Green is good
From The GIST Sports Biz (hi@thegistsports.com)
Happy Friday!
While the details of Sam Kerr’s new two-year extension with Chelsea are TBA, we do have some indication of how much she means to the club. After Chelsea became a rare Premier League club to put its women’s team on equal footing with the men’s, it announced that both of its stadiums will be temporarily re-named in Kerr’s honor. Keep calm and Kerr-y on.
NWSL
💰 Putting the “fun” in fund
The GIST: A few months after Angel City FC announced its controlling equity stake sale, a likely contender for club control has emerged — former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry’s Avenue Sports Opportunities Fund. Following its October launch, a new Sportico report indicates the fund has already raised $445.1M as it targets rising sports properties like Angel City. A major player.
The context: The sports fund is part of Avenue Capital, a private equity firm with $12.3B in assets that Lasry co-founded with sister Sonia Gardner in 1995. Last spring, Lasry sold his 25% stake in the Bucks — which he purchased for $550M in 2014 — for a $3.5B valuation. Under Lasry’s stewardship, the Bucks got a brand new Fiserv Forum in 2018 and an NBA championship in 2021.
The details: June filings show the fund raised $445.1M, an increase in commitments of nearly $175M in a few weeks. So far, Avenue has nabbed TGL’s San Francisco outfit, SailGP’s U.S. team, and even a professional bull riding team, and is reportedly “in the mix” for purchasing a controlling stake in Angel City, the NWSL’s most valuable franchise.
- Last May, Lasry stated interest in investing in women’s sports and properties in Africa and Asia, as well as providing capital influx to teams. So far, the fund has primarily been focused on U.S. properties, and also wants to get involved with sports betting, ticketing, and AI.
Zooming out: Established men’s sports teams like the Bucks have relatively limited growth in a saturated market — buy-in is at a premium, so it’s not the ideal playground for a start-up private equity sports fund. Lasry’s new fund is clearly focused on emerging sports markets, and the women’s sports industry has proven its ROI after capital investment. Green is good.
Women’s track
🏟️ A title run
The GIST: Tech entrepreneur and investor Alexis Ohanian — who co-founded Reddit and is married to Serena Williams — shared further details with Front Office Sports on the 776 Invitational, a pro women’s track and field event offering record prize money. Hitting the ground running.
The event: Announced in April, the women’s track event slated for September is sponsored by Ohanian’s venture capital firm, Seven Seven Six. While the location, exact date, and full athlete roster has yet to be released, Olympic bronze medalist Gabby Thomas has already signed up as a participant and advisor for the event.
The structure: There will only be six races at the event with six competitors each — 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, and the 100m hurdles. Every participant will earn prize money, with $60K for first place, $25K for second, $10K for third, $8K for fourth, $5K for fifth, and $2.5K for sixth. Ohanian added that 10% of all event revenue will be pooled and split evenly among all athletes.
The context: While the prizes may sound small, it’s quite the jump for track and field. The sport’s athletes rely heavily on Olympic endorsements but, until now, have never been compensated for competing at the Games. In April, track and field governing body World Athletics broke Olympic precedent by agreeing to pay athletes at Paris 2024, awarding $50K with every gold medal.
- Outside of Olympic years, premier opportunities still pay little. Elite track circuit Diamond League pays winners $10K per race and $30K at only the last meet of the season — half of what Ohanian’s offering first-place winners for a single race. If you ain’t first, you’re last.
Zooming out: Track has historically fielded few sponsors, with opportunities limited to big stars like Sha’Carri Richardson, a coveted brand ambassador who saw more Instagram engagement in 2023 than popular WNBA rookie Cameron Brink. Ohanian’s event makes both exposure and pay more accessible to a generation that knows track is marketable — just ask Sha’Carri (and Jacquemus).
