Closing Bell

LOS ANGELES -- Whether it’s the World Cup, Olympics, Super Bowls, Coachella, NBA Europe games or otherwise, big events continue to drive big business for operators in sports.

How to drive audience size, global reach, cultural impact and revenue performance for those types of events was the focus of the opening panel on Day 2 of the CAA World Congress of Sports.

“Marketers have more pressure than ever to make sure that these big investments are paying off,” said Mark Marshall, Chair of Global Advertising & Partnerships at NBCU. “So how do you make sure you bring all of these elements together and bring them together in a cohesive package instead of coming at them from 84 different directions as an industry we often like to do on that.”

Marshall, whose company just finished its run with the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and NBA All-Star Game, also joked with the audience that even he was sick of using the “Legendary February” moniker.

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The Padres’ sale process “is approaching its conclusion,” with an agreement between the Seidler family and a preferred bidder “expected as soon as early next week,” according to a source cited by THE ATHLETIC. The development would “cap a months-long auction that has drawn four finalist groups and a potential sale price of around” $3.5B, a figure that “would shatter the MLB record for a franchise sale” set by Steve Cohen when he bought the Mets in 2020 for $2.42B. The groups in the running for the Padres are “led by” Clearlake Capital Group co-founder José E. Feliciano, Friedkin Group CEO Dan Friedkin, Pistons owner Tom Gores and Warriors owner Joe Lacob. Each “participated in a final round of bids this week.” Once an agreement is reached, the sale would “still require approval by at least” 75% of MLB owners, a vote that “could take place within a matter of weeks.” A price tag “widely expected to exceed” $3B “reflects the appeal of the San Diego market and the broader financial forces reshaping the sport” (THE ATHLETIC, 4/16).

Player payments for LIV golfers were expected to process on Thursday afternoon following reports that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was pulling funding for the league.

League player salaries are paid out quarterly and hit on the 15th of the month, though two sources said Thursday morning that had not yet occurred for April 15 as the league tees off with its Mexico City event. Those same sources said Thursday afternoon that the league had communicated payments were expected to process later Thursday.

LIV players receive two types of payments: Tournament winnings and league salaries. Tournament winnings typically take only a day or two to hit players’ bank accounts following a competition; the league’s last event was March 19-22 in South Africa, and players have received those prize winnings.

On Wednesday morning, the Financial Times reported the PIF was on the verge of pulling its funding for the league. It also said an announcement on the PIF’s involvement with LIV could come as soon as Thursday, but added a final decision has not been made about the future of the league.

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Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is “set to acquire a majority stake” in Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal SFC from the PIF, marking “the next stage of the kingdom’s privatization efforts for its local league.” The deal values Al-Hilal at $373.2M according to a statement. The prince’s conglomerate Kingdom Holding Co. is “set to own 70% of the club after regulatory approvals,” and the PIF will remain a minority shareholder. The $1T wealth fund also owns a stake in Kingdom Holding. The PIF holds an ownership stake in three other clubs of the Saudi Pro League, which it also “plans to sell.” It has been “shifting its domestic sports investment strategy,” and the Al-Hilal deal comes a day after PIF Gov. Yasir Al-Rumayyan said that “it had fulfilled its targets in local football club holdings” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/16).

The sale comes amid “scrutiny over the PIF’s investment in LIV Golf,” with the Saudi sovereign wealth fund “set to pull its funding for the rebel golf league” after just four years, having pumped “more than” $5B into the project in a bid to “overthrow the sport.” But amid the Iran conflict, it is suggested the PIF is “reassessing its financial priorities, hence the decision to abandon LIV Golf which has reportedly lost billions over the years” (London INDEPENDENT, 4/16).

