Weekly Newsletter 5/31
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INNOVATION IN ACTION
A RECORD SALE IN THE SPORTS INDUSTRY
The sale of Chelsea Football Club is complete and is now in the history books as the highest price ever paid for a sports team. Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly purchased the English Premier League club for 2.5 billion pounds ($3.5 billion). Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, the former owner of the Chelsea club, was forced to sell the club in March after being sanctioned by the British government for enabling the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The proceeds of the sale will be used for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine. Boehly is the latest in a growing list of American business owners to purchase a European soccer club. Ownership groups like Boehly and the Dodgers that are able to own multiple clubs and create a global footprint will be able to capitalize on diverse revenue streams in new markets.
Sports Innovation Lab Events
JOIN US FOR AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT OUR LATEST PIECE OF GROUNDBREAKING RESEARCH
Last week we unveiled our Top 25 Most Innovative Teams in the World 2022 Rankings. You can learn more about the rankings and the global set of teams by downloading our report. The second iteration of our Most Innovative Teams list takes a look at the global leaders in Revenue Diversification, Technology Enablement, and Organizational Agility. Register for a virtual in-depth look into our report hosted by our Head of Innovation Abe Stein a week from today on June 7th from 11-12pm ET.
The Fan Project Spotlight
CHANGING WHAT'S POSSIBLE FOR AMATEUR ATHLETES
Recently, Adidas announced that the company would be offering NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals to any of the universities that partner with the athletic brand. Stanford golfer, Rose Zhang, not only claimed an NCAA Championship last week, but she also became the first collegiate athlete to sign an NIL deal with Adidas. Zhang, past champion of both the U.S. Women’s Amateur and Girls’ Junior (titles/tournaments), was also the first NIL ambassador for Callaway. She's added a deal with USGA partner American Express ahead of her fourth consecutive U.S. Women’s Open. Zhang will sport the logo of local North Carolina shop Eloise Trading Company on her bag throughout the major as part of American Express’ commitment to support female-owned small businesses.