Together With SponsorPulse
🚀 Hop on the rocketship
The next big thing in marketing? Sponsoring female athletes. Sports biz GISTers know that companies who aren’t riding the women’s sports wave are leaving tons of growth opportunities on the table — but in this relatively new space, it can be hard to identify which deals offer the best ROI potential.
That’s where SponsorPulse comes in. By signing up for a free account, you’ll have access to reliable, digestible, data-driven insights on thousands of opportunities across the industry. Call it your investment secret weapon.
- SponsorPulse’s platform makes it easy to compare potential deals — and more importantly, they have the most robust data set on women’s sports, hands down. And did we mention it’s free?
- Create an account for all the info you need to make confident sponsorship decisions today. Your inner sports stats geek (and your boss) are guaranteed to love it.
📺 Warner Bros. Discovery deals ebb and flow in early summer moves
It’s been a busy June for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) — ahead of launching Venu Sports this fall, WBD just secured U.S. French Open rights and is currently negotiating NBA rights. At the same time, the company is shifting away from certain sports properties like Formula E, the all-electric version of F1 racing. Gaining traction.
💸 Tennis’ US Open anticipates prize pool jump as golf’s U.S. Open stays the course
Grand Slams continue to push the envelope by filling it with more cash. On Thursday, Wimbledon announced it’s upping its prize money fund to $64M, following the Australian Open’s record $57.5M purse and the French Open offering $57.7M. The US Open, which still holds the record for the biggest prize purse ($65M), is expected to respond with its own prize hike.
- Meanwhile, golf’s U.S. Open has the opposite approach to raising its prize pool. Tournament officials acknowledged that award amounts will just keep going up, so there’s no point trying to stay on top when the next competition will always one-up the Open.
🏛️ Congress continues pushback against college athlete compensation
The NCAA is no longer fighting NIL-era student-athlete compensation, but the U.S. Congress still is. Yesterday, a Congressional committee examined H.R. 8534, which would keep athletes from being declared employees of their colleges, conference, or the NCAA. And since union members must legally be considered employees, the bill would prevent college athletes from unionizing if passed.
💼 Former KC Current general manager Camille Ashton has been named the sporting director and general manager of San Diego Wave FC.
⚽ The USL Super League announced a new multiyear agreement with NBC that makes Peacock the league’s exclusive broadcasting platform. Another feather in its cap.
🎙️ The BBC produced an eight-part podcast docuseries on the 2021 scandal involving two PSG Féminines players and its ongoing legal case.
⚖️ Congressional House members Jerry Nadler and Joaquin Castro followed up their initial letter criticizing Venu Sports with a second, stating the response they received was “insufficient” in answering concerns about collusion, privacy, and cost.
👀 Former ESPN anchor Sage Steele is suing her former CAA agents for breach of fiduciary duty, claiming the agency mishandled negotiations with ESPN following her controversial 2021 remarks about COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
🏈 Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams launched 888 Midas, an investment firm looking to capitalize on alternative opportunities in private equity, venture capital, and real estate. Following in their footsteps.
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Hi. It’s us. We’re the recommenders, it’s us.
🎧 What to listen to
🎙️ The Business Case for Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, from our pals at GOALS. We loved this episode with Liz Baker Plosser, the Editor-in-Chief of Women’s Health Magazine. Liz shares why WH’s increased coverage of women’s sports isn’t a “charity” play; rather, it’s a top business priority for the brand.
🏃 What to wear
These Nikes. The newly released Pegasus 41s are possibly the most comfortable running shoes you'll ever own. Thank us later.
🧘 Who to follow
The Underbelly Yoga. Inclusive yoga and meditation with Jessamyn will have you finding your zen in no time.
Today's email was brought to you by Aryanna Prasad and Briana Ekanem. Fact checking by Bonnie Lee. Editing by Lindsay Jost. Operations by Elisha Gunaratnam and Lisa Minutillo. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster and Alessandra Puccio. Managing edits by Molly Potter and Ellen Hyslop.