Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry. PERSONNEL Lakers Name Yao Williams II VP and Head of Global Partnerships The Los Angeles Lakers have named Yao Williams II vice president and head of global partnerships. Williams will lead the Lakers global partnerships team, including […]

When Portugal takes the field against the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 17, Cristiano Ronaldo will once again chase the biggest accolade that has eluded him throughout his illustrious career. The 41-year-old has represented his country five other times in the World Cup and has never been able to call himself a champion. But […]

Pro sports are ubiquitous in Las Vegas, with NFL, NHL and WNBA teams already in town and MLB and NBA organizations likely to join them before the end of the decade. Vegas as a sports hot spot might seem obvious now, but it was far from a sure thing when Bill Foley became the first […]

Serena Williams is returning to tennis, ending months of speculation after her name showed up in tennis’ anti-doping testing pool, a precursor to competing again on the WTA Tour. Williams will play doubles next week in the HSBC Championships at The Queen’s Club in England, a top-tier grass-court warmup before Wimbledon. She had retired after […]

The NWSL’s Gotham FC has hired the Florida Panthers’ Mark Zarthar as president, according to multiple people familiar with the details. Zarthar was named the Panthers’ chief revenue officer last August after more than two years as the NHL club’s chief strategy officer. Gotham, which is controlled by Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, has not formally had a president […]

Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry. PERSONNEL Nashville SC Hires Lucas Reid as VP of Corporate Partnerships Nashville SC announced it has hired Lucas Reid as its vice president of corporate partnerships. In his role, Reid will oversee NSC’s partnership strategy and lead […]

Don Garber, who is nearing the end of his three-decade tenure running Major League Soccer, said the league’s thinking about a commissioner succession plan was upended when longtime president Mark Abbott stepped down in 2022. Speaking on the latest episode of Sportico Sports Business Presented by Endava, Garber discussed the ongoing search for MLS’s next […]

Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships, products and purchases across the sports business industry. PERSONNEL Olympian Katie Ledecky Receives Honorary Doctorate From Yale Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Humane Letters) at the 325th Commencement Ceremony of Yale University on May 18 on the university’s Old…

Fresh off the first MVP season of his 17-year NFL career, the Los Angeles Rams signed Matthew Stafford to a one-year, $55 million contract extension that ties him to the Rams through the 2027 season with $105 million in remaining compensation, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The move, assuming Stafford returns for the 2027 season, […]

Arsenal has won 13 English league titles, third-most all time behind the 20 for both Liverpool and Manchester United, but it has been 22 years since the Gunners last raised the Premier League trophy. Now, the club is on the verge of ending that drought. Arsenal sits five points ahead of Manchester City, who have […]

Today’s guest column is from professors John Cairney and Rick Burton. With spring here, we thought we’d look at what sports leaders can learn from fishing—or more accurately, from a particular fish, a glass wall and what happens when the environment thwarts an organization’s best attempts to reach a goal To borrow from behavioral science, […]

Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry. PERSONNEL United Soccer League Names McDonough President, CEO The United Soccer League (USL) announced that Paul McDonough has been named president and chief executive officer, effective June 1. McDonough will lead the league’s strategy, operations and execution…

Today’s guest columnist is Shivaas Gulati, founder of Remitly and Arkero, and owner of Southend United FC. Every major industry has had its reckoning. Retail had Amazon. Taxis had Uber. Hotels had Airbnb. Finance was stripped down to an app on your phone. In each case, the disruption came from outsiders—people who weren’t bound by […]

Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry. PERSONNEL Elevate Appoints Olly Dale as Managing Partner, Europe and Asia Elevate, the full-service global sports and entertainment agency, announced that Olly Dale has been appointed as the group’s first managing partner of Europe and Asia, effective immediately.…

Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry. PERSONNEL BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing Appoints Will Wright as COO BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing announced the appointment of Will Wright as chief operating officer. An executive with more than a decade of leadership across sports, media and […]