Atrium Health and the Carolina Panthers have reached a long-term extension of the health-care system’s sponsorship that “adds naming rights to an indoor practice facility now under construction near Bank of America Stadium.” Financial terms of the multiyear agreement were not disclosed. Execs from Atrium and Tepper Sports & Entertainment “joined Panthers players and community leaders to announce the agreement” on Thursday at the site. The 101,400-square-foot, “climate-controlled practice site” will be known as the Atrium Health Training Facility. It will “house a full-sized football field, training rooms, equipment storage space, a video control room and meeting spaces.” The second floor will “feature a digital display of past and present patients from Atrium’s children’s hospital who have met with Panthers players and coaches as part of a long-running community outreach program.” Tepper Sports CEO Kristi Coleman said that the building is “‘first and foremost’ for football practice and training,” but will also be “used for community events and NFL game-day hospitality” (CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/16).

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Roku has hit “more than 100 million streaming households worldwide, reaching a long standing goal for the streaming and devices company.” The company reached this milestone in April, after last announcing that it had reached more than 90 million streaming households in January 2025. Beyond those announcements, Roku has “stopped providing quarterly updates on the metric, saying it preferred to focus on platform revenue and profitability.” But with 100 million streaming households, Roku is “pushing forward on its promises to investors and growing alongside the expansion of the streaming ecosystem.” The company defines streaming households as “the number of distinct user accounts streaming on the Roku platform in a given 30-day period” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 4/16).

Meanwhile, Roku Media Head of Sports Joe Franzetta joins SBJ’s Austin Karp to unpack how Roku aims to reshape the sports viewing experience in the streaming era.

The Rams “unveiled a subtly refined uniform look” ahead of the 2026 season, with “small but noticeable tweaks marking the franchise’s first major update since 2020.” The refresh “builds on the team’s existing visual identity,” with the Rams emphasizing a “cleaner and more modern presentation while maintaining core design elements tied to the franchises history.” Among the changes is a “simplified version of the team’s ‘LA’ monogram logo.” The Ram head logo has also “been updated with a sharper horn and bolder, more aggressive expression.” The Rams will have “two primary uniform sets and a new white pant option designed to create additional combinations on game day.” The “Bone” uniform will be “removed from the rotation, while the Royal and White primary looks will serve as the foundation of the Rams’ on-field identity alongside the Midnight Rivalry uniform” introduced last season (CALIFORNIA POST, 4/16).

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All The Smoke Productions will be the production services partner for upcoming Netflix video podcast episodes of “The White House with Michael Irvin,” and will partner with the Pro Football HOFer to lead production, creative strategy and social media execution for his show. The efforts begin Tuesday, with releases twice per week through the end of 2026 exclusively on Netflix. This is the latest collab between Netflix and All the Smoke, as the company supported production of Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford and the launch of “Happy Gilmore 2.”

One of golf’s most recognizable event artists is looking beyond the sport. Lee Wybranski, who has been responsible for the art behind events like the U.S. Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Championship and many more, has signed with WME for representation as he aims to extend the event-poster aesthetic he built in golf into new sports and entertainment properties. He’ll be represented by a team led by WME senior partner and talent agent Jason Hodes. This is his first time having an agent.

Wybranski, who has spent three decades shaping the way the sport looks and feels to fans and whose work has appeared at more than 40 major championships, said WME will help him expand his footprint. His business, Flagstaff, Arizona-based Wybranski Art & Design, currently sells paintings, merchandise like mugs, and golf club headcovers.

Though golf will remain the core of his business, Wybranski has already begun to test his style in other spaces. In recent years, he has added the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, 2023 Keeneland Spring Meet and the 2026 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells to his portfolio. He said WME will help him scale his business into new categories like collaborations and broader distribution through more apparel and collectibles. Wybranski is hoping to one day work with sports properties like the Olympics and Wimbledon.

On top of that, he said he’d like to see his work extend into a larger variety of spaces like the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. It’s a fitting pairing as WME already represents hundreds of musical artists and has connections into the concert and live music industry.

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FIFA is offering paid tours of six NFL stadiums set to host matches during the 2026 World Cup, with prices varying by location and date. Venues include MetLife Stadium in N.J., AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Lumen Field in Seattle and Arrowhead Stadium in K.C.

