Ben Johnson's Big Pay Day | AI Judges are Here

Get up to speed with latest news impacting the sports business landscape in Chicago and beyond. 🗞️ 

😀 Bears hire a new head coach. Are they splurging $13 million on him? When the Bears started yet another search for a head coach, few thought they would land a hotly pursued candidate. It is the same organization that praised Matt Eberflus before the season, only to make him the first head coach in team history to be fired midseason. And don’t forget they had a 5 week headstart to the coaching search and just a couple of weeks ago, it seemed they would end up with another subpar option at the helm of the team. But it seems like they finally found the right guy, but it won’t be cheap. Former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was named the new head coach last week. Reports are surfacing he could make as much as $13 million a year. We’re still waiting on official numbers from the contract, but it wouldn't be a surprise if the Bears broke the bank to secure his signature. Johnson was one of the, if not the most, coveted head coaching candidates of the offseason. NBC Sports explores typical pay rates for a new head coach and how much the 38-year-old could make in his new role.

😢 Startup investments still sluggish in Chicago The Chicago startup investment market has been reluctant to warm up to previous levels. At its height in 2021, 481 Chicago startups received funding. In 2024, funding for Chicago startups hit $2.5 billion, but for 11% fewer startups than in 2023. One of the vital factors in attracting new investors is profit from previous investments. When budding companies open to initial public offerings, investment dollars usually flock to seek potential upside. Chicago startup investments experienced the same uptick in funding in 2021 that the housing market went through after COVID restrictions were lifted. Crain’s breaks down how Chicago’s startups have fared in funding over the past 8 years and who’s investing the most in our local startups.

❤️ Cubs' charitable arm taps new executive director “A new era of excellence” is a phrase that hasn’t been used in a while to describe the Cubs. Technically, it’s still not being used with the team itself, but to describe a new hire on the charitable side of business. Cubs Charities announced the hiring of a new executive director this past week. Lea Jesse is a veteran executive of non-profit organizations. She was the CEO of a non-profit for over 5 years before the Cubs, which raised $2.2 million to help support local youth get involved with golf. Cubs Charities supports local baseball and softball programs in the Greater Chicago area. This press release details how much the nonprofit has raised since 2003 and how many children are impacted.

🤑 Tech Incubator Enhancement Grants Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity announced $7 million in funding for the Tech Incubator Enhancement Grants Program (TIEG). This initiative aims to modernize and revitalize tech incubators across Illinois, including those in Chicago, to support entrepreneurship and innovation in key growth industries such as life sciences, quantum computing, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and agtech. Existing incubators and new ones focusing on these industries are encouraged to apply for grants ranging from $10,000 to $3 million.

🙃 NFLPA Investigating Own Role in OneTeam Amid Corruption Allegations Instead of preparing for questions about player contracts at the pre-Super Bowl press conference, the National Football League’s Player Association (NFLPA) will field questions about its role in alleged corruption. The NFLPA is part of a joint venture with the players’ unions of other major U.S. pro sports like the NBA and MLS. They combine to form OneTeam, which handles off-the-field dealings for players like sponsorships and group licensing. Although the NFLPA isn’t being accused of corruption itself, their partner in the joint venture the MLBPA is. The NFLPA finds itself in a guilty-by-association situation. The whistleblower filing the corruption charges claims the OneTeam board, mainly pointing out the MLBPA, improperly conducted business in ways that benefitted board members. The charges could seriously impact the NFLPA’s business dealings, despite their lack of involvement in the corruption allegations. See what unfolded to lead to the corruption charges.

⛳️ LIV Golf Lands Multi-Year TV Deal Will Be Shown Live This Year LIV Golf upgraded their media rights deal from side-chick status to wifey material. The Saudi-backed golf league signed a deal with Fox Sports that will broaden the options that fans have to watch their favorite golfers. LIV Golf had been previously shown on CW Network for 2 years but on a revenue-sharing agreement. This deal will broadcast tournament rounds on at least one of 5 different Fox-owned networks. No figures were disclosed, but it can be assumed anything involving Saudi Arabia involves a lot of zeroes. Find out how many events are scheduled and other details surrounding the agreement.

🏀 F1 for Basketball: Maverick Carter behind fundraising efforts, not Lebron James A well-oiled machine like the NBA is tough to compete against. Maverick Carter, Lebron James’ childhood friend and business partner, is leading a group of investors to potentially challenge the NBA but on a larger scale. The yet-to-be-named league is seeking $5 billion to create an international league, described as the “F1 of basketball”. Men’s and women’s teams would play in 8 cities, traveling the globe in locations as far-reaching as Singapore. Not much is known so far, but it is clear that Lebron James isn’t involved…yet. He’s shown throughout the years he’s unafraid to invest outside of what he does in the NBA so it wouldn’t be surprising if he did eventually join in. Front Office Sports talks about who is raising the money with Maverick Carter and how the company he runs with Lebron James is doing.

🤖 The X Games in Aspen introduced an experimental use of artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in judging halfpipe snowboarding events. This initiative, led by X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom and Google co-founder Sergey Brin, utilizes Google Cloud's AI tools to analyze extensive footage and judging criteria. While the AI's assessments did not influence official scores this year, the technology aims to enhance objectivity and reduce human error in future competitions. Ok now do AI NFL refs who can call a Patrick Mahomes flop when they see one.