For daily Chicago Sports Tech Week updates and first access to giveaways, follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn! 📲

Instagram: @chicagosportstech

LinkedIn: Chicago Sports Tech

🚨 Chicago Sports Tech Week: Speaker Announcement

🗣️New Speaker Announced: Greg Kirkorsky

Chief Revenue Officer, ShotTracker

Greg Kirkorsky is the Chief Revenue Officer of ShotTracker, where he leads revenue strategy, enterprise sales, and strategic partnerships, helping drive major growth initiatives including a conference-wide partnership with the Big 12 Conference. With more than 30 years of experience in sports technology, data, and media, he has held executive leadership roles at SportsDataIO, SimWin Sports, and STATS LLC, where he managed a $100 million portfolio and secured partnerships with industry leaders including Google, Amazon, Apple, CBS Sports, FOX Sports, and Turner, establishing himself as a leading commercial executive in the sports data and analytics industry.

🎟️ As a member you get 15% OFF any event. Use code: CSTW15 Get your tickets for CSTW: Chicago Sports Tech Week. Tickets are limited

Events include…

• 🎙️Panel Discussions

• 🥇Startup Pitch Competition

• 🏋️‍♀️Women’s Sports Day

• 👗 Tunnel Walk Fashion Show

🗝️ All Access Pass - $399 See all the options here: https://chicagosportstechweek.com/#tickets

🎨 CSTW Tunnel Walk Designer Highlight

🗣️New Designer Announced: Able Made

Founded by Suzanne McKenzie, Able Made is a purpose-driven apparel brand that blends sport, sustainability, and social impact through thoughtfully designed products inspired by soccer culture. Their commitment to innovation and community makes them a perfect fit for CSTW, and we can't wait for attendees to experience their creative vision throughout our Tunnel Walk Fashion Show. ⚽🚀

🗓️When: Thursday, July 23

📍Where: Centre Court Production | 469 N Racine Ave, Chicago, IL 60642

📲Learn More: ABLE MADE

🏟️ Sports Business Funding & M&A — This Week

• 🔥Chicago Fire FC has expanded its partnership with Wintrust, naming the bank the club’s first Cornerstone Partner for the new McDonald’s Park stadium opening in 2028 while continuing its role as the team’s official banking partner. The agreement also strengthens community impact efforts through the P.L.A.Y.S. Program, including Financial Literacy Nights that provide youth athletes and their families with valuable financial education resources. YOUTH BUSINESS REPORT

• 🏒The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has secured its first outside investors, adding Ilitch Companies and Larry Tanenbaum’s Kilmer Sports Ventures as strategic partners to support the league’s rapid growth. The investment comes as the PWHL continues expanding beyond its original six teams, reflecting growing confidence in women’s professional hockey and its long-term business potential. YAHOO SPORTS

• 💸Sports investment firm Bruin Capital has acquired a 15% stake in Matchroom Holdings, valuing the sports promotion and media company at more than £1 billion ($1.4 billion). The deal is expected to accelerate Matchroom’s expansion in the U.S., leveraging Bruin’s expertise in sports media, broadcasting, and commercial growth while the Hearn family retains majority control of the business. SPORTICO

💵Gov Pritzker signs record nearly $56 billion budget in Chicago, including new tax on crypto, sports betting Sportsbooks already have a rocky relationship with the state of Illinois. They probably won’t be speaking terms now. Corporations like FanDuel and DraftKings, which host fantasy sports leagues, will now pay a 15% tax on receipts. This is also known as the entry fee participants pay to join fantasy leagues. The state expects to earn $5 million from this new tax. When you include the two previous tax hikes (introduced in 2024 and last year), big sportsbook operators might feel they haven’t had a chance to breathe before yet another change to how they’re taxed. Illinois is also set to become the first state to enact a per-wager transaction tax on prediction markets. It adds more fuel to the complicated battle prediction markets already face here. Summer may just be starting, but sportsbooks and prediction markets have been sweating for a while, trying to figure out how to counter the new changes. ABC 7 covers Gov. Pritzker’s marquee fiscal year 2027 budget items, including what percentage prediction markets now face in per-wager taxes.

💥Demolition begins of former women’s shelter as Chicago Cubs target expansion plans Once Catholic Charities sold its property on Grace Street to the Cubs in 2024, it opened the door to expansion possibilities. The House of Good Shepherd had been at its 1126 W. Grace St. address in Lakeview since 1907. It had been a safe haven for domestic violence victims since the ‘80s, although Catholic Charities had been in the process of consolidating its services before it sold the property. The Cubs org wants to capitalize on hosting the 2027 MLB All-Star Game while attempting to ease gameday traffic concerns for Lakeview residents. There’s some contention over whether that will actually increase congestion on gamedays, but the Cubs are beginning the process of expanding the Camry Lot anyway. There’s no turning back now. The Sun summarizes the start of demolition and the number of parking spots that will be added throughout the project.

