Eben Novy-Williams

And here's UMass football in four charts:

Sunk-Cost Football: UMass’ Faltering Quest to Belong in the FBS UMass bought the promise of big-time football in 2011, when it joined the FBS. Fourteen brutal years later, the Minutemen are doubling down.

UMass has been FBS's worst football team since it moved up in 2012. Its struggles include spilled hydraulic fluid, a failed stint at an NFL stadium 90 miles away, and unmet "pie-in-the-sky" projections.

Now the school is doubling down. More w/ Daniel Libit 👇
www.sportico.com/leagues/coll...

This morning in the Spanish capital, Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez proposed amending the team's fan-controlled structure slightly, to allow the club to sell a passive 5% equity stake.

He believes that could provide the team $500+ million. More via Club Sportico 👇

Real Madrid is prepping a delicate balancing act The world’s most valuable soccer team has historically been unable to court new owners. Now it’s trying to raise ~$1 billion without losing its soul.

Today at @sportico.bsky.social, we're talking about the delicate balancing act underway at Real Madrid.

Can the world's most valuable soccer team court $1 billion in investment while keeping its fan-controlled structure?

club.sportico.com/p/real-madri...

Real Madrid is prepping a delicate balancing act The world’s most valuable soccer team has historically been unable to court new owners. Now it’s trying to raise ~$1 billion without losing its soul.

Today at @sportico.bsky.social, we're talking about the delicate balancing act underway at Real Madrid.

Can the world's most valuable soccer team court $1 billion in investment while keeping its fan-controlled structure?

club.sportico.com/p/real-madri...

Steph Curry is wearing Nikes?! Plus: A soccer league's existential crisis, AI ticketing, and skiing on top of the world.

Happy Monday. In this week's Pick Six, we're talking about:

👟 The two shocks of Curry's Under Armour separation
⛷️ Skiing on top of the world
🐂 Advertising that I actually enjoy watching
🎫 “Now there are sort of good bots and bad bots”
⚽ The NWSL's Rodman problem

club.sportico.com/p/steph-curr...

Apple, MLS Deal Will End in 2029 With Revised Payment Structure MLS and Apple's streaming rights agreement will now end three and half years early, letting the league explore new partners after the 2026 World Cup.

SCOOP: @jacobfeldman.bsky.social and I got details of MLS's
revised Apple deal

- Ends in June 2029 (3.5 years early)
- Apple gave up 2027 opt-out
- MLS gets: $200M in 2026, $107M for 2027 "sprint" season, $275M in final two seasons

Via @sportico.bsky.social 👇
www.sportico.com/leagues/socc...

Under Armour’s CEO Just Did the Thing He ‘Couldn’t Imagine’ Under Armour is cutting ties with Steph Curry's brand, the latest in its billion-dollar cutback of sponsorship deals with leagues, teams and athletes.

Two years ago, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank said he "couldn’t imagine Under Armour without Stephen [Curry], or Stephen without Under Armour"

Today, his company and its biggest endorser announced the unimaginable. More via @sportico.bsky.social 👇

www.sportico.com/business/com...

🚨 Sportico's F1 valuations are out 🏎️

Here's the full list, plus how each franchise compares to its next "Big Four" comp...

There’s a gambling hurricane coming for college basketball If you thought the recent NBA bet-rigging details were bad, brace yourself for what’s about to happen in college basketball.

If you thought the NBA betting scandal was bad, wait until the Feds are done with college basketball...

club.sportico.com/p/theres-a-g...

The blackmail is the real concern For the past two years, Jontay Porter has been the posterchild for dumb athlete gamblers. This week, his story grew into something else.

I wrote today about the blackmail of Jontay Porter.

The concern for the NBA and other leagues isn't that players will forever think they can get away with rigging games. It's that players will always be coerced into trying 👇

club.sportico.com/p/nba-gambli...

Inside the Dodgers’ Free-Agent Courtship of Ohtani, Sasaki Shohei Ohtani asked the Dodgers for a second batting cage. Roki Sasaki asked for Japanese toilets. Inside the MLB team's free agency conversations.

Subsribe to the Sporticast!

And read more Sportico!

www.sportico.com/leagues/base...

Two classic stories here (one about batting cages, the other about Japanese toilets) from the Dodgers' free agent courtship of Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki

The Big Ten’s $2.4 Billion Loan is on Life Support As the Big Ten vigorously debates the merits of a $2.4 billion pension fund loan, we should all be speaking differently about institutional capital and college sports.

