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🏟️ Sports Tech Deals

💲 Sports betting tax becomes battleground between Chicago and state lawmakers It’s the worst-kept secret in Illinois politics: Chicago and Springfield lawmakers aren’t the biggest fans of each other. Mayor Johnson and Gov. Pritzker have been on opposite sides of several issues, despite their shared Democratic affiliations. The sports betting tax is yet another one. Since the Sports Wagering Act was passed in 2019, Illinois has enacted two additional laws that have increased the tax burden on sportsbooks. It has earned the state hundreds of millions in tax revenue, but the latest law passed last year decreased the total number of bets placed. Now that Chicago wants a slice of the tax revenue pie, state lawmakers are scrambling to close a loophole that could allow other municipalities to enact their own sports betting tax laws. State lawmakers argue that if cities like Chicago make it even more expensive for bettors to place bets than they themselves have already made it, everyone will lose. Bettors will turn to illegal sources or even other states to place bets, further eroding tax revenue. Can’t blame Chicago for trying. They are looking near and far for ways to plug the holes in the city’s massive budget deficit. Crain’s reports on the growing schism between Chicago and state lawmakers.

🏀 Angel Reese joined the ownership group of the NBL’s Brisbane Bullets Angel Reese uses her 6’7” wingspan for more than just snatching rebounds. She’s stretching her growing business empire across a new timezone. Reese was in Brisbane, Australia, in March to announce a partnership between her sponsor Reebok and the WNBL, Australia’s professional women’s basketball league. She ended up deciding to join the club’s ownership group as well. This is the second team Reese has become a part owner of, and her third venture into ownership overall. She is also a part-owner of DC Power Football Club and the media and commerce company TOGETHXR. She’s taken little time off in between WNBA seasons to relax, instead constantly expanding her influence and business dealings between shots and rebounds. The partnership with the Brisbane Bullets is a natural pivot for her to grow the game of basketball internationally. From Baton Rouge to Chicago to Brisbane, Reese continues to demonstrate how to make business moves while establishing herself as a household name as an athlete. The NBL announces the partnership with Reese on their homepage here.

⚾️ The White Sox Are Selling Ticket Packages For $5 A Game — But There’s A Catch For South Siders, there’s been little to look forward to during the Sox’s painful, long-lasting rebuild. In its second season as a special package, the BallPark Pass offers some silver lining. It won’t guarantee improved play on the field, but it will be kind to the wallets of those who take up the deal. The deal is a 28-game ticket package for April and May for only $5 per game. Fans won’t know the exact location of their seats until 24 hours before the game, but low-attended games promise 100-level seats. It’s the type of marketing promotion done by a club looking to revive its fanbase during tough times. Of the major professional Chicago teams, Sox fans have probably had it the roughest in recent years. Especially after setting the dubious record for most losses in a season a couple of years ago. Props to the marketing department for the creative push to put butts in seats. But as their crosstown rivals in Wrigleyville know from recent history, the best way to solve attendance issues is to put a winning team on the field. The Sox don’t seem any closer to that than they did a couple of years ago. Block Club Chicago mentions the catch for Sox fans looking to capitalize on the ticket package deal.

🍺 Chicago Blackhawks to play in Germany for their 1st overseas games since 2019 Despite no German players on the roster, the Hawks will play in Germany next season. Why? Because they are one of the NHL’s most beloved, iconic franchises. When the Hawks are up, everyone wins. As their resurgence continues under coach Jeff Blashill, the NHL wants to ensure they are at the forefront of its international commercial interests. Europe has always been a central destination for the NHL for overseas games. It’s due to the large presence of European NHL players, hailing from countries like Sweden. Germany represents the highest-growth-potential market in Europe for the NHL among countries with a significant enough share of the population that plays hockey. The NHL is planning three consecutive seasons of hockey in Germany and has selected the Hawks as one of the teams to spearhead its efforts there. The Sun Times highlights who the Hawks will play and other facets of their international efforts.