A FIFA spokesperson said additional details about the World Cup Stadium Tour Program will be shared soon, but bookings are already available through Eventbrite. Each tour lasts between 90 minutes and two hours, with listings promising access to locker rooms, media zones, premium areas and “iconic pitch viewpoints.”

“Led by expert guides, each tour brings the stadium’s matchday transformation to life -- offering insider stories, operational insights and a deeper look at what it takes to host the world’s biggest sporting event,” the description reads.

The six venues included in the program each operate their own tours under normal circumstances. Tours are available on select dates before and during the World Cup, excluding periods when matches are being played at each stadium.

Court records show that former NBAer Damon Jones is “set to plead guilty in one of two illegal gambling cases that rocked professional basketball." If Jones pleads guilty, he will “become the first of some 30 people charged in the two cases that include accusations of placing illegal bets with insider information and luring deep-pocketed gamblers to high-stakes card games rigged by Mafia associates.” Jones’ plea hearing is set for April 28 before U.S. District Magistrate Judge Joseph Marutollo in federal court in Brooklyn. It is “unknown what charges Jones may plead guilty to.” Court records only “indicate a potential plea in the case where Jones leveraged his friendship with current players and coaches to pass on non-public information on injuries to bettors, who placed big bets on player performances” (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 4/16).

For 15 years, the agency formerly known as Wasserman has held an event at SBJ’s CAA World Congress of Sports by and exclusively for women in the sports industry. So it was again Wednesday night for No. 16, with the agency rebranded as The Team hosting a party for 200 at The Grammy Museum at L.A. Live.

Given the events of the past two months, which saw founder Casey Wasserman put his share of the agency up for sale and catalyzed the agency rebrand after emails surfaced linking him to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, how different was this year’s gathering?

“It’s been a rough couple of months, but it’s even more special this year, having been through all of that, with help from many of the woman here,” Brands and Properties President Elizabeth Lindsey said. “We’ve been doing this long enough, that I can tell you that while there is now a lot more talk about women in sports, there’s still not enough doing the actual work across the industry.”

CommBank was named a founding partner of the 2032 Brisbane Games, “eight months ahead of when the usual five-year commercial period was due to begin.” The IOC has given Brisbane “special leave to sign on sponsors sooner amid concerns it will be harder to raise much-needed cash.” Brisbane 2032 Board President Andrew Liveris said that the permission “was not granted solely because of the tough task of finding sponsors, but included considerations such as Brisbane 2032’s future spending.” It is the “first major deal” for CCO Francois-Xavier Bonnallie. The value of the partnership will not be revealed, but CEO Matt Comyn said that “it was ‘sizeable’” (BRISBANE COURIER-MAIL, 4/16).

Liveris said that recession fears are “unlikely to deter essential private sector investment into the operational coffers” of the 2032 Brisbane Games, Liveris was “confident economic pressures facing Australia from Middle East shockwaves would not deter corporate Australia from investing” in the Games (THE AUSTRALIAN, 4/16).

The French Open singles champions will win $3.3M (all figures US) this year, up from $3M in 2025. Total prize money has increased by 9.5% compared to last year. Losers in the first round of singles qualifying will receive $28,000, while players will get around $102,000 for reaching the main draw. The prize money on offer for the French Open is “larger than at the Australian Open, but smaller than” Wimbledon and the US Open. The tournament in Paris gets underway on May 24 (LE MONDE, 4/16).

Meanwhile, players for the first time can “wear data-collecting portable devices on court in order to gain information on their physical performances” during the French Open (AP, 4/16). The trial will “permit players to use wearable technology to record biometric information related to their physical performance, which can then be used to inform recovery.” Players at Wimbledon and the US Open will also be “allowed to wear devices.” At the Australian Open, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka among other players were “forced to remove wrist fitness devices that the tournament had placed on its ‘banned list’” (London TIMES, 4/16).

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast, SBJ media reporters Austin Karp and Josh Carpenter break down why NBC analyst Kevin Kisner’s public criticism of CBS’ Masters coverage turned heads, why his comments matter inside the broadcast world and what it could mean behind the scenes at NBC and Augusta National.