SBJ Unpacks: Dwyane Wade’s next goal

Tonight in Unpacks: Dwyane Wade highlights a packed class heading into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend. But he’s also focused on growing what he hopes becomes a business empire that rivals his NBA accomplishments, reports SBJ’s Xavier Hunter in this week’s magazine.

Other headlines:

• New ESPN Bet gives Penn an opportunity to disrupt online market
• Leagues Cup crosses 1 million-fan threshold ahead of quarterfinals
• Trackhouse to bring van Gisbergen to NASCAR in '24
• ACL continues cornhole's growth with celebrity, championship events
• NBA to team with Kiswe for streaming Jazz games
• EverPass gets rights to Peacock's U.S. commercial distribution

In this morning's Buzzcast, SBJ’s Abe Madkour wraps up the week with:

• Premier League’s U.S. popularity at all-time high as NBC begins 11th year of coverage
• Saudi Arabia’s global ambitions for soccer kick off this weekend
• Looming deadline pushes ACC into the college realignment spotlight
• Big Ten could be the biggest story in sports business this fall
• Former Warriors exec Bob Myers could offer great commentary at ESPN
• Pro Basketball Hall of Fame’s induction ceremonies offer opportunity for insight

Dwyane Wade's focus will be back on business after HOF weekend

Dwyane Wade’s Hall of Fame enshrinement is not only the crowning embellishment of a storybook career but also the prelude to his expanding world in business. While balancing his many different buckets as both a family man and businessman, Wade is open to gain better understanding as he translates his leadership skills and patience from the court to the office.

Wade will reach “basketball heaven” with his induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday. The continued transition to businessman is no easy road, but Wade pays homage to fellow Basketball Hall of Famers Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Grant Hill, along with former teammate LeBron James, as guides to establish his business footing. Outside of basketball, he credits artists such as Jay-Z as inspiration.

In this Early Access look at next week's magazine, SBJ's Xavier Hunter profiles Wade and how he's taken the over $196 million earned from his 16-year career to build what he aspires to be a HOF-caliber business career, establishing footholds in the baby product, entertainment, lifestyle and wine industries and pro sports ownership. Hunter also speaks with Wade about his business ambitions in the latest episode of SBJ Unpacks.

New ESPN Bet gives Penn an opportunity to disrupt online market

During Wednesday's Q3 earnings call, Penn Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden reeled off what his company gained from a momentous 10-year, $2 billion dollar deal to rebrand its Barstool Sportsbook to ESPN Bet, with plans to launch in 16 states in November.

Along with use of the newly minted ESPN Bet trademark, Penn gets: advertising and integrations across the broad landscape of ESPN programming; link-outs from betting lines and other online content that should provide more cost-efficient customer acquisition; endorsements from ESPN talent, including recently added pied-piper of picks Pat McAfee; and access to ESPN’s database of more than 20 million fantasy players. There’s also the exclusivity that will box incumbent category sponsors DraftKings and Caesars out of many of those opportunities, though ESPN still can sell traditional TV spots to both (and others). 

In this Early Access look at next week's magazine, SBJ's Bill King breaks down the deal between ESPN and Penn and what it means for not just the betting landscape but its media implications as well. 

Leagues Cup crosses 1 million-fan threshold ahead of quarterfinals

More than 1.1 million fans have attended Leagues Cup matches as the inaugural edition of the expanded tournament heads into the quarterfinals tonight, reports SBJ's Alex Silverman.

The event, which featured all 47 teams from MLS and Liga MX, is averaging just under 17,000 fans per game through the Round of 16, less than the average MLS regular-season attendance of just over 21,000. Knockout round matches, which require host teams to sell tickets with just a few days of lead time, have so far averaged fewer fans than group stage matches.

Trackhouse to bring van Gisbergen to NASCAR in '24

Trackhouse Racing is finalizing a deal to bring Australian Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen to NASCAR full time starting in 2024, a source tells SBJ's Adam Stern, boosting the sport’s international growth profile.

The 34-year-old New Zealander made headlines last month when he became the first person to win in their debut in the NASCAR Cup Series in 60 years when he took first at the Chicago Street Race. He was competing in Chicago for Trackhouse’s wild-card Project No. 91 entry that is not chartered and is meant to bring in international stars for one-off efforts. But the Kiwi’s shock win has changed the equation and he has acknowledged publicly in recent weeks that he was likely to come to America.

ACL continues cornhole's growth with celebrity, championship events

The American Cornhole League’s Johnsonville Superhole IV Championship took center stage in part of the ESPN2 rebrand to “ESPN 8: The Ocho” last weekend. The annual celebration of “Ocho Day” featured a slew of unique sporting programs stationed in Rock Hill, S.C. The city also played host to the ACL World Championship tournaments that paid out over $700,000 in prize money.

The Superhole Championship marks the latest notch in the league’s ever-growing presence, reports SBJ's Xavier Hunter, as the activity boosts about 50 million casual cornhole players worldwide. The ACL itself has about 200,000 active players with 250 playing professionally, and it released its first video game this year as well.

• The NBA is using Kiswe to power the direct-to-consumer service that the Jazz will roll out for the upcoming season, reports SBJ's John Ourand.

• In the month after the MLB Draft, Burns & Wilcox, a specialty insurance underwriter and broker, is experiencing an influx of submissions to get proper loss control insurance in place, writes SBJ's Erik Bacharach.

• EverPass Media picked up the rights to distribute Peacock’s sports programming to commercial businesses in the U.S. -- including bars, restaurants and hotels, notes SBJ's Ourand.