🦃 NFL exploring new Thanksgiving Eve game as early as this season Expansion is a word that has become synonymous with the NFL. No other league has been anywhere near as aggressive in expanding its presence both statewide and beyond U.S. borders. It has made the NFL Draft, an offseason event, as exciting as the start of other leagues’ regular seasons. And it stole Christmas Day away from the NBA, as subtly as a thief breaking into your home wearing tap shoes. Thanksgiving Day has been the NFL’s prized possession for decades; now it wants the day before it, too. The interest comes two-fold. For one, the NFL’s Thanksgiving Day games and now Black Friday games have been some of its most-watched regular-season games for years. Of course, they want more of that. Second, as part of its equity stake in the deal with ESPN, the NFL has four games it got back from ESPN that it needs to sell. Why not throw them in during a week where many Americans are working little (and some are looking for distractions from in-laws)? Just about every new strategy the NFL has attempted to expand its empire has struck gold, so there’s no reason to believe this won’t succeed as well. The Athletic summarizes the NFL’s intent to add Thanksgiving Eve games and identifies the most likely teams to play.

📺 NBA Explores Launching Streaming RSN Hub For 2026/27 New name, same old issues. Main Street Sports Group is the crumbling offshoot of Diamond Sports Group. DSG was the regional sports network conglomerate that, as we’ve discussed, owned the local broadcasting rights of several MLB teams. It lost them after declaring bankruptcy in 2023. Main Street was formed from the bankruptcy, but the same financial issues that plagued DSG also haunted MSSG. Its woes have spilled over into the NBA. At least 13 teams need to revamp their local broadcasting strategies on the fly as MSSG nears insolvency. The NBA has taken charge in trying to contain the damage from the likely bankruptcy of MSSG by looking to pool several teams’ local broadcast rights to a more stable partner. Prime candidates include Amazon, YouTube TV, and DAZN. If successful in pooling the local broadcast rights of several teams together, it could turn an undesirable situation into a win for the NBA. Hoops Rumors covers which teams are facing a change in their local broadcast strategy and how this could affect the NBA’s current media strategy.

🔋Niners DE Bryce Huff announces retirement at 27, starts company to fight lithium battery fires Many pro athletes are forced out of the game they love to play due to injuries or age. For many, that sport is all they know, and they would feel lost without it. Not for Bryce Huff. He’s retiring a year before the age at which many athletes are considered to be in their prime. Not to overlook the fact that he’s leaving $17 million on the table by retiring. His new company, Naberstone, will fight lithium-ion battery fires as his new occupation. It’s a bold, philanthropic venture that aims to tackle a problem that may not be on many people’s radar. It is on Huff’s radar since he lives in California, which has the highest concentration of battery storage capacity in the nation. As a result of this high concentration, California has the highest number of major utility-scale battery fire incidents. It has had 12 since 2012, according to the American Clean Power Association. It’s always a surprise to hear of guys retiring from a pro sport so young, as Drew Dalman did recently with the Bears. Good luck to Huff in what sounds like a passion project that could improve humanity. Yahoo Sports relays Huff’s statement about retiring and what helped lead to his decision.

🤑 How Conferences Cash In on March Madness March Madness brings a time where people hope to beat the 1 in 120 billion odds of filling out a perfect bracket. On the other hand, the teams and conferences playing in the Big Dance have much better odds of cashing in on their participation. If you ever wondered, March Madness is big business for the NCAA, the conferences, and the schools that participate. For fiscal year 2024-2025, March Madness earned $1.4 billion in revenue, which was a new record. The NCAA then distributes 60% of this revenue to the D1 schools and conferences based on performance. Conferences earn money for every automatic qualifier/conference tournament winner and for teams of that conference that earn at-large bids. The SEC was the big winner of last year’s tournament. It earned $26 million from the 14 teams it sent to the Big Dance. The conference then earned another $44 million for the combined 22 wins the SEC teams racked up during the tournament, bringing the total to $70 million. March Madness has always been big business for the NCAA. Understanding just how big a role it plays on the bottom line of conferences brings an entirely new perspective to the business side of the tournament. Learn more about how and when conferences get paid out from March Madness through Front Office Sports.

