NBA paid attendance was at 92% of capacity overall this season despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, as 11 games had to be re-scheduled due to covid protocols and the Raptors played a dozen games with no fans present and two more with a reduced capacity. Average attendance was 17,186, down 3.8% versus '18-19, the last full season that was not affected by the pandemic. All 30 teams hosted fans this season. Seven teams played at 100% or greater of capacity. The league’s attendance record came in the 2017-18 season, when 22.1 million tickets were distributed.

The Cowboys signed London-based crypto company Blockchain.com to an expansive sponsorship, one month after the NFL dropped barriers to the category. Blockchain.com, which said it raised capital last month at a $14B valuation, will become the "exclusive digital asset partner" of the team. The company provides various cryptocurrency services, including wallets, an exchange, search tools and an institutional markets business. The deal was unveiled by Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones at The Star in Frisco this morning. In a statement, Jones said Blockchain.com is “bringing Wall Street to Main Street by making digital assets available to anyone, anywhere in the world -- and that’s a touchdown for our millions of global fans.”

The company will get club space at AT&T Stadium formerly held by Lincoln Motor Co., rights to social/digital content, LED signage and tunnel cover signage in the corners of the field and extensive advertising across TV, radio and digital. It’s the first deal in traditional sports for Blockchain.com, though the company had marketed in esports before, said CEO and co-Founder Peter Smith.

The company wanted to start in the NFL, believing American football’s popularity and the reach of the Cowboys are uniquely valuable assets. Smith also said his company had limited interest in the blockbuster naming rights deals done by Crypto.com and FTX have done in L.A. and Miami. "For us, when we think about what assets that we want to buy, we’re way less concerned about putting our name on the outside of a stadium and a lot more concerned about the experience we create inside the stadium with the teams’ fans,” Smith said. “ So in the case of the Cowboys, we’re excited to be in the end zone with the Cowboys.”

The Cowboys and Blockchain.com also will “create ways for fans to quickly access" Cowboys content and their blockchain.com wallet, according to a statement. Blockchain.com says it has 80 million customers in more than 200 countries. NFL rules issued last month allow teams to sign deals in the categories, but teams cannot promote specific cryptocurrencies or use the term cryptocurrency in marketing the relationships. Terms were not disclosed, but the NFL policies restrict new deals to three years at maximum.

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Fan token platform Socios, which can’t sell its usual product to NFL fans under the league’s blockchain policy, is kicking off a major marketing push with 13 team deals in hopes that day will soon come. Socios is becoming a sponsor of the Falcons, 49ers, Eagles, Dolphins, Bears, Steelers, Ravens, Browns, Chargers, Buccaneers, Giants, Rams and Commanders, bringing its total team deals to 14, including a one-off with Kraft Sports & Entertainment in November that includes the Patriots.

In European soccer, Socios has worked with several top-tier clubs to create branded tokens. Bought with the cryptocurrency chiliz, the Socios tokens entitle holders to vote on certain low-level team matters -- such as what songs will be played in the stadium during the game. These tokens carry investment risk like cryptocurrency itself because the tokens are traded on digital marketplaces.  However, crypto-backed fan tokens remain off-limits in the NFL, even after parts of the league’s blockchain commercial policy were liberalized last month. For now, Socios is comfortable with deals limiting activation to brand building and more familiar fan loyalty and engagement programs, said Chief Strategy Officer Max Rabinovitch. "I want people to know what Socios is and at a 30,000 foot level how it works, so when we are able to do business at a full level, people know who we are and how we work," Rabinovitch said. "That’s not as short of a road as people think."In December, Socios did a similar tranche of deals with 12 NHL clubs. Rabinovitch said the Malta-based company is confident it will eventually get clearance to operate its product in the NFL. But the path to that day remains cloudy. NFL execs have said they are concerned about the brand and legal risk that comes along with promoting cryptocurrency and similar assets. That problem arose in the U.K. for Socios in December, when advertising regulators ruled that Arsenal did not sufficiently explain the risks of buying crypto-assets in token promotions, or even that a “token” is a cryptoasset that carries investment risk.

This summer, Socios will launch a version of its app for North America intended to familiarize fans. It will include the names and marks of its sponsored teams, and include game-day check-ins, quizzes and other fan engagement tools, but will not involve cryptocurrency. Users can use dollars on those apps. NFL team marks and names will be permitted on that app because it won’t be blockchain-based. Heading into today, Socios had deals with dozens of teams or leagues, including 28 NBA teams, 14 in the NHL, the UFC and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. Socios is still in talks with the NFL about a league-level deal, Rabinovitch said. Socios is negotiating these deals directly, without an agency.

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The Maple Leafs and Justin Bieber "have the top-selling jersey style in hockey." The reversible Adidas "Next Gen" jersey, a collaboration between the pop star and the team, "has been the most popular purchase among fans over the last three weeks, outpacing all others across the league’s e-commerce and retail stores, according to the NHL." MLSE CMO Shannon Hosford said that "many sizes for both men and women are sold out and the majority of buyers are new customers for the Maple Leafs." Sales were "surely boosted by Bieber promoting the products extensively to his 230 million Instagram followers." Both sides are "now discussing another potential project" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/13).

With pandemic restrictions lifted, UFC said its commercial PPV business -- at places like bars, restaurants and movie theaters -- is back above pre-pandemic levels and at an all-time high. The promotion has had four PPV events so far this year, and while it didn’t share specific figures, UFC told SBJ this week that those fights all exceeded budget projections when it comes to commercial distribution (which is separate from residential distribution). A group of execs from UFC and ESPN meet before every PPV event to project what they think that specific night of fights will attract in sales; UFC’s total figure of units sold between commercial and residential is typically at least in the mid six figures in recent years. UFC, which has its media rights with ESPN in the U.S., noted that this is the first time since the pandemic that restrictions have been lifted in all of its major fan territories (U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia and New Zealand). As a result, its gross revenue from commercial PPVs is up 86% from '21 and 9% better than '19.

