Welcome back to the Spotlight! Although men’s basketball in New York City is on hiatus with the Knicks falling short of an NBA Finals appearance (I don’t want to talk about it), women’s basketball is picking up the slack, with the defending WNBA champions New York Liberty off to an undefeated start to the season. Indeed, women’s sports continues to be ascendant, garnering investments throughout the sports world. While I have had my unbridled enthusiasm and fandom trampled over the past two weeks or so, there have been notable developments in that regard. For one thing, Major League Baseball got in on the action, making a significant investment in Athletes Unlimited Softball League (equal to a 20% equity stake) before the first pitch was even thrown. Additionally, CBS Sports just acquired US media rights for the UEFA Women’s Champions League – giving viewers access to top-flight soccer matches, and in so doing, yet another way to get their fill of women’s sports. With all the women’s sports, you might want to find somewhere to post up with a lot of screens. Luckily, Oregon-based women’s sports bar, “The Sports Bra” (not a typo) is able to…well…support you in those endeavors, as it received $1 million in funding to franchise the concept far and wide.
- Eminem’s publishing company Eight Mile Style sues Meta for copyright infringement, alleging $109M in damages stemming from allegedly unlicensed use of Eminem’s songs across Facebook and Instagram. That sum might be enough to make Zuckerberg cough up his mom’s spaghetti.
- Restaurant franchise Red Lobster enters into a sponsorship deal with the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, thus serving as an ever present reminder that while the sky may be the limit, your shrimp and cheddar bay biscuits don’t have to have one (Editor’s note: Red Lobster’s Unlimited Endless Shrimp deal was discontinued months ago, thus making this joke rather forced and anachronistic).
- In just one season playing basketball for the Duke University Blue Devils, All-American basketball player and presumptive number one pick in this year’s NBA Draft, Cooper Flagg earned an astronomical $28 million in NIL revenue. Looking to make a mark of his own and challenge that figure, high school recruit Davion Thompson partners with Bell’s Master Blend Sauces for his own signature sauce. In contrast to Flagg and Thompson, in high school and college, many of their peers received nil dollars while hitting the sauce.
Endorsement Deals, Sponsorships & Investments
Seattle Storm Stakes Sold at $325 Million Valuation
June 5, 2025 via Sportico
Justin Ishbia Strikes Deal for Chicago White Sox Control
June 5, 2025 via Sportico
Excel Sports Hires Moelis to Raise Funds, Explore Shamrock Exit
June 5, 2025 via Sportico
Meet Sam Green, Who Helps Athletes Build Brands in the Collegiate NIL Space
June 3, 2025 via Charlotte Observer
The NWSL’s Most Valuable Teams 2025
June 2, 2025 via Forbes
California High School Athletes Seek Right to Player Profits in New Lawsuit
June 2, 2025 via Reuters
Celebrity-Made Wines that Hit the Right Notes
June 2, 2025 via BizPlus
Washington Freedom Announces Multi-Year Partnership with Clover
June 2, 2025 via GuruFocus
Bell’s Master Blend Sauces Sign NIL Deal with Basketball Star Davion Thompson for Exclusive DT3 Hot BBQ Fusion Sauce
June 1, 2025 via EIN Presswire
College Star Xaivian Lee Signs Signature Sneaker Deal
June 1, 2025 via Forbes
Cooper Flagg Reportedly Made Staggering $28 Million in NIL Money in One Season at Duke
May 31, 2025 via New York Post
Robinhood’s Sports Prediction Markets Are a Hook for Wider Play
May 30, 2025 via Sportico
Ulta Beauty Raises Annual Profit Forecast, Posts Upbeat Quarter on Resilient Demand
May 30, 2025 via BrandEquity
Red Lobster Sponsors Chicago Sky for Current Basketball Season
May 30, 2025 via Nation's Restaurant News
MLB Purchasing Stake in Fledgling AUSL
May 29, 2025 via ESPN
Sports
NHL Teams Bracing for Tariff Impact on Equipment Prices
May 30, 2025 via Sports Business Journal
Music Biz
Meta Sued by Eminem's Publishing Company Over Alleged Copyright Infringement
June 4, 2025 via LA Times
Rezonate Music Rights Investment Platform Launches to Acquire Producers' Catalogues
June 3, 2025 via Music Week
Greenwich Entertainment Acquires NA Rights To ‘Angelheaded Hipster’ Doc On “Ultra-Charismatic” Marc Bolan And Band T. Rex
June 3, 2025 via Deadline
Music Industry Veteran Tony Latham Launches Royalty Access Studio, with Plans to Deploy $20m in Artist Financing Over Next 12 Months
June 3, 2025 via Music Business Worldwide
Seattle Musician Launches Startup to Help Indie Artists with Licensing and Creators with Content
June 2, 2025 via GeekWire
Film & TV
NBA Finals Ad Inventory Sells Fast Despite Ratings Worries
June 6, 2025 via Sportico
Chicago Sports Network, Comcast Strike Cable Deal to End Impasse
June 5, 2025 via Sportico
Shaq and Iverson Team up to Revive Reebok from Obscurity in the Netflix Docuseries 'Power Moves'
June 5, 2025 via ABC News
The CW will Broadcast Savannah Bananas Baseball Madness as Network Leans into Live Sports
June 3, 2025 via Los Angeles Times
Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal Will Work NBA Finals for NBA TV
June 3, 2025 via Awful Announcing
Amazon Fire Sticks are Enabling Billions in Video Piracy, Report Finds
June 1, 2025 via Techspot
‘Inside the NBA’ Signs Off from TNT as Barkley, Shaq, Smith and Johnson Head to ESPN
June 1, 2025 via Mercury News
CBS Sports Acquires the US Rights to Air Women’s Champions League Matches
May 31, 2025 via Chicago Tribune
Emerging Sports
Cracked Media Ventures Announces Strategic Expansion into Emerging Sports Markets
June 6, 2025 via GlobeNewswire