🤢 This Massive Chicago Sports Bar Is Hosting A ‘Malort Madness’ Cocktail Tournament For March Madness 2026 Are you tired of losing money on March Madness, year after year? It might be time to switch to a different tournament that guarantees no regrets or second-guessing picks. The West Loop’s Recess is kicking off what it hopes to be an annual tradition honoring a Chicago-born liqueur. On Thursdays and Sundays throughout March Madness, Malort-based cocktails will square off in the ultimate quest to determine the supreme mix. Guests will vote on their favorite selection at the bar, and the finale will also include a prize drawing. It’s a wonder no one else has come up with something like this, which is a uniquely Chicago twist on a classic. Secret Chicago relays how many Malort cocktails are in the running and specific dates to expect for the contest.

🤖SportIQ Raises $6.2M in Series A Funding, backers include KB Partners Tomorrow’s hoopers may be able to use tech to never lose to their older siblings or dads again. SportIQ is a startup focused on tracking and improving over 190 data points for the most serious ballers. Using its AI-powered platform and smart game ball, players can track their progress and receive coaching tips from the app. The growth potential of this technology has excited several VC firms, including Chicago’s own KB Partners. SportIQ raised 66% of the total funds it has raised for growth and expansion in this Series A Funding round alone. AI’s continued evolution sparks fear among some that it will replace jobs, but it also creates opportunities like this one. SportIQ democratizes performance-enhancing technology for all ages and income levels, not just professionals. Find out who else is invested alongside KB Partners and what specific data points SportIQ tracks.

🏟 Community groups say they’ve been shut out of development talks around new Chicago Fire FC stadium Images from the groundbreaking ceremony on March 3rd paint a picture of a joyous, universally celebrated event. Mayor Johnson, Fire Owner Joe Mansueto, and three others posed with shovels in hand as part of the groundbreaking ceremony to commence construction on the new stadium. The newly formed CBA 78 (Community Benefits Agreement for 78 Coalition) would disagree with that picture. Its aim is to ensure that the surrounding neighborhoods around the 78 will have their voices heard regarding the project's community-based benefits. The group claims their concerns have been ignored. Related Midwest says it has hosted over 50 meetings since 2017. It also maintains a detailed list of community-based benefits it promises to deliver as a result of the project. With mega projects like this one, what gets advertised or promised sometimes is vastly different from what actually happens. For CBA 78, a seat at the table is the bare minimum that they demand before their neighborhoods are transformed right in front of their eyes. WGN details what Related Midwest has promised from the project and the community’s reaction.

📺 Bipartisan Senate bill would let colleges pool media rights Fixing college sports has become a popular tagline. It rings loudly not only among nostalgic fans but also on Capitol Hill. Congress recognizes the major obstacles currently facing college sports, where Olympic and women’s sports face roster and scholarship cuts due to a lack of revenue. Even the biggest conferences, like the Big Ten, are facing ever-rising expenses, forcing tough decisions that could negatively impact student-athletes. The possible solution? Passing a bill that’ll allow conferences to voluntarily pool media rights. In theory, this could help everyone capitalize more on college football's power as a revenue generator. It could bring in more money collectively, which would allow more to be allocated to save the smaller sports hanging on by a thread. It seems like an ambitious, idealistic solution coming from a good place (shockingly, a bipartisan one). But it seems like a long shot at best. It’s hard to imagine the Big Ten and SEC, with their multi-billion dollar media rights contracts of their own, agreeing to pool their rights into a basket with much smaller conferences. There would have to be some gigantic incentives to get the biggest conferences to join in. Here is more info on the proposed bipartisan bill.

🎲 DraftKings plans to launch an all-encompassing sports and casino app In an industry where the full growth potential hasn’t even begun to be captured, DraftKings wants as much of the upside as possible. The No. 1-rated Sportsbook nationwide wants to launch a Super App that brings everything it offers into one platform. Sportsbook, casino, predictions, and lottery would be easily accessible within the DraftKings app. Enhanced by AI, DraftKings expects the changes to make a seamless, enjoyable experience for its millions of users. The company expects to achieve at least a 30% increase in adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) over the long term, a generous projection bolstered by the national landscape of online sports betting. Even though states like Georgia, California, and Texas still restrict online sports betting, all three allow sports event contracts. With the industry projected to reach 12 figures, DraftKings is positioning itself to reap the most gains through its consolidated platform. Businesswire presents exactly how much the industry is expected to grow by 2030 and provides more details on DraftKings’ Super App.