In today’s newsletter we discuss Snoop Dogg providing his own unique commentary at the Paris Summer Olympics, the NCAA signs a record breaking deal with ESPN for the next 8 years, Hyperloop One shuts down after blowing half a Billion dollars, Tiger Woods might be about to lose his biggest sponsor, and Kanye West is trying to sell his gutted Malibu home for $53 million dollars

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Has Bradley Cooper Quit Acting To Sling Philly Cheesesteaks?

Business

You know the NCAA is doing something right when they are able to negotiate a 8-year, $920 million dollar contract with ESPN which comes out to $115 million annually, which represents a 300% increase from their previous 14-year deal that ESPN was paying the association worth $500 million, for an average of $35.7 million per year.

What’s this new deal cover you might be asking? Great question! We dove into the details and found this new 8-year contract will cover:

• 21 women’s and 19 men’s sports, adding tennis, track and field, men’s gymnastics

• women’s Division II and III volleyball and basketball championships

• men’s DII and DIII basketball championships.

• national championship events in Division I women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, women’s gymnastics, and the second-tier of Division I football known as FCS will be aired on ABC

Want to know one of the most interesting facts to come out of this new contract?

An estimated 57% of the value of this deal, which breaks down to $65 million annually, comes from the women’s March Madness tournament, according to the NCAA’s media consultants Endeavor’s IMG and WME Sports

The popularity of the women’s NCAA tournament has been increasing while ESPN has been carrying their tournament, and has been setting new viewership records. As an example, the title game between LSU and Iowa drew in nearly 10 millions viewers.

This new NCAA contract with ESPN does not cover the men’s basketball tournament, who’s media rights are owned by CBS and Warner Brothers Discovery in a deal that pays the association about $900 million per year and runs through 2032.

This new deal was negotiated during ESPN’s exclusive rights bargaining window, and wasn’t shopped around publicly. Could the NCAA gotten a better deal if they had opened up the negotiations to other media outlets? They didn’t think so. ESPN brought an offer that bundled a number of top-tier championships in addition to the golden-crown of the women’s NCAA championships. History was also on ESPN’s side, with their NCAA’s relationship having lasted more than 45 years, since ESPN first launched in 1979.

NCAA and ESPN ink 8-year, $920 million media rights deal

Tech

Stop me if you already predicted this a long time ago.

The futuristic project to encapsulate high-speed trains in an airtight vacuum-sealed tube, and shoot them down the tracks at speeds of up to 700 MPH, has been closed down.

Hyperloop One, which was once called Virgin Hyperloop, and was initially funded by Sir Richard Brandon, was originally ideated by none other than Elon Musk who posited that creating vacuum-sealed tubes to send passenger and cargo trains traveling at high speeds could ease congestion and be a more efficient form of transportation.

Now the company behind the project, DP World which is the Dubai-based company that owns a majority stake in Hyperloop One, has laid off nearly all of the company’s employees and is now seeking to sell all of the equipment, machinery, and the test track it built near Las Vegas.

This comes after raising almost half a billion dollars in funding since being founded in 2014.

I guess the only thing that happened fast for this company was how quickly they spend all their funding and then shut down.

Hyperloop One is reportedly shutting down

Sports

Is Tiger Woods about to lose his biggest sponsor?

Tiger Woods has been playing golf professionally for 27 years now, and he’s had his fair share of ups and downs in both his personal and professional life.

I’m reminded of that famous song by The Byrds called “Turn! Turn! Turn!”. 

There’s a great lyric in the song that goes:

“To everything turn, turn, turn

There is a season turn, turn, turn

And a time to every purpose under Heaven

A time to be born, a time to die

A time to plant, a time to reap

A time to kill, a time to heal

A time to laugh, a time to weep”

Those lyrics pretty much sums up Tiger Woods’ career.

Bear with me.

When Tiger Woods went pro in 1996 he signed a 5 year deal with Nike worth $40 million dollars all at the ripe age of 20. 

The same year Nike signed Tiger Woods they launched two brands of golf shoes associated with Tiger Woods called the Air Zoom TW and the Air Zoom Sport TW. 

Now at the age of 47 years old Tiger Woods’ most recent deal with Nike is a 10 year contract for $200 Million dollars with a capital M!

Over that time it is estimated that Nike paid Tiger Woods somewhere between $350 to $400 million dollars.

Throughout his career Tiger Woods has won some pretty impressive awards and achievements including:

• Won 82 official PGA Tour events

• Won 15 Majors

• He’s amassed the most career earnings of any player in PGA Tour history

• He’s the only player to have won all 4 professional major championships in a row in the 2000–2001 seasons. This feat even became known as the "Tiger Slam".

• He’s been the PGA Player of the Year a record 11 times.

• He’s been the PGA Tour Player of the Year a record eleven times.

• He’s been the PGA Tour Money Leader a record ten times.

• He’s been the Vardon Trophy winner a record nine times.

• And he’s been the recipient of the Byron Nelson Award a record nine times.

