120%.