Closing Bell

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has been in Saudi Arabia this week meeting with PIF Gov. Yasir Al-Rumayyanin person as the sides try to hammer out a deal to bring the golf world back together, sources told SBJ.   

This is believed to be the first time the sides have met in person since last summer when the shocking framework agreementwas announced on June 6. Monahan confirmed at the N.Y. Times’ Dealbook Summit in November that he was planning to meet in person with Al-Rumayyan the following week, but the two never were able to coordinate.  

Multiple outlets, including Golf.com and the Associated Press, also had reported plans for an in-person meeting between the two, but those never materialized.  

The meetings this week come as the London Telegraph reported that Monahan and Al-Rumayyan recently held a lengthy phone conversation -- their first since June 6 -- that led to significant progress toward a deal. 

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Saudi Arabia PIF Gov. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the chair of Newcastle United and LIV Golf, "faces being sued for allegedly 'having carried out the instructions' of the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman " with "'the malicious intent' of 'harming, silencing and ultimately destroying' the family of the country’s former intelligence chief," Dr. Saad Aljabri. If the court allows them to go ahead, the Aljabri family will be claiming for $74M in damages. The claims are made in legal papers that were "dispatched to Al-Rumayyan at multiple high-profile locations" -- including St James' Park, Newcastle United’s home stadium, "during the second week of January." The legal documents were also "couriered to Al-Rumayyan at the PIF’s headquarters in Saudi Arabia, as well as PIF addresses in New York and London, and St James'" (THE ATHLETIC, 1/16).

PGA Tour player Adam Scott "believes the Tour is close to sealing a huge investment deal" with American consortium Strategic Sports Group, saying today, "at the moment we are at a critical stage with the SSG deal hopefully coming to a close very soon." Scott: "Everything seems to be moving as fast as it can, but we are always reminded these are very complex deals." Scott also said "no deadline had been set" for finalizing an agreement with the PIF. Scott, who recently joined the PGA Tour Policy Board as one of six player directors, said the Tour "needed to do a deal" with PIF Gov. Yasir Al-Rumayyan "to end the constant disruption." Scott, who will be on the weekly board conference call from Dubai, "dismissed the suggestion that the new deadline was the Masters in April" (London TIMES, 1/16).

The Predators' Sabertooth Sports & Entertainment has hired Janeen Lalik as EVP. She will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of SS&E, which includes Austin Peay Athletics, F&M Bank Arena and Ford Ice Centers. She will also oversee partnerships with internal and external stakeholders. Lalik, a member of the 40 Under 40 Class of 2009, previously served as Florida State's Deputy AD for External Operations (Predators).

Intuit Dome, the soon-to-be-home of the Clippers, has officially "been tapped to host the 2026 NBA All-Star Game." Clippers owner Steve Ballmer today joined NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and the mayors of Inglewood and L.A. "at a media event inside the dome, which was attended by dozens of workers in hard hats and safety vests." The 18,000-seat arena, which is "still under construction," is "set to open in August" (KTLA.com, 1/16).

The event will return to Southern California "for the first time since 2018," when it was played in downtown L.A. at the arena formerly known as Staples Center. The privately financed Intuit Dome "will house all of the Clippers' basketball and business operations, with an eye on landing major events" (AP, 1/16).

Premier League club Manchester City has been issued with a date for their landmark 115 financial breaches hearing, but the EPL is "keeping the timescale secret." Premier League CEO Richard Masters revealed today "a timeline has been agreed" to while also clarifying that the "'volume and character' of the case against City is 'completely different'" than those against Everton and Nottingham Forest. The volume of admitted overspend at Forest and Everton last season is "significantly easier to unravel" than Man City’s case. In contrast with the two cases against Everton which "extend across a total of four years," Man City’s charges "cover 14 seasons from 2009-10." If proven, "it would amount to the biggest scandal in English football history" (London TELEGRAPH, 1/16).

Powerade is continuing to expand its roster of NIL deals, adding USC men’s basketball G Isaiah Collier and LSU women’s G Flau’jae Johnson. Powerade already sponsors both the LSU and USC programs. Collier and Johnson will be featured in national TV marketing campaigns, retail and sponsorship events in the players’ local markets and digital/social media activations.

Collier, who is repped by CAA Sports, has deals with Beats by Dre and USC collective House of Victory. Johnson, who is repped by her mother on NIL, has struck endorsements with Puma (LSU is a Nike school), Meta, Tampax, JBL Audio, Raising Cane’s, Campus Ink and Taco Bell following her school’s national title last season (Johnson was SEC freshman of the year). Johnson also is repped by Roc Nation for an aspiring music career. Coca-Cola activates its NCAA sponsorship during March Madness using Powerade.

Powerade also has a number of NIL deals on the football side, including Florida State DE Jared Verse, LSU QB Jayden Daniels, Georgia S Malaki Starks, USC WR Mario Williams and Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson. 

