LIV Golf's surprise reveal; RBC "disappointed" in DJ; Gerry Cardinale's growing portfolio and Charlotte spends on Hornets and Spectrum Center.
New data released today from IEG Sponsorship Intelligence shows that cryptocurrency brands spent more than $130 million on NBA sponsorships during the 2021-22 season. That is up from less than 2 million in sponsorship from the previous season. Talk about growth. The crypto category now represents one-third of all new NBA sponsorship deals. In one year, the crypto category move from 43rd to become the second highest spending sector in the NBA behind only technology. I can't believe such growth around an exciting yet uncertain category. See more NBA sponsorship data today in SBJ Daily and on sportsbusinessjournal.com.
And this is your Morning Buzzcast for Wednesday. Yes, it's Wednesday, June 1st. Hard to believe. Happy hump day. On a short week, I'm Abe Madkour. Let's get right to the news. Last night, Tuesday night, LIV Golf released its first roster of players committed to its inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series event, which will be played next month outside of London. And there were some surprises, and early indications are the field is stronger than many believed it would be. More than a dozen PGA Tour players, including two-time major champ Dustin Johnson, are included in the field. And the total list is of 42 players, and it includes long-time PGA Tour players, many of the names you'll recognize, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Charl Schwartzel, Kevin Na. So those players have all committed.
Now, six-time major champ Phil Mickelson was not included on the initial list of players released on Tuesday. LIV Golf had previously said its events would include 48 players. And so right now, there's about six spots still open. The final six spots will be filled by personal invites from Greg Norman, and that invite could include one for Phil Mickelson. Norman said in a statement last night that free agency has finally come to golf and it's easily Dustin Johnson who is the biggest surprise in the LIV Golf field, considering in February, he publicly committed to the PGA Tour. His agent in a statement last night said that Johnson felt it was in his family's best interest to pursue this opportunity, and it was too compelling to pass up, i.e., reading between the lines. I read that as the money was just too good to pass up. Remember, total prize money for the eight events will be $255 million, and each regular season tournament will have a total purse of $25 million, which is the richest in pro golf.
Now, the other interesting wrinkle to keep an eye on is that Dustin Johnson right now is being used in promotions for next week's RBC Canadian Open. That coincides with the LIV Golf event in London, and Dustin Johnson as an RBC ambassador, he won that tournament in 2018. RBC released a statement last night saying that it was "extremely disappointed in his decision," but "we wish him well." So keep an eye on the relationship between Dustin Johnson and RBC.
Meanwhile, Jack Nicklaus reiterated that he met with organizers of LIV Golf, but had no interest in being the face of the rival tour, saying he had zero interest in wanting to do something like that. The money wasn't important to him and that his allegiance has always been to the PGA Tour. But now, this story about LIV Golf and the PGA Tour gets far more interesting as the first player field is released.
Let's move on to some more global news. Gerry Cardinale's US investment firm RedBird Capital has agreed to a $1.3 billion deal to buy Serie A team, AC Milan, from the hedge fund Elliott. Now, this transfer to new ownership will take place over the summer with an expected closing no later than September. So Gerry Cardinale's RedBird Capital gets a major stake in a major franchise because this club has traditionally been a top performer, and it joins RedBird Capital's growing sports portfolio. Remember, RedBird already is an investor in Fenway Sports Group, which of course is the Red Sox and Liverpool. But RedBird capital also has a controlling stake in the French football club Toulouse. So the bottom line is Gerry Cardinale, a name you want to keep your eye on, he just became a more global power player in team ownership.
Let's move to some tennis news. God, I could not take my eye off the Nadal-Djokovic match last night. I was happy for Rafa. Great tennis. Let's stay with tennis because I am surprised how much I'm asked about the Western & Southern Open. That is the tennis tournament based in Cincinnati where the men's sanction is up for sale. Our Brett McCormick reports today that bids to purchase that ATP sanction have been whittled down considerably, but there are offers as high as $250 million that were received during the initial bidding process with at least a half dozen at $200 million or higher. Now, that is something else because the USTA bought the Western & Southern Open for roughly $12.6 million in 2009. And now, it's getting offers north of $200 million. So you see the energy and the interest around this tournament.
Sources confirm that Ben Navarro, who owns the Credit One Charleston Open WTA Tour stop, which is a very well-regarded event, put in a bid for the Western & Southern Open's ATP sanction. Now, the USTA has not committed to selling the sanction. It's only testing the market, but you see interest in the market. This is an event, again, that sources say spins off a very healthy profit every year. And while there's not a lot of talk about the event moving, it is possibly mobile. So you want to keep your eye on this deal for the Western & Southern Open's ATP sanction, because it's getting a lot of interest in the industry.
A big win last night for the Charlotte Hornets as the city of Charlotte is proposing $215 million in investments that would upgrade the team's home at the Spectrum Center and build the Hornets a practice facility for $60 million. As part of the deal, the city would extend its lease with the team through 2045. The current lease is expected to expire in 2030. Now, the city of Charlotte owns the arena, and it is responsible for its maintenance and upkeep. So the city has an incentive here to invest in the building. This is a big win for the Hornets. Construction is expected to begin this summer. It'll take three to four years. The money for the renovations will come from the city's tourism tax and tourism dollars. That's rental car and hotel taxes, and it won't affect the city's general fund. Bottom line, a good deal for the Charlotte Hornets who will get upgrades at Spectrum Center and a new practice facility over the next few years.
And finally, as we end the Buzzcast, a name in the news to know. It looks like Boston College will introduce former University of Miami athletic director Blake James to be the school's new AD. This news was first reported by Pete Thamel of ESPN. And an introduction of James could be made as early as Thursday. So James spent nearly 10 years as athletic director in Miami. He was dismissed in November. James would replace Pat Kraft, who left Boston College to replace Sandy Barbour at Penn State. He will join Penn State this month. Kraft's departure means that BC was looking for its third athletic director in three years. Now comes Blake James. He has ties to the Northeast. He was athletic director at Maine from 2003 to 2010. And by being at Miami for a decade, Blake James, he does understand the ACC, and he should provide some stability to Boston College, which has lost Martin Jarmond to UCLA and Pat Kraft to Penn State. So Blake James looking to be the new athletic director at Boston College.
So that is your Morning Buzzcast. It's Wednesday, June 1st. I'm Abe Madkour. Hope everybody has a great day. Stay healthy. Be good to each other. I'll speak to you tomorrow.