SBJ Unpacks: NASCAR at pivotal point

Tonight in Unpacks: NASCAR celebrates its 75th anniversary this year as it gears up to secure a new media rights deal -- and resolve tensions with team owners who say they need more revenue sharing to turn a profit. 

Other headlines: 

• PointsBet’s extension of NBCU deal is a bet on flexibility
• Gary Bettman named SBJ's Lifetime Achievement Award recipient
• Reds work with 4Topps on new Lexus Club premium seats
• NWSL’s Courage gets new jersey sponsor
• Op-ed: Networking key for retired athletes
• Premier League signs four-year deal with Sorare
• Atul Khosla returns to Buccaneers after LIV Golf stint

In this morning's Buzzcast, SBJ's David Albright dishes on the $5,000 secondary market price for Super Bowl tickets before diving into the NWSL’s plans to expand by three teams -- including two reportedly shelling out franchise fees that dwarf previous payments. Meanwhile, the NHL is close to finding a new union leader, the WNBA’s Sky has a new co-owner and Oracle Red Bull is showing off its new F1 car in a surprise spot.

SBJ cover story: Revenue sharing creating unrest in NASCAR

When senior team execs in NASCAR filed into a Team Owner Council meeting this month, they were struck to find both Jim France and Lesa France Kennedy there. France, the chairman and CEO of NASCAR, often attends the quarterly meetings of the council that was founded in 2016, but France Kennedy’s attendance is rarer. France Kennedy is the executive vice chair of NASCAR and niece of France, whose father founded the sport in 1948.

Their combined attendance came on the heels of a tumultuous last six months that included the teams infuriating NASCAR’s brass by going public with a dispute over revenue sharing. The strained talks turned some relationships frosty between NASCAR executives and team leaders.

NASCAR is celebrating its 75th anniversary season this year, and whether and how the tenuous situation is resolved could affect NASCAR until its 100th, reports SBJ’s Adam Stern.

This week’s cover story coverage also includes:

PointsBet’s extension of NBCU deal is a bet on flexibility

PointsBet and NBC Universal have added two years to their five-year, $500 million sports betting deal, reports Axios. As part of the extension, Australia-based PointsBet will continue to “reduce” its annual spend commitment with NBCU properties, shifting some ad spend obligations to “more regional NBCU assets” -- a strategy that began this past fall during NFL season.

PointsBet “will be required to spend roughly $58 million per year on marketing with NBCU channels.” That’s down from roughly $90 million per year when PointsBeat made the deal in 2020. This extension agreement also “expands PointsBet’s media integrations from NBC Sports properties” to other parts of Comcast’s media landscape, like Peacock, USA and local TV ad networks.

It also gives NBCU flexibility with a “new carve out” that enables it to “partner with another sports betting operator” for national deals. That also started this past fall when “Sunday Night Football” began promoting BetMGM.

PointsBet, which operates in 14 U.S. states, is also looking to more live experience offerings to help it stand out from other sportsbooks, wrote Bill King in SBJ Betting last month.

Gary Bettman named SBJ's Lifetime Achievement Award recipient for 2023

SBJ is pleased to announce that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has been named the recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award for 2023. He will be honored in person at the Sports Business Awards on May 24 at the Marriott Marquis in N.Y.

Bettman left his job at the NBA in 1993 to become the first commissioner of the NHL, and in the time since he has led the league’s growth from a regional pastime to a binational behemoth with fans across the U.S., Canada and, increasingly, the globe. Furthermore, the league’s revenue has increased exponentially from around $40 million a year to more than $5 billion.

As the longest-tenured commissioner of a major North American sports league, Bettman has influenced the careers of countless members of the sports business community during his storied career

SBJ Publisher and Executive Editor Abe Madkour in this week's Forum writes, "The 70-year-old has had an incredible journey in growing the game around the world and the NHL has flourished under his direction and guidance. He has been a leader with substance and clearly helped define the sports business of the modern era."

Reds work with 4Topps on new Lexus Club premium seats

4Topps is installing 360-branded high-back suite seats in the Lexus Diamond Club at Great American Ball Park, the latest development in the long-standing relationship between the Reds and the premium seating company, reports SBJ’s Erik Bacharach.

Seventeen MLB clubs and about 70 minor league teams are customers of 4Topps, which launched in 2011. The D-backs also are working with 4Topps this offseason to add more of the company’s table unit product, which includes four 360-degree swivel seats and a semi-circle table, to Chase Field.

The reduced size and profile of the seats compared to the Diamond Club’s previous seats has allowed the Reds to add 11 additional seats to the section. The installation of the new seats, which use a mesh design to keep fans cooler and more comfortable, will be completed by Opening Day.

NWSL’s Courage gets new jersey sponsor in ‘isolated foray’ for pharma brand

Merz Aesthetics, a subsidiary of Germany-based Merz Pharma, will become the front-of-jersey sponsor for the NWSL North Carolina Courage beginning this season under an expanded partnership between the club and company, writes SBJ’s Alex Silverman.

The deal with the Courage is an isolated foray into sports for Merz, and Merz North America President Patrick Urban characterized the partnership as an opportunity for the company to make an impact in the Raleigh community and support women’s sports. “It's important to do things that reflect who your employees are,” Urban said. “We're about 73% female employees in our organization. So, supporting female sports, especially here locally, is just the right entry for us into anything in the sports world."

Merz, whose North American HQ are in Raleigh, had its logo on the back of the Courage’s uniforms last season and now replaces Continental Tire as the primary sponsor for the home and away kits. Continental is no longer a team partner.

For retired athletes, your network can become your net worth

Tonight's op-ed comes from analyst and retired soccer pro Rodney Wallace:

"All of these unique opportunities have completely different outputs. How do we combine ideas, talents, opportunities, and passions into one? Or do we let go and commit to just one of these paths? Sometimes you must step back and let the things you’ve created come to life. Allow yourself time to get the fruit you’ve been so patiently harvesting. I am a firm believer that all the pieces can indeed fall into the puzzle. As humans we have to create our realities, not shy away from the big moments that call us into action. Post-career this might look like coaching at the highest level or being a Saturday morning volunteer coach for the U-8 Purple Bees. For others, it might be the entertainment world, conquering every ounce of the game and covering it throughout the world.

Education plays a huge role in this thing called Life After Football. Some have gone to fine institutions, while others made it out the mud — if you’re not familiar with the term then you were doing just fine growing up. That college degree does matter, be proud and put that alma matter to proper use. Others have found medicine, acting, influencing, design, and even pro American football kickers. The point is, do what you do in the right mindset. Collaborate with your network — all those years in a locker room and exploring the world while playing, that network can become your net worth. Not necessarily a monetary amount, but by the worth of those relationships that gained strength and value over the years."

• MLS and Apple have added 31 new broadcasters to the talent lineup for their new streaming service, MLS Season Pass, bringing the total number of on-air hires thus far to 49, reports SBJ's Alex Silverman.

• The Premier League has signed a new four-year deal with fantasy sports NFT platform Sorare and has acquired an equity stake in the Paris-based company, reports SBJ's Andrew Cohen.

• Max Homa was mic'd up for this weekend's PGA Tour Farmers Insurance Open on CBS. SBJ Daily rounds up the reaction to the innovation on golf TV.

• The $100 million Flatrock Motorsports raceway outside Knoxville, Tenn., is in phase one of its construction, which consists of a private members-only track, reports SBJ’s David Broughton. Tilke Engineers and Architects (which is working on F1 tracks in Las Vegas and Miami) expect to finish the track this fall.