When it comes to money in sports, the past 11 months did not disappoint, featuring exorbitant valuations for North American teams, record-setting contracts for athletes and broadcasters alike, and a media rights deal that got a basketball league paid.
In the spirit of another robust online platform’s annual ‘Wrapped’ recap, here are the Top 5 most listened to sports business stories of the year.
1 – NBA Media Rights Deal
For months Adam Silver, the commissioner of the National Basketball Association negotiated with suitors, including the two incumbents – Disney (ABC and ESPN), and Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT). In the end Disney was joined by NBCU (NBC and Peacock) and Amazon (Prime Video). TNT, an important league broadcaster dating back to the 1980s, was dumped.
The new contract kicks in for the 2025-26 season and represents an increase of nearly 160% from the previous deal. In total, the NBA and its teams will bring in USD $76 billion over the next 11 years.
This obviously raises profits for owners and players, as there is a defined split of revenues. During the course of the deal, it is likely the first player to earn $75 million in a year will emerge.
More importantly, the deal signals the undeniable arrival of streamers as live sports carriers. Amazon already carries exclusive NFL games and it will be the same for the NBA.
Brad Adgate wrote in Forbes that, “at a time when viewers continue to migrate toward streaming platforms, live sports have become the most important programming genre on linear television, helping to explain the interest in NBA media rights. In 2023 NFL games accounted for 93 of the 100 most watched telecasts.”
The future has arrived for sports broadcasting.
2 – The Las Vegas Super Bowl
Patrick Mahomes pulled it off on the field yet again, and the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl for the third time in five years. But financially, there was no bigger winner than the city of Las Vegas, which played host to The Big Game for the first time.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority by Applied Analysis reported that consumer actions, including hotels, restaurants, merchandise, shopping and gambling resulted in USD $1 billion of spending in the city. The average visitor spent an average of $2,660 according to Forbes.
123.7 million couldn’t attend the game in Vegas but watched it on TV. NPR reported that a :30-second commercial spot cost $7 million. So while the bookies did well, so did the networks, and the league.
3 – Tom Brady’s debut as a TV analyst
He won the Super Bowl a record seven times and was the MVP of the game five times … also a record. In 23 years as an NFL quarterback he earned over USD $330 million in salary.
A pittance. At least compared with the contract that kicked in this year to call games on Fox. His 10-year, $375-million dollar deal means he will earn more on television than he did as the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) quarterback on the field.
Not only that, but his success in the broadcast booth will mirror his dominance over his opponents on the field. The next highest paid broadcaster is ESPN’s Troy Aikman at $18 million a year. He won three Super Bowls as quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s. Both on the field and in the broadcast booth Aikman is massively successful, but Brady more than doubles his totals in wins and salary.
Brady just recently made waves as an announcer during the exciting Buffalo Bills-Los Angeles Rams game where he first guessed and then questioned the late-game decisions made by the Bills that cost them the game.
Fox believes the cost of Brady is worth it.
4 – Paris Olympics
The cost of hosting an Olympiad is beyond extravagant. Deciphering the overall revenue and impact of the Games on a city and community isn’t a simple science. While the Paris Games were considered a rousing success by many observers and critics, it’s still hard to know if it was profitable for Paris and France in general, not to mention the cacophony of sponsors that paid for the exposure.
CNBC reported that “the Games left a positive economic mark on Paris.” A projected USD $12 billion in revenue was to be created for local industry.
According to AP, “government data shows that some 1.7 million international visitors came during the Olympic period.” This represented a 13% increase from the year before. “Another 1.4 million French tourists visited the capital.” But while so much consumer money was spent on travel and accommodation, stores and restaurants reported that sales plummeted. There wasn’t much time for shopping or sightseeing.
Airline sponsors who paid big bucks for the Olympic association lost millions. According to Sportico, “Delta is one of the primary U.S. Olympic Team sponsors as part of multiyear sponsorship program costing it $400 million. Its planes seemed mainly to be carrying athletes. In its earnings reported in October, Delta said U.S. travelers’ avoidance of Paris around the Olympics resulted in a $100 million revenue hit on its French routes.”
But perhaps the biggest investor – and winner – of all in the Olympics is NBC. According to Sportico, “their coverage served up massive ratings and a profit for parent company Comcast, as the 17-day event generated a record $1.906 billion in incremental revenue.”
5 – Juan Soto signs with the New York Mets
It’s the biggest athlete contract in sports history. Juan Soto, a 26-year-old outfielder from the Dominican Republic, agreed to a 15-year deal worth USD $765 million with the Mets, spurning other teams with similarly gargantuan offers including the New York Yankees, who he led to the World Series this year, and the Toronto Blue Jays.
This deal came on the heels of last year’s record contract which saw the Los Angeles Dodgers sign Shohei Ohtani for 10 years at $700 million. That deal was more shocking due to its deferral plan. The average annual value of Soto’s deal will prove to be higher as it will be paid regularly. There are triggers that could raise the overall value to $800 million over the life of the deal. According to ESPN.com the contract included a $75 million signing bonus.
It is another business arrangement illustrating the powerful impact of sports in our economies and lives. It seems that any conversation about sports business these days inevitably includes the word “billion” and there’s no sign of this slowing down any time soon.
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