UFC distributes its fights to more than 5,100 locations across the world, which it said is 10% better than in '19; that includes 140 Dave & Buster’s locations in the U.S. as well as more than 300 movie theaters via the property’s deal with Iconic Events Releasing. The next PPV event is next month’s UFC 274 at Footprint Center, with a main event Charles Oliveira- Justin Gaethje lightweight title bout.

The Brandr Group (TBG) and AJS Collective reached a partnership aimed at boosting NIL opportunities for college athletes, with a focus on Olympic sports and female student-athletes. AJS Collective will assist TBG in identifying new brand partners and activation opportunities. AJS was founded by a group of former female pro and college athletes, including Marcia Caporn. The team's female-focused initiatives have garnered the support of volleyball legend and p1440 founder Kerri Walsh Jennings. In honor of the 50th anniversary of Title IX, AJS will offer a series of digital exhibits in the metaverse and web3 that student-athletes can benefit from through brand activation and fan engagement (TBG).

XFL Owner Dany Garcia and investor Dwayne Johnson appeared together on ESPN’s “Get Up” to discuss the re-launch of the league, and Garcia said she is “just humbled and amazed” to be the first female owner of a major U.S. sports league. Garcia: “It is a moment that happened because we were going after a dream, something we were so, so passionate about, and we were grinding through to get this acquisition. Then all of a sudden, it’s done, and we have this incredible team around us and I lift my head, and I made history. That wasn't the intention, but it was the moment.”

Johnson: “We want to create a league of culture, a league of innovation.” Garcia echoed that: “This league is going to be about innovation, it’s going to be about our athletes, it’s going to be about our fans. It’s about taking everything that surrounds the ball and amplifying it and bringing meaning and bringing inclusivity. It's going to be a dynamic, fast game. We'll give fans and athletes access to each other that they’ve never had before.” Johnson added, “We’re collaborating with the NFL, partnering with the NFL, to grow the game of football in terms of innovation, things like that, our NFL Player Academy” ( "Get Up," ESPN, 4/13).

Bulls VP/Marketing Dan Moriarty said enhanced connectivity and digital options are crucial in reaching fans of the team who may never attend a game. Speaking with Sport Techie’s Dan Kaufman at the State of the Industry conference, Moriarty said: “There’s a data point that we talk a lot about inside the NBA, which is that 99% of NBA fans will never go to a game in the real world. We’re trying to provide them an experience that brings them deeper into our brand.”

“The Kings Beat Podcast” co-host James Ham said NBA Kings Owner Vivek Ranadive “doesn’t have to sell the team” despite now having the longest playoff drought in the league. Ham: “He just has to take a different approach. He has to step back.” The last nine seasons have been losing campaigns, and it’s been “bad basketball the whole time, and so much of it is directly on him.”

NOT-SO-AVERAGE JOE: Fox Sports' new lead MLB announcer Joe Davis talked to “Flippin’ Bats” about his new role. Davis said of being told he would take over for Joe Buck in the No. 1 seat, “Similar to a player who gets a call to ‘The Show,’ I had always thought about that call.” Davis said for him, “what makes this job special -- a lot of it -- is because of the (guys) that were doing it before me,” such as Buck and Vin Scully.

POWER RANKINGS:  “What’s Wright?” host Nick Wright took on the daunting challenge of ranking the Top 50 NBA Players from the last 50 years, saying it has “taken me years” to compile the rankings. Wright: “I’m not worried about off-the-court stuff, I’m not worried about the Olympics, I’m not worried about international ball.” Wright valued how many All-NBA teams a player was on, MVP awards, playoff success and “what did you do in the biggest moments,” among other criteria.

Know of a podcast we should keep tabs on? Send an email to  pbounds@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Also,  check out SBJ's podcast home.

The NBA unveiled a reimagined logo for the NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV, which brings back the script font used in variations of the logo from '86-95 and '04-17 (NBA).

There was a fire this morning "in an area under construction" at Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium. Officials said that it was "too early to comment on any of the details of the fire or where it was in the building, but that there didn't appear to be any structural damage." One person was taken to the hospital (WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, 4/13).

Univ. of Denver AD Karlton Creech "is stepping down" after four years in the position. He will stay on "until a successor is hired" (TWITTER.com, 4/13).

"Blame it on the lockout. Blame it on my not picking up a ball for three months" -- Dodgers P Clayton Kershaw, on manager Dave Roberts' decision to pull him from today's start against the Twins despite him having a perfect game through seven innings on only 80 pitches (TWITTER.com, 4/13).

"I don’t think what we’re doing right now is a sustainable model" -- Alabama football coach Nick Saban, on the lack of uniform NIL policy in college sports (AP, 4/13).

“This year we’re only two games in and it’s already must-see TV. I don’t see this going anywhere. Maybe we see a couple tweaks down the road that the commissioner has mentioned but a year from now when we’re talking, we’re going to be talking about the play-in once again” -- ESPN’s Bobby Marks, on the future of the NBA play-in tournament ( “SportsCenter,” ESPN, 4/13).

“Inflation is a real worry and not just for the investors, but also for the gaming CEOs who see it and rate hikes as the biggest challenge this year” -- CNBC’s Contessa Brewer, on how inflation is affecting betting company stocks ( “Fast Money Halftime,” CNBC, 4/13).

143 bpm -- Golfer Rory McIlroy's peak heart rate during his final shot at hole No. 18 on Sunday at the Masters, a shot that helped him secure a record-tying final round. The heart rate was measured by the Whoop 4.0 wearable (Whoop).