In today's Club Sportico, we're talking about the Big Ten's $2.4 billion loan, Michigan's vociferous pushback, and the curious ways that college sports leaders talk about the creep of institutional capital...
club.sportico.com/p/the-big-te...

If there's one main takeaway from me on @sportico.bsky.social's latest NBA valuations, it's this:

The league is moving toward an NFL-style model. It's gotten closer to fixed costs, and the league-wide media distributions (now $143M) have grown into a significant revenue stream.

Have you watched All Square??

Welcome to the Great Gridiron Grind The NFL and college football are rapidly colonizing the calendar. They make more money, and you get to gorge on pigskin.

We just entered a 49-day stretch with NFL or FBS college football *every day*.

In the latest @clubsportico.bsky.social Jacob and I wrote about business levers that led to this panoply of pigskin 👇
club.sportico.com/p/nfl-colleg...

Of interest here, the contract was finalized and executed by the league's four-person executive committee, without a final vote from all owners.

Some source said that the committee was given that mandate earlier this summer. Others said they believed all owners should still vote

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman Receives 3-Year Contract Extension Jessica Berman received a 3-year extension as NWSL commissioner. The deal was executed by the league's four-person executive committee.

SCOOP: NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman has a new three-year contract, per sources. Under her guidance the league has seen large commercial growth and undergone multiple expansions. #NWSL

More via @sportico.bsky.social 👇
www.sportico.com/personalitie...

Of interest here, the contract was finalized and executed by the league's four-person executive committee, without a final vote from all owners.

Some source said that the committee was given that mandate earlier this summer. Others said they believed all owners should still vote.

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman Receives 3-Year Contract Extension Jessica Berman received a 3-year extension as NWSL commissioner. The deal was executed by the league's four-person executive committee.

SCOOP: NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman has a new three-year contract, per sources. Under her guidance the league has seen large commercial growth and undergone multiple expansions. #NWSL

More via @sportico.bsky.social 👇
www.sportico.com/personalitie...

Dash Near $120M Sale to Group Led by Son of Disappeared Chinese Mogul The NWSL's Dash are in talks to sell for $120M to Richard Hsiao's RHC Group. Hsiao, 24, is the son of imprisoned Chinese billionaire Xiao Jianhua.

SCOOP: The Houston Dash are in advanced talks to sell for $120M to RHC Group.

RHC's founder is Richard Hsiao, a 24 y/o Bucks superfan and son of a Chinese billionaire who disappeared from public in 2017 under sketchy circumstances. #NWSL

More at Sportico 👇
www.sportico.com/business/tea...

“The only person that ever made the NFL quiver” There are many reasons for the NFL’s massive success. Are we overlooking its antitrust exemption?

In today's Club Sportico essay, we're talking about a 1961 law that helps form the bedrock of the NFL's $22+ billion business.

How serious are the politicians that say the law might be under threat?

club.sportico.com/p/nfl-sports...

Big-Time Women’s Sports Are Experiencing Growing Pains The NWSL and WNBA are undergoing massive commercial growth. That hasn't come without growing pains around expansion, labor and investment.

I wrote today about growing pains at the NWSL and WNBA.

The two women's league, both undergoing rapid commercial growth, are also facing labor issues, expansion challenges, and in the soccer league's case, a real threat overseas.

www.sportico.com/leagues/socc...

🚨 Lee Corso Data Viz 🚨

As the College GameDay host approaches his final mascot pick, @sportico.bsky.social went back through all 430, dating back to Oct. 1996.

He's 286-144 (66.5%) through the years. A quick thread 🧵

This is a great series of visual breakdowns, check it out!

Lee Corso's headgear picks would be a really cool addition to his @sports-reference.com page

cc: @sportinfo247.bsky.social @sean-forman.com

Head Games: A Data Dive Into Lee Corso’s 430 Mascot Picks Lee Corso has made 430 headgear picks during his career on ESPN's College GameDay. We broke down the data from every angle possible.

Read the full Sportico story from Lev Akabas

www.sportico.com/leagues/coll...

Finally, Corso's year-by-year-breakdown.

Lee struggled in the 2015-2018 range, but has come roaring back...

Full conference by conference breakdown