Eyes on Chelsea; NWSL shores up partners; New agency focused on equity and opportunity and people on the move.
Major League Baseball plans to cancel another week of regular season games if it can't agree to a new CBA with the Players' Association by tonight, Tuesday night. The sides met Monday and will meet again today with the possibility of more games being canceled, hovering over the talks. And this is your morning Buzzcast for Tuesday, March 8th. Good morning. I'm Abe Madkour. Hope everybody is doing well.
Recently, someone asked me about any red flags I saw now that we are a few years in on legalized sports betting and I kept coming back to the integrity issue around competition. Well, yesterday we saw one of the clearest issues around that when Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended for at least the entire '22 season for gambling on NFL games last year. This is easily one of the most visible and severe sanctions against a player from a major sports league since PASPA was overturned.
It was reported that Ridley placed bets on NFL games in late November 2021, when he was away from the club to focus on his mental health. Here's what was reported. Ridley placed three parlay bets on the Hard Rock Sportsbook mobile app. Genius Sports, which monitors sports betting data for the NFL, alerted the league that a player might be behind those bets. The NFL's investigation found that Ridley's bets included a wager on the Falcons, the team he played for, to win. There was no evidence of any inside information used or that games were compromised, but this still speaks to the integrity of the game issue and it's something many have always feared around legalized sports betting. Ridley posted on Twitter that he doesn't have a gambling problem, but the 27 year old receiver will be out of the NFL for this upcoming season and now this issue will surely amplify attention around players and sports betting going forward. So Calvin Ridley out, suspended for at least the '22 season for gambling on NFL games last year.
Let's shift to some other news. The Ricketts family, Jets owner Woody Johnson and Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, have all been linked as being interested in the vaunted Premier League club, Chelsea. We noted last week on the Buzzcast that Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, had put the team up for sale and that the New York-based firm, The Raine Group, is overseeing the sale. Well, Woody Johnson has reportedly already spoken to The Raine Group and ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that there would be some natural synergies between both Chelsea and the Jets as the Jets were just awarded marketing rights to the UK as part of the NFL's international marketing program. Remember, Woody Johnson lived in London where he served as the US ambassador to the United Kingdom and is closely familiar with the club, but whoever is interested in Chelsea will need significant resources, as most believe the Premier League club will go for more than $2 billion. But the Ricketts family, Woody Johnson and Vivek Ranadive are just the first names floated as possibly being interested in acquiring Chelsea.
You know, we keep talking about the growing interest in international soccer clubs in the United States. Well, here's another example. All you Paris Saint-Germain fans on the east coast, get ready because you'll have a new hub to buy your favorite team gear as PSG will open a store in New York City on Fifth Avenue this month. Now Paris Saint-Germain opened its first US store in Los Angeles a year ago. That was in collaboration with Fanatics and Lids who are partners of the club, while the New York location will be the club's largest store outside of France and will add to its global retail network that includes stores in Japan, South Korea, Qatar, and now LA and New York. So a grand opening event is scheduled for March 18th in New York and again, shows great interest in global soccer clubs, especially in the United States.
We are hearing the search for a commissioner of the national women's soccer league is close to being completed, and in the meantime, there are some good business stories around the league. The NWSL has reached a new sponsorship deal with Delta Airlines, marking the league's first ever airline and travel sponsor. Now it wasn't stated if the deal includes any charter flight service for NWSL clubs or its players. NWSL Chief Revenue Officer, Mitch Poll, led talks for the league while Octagon advised Delta. Meanwhile, MasterCard and the National Women's Soccer League Players' Association will announce a new deal today, on Tuesday, that will see MasterCard increase its commitment to the league, with that commitment specifically earmarking funds for player compensation. Now MasterCard is already an exclusive sponsor of the National Woman's Soccer League, and now it's doubling down on its commitment with the deal with the Players' Association. But bottom line, both deals, Delta and MasterCard, brand names that are very well regarded and blue chip brands, these deals should easily be a boost to the NWSL.
You know, we often talk about cities working hard to recruit top sports events to their markets, and Orlando is often in the mix of the hot sports cities. Now, Orlando is in the running to host the Army-Navy Rivalry Game at Camping World Stadium as early as 2027. Now, why is this interesting? It's significant because Army-Navy is almost always played in the Northeast, largely played in Baltimore and Philadelphia. It was played in MetLife Stadium last year, but it's generally been in those markets. The game has been played more than 100 times, but it's never been played in the South, so for it to relocate would be significant. In Orlando, county commissioners will be asked today, on Tuesday, to approve a sports incentive package, to lure a range of sports events to the city. That would also include a pledge to pay a required $3 million bid fee if Orlando is picked to host the Army-Navy Game in 2027.
So one, it shows the appeal of this game and the finances around it. And two, it also shows the competition around major sports cities trying to lure major events to their marketplace. Orlando's always been in that discussion. Now they're looking to lure Army-Navy Football Game to Orlando as early as 2027.
And we'll end the Buzzcast with some noteworthy names in the news. First, agency veterans Dan Mannix and Dave Nugent, well known in the sports business, have announced their new venture. It's called Underdog Venture Team and it will serve as part VC fund and part marketing agency focused on equity and inclusion. Underdog Ventures will seek to increase diversity within the sports industry and offer access to people who they believe haven't had it. Mannix and Nugent are managing partners of Underdog Venture Team. Nicole Jeter West, who was well-known for her days at MSG, the USTA and the US Olympic and Paralympic Properties and LA28, has been named CEO and an equity partner in Underdog Venture Team. So more news to come on this, but Underdog Venture Team, focused on equity and inclusion in the sports industry.
And good things happen to good people. One of the true good people in sports is TJ Adeshola, and Twitter promoted Adeshola from Head of US Sports Partnerships to Head of Global Content Partnerships, so a big promotion there. The well-respected Adeshola was a member of SBJ's 40 under 40 class in 2020.
And SBJ today will release the latest episode of the SBJ I Factor, presented by Allied Sports. This month's episode features my interview with SMAC Entertainment CEO and co-founder, Constance Schwartz-Morini. She spent a decade at the NFL before joining Hall of Famer, Michael Strahan, and together they founded SMAC Entertainment. It's a great story of her journey. You can listen wherever you get your podcast or watch the video version on SBJ TV or YouTube. SBJ I Factor, presented by Allied Sports.
So that is your morning Buzzcast. It's Tuesday, March 8th. I'm Abe Madkour. Hope everybody has a great day. Let's pray for peace, stay healthy and be good to each other. I'll speak to you tomorrow.