Closing Bell

CHICAGO -- Dude Perfect CEO Andrew Yaffe kicked off SBJ’s Brand Innovation Summit from the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile on Tuesday afternoon with an interview about the YouTube stars’ rise and where the future of the content creator economy is heading. Yaffe, a former NBA EVP and head of social, digital and original content joined Dude Perfect as its first CEO in 2024.

Yaffe said he’s fielded frequent calls from professional teams and brands looking to grow their online footprint and argued they could learn from creators in their search for younger fans.

“If you start with the assets that a team has at its disposal -- an arena, a locker room, staff, mascots -- and you put a YouTube-native creator in charge of those assets and say, ‘Hey, come back with 10 ideas that could generate millions of views on YouTube,’ they would look nothing like what teams and leagues and properties are currently putting on YouTube,” he said.

Where teams often misread the moment, he added, is in assuming young fans have only short attention spans. He pointed to a recent four-hour Dude Perfect video that drew a primarily young audience with an average watch time of more than an hour.

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Rocket will not be renewing its title sponsorship of the PGA Tour’s Rocket Classic following the 2026 tournament, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the tour won’t be back in the market.

This year marks the eight iteration of the tournament -- all sponsored by Detroit-based Rocket -- but the company is not renewing following the July event amid changes at both the tournament and the tour. The company under its former Quicken Loans name also sponsored the event when it was played outside D.C. before moving to Detroit.

Industry sources said the tour was looking at the event as a potential Track 1 tournament for its 2028 schedule, but Rocket wasn’t willing to invest the $30M+ that’s being asked for those title sponsors. Under its current deal sponsoring a full-field PGA Tour event, Rocket was likely paying in the $15M-$18M range.

There were a number of other factors likely at play. The company was looking to keep the tournament in the heart of Detroit -- currently it’s held at Detroit Golf Club -- while the tour had been open to moving it to the greater Detroit area. Also, Rocket’s current stock price ($12.35 per share) is down nearly 38% year to date. Even as it exits its title deal, Rocket will remain an official marketing partner of the tour through the end of 2026 and may renew in the future.

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LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil went on CNBC on Tuesday to pitch potential investors on the golf league going into the future. LIV reportedly is looking for $350M after PIF announced it was pulling its funding following the 2026 season, and O’Neil said he has already talked to several potential investors and has dozens of interviews set up. He noted the business model will be “dramatically” different than it has been over the past five years. O’Neil: “This will be a very disciplined approach.”

O’Neil called the response from the business sector so far has been positive. He said, “What’s been really interesting is, how do you slice this? How do you cut it? Is there one partner that comes in, maybe a big private equity firm, at the full $300 (million), or do you have 10 or 12 investors at $50 (million) and $25 million units. There seems to be an expression of interest in the family office side in the $50 million range and private equity firms are looking at wanting to take all.”

Time is of the essence for LIV to find a funding source, as there are just four tournaments left in the 2026 season. O’Neil said, “We’re very urgently out there talking to those who are interested. We like the pool, but we have to get this done through the summer.” LIV Golf has not been profitable since its founding, but O’Neil projected that will come in three years. O’Neil: “This raise is designed and designated to get us to profitability.”

There has been speculation as to whether PIF may pull its funding prior to the end of this season and if the league will play its full schedule. O’Neil said, “You have to take an incredible organization like PIF at their word, and they’ve been very public about funding us through the season.” However, he stopped short of guaranteeing the four remaining events will take place, saying, “What I can guarantee is a heck of a return if you come invest in this business” (“Halftime Report,” CNBC, 6/9).

ESPN studio shows in May saw a 27% viewership increase, with five shows setting audience records for the month. Studio shows were also up 11% among adults 18-49. Among the shows hitting new May records were “Get Up” (487,000 viewers), “First Take” (564,000), the 6pm ET edition of “SportsCenter” (546,000) and “NBA Today” (398,000). “The Pat McAfee Show” also hit a record, but the numbers between ESPN and YouTube could not be separated there.