I could actually go on, and on, and on, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about today.

Back to his contract with Nike.

All things are pointing toward Nike closing down their Golf division, and with that they would be ending their sponsorship deals with Tiger Woods, along with a host of other players including Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Brook Koepka.

But why is Nike shutting down their Golf division if they have a star like Tiger Woods that they are sponsoring?

Well, the answer has to do with both economics and aging. You see, Nike’s Golf division hasn’t been doing too well for years. In 2016 Nike stopped producing golf equipment, and Tiger Woods was forced to switch to TaylorMade clubs and Bridgestone balls as a result.

Nike’s sales of Golf products stopped growing in 2016, and they had their worst sales year since they got into the Golf industry in 2011. Around that same time Tiger Woods was in a rut. He hadn’t played Golf professionally in over a year around that time, and other players on Nike’s roster like Rory McIlroy weren’t doing too hot either. 

Things just weren’t going Nike’s way.

And Tiger Woods’ personal and professional life weren’t what they once were. He got divorced in August of 2010 after a tumultuous end to their relationship that I won’t even get into here except to say that when an athlete or public figure with a squeaky clean reputation gets caught having a series of extramarital affairs, then loses a bunch of their blue-chip corporate sponsors, and their significant other divorces them, it tends to have a negative effect on their public image, financial contracts, and quality of their playing.

So that brings us to December of 2023. Tiger Wood’s contract with Nike, that he signed in 2013 for a rumored $200 Million dollars, is set to expire. Most endorsement deals run on a calendar year from January 1 to December 31, which means that in all likelihood Tiger Woods’ contract with Nike was set to expire at the end of 2023. 

In December Tiger Woods was spotted wearing Nike clothes, and in an interview he was asked to clarify his current relationship with Nike, and he said “I’m still wearing their product" and just left it at that.

So yea, that sounds like someone that not only doesn’t want to answer the question, but also doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize his current contract or any hope of it being extended.

So what could happen if Nike doesn’t renew their endorsement deal with Tiger Woods? 

Well, it’s probably safe to say another sports brand would be happy to take Nike’s place. 

I imagine brands like TaylorMade, Bridgestone, Titleist, and Adidas would be happy to slide a big 10 year, 9-figure contract over to Tiger Woods, but it’s also just as likely that brands may want to play it cautiously. Tiger Woods hasn’t exactly been at the top of his game lately (pun intended). And while he’s had some successes both on and off the green, he’s nothing compared to his old self when he was crushing it at the Masters each year.

Just like those famous lyrics sing “To everything turn, turn, turn” it’s now Tiger Woods turn to choose the next steps in his career.

Is Tiger Woods's Nike Contract Over?

Entertainment

Does Snoop Dogg have his mind on the Olympics and the Olympics on his mind?

There’s news that the “Gin and Juice” rapper Snoop Dogg will be providing on-site reports at the Paris Summer Olympics that kick off in  Paris, France on Fri, Jul 26, 2024, according to NBC.

I have no doubt that Snoop Dogg’s reports will be hysterical, although no doubt watered down so they are safe for broadcast on NBC’s Olympic coverage.

Snoop Dogg, born Calvin Broadus, will provide coverage of what’s going on in Paris, “he’ll explore the city’s iconic landmarks, attend Olympic competitions and events, and visit with the athletes, their friends, and families” according to NBC.

In a statement that screams it was written by a PR professional, Snoop Dogg is quoted as saying “I grew up watching the Olympics and am thrilled to see the incredible athletes bring their A-game to Paris.”

Whether Snoop Dogg really grew up watching the Olympics is up for debate, but he sure does seem pumped to bring his own style to NBC’s Olympic coverage saying “We’re going to have some amazing competitions and, of course, I will be bringing that Snoop style to the mix. Peace and Olympic LOVE, ya dig?”

So there you have it. Snoop Dogg will now be providing in-depth Olympic coverage and color commentary on the Paris Summer Olympics this year in his own unique doggy-style. 

Snoop Dogg joins NBC’s Paris Olympics team

Real Estate

Oh Kanye, as if we need any more proof that you’re not psychologically stable.

From the man you brought us the club banger “Jesus Walks”, Kanye West is now trying to unload his gutted Malibu home, and he’s asking an insane $53 million dollars for the bare, gutted, completely demolished home.

What do you get for such a good deal? 

Bare, cold, concrete structure with a roof, but not much else. Removed are the doors and windows, all of the kitchens and bathrooms, and more of the electrical.

What you do get is one heck of a view from the ocean-front Malibu home.

Oh yea, and a blank canvas to do your own interior design and architecting, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Surely he won’t receive any offers at or even close to the asking price of $53 million. And he can forget about ever recouping the $57 million in cash he paid for the home before he destroyed/demoed it down to its bare frame.

Now what you’d call a good business decision, but then again when was the last time Kanye West made a good choice?

Kanye West Is Asking $53 Million for His Tadao Ando-Designed Malibu Home

So much news, so little time. Until tomorrow we’re signing out.

— Chris