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USSSA and Wilson Sporting Goods Extend Long-standing National Partnership to Elevate Baseball and Softball Experiences There’s only one home of the Louisville Slugger. If you want quality gear for baseball or softball, you hit up Wilson. For an organization that runs over 35,000 amateur events annually, it was a no-brainer. The USSA’s (The United States Specialty Sports Association) bread and butter are baseball and softball. Those are the sports it started with decades ago, before expanding into others. There was no way they were gonna settle for less. In addition to Louisville Sluggers, the USSSA will get access to Wilson’s full suite of brands to equip its youth and adult athletes. The top teams will get to use the same type of bats you’d find at Wrigley Field. The agreement expands Wilson’s presence within USSSA’s youth sports ecosystem and at its massive Space Coast Complex in Florida. To learn all of the ways one of Chicago’s oldest big brands is solidifying its presence with the USSSA, click here.

Big Ten Reportedly Close to Taking $2.4 Billion Capital Deal Despite Objections All money isn’t good money, according to USC and Michigan. Earlier, we dove into the mutual disagreement these two Big Ten schools have with the Big Ten getting into bed with private equity. To recap the deal, it would be a 20-year agreement that would provide each Big Ten school with approximately $135 million upfront. The deal is with a California pension fund, and it was initially thought to require unanimous support from all 18 Big Ten schools. However, the latest update on the situation has the Big Ten adopting a take-it-or-leave-it stance with USC and Michigan. It’s even giving them a deadline to get on board if everyone else in the conference accepts the deal. The two schools won’t be kicked out of the conference…yet. If they still don’t agree by the deadline, it could jeopardize their futures in the conference beyond the end of the current grant-of-rights agreement, which expires in 2036. This newest update shows it’s willing to take a hard-nose stance with two of its most powerful institutions. Sports Illustrated provides more insight into the deadline for a decision and info on the capital deal.

Intersport at 40: Founder Charlie Besser and his team have built reputations and collected accolades You know you’re doing something right when the likes of Roger Goodell (NFL Commissioner), Jamie Dimon (CEO of JP Morgan Chase), and Burke Magnus (ESPN president of content) are singing your praise. Many sports agencies have risen and fallen by the wayside in the four decades of Intersport’s existence. From its headquarters in New Eastside overlooking the Riverwalk, Intersport has become a dominant figure in sports over time. The agency embodies the charismatic and driven personality of its 75-year-old founder, Charlie Besser. It continues to thrive as an independent sports agency, a rarity. Besser founded the company in 1985 with a vision of serving corporate clients in the areas of his two passions: college basketball and golf. His reputation as a supreme salesman with a relentless work ethic, excellent storytelling ability, and creativity has expanded Intersport’s reach since the early days. Today, with 250 employees and hundreds of annual activations for clients, Intersport’s presence is felt throughout the sports and business worlds. Besser still owns 90% of the company and, along with president Brian Graybill, will look to ensure Intersport endures while maintaining its independence. The Sports Business Journal describes Intersport’s journey from a trend-setting startup to an industry titan with rich detail.

Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase, Luis Ortiz indicted on charges linked to illegal sports betting This year has been the year of bombshell sports betting scandals. Baseball hasn’t had any major headlines ever since the controversy surrounding Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter last Spring. The recent scandals uncovered in the NBA and college basketball have taken center stage. But not anymore. The elaborate scheme depicted by The Athletic describes how Clase had been working with co-conspirators in 2023 to throw rigged pitches, usually on the first pitch of an at-bat. Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme in June of this year. Based on what’s been uncovered so far, conspirators involved in the bets with Clase and Ortiz have won close to half a million. It is worth noting that both pitchers are maintaining their innocence, and their lawyers have issued statements welcoming the opportunity to defend their reputations. It’s a never-ending game of cat and mouse between law enforcement and illegal sports betting actors. As long as sports betting and pro sports continue to deepen their ties, no amount of legislation and scrutiny will be able to root out all of the bad actors. Hopefully, AI and other technologies don’t make it easier for bad actors to game the system.

College Hoops Accounts for Nearly 30% of Revenue-Sharing Payments In the NIL era, the rich keep getting richer. Of course, football gets the biggest slice of the pie as the most profitable college sport. But as another college hoops season begins, it’s a little surprising just how large a slice men’s and women’s college hoops are getting. Out of the allotted $20.5 million allowed in revenue sharing from Division I schools, only 7.3% or $1.5 million on average goes to sports that aren’t football or basketball-related. These ‘other’ sports total about 31 different sports. It makes recruiting the best talent that much more challenging in non-revenue-generating sports. It’s not all gloom and doom, though, for those on the outside looking in on basketball and football. Many schools continue to invest in sports with rising popularity, such as volleyball and softball. Women athletes are expected to earn over $200 million more than they do today by 2028. See other numbers behind the revenue-sharing data published by Opendorse here.

UCLA preparing to break Rose Bowl lease, move football home games to SoFi Stadium Tradition in college football used to be one of the most celebrated tenets of the sport. The classic rivalries and unique tailgating experiences nationwide would build up excitement for gameday at some of the most recognizable stadiums in college football. The Rose Bowl is one of those stadiums that could lose its luster if a deal goes through to move the Bruins to the home of the NFL’s Rams and Chargers. Tradition takes a backseat here to the financial implications of the potential move. SoFi Stadium is closer to UCLA’s Westwood campus, and the school could earn substantially more at the stadium than at the Rose Bowl. Not surprisingly, the City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Company won’t go down without a fight. A lawsuit would be almost inevitable, as the area would lose a projected $1 billion due to the economic impact of UCLA vacating what was its home stadium for over 40 years. It would be hard to imagine UCLA not playing at the iconic Rose Bowl. But then again, conference realignment has drastically altered what were once considered sacred traditions throughout college football. The Sporting Tribune outlines UCLA’s case for relocating and the potential costs associated with breaking its lease.

Fastbreak AI raises US$40m to expand smart scheduling tech Since it was founded in 2022, Fastbreak AI has revolutionized how scheduling and ticketing work for pro sports. Its AI-powered technology helps reduce travel burdens, optimize ticket sales and viewership, and result in better brand activations. It has already been used in several major leagues worldwide, including the NBA and NHL. Now it wants to expand into the underserved amateur sports circuit. It believes amateur sports represent a $55 billion opportunity. Anyone who has kids in sports knows how hectic it can be to juggle practices, games, and other team outings, with the sense that the schedule is often thrown together randomly by people without kids. Fastbreak AI believes it can connect a historically disconnected infrastructure in youth sports. Its latest fundraise demonstrates the confidence investors have in this belief. Here are the top investors in its latest Series A round and exactly how many major pro leagues Fastbreak AI is already involved with.

Source: Goldman Sachs to become majority stakeholder of Excel Sports Management As a seasoned investment bank, Goldman Sachs has been paying attention to the massive investment opportunities in sports and wants in. The acceptance of private equity in major pro sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB has whetted the appetite of financial industry titans. If a deal does get approved, it could be worth a billion. Excel has been representing some of the biggest names in pro sports for 23 years, including the likes of Tiger Woods and Caitlin Clark. Goldman Sachs would become a majority shareholder, infusing plenty of capital to ensure Excel can reach new heights. Sports have become one of the safest investments one can make when you have a few hundred million or billions to mess around with. This is demonstrated by the double-digit growth in sports franchise valuations over the past decade. The salary growth of athletes, combined with the emergence of NIL, has ushered in even more opportunities for the financial industry to capitalize on sports. The partnership will surely leave a significant imprint on both institutions. The Athletic discusses the known details of the proposed transaction.