”NFL Live” (weekdays, 4pm) averaged 436,000 viewers, which is its best May figure since 2014. “PTI” climbed to 703,000 viewers in the 5:30pm window, which is its best figure for May since 2019 and tops all ESPN studio shows.

Overall, “SportsCenter” was up 25% to 457,000 viewers across all windows. The 7am, 2pm, 5pm, 6pm and Saturday morning editions have been up every month this year to date.

Las Vegas sports history “will be made” Tuesday when, for the first time, it will host a regular-season MLB game and an NHL game on the same day. The Golden Knights will play the Hurricanes at T-Mobile Arena at 5pm PT in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, then the A’s will play the Brewers at 7:05pm at Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin. Very few, “mainly standing-room only tickets” remain for the A’s game, which will have a capacity of 10,000 fans. Tuesday’s A’s game will be the second of three played against the Brewers in Vegas. Tuesday’s occurrence “will become the norm in less than two years’ time” when the A’s leave their temporary West Sacramento home and begin playing in their new Vegas ballpark (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 6/6).

The pre-Stanley Cup Final idea that ratings would suffer with two non-traditional hockey markets competing for the Cup was “greatly exaggerated.” People “are watching and for good reason.” One of the “most entertaining ever? Yeah. You can make that argument so far” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 6/8).

SoFi Stadium workers have “reached a tentative contract deal, averting a strike” ahead of the USMNT’s opening World Cup match Friday. The union announced the deal at a news conference Tuesday. The union representing 2,000 bartenders, servers, cooks and dishwashers at the stadium voted last week to authorize a strike after contract talks had stalled with the stadium’s food service provider, Legends Global (AP, 6/9).

The negotiations by the union have earned a 40% “increase in pay for attendants at concessions stands, as well as a clause in the agreement that permits workers to walk off the job if the union believes that the presence of federal agents, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, creates a ‘reasonable apprehension of harm to the safety and security of workers.’” Union co-President Kurt Petersen said that the deal will make SoFi’s concessions workers the “highest paid at NFL venues,” and most workers will “now make ‘more than $40 per hour, and many of them significantly more than that.’” He added that the deal includes “‘premium pay for mega-events, including all eight World Cup games,’ while they have also negotiated an ongoing contribution to the union’s housing fund.” The deal includes a commitment that “future accreditation processes for workers will not be as invasive as FIFA’s for the World Cup” (THE ATHLETIC, 6/9).

The PGA of America on Tuesday named Jeff Clennon Chief Commercial Officer and Paul Stephens CFO. Both will report to CEO Terry Clark and be based at the organization’s headquarters in Frisco, Texas. Clennon joins the PGA with more than two decades of leadership experience at NBCUniversal, where he most recently served as SVP/Advertising Sales & Partnerships. He succeeds Jeff Price, who departed at the end of last year to become CEO of the Heisman Trophy Trust. Stephens joins the PGA from Deloitte, where he served as Chief Tax Officer-in-Residence, succeeding retiring CFO John Connelly. Prior to Deloitte, Stephens spent 25 years at AT&T in a series of senior finance leadership roles. Excel Search & Advisory led the CCO search for PGA of America (PGA of America).

Morgan & Morgan will sponsor the UFL’s replay center and become the first sponsor in pro football history to have its logo on penalty flags and referee challenge flags. The agreement debuts at this weekend’s 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank. The UFL earlier this season began allowing on-field officials to be interviewed by TV sideline reporters during games (UFL).

SBJ’s Ben Portnoy catches up with Erik Moses, executive director and CEO of the Fiesta Sports Foundation, for a wide-ranging conversation that touches on both legacy and evolution within college sports. The two reflect on the NACDA Community Service Award, presented by the Fiesta Sports Foundation program as it reaches its 10-year milestone, the implications of College Football Playoff expansion and Moses’ vision behind the recent rebrand of the Cactus Bowl.