The PFL has figured out the scope of the first event it will host in Saudi Arabia, with “PFL Champions Vs. Bellator Champions” set for Feb. 24 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

The event is being announced this afternoon by Saudi General Entertainment Authority Chair Turki Alalshikh, who has quickly morphed into one of the most powerful people in combat sports.

The event will be the first for the PFL in the Middle Eastern kingdom after Saudi Arabia’s SRJ Sports Investments subsidiary said last August that it was giving $100M to the U.S.-based mixed martial arts property, which is trying to become a challenger to UFC.

While some of that money will go to the PFL’s overall operations, a significant portion is being spent to bring events like this to the kingdom and to start a PFL Middle East regional property.

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Mashgin has a new tech integration with biometrics startup Keyo, a partnership that will help Mashgin offer a solution to rival Amazon Just Walk Out and its Amazon One palm scanning payment tech. Mashgin has grown at a rapid rate in recent years -- its AI self-checkout kiosks are in a hundred sports venues -- and it expects its integration with San Francisco-based Keyo’s palm scanning payment tech to drop its transaction times from 15 seconds to 10.

Nationwide, only about 5.8% of in-store transactions are paid for with mobile wallets; a first pilot of the Mashgin/Keyo pairing (using just a hand palm in lieu of a digital wallet or credit/debit card) showed an adoption rate of more than 10%. The tech could presumably be integrated with ticketing and fan loyalty programs, too. 

Biometric payments are still in their infancy, but Amazon announced last summer that it had surpassed 3 million uses of Amazon One and that it would roll out the tech at all its more than 500 Whole Foods Market locations. 

Performance nutrition brand Dymatize has signed 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey as its newest partner. McCaffrey will share exclusive content on behalf of Dymatize on social media and collaborate with the brand on content and events (Dymatize).

A 45-minute Solheim Cup documentary produced by KPMG that tells the story of how U.S. Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis leveraged KPMG Performance Insights to make more strategic decisions at the Solheim Cup is airing tonight on Golf Channel at 5pm ET. It will also be available on Peacock (LPGA).

Speedo has signed a partnership with U.S. Paralympic swimmer Ahalya Lettenberger which will see her showcase the latest advancements in swimwear technology from Speedo (Speedo).

Hydration beverage Electrolit has signed tennis player J.J. Wolf as an ambassador. Wolf will be at the center of activations at upcoming events including Indian Wells, Miami Open and the Madrid Open (Electrolit).

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The Dodgers and the Padres "will face two Korean professional clubs" -- the Kiwoom Heroes and the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) -- "and the Korean national team" before their regular season openers in Seoul in March. The schedule of these games "will be announced later" (KOREA TIMES, 1/16).

Everton’s takeover by 777 Partners is "under more scrutiny" after the Premier League hinted 777 has "yet to sufficiently answer questions over the proposed deal." EPL CEO Richard Masters "suggested the owners' and directors' test is not ready to approve" 777’s club purchase from Farhad Moshiri and that approval was still "weeks away" (London TELEGRAPH, 1/16).

EFL Championship club Sheffield Wednesday has unveiled a "new gaming facility" at Hillsborough stadium. In "collaboration with several partners," the area will be used by Owls Esports -- Sheffield Wednesday’s esports branch -- "to develop its players and staff" (ESPORTS INSIDER, 1/16).

British & Irish Lions and Gloucester rugby player Louis Rees-Zammit "has stunned the world of rugby union by quitting for American football." Rees-Zammit, 22, "will leave for Florida this week to take a place on the NFL International Player Pathway (IPP), from which he will hope to earn a place on a roster in the league" (London TIMES, 1/16).

"It was always hard for me to say if it’s good or not because it’s not easy for women in these areas. ... There were rumours about sportswashing. In my case, because I have nothing to do with Rafa and his decisions, it should be up to the federations and the governing bodies who decide if we’re going to play there or not. If there would be some negative backlash, they should take the responsibility" -- World No. 1 women's tennis player Iga Świątek, on the WTA possibly staging its finals in Saudia Arabia and on Rafael Nadal's latest deal to be an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation (BRISBANE TIMES, 1/16).

"I think the growth of the game is global. That's where the focus needs to be. They understand the importance of global. PIF certainly understands the importance of being global" -- Outgoing DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley, on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi PIF all accepting the idea that "an international approach is the best way to solve golf's civil war" (BBC.com, 1/16).

Max today unveiled the trailer for "Rolling Along: Bill Bradley," which sees former U.S. Senator and Basketball HOFer Bill Bradley perform his one-man autobiographical show. The film will be available for streaming on February 1.

56 -- Number of lawyers paid for by Manchester United to work on the deal that will see Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos buy a minority stake in the club. The cost of the legal firm’s advice "will be paid for by United, as opposed to the Glazer family" which owns the Premier League club -- although "they will foot the bill for the personal advice they received during the strategic review process" (THE ATHLETIC, 1/16).