No small potatoes
From The GIST Sports Biz (hi@thegistsports.com)
It’s Friday!
As we reach the finish line in February, the streaming world is looking to build on the iconic success of Netflix’s F1 docuseries, Drive To Survive. The show’s seventh season will air March 7th, and today, Amazon confirmed it’s launching its own racing docuseries, First To The Finish, chronicling the 2024 Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship.
- The best part? Amazon’s offering focuses on team owner Shea Holbrook and drivers Heather Hadley and Sally Mott, which should help boost the visibility of women in racing. Zero to 60.
Unrivaled
💰 In the cards
The GIST: Yesterday, OneTeam Partners — an agency that represents several pro athlete unions — announced a transformative partnership with 3v3 women’s basketball league Unrivaled and the WNBPA. Through the agreement, Unrivaled now owns group licensing rights for WNBPA athletes, meaning that the league (and its players) can finally capitalize on NIL–driven products and branding.
- The collab not only allows Unrivaled players to profit further while hooping in Miami, but presents an expanded opportunity for brands to team up with athletes for exposure in both leagues. And one.
The details: Through negotiations with OneTeam, Unrivaled paid the WNBPA for group players rights, meaning the league can now sell individual player merch. OneTeam will also become Unrivaled’s licensing agency for trading cards, and is launching a partnership with memorabilia platform The Realest for game-worn items.
The precedent: OneTeam — which also reps the NWSLPA and USWNTPA — negotiated a deal between these three player associations and Google Pixel last year. While men’s unions like the NFLPA have secured plenty of corporate partnerships, it’s newer on the women’s side, and this Unrivaled partnership for licensing rights is in a league of its own.
- Rather than promoting a typical commercial product or service, Unrivaled is paying the WNBPA for the rights to further market the players in its own league, which drives value and profits. Remarkably, W players hardly profit from their likeness due to minimal revenue sharing, but Unrivaled players do bank 15% of league revenue.
Zooming out: Through this deal, WNBA players don’t just earn higher salaries in Unrivaled — they can profit considerably from their popularity in the league, which could lead to similar changes in the W. The deal also builds Unrivaled’s value immensely, especially as partnerships with the new league become even more enticing for brands.
- Companies that partner with Unrivaled are getting access to a league with substantial athlete buy-in that can now better reward its players. And for brands that want year-round exposure, they may consider partnering with players directly to access both WNBA and Unrivaled audiences. Lovin’ it.
WNBA
🔥 Catching a Fever
The GIST: Hartbeat — the new multichannel entertainment company founded by comedian Kevin Hart — is diving deep into the basketball world with a WNBA–driven partnership. Yesterday, Hartbeat announced its partnership with Pacers Sports & Entertainment (PS&E) to serve as its official “cultural curator” to merge sport, entertainment, and culture in Indiana and beyond.
- This unique partnership — which will use July’s WNBA All-Star Weekend (ASW) as its starting point — will allow the W and its popular Indiana Fever squad to benefit from an innovative media partnership. Hart react.
The company: Hartbeat primarily focuses on scripted series, comedy, and music, but Hart does have a history of producing sports content. He teamed up with comedian Kenan Thompson for an Olympic highlight series during the Paris 2024 Olympics and has worked extensively with athletes in his long-running Cold As Balls web series.
The details: The production company and PS&E plan to collab on experiences like live performances, media content, and exclusive merch collections, beginning with Hartbeat’s presence at the WNBA’s ASW. During the event, Hartbeat will host a first-of-its-kind music and comedy festival.
The opportunity: Gen Z fans often access sports through social media and pop culture, so a collaboration like this is a logical step to reach them. And it makes sense to partner with the Fever specifically: Not only does the team enjoy home-court advantage as this year’s ASW host, but it boasts the league’s most marketable athlete in Caitlin Clark.
- While the Indiana Pacers enjoy their own popularity, it’s interesting Hartbeat chose to activate around a tentpole WNBA event instead of an NBA one. It’s smart to have a presence in Indianapolis when so many brands and agents will gather for ASW, giving Hartbeat a strong chance to get deeply involved with women’s basketball. Heating up.
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🎸 Athletes Unlimited extends Nashville partnership after record engagement
Today, Athletes Unlimited (AU) announced its pro basketball league is extending its partnership with Nashville to host its AU Pro season next year and beyond. The deal comes after a season of record numbers for AU in Music City, proving there’s opportunity for mid-sized markets to capitalize on women’s basketball, even without a WNBA team.
- The league expects to finish with a 77% jump in overall attendance YoY, while merch sales are up 97% YoY and social media engagement is 69% higher than 2024. Need plenty more.
NWSL and Nike release new kits after 2024 jersey reset
Last year, the NWSL and league kit provider Nike teamed up for the first-ever leaguewide jersey reset for a women’s soccer league, and the two brands are back at it again. Yesterday, the NWSL unveiled a bold new suite of 2025 away jersey kits for each of the NWSL’s 14 clubs.
- In the 2025 edit, all clubs have updated goalkeeper jerseys, while Bay FC (the league’s top-selling team for merch) has its first fully branded primary kit. The offerings are also more inclusive — jerseys have expanded sizing and can be customized with any active player — and some teams are offering patches, such as Angel City’s Rise Up L.A. patch.
🧢 Fanatics capitalizes on intersection between sports and fashion
Brands are beginning to harness the powerful intersection between sports, pop culture and fashion, and merch brand Fanatics is a clear example. On Wednesday, Sportico detailed how the company’s hype drops — partnerships with fashion labels and influencers — have managed to convert new customers, with 20% being first-time Fanatics buyers. Believe the hype.
🏒 The PWHL hit 413.4K in attendance through 57 games, surpassing its regular-season record in 17 fewer games than last year. Puck yeah.
🚆 The NWSL’s rebranded Chicago Stars FC is running a bilingual local campaign using a branded CTA Brown Line train.
🏎️ Ally Financial is using its paint scheme in the NASCAR Cup Series to cross-promote its Unrivaled sponsorship in hopes of reaching women NASCAR fans.
🍺 Woman-owned Freeland Spirits and the VoiceInSport Foundation will raise funds to address the sports gender gap by partnering with women’s sports bars and donating profits from online cocktail kit sales. That’s the spirit.
🍀 Actor Donnie Wahlberg and former NBA player Michael Carter-Williams announced their intent to co-launch a bid for a Boston WNBA team.
🏈 The NFL plans to establish men’s and women’s pro flag football leagues (and sell media rights packages for them) ahead of the sport’s Olympic debut in 2028.
🧢 The Qatari government inked a five-year partnership with Fanatics that makes Qatar the sponsor of Fanatics Fest and a potential host for future events.
⭐ New Lay’s ambassador Alexia Putellas starred alongside men’s stars like Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry in the brand’s “No Lay’s, No Game” campaign. No small potatoes.
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Celebrate Black History Month with these recs:
🏀 What to check out
Chiney Ogwumike’s Swagger Magazine cover story. A WNBA All-Star, ESPN analyst, and former White House advisor, Ogwumike is changing the game on and off the court.
⚽ What to read
This article about soccer’s misogynoir problem. Women’s soccer is thriving, but Black women in the sport still face racism and sexism.
🥊 Who to watch
Claressa Shields, better known as the GWOAT (Greatest Woman of All Time). She’s now the first fighter, male or female, to hold undisputed titles in three weight classes. From Flint, Michigan, to two Olympic golds, Shields’ story is one for Hollywood.
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