Former NBA and Drone Racing League executive Rachel Jacobson was recently named CEO of ReachTV, an ad-supported streaming network serving hotels, airports and plane passengers. Its content includes live NFL and NBA games as well as original content aimed at travelers. The company boasts a monthly audience of 50 million. Jacobson was previously the president […]

Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships, products and purchases across the sports business industry. PERSONNEL Former NFL, StubHub Exec Kate Howard Joins Victory Live as CRO Ticketing technology company Victory Live has named Kate Howard chief revenue officer to lead global revenue strategy, partnerships, sales and go-to-market execution. Howard will…

Today’s guest columnists are professors John Cairney and Rick Burton. Remember James Cameron’s 1997 movie, Titanic? Well, there’s a scene we think warrants discussion. It’s the one where lookouts spot the iceberg, ring the bell and phone the first officer, and by the time the bridge tries to avoid disaster, it’s too late. Members of the […]

Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry. PERSONNEL Schoenberg Launches Talent, Marketing and Comms Company Former Madison Square Garden SVP Dan Schoenberg has announced the launch of his own talent, marketing and communications company, Hummingbird Sports & Entertainment. His clients include the Faherty…

Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry. PERSONNEL New York Mets Name Ben Colabrese as Chief Financial Officer The New York Mets announced that Ben Colabrese has been appointed as the organization’s chief financial officer and a member of the executive leadership team. Colabrese, […]

When Bryson DeChambeau joined LIV Golf in 2022, he had at least one compelling reason to defect from the PGA Tour. The then-28-year-old, who had earned roughly $33 million in prize money and bonuses to that point, per Spotrac, reportedly landed a $125 million guarantee as part of his deal to change tours, and he […]

Scottie Scheffler has won seven tournaments since May, held the Official World Golf Ranking’s top spot for 150 consecutive weeks and earned an estimated $81 million over the past 12 months. Yet even with that level of dominance, the 29-year-old finds himself looking up at two of his rivals when it comes to the financial […]

Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry. PERSONNEL NWSL Names New Chief Commercial and Chief Marketing Officers The National Women’s Soccer League announced the hiring of Brian Kelly as chief commercial officer and Rachel Epstein as chief marketing officer. The league also announced that […]

The Top 50 earners among athletes all time have brought home a combined $56.2 billion when adjusted for inflation and $40 billion on a nominal basis through the end of 2025. They represent ten different sports and 17 countries around the globe. NBA players lead the way with 13 entries, headed by Michael Jordan and his decades of Nike earnings. Serena Williams is the lone female athlete to make…

Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing team has been on a tear to start the 2026 NASCAR season. Behind driver Tyler Reddick, 23XI won four of the first six races, months after MJ settled his lawsuit with NASCAR regarding a challenge to the racing circuit’s charter system. Owning a NASCAR team does not spit off a ton […]

Health and fitness tracker Whoop just raised $575 million in a Series G that valued the wearable company at $10.1 billion. The round included star athletes Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James and Rory McIlroy, but for fellow star Kevin Durant, it was another data point on a hugely successful bet nearly a decade ago. Durant first […]

Today’s guest columnist is attorney and former federal prosecutor Robert L. Boone. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has shown a willingness to play the role of enforcer in college sports when misconduct crosses criminal lines. Over the past decade, United States Attorney’s Offices in New York City, Boston and Philadelphia have charged dozens […]

Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry. PERSONNEL Mauricio Culebro Named President of Soccer, AMB Sports and Entertainment Blank Family of Businesses owner and chairman Arthur M. Blank has named Mauricio Culebro president of Soccer, AMB Sports and Entertainment (AMBSE). Culebro will oversee all […]

Peyton Manning retired from the NFL a decade ago as the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns and quarterback wins, but he had no plans to walk off into the sunset. “I’m totally convinced that the end of my football career is just the beginning of something I haven’t even discovered yet,” Manning […]

Since winning double Olympic gold in Milan last month, figure skater Alysa Liu has amassed 8 million Instagram followers (and counting), attended Paris fashion week, hobnobbed at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, received a key to the city of Oakland and received murals painted in her honor. For the first time this century, figure skating […]