🎭Chicago Bears announce 2026 Home Game Themes kicking off with Bears x Peanuts Kids Game Finally, Bears news that’s not related to the stadium drama! And it features everyone’s favorite cartoon dog. The Bears x Peanuts collab will kick off a season of themed gamedays, aimed at celebrating Chicago’s communities and culture. Peanuts wasn’t born in Chicago, but it was Hallmark — Hallmark opened its first retail store outside of Kansas City in Chicago — that produced the first Peanuts greeting cards in 1960. This catapulted the brand’s popularity into the mainstream. It’s been over 75 years since the first Peanuts comic strip was published, but America still loves good ol’ Charlie Brown. And even more so, Snoopy. Fans who purchase special Bears x Peanuts tickets for the Aug 15th preseason home game will get a Snoopy plush keychain charm featuring him in a Bears jersey. Hard to pass that up for any adults, even if it’s meant for kids. The Bears announced all of their upcoming themed home games for the 2026-2027 season.

🎰Brendan Sorsby won’t play for Texas Tech after unprecedented legal fight over his eligibility for gambling It’s been a wild rollercoaster of emotions for Brendan Sorsby and anyone entrenched in his battle to maintain eligibility. What’s been at stake? The integrity of college sports. Sorsby checked into a residential treatment program for gambling addiction in May. Reports revealed he made thousands of bets while in college, totaling about $90,000. Worst of all, he bet on his own school in 2022. That’s breaking the golden rule in sports and is typically an unforgivable sin. He still could’ve played after a Texas judge granted him a temporary injunction, which shocked all of college sports. After massive pushback from all corners of the NCAA, Sorsby has entered into the NFL’s supplemental draft to forgo his final year of eligibility. It would’ve been a media circus similar to Dennis Rodman throughout his NBA career. It also would’ve been a legal nightmare for Texas Tech to navigate the lawsuits that would’ve been filed had he played. The next big question will be whether any NFL teams take a gamble on a guy who bet on his own team at least 40 times. The Tribune recaps the whirlwind legal fight between Sorsby and the NCAA.

⚾️Women’s Pro Baseball League, The Realest partner on historic trading card deal WPBL commissioner and co-founder Justine Siegal said it best: “Well, I can’t imagine having a league and not having a trading card…They’re synonymous. Baseball cards and baseball.” By partnering with an upstart collectibles company like The Realest, the league can build value and connection among its fans and players from scratch. The Realest becomes the WPBL’s official memorabilia authenticator and trading card partner. Its job is to attract serious collectors while also catering to everyday fans who simply want to be part of the journey from day one. It’s not an easy task, but one The Realest feels it can handle. Building a living archive is key to making that happen. For example, it will authenticate a player’s glove, jersey, etc., from the start rather than requiring people to do so years later. The WPBL will kick off in Springfield on August 1st, bringing a historic moment locally for baseball fans everywhere to relish. The Athletic describes the philosophy behind the partnership between the WPBL and The Realest.

📈Knicks-Spurs Draws Most-Watched NBA Finals Since 1998 By now, all of the annoying Knicks-related posts have mostly died down. But the lasting impact of the Knicks-Spurs ‘99 NBA Finals rematch will be felt for a while at ESPN. Not since the ‘Last Dance’ Bulls clinched their sixth title in eight years have the NBA Finals attracted this many viewers. Despite the Knicks ending the Spurs’ season one game sooner than the Bulls did the Jazz, the series averaged 20.6 million viewers. For comparison, recent NBA Finals have struggled to consistently attract viewers in the 10-15 million range. It seems every basketball fan nationwide tuned in to watch the clutch performance Jalen Brunson put on in game five, which drew 24.5 million viewers. Both the NBA and ESPN will be thrilled if the Knicks continue to return to the Finals and bring their massive fanbase (bandwagon or not) along. Front Office Sports lays out the numbers for this year’s NBA Finals compared to the recent past.

✍️Top HS Players Kaleena Smith, Beckham Black Sign 1st-Ever Merchandising Deals with ESPN Conflict of interest or harmless strategic move? ESPN’s SportsCenter NEXT (SCNEXT) entity serves as ESPN’s official ranking evaluation system for the top high school basketball and football prospects. Prior to this merch deal, SCNEXT focused on capturing behind-the-scenes moments, recruitment decisions, and viral highlights. Evolving into a company that offers NIL deals to these same prospects raises serious questions about conflict of interest. Can you continue to trust the rankings of a company that also pays its top recruits? It’s just another example of how amateur sports are the latest frontier to get a professional makeover. Amateur sports are starting to look more like the pros than one could ever imagine just a few years ago. Bleacher Report discusses the historic merch deal ESPN is offering two Class of 2027 recruits.