Morning Buzz

Kentucky and Fanatics are set to announce a lengthy renewal of their relationship around e-commerce, wholesale and trading cards, Sports Business Journal has learned. The deal, which is slated to be announced on Friday, also includes a significant annual NIL activation fund for select Kentucky athletes. Exact terms of the agreement were not disclosed, though the extension effectively combines a handful of Fanatics’ deals with Kentucky to expire coterminously in 2038.

“[People] should look for Fanatics to get more deeply involved with college athletes and working together with them to grow these shared businesses that Fanatics has with our schools,” Fanatics SVP/College Tommy Gray told SBJ.

The NIL portion and athlete-centric efforts in the relationship between Fanatics and Kentucky is particularly notable. The company is slated to work directly with about 25 UK athletes via the Fanatics Creator Program, the company’s influencer marketing platform. Athletes will be able to launch their own affiliate storefronts, curate product collections and link merchandise to their social media posts. Those initiatives extend to working with a handful of Kentucky athletes to spotlight new UK merchandise product collections across its e-commerce network and brick-and-mortar retail partners. Fanatics Collectibles (via Topps and BowmanU), too, will partner with UK Athletics to design, produce and distribute collectible cards featuring current UK athletes and notable Wildcat alumni.

The deal was brokered through BBNIL, Kentucky’s NIL platform operated by JMI Sports. As such, all Fanatics NIL campaign content will be developed and managed through BBNIL.

The Mavericks on Thursday “landed multiple body blows that seemingly staggered the Stars’ standing” in their legal skirmish over American Airlines Center, the “first significant rulings” of the battle. Texas Business Court Judge Bill Whitehill “issued 91 pages of opinion and order” regarding the teams’ combined seven summary judgment claims, and he “ruled in the Mavericks’ favor” on “most of the claims.” The case “by no means appears over, however,” with Stars attorney Joshua Sandler saying that he “looks forward to” the scheduled May 11 jury trial to “settle what he called ‘numerous’ issues that remain.” For now, it appears, the Mavericks “can assert control” of Center Operating Company, which controls American Airlines Center, “until and unless a jury trial decides otherwise” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 4/2).

Patrick Whitesell’s new WIN Sports Group is now officially launching a golf division. The group, called WIN Golf, will be led by Brent Hamilton, who has managed PGA Tour player Min Woo Lee in recent years and will be a partner in WIN.

Hamilton, who was with WME before leaving at the start of 2026, also manages tour players John Pak and Ricky Castillo, as well as Eric Lee, a junior at Oklahoma State. He also reps Minjee Lee, the No. 5 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and the sister of Min Woo Lee.

WIN Golf looks to remain relatively on the small side for the time being. WIN Sports president and partner Jason Lublin in a statement said growth is a priority for WIN, but that “comes from working with unique talent, both golfers and agents.” Lublin said WIN is “focused on quality” more than the size of its client roster. The golf division is the third under WIN Sports Group, joining WIN Artist and WIN Football. Though WIN Golf will remain small for the time being, it’s expected that it will be able to pool resources from the other divisions, and vice versa.

SBJ first reported on the formation of WIN Golf last month as WIN Artists was launched alongside Josh Pyatt.

TNT Sports “will merge with CBS Sports sometime in the third quarter” if “all goes according to plan” following Paramount’s pending purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery -- and CBS Sports President David Berson is “seen as the odds-on favorite to run the combined division.” In the meantime, TNT Sports Chair & CEO Luis Silberwasser and his team have “remained laser-focused on their own programming strategy.” That “somewhat ironically” involves collaborating with CBS on the NCAA Tournament -- a 15-year-old partnership, which “has given some TNT insiders faith that the eventual combination won’t be too agonizing.” Silberwasser said, “There is no discussion about what happens in the future. All those things are being decided later. We have the ability to continue to do the deals that we’re doing now, and to operate this company as an independent company” (PUCK, 4/2).

Given the “existing synergy between CBS and TNT/TBS,” the “impact on tournament presentation, time slots and network distribution might be limited.” There is “little inefficiency in the current framework of 67 games” (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 4/2).

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast, SBJ media reporter Austin Karp and SBJ special contributor Richard Deitsch break down ESPN’s decision to replace the popular Bird & Taurasi altcast with a new, more social‑media‑driven broadcast aimed at younger female viewers. They discuss the shift toward celebrity‑leaning content, the new on‑air personalities and what this says about ESPN’s strategy to bring in new audiences for the Women’s Final Four.

The Dodgers on Thursday “unveiled a new look,” adding a “blue alternate jersey to their regular road rotation.” While the Dodgers “have worn blue in the regular season before, most notably in their first City Connect uniforms from 2021-23 and for six games during ‘Think Blue Week’ in 1999,” this marks the first time in club history that blue “will be a mainstay option on the road.” It is a “clean look that resembles the Dodgers’ spring training tops and features the traditional ‘Los Angeles’ script” that was first worn in 1959. With the “new addition to their closet,” the Dodgers now have three uniforms for the road. These will be the team’s “third option behind both of their grays -- one that reads ‘Dodgers’ across the front and the other with ‘Los Angeles’” (USA TODAY, 4/2).

Bell Media and the Senators have agreed to a 12-year “extension of their English and French broadcast rights,” with the contract set to expire at the end of this season. Senators games will be regionally broadcast “in English on TSN and in French on RDS,” but the two sides also “confirmed that TSN 1200 AM will remain the broadcast home on radio.” Senators owner Michael Andlauer “confirmed the deal in an interview” with TSN’s Claire Hanna and analyst Cheryl Pounder. The “expectation is that TSN and RDS will broadcast 52 games next season.” The deal also came with an agreement to “lift blackout restrictions” in the market. The announcement “was shown live in the arena” Thursday night during the Senators’ win over the Sabres at Canadian Tire Centre (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 4/2).

ADI Predictstreet has signed on as a FIFA Partner in the prediction market category for the World Cup. The platform will launch with the event and leverage FIFA’s historical data to allow users to forecast match outcomes, tournament statistics, top players and key moments. The platform will be available through desktop and mobile. The ADI Predictstreet also will be the presenting partner for FIFA free bracket challenge (ADI).

FIFA CBO Romy Gai said last week at the SBJ Business of Soccer conference that the governing body has sold all 16 of the global sponsorship packages, which includes the organization’s top two corporate partnership tiers: FIFA Partners and World Cup Sponsors (SBJ)

The Golden Knights’ win over the Flames at T-Mobile Arena Thursday night featured “a lengthy 25-minute delay because of ice issues” before the start of the third period. The Knights’ TV broadcast reported that the zamboni “potentially scraped the ice and created a hole on the City of Las Vegas decal on the visitor’s side of the rink.” Ice crew members “tended to the ice with fire extinguishers while smoothing out the ice,” which “erased a noticeable part of the V in ‘Vegas’” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/2).

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is suing Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois over its “ability to exclusively regulate prediction markets.” The lawsuits come over what the CFTC described as the states’ “actions ‘against’ contract markets that were registered with the organization.” The CFTC said that it has the “‘exclusive’ authority to oversee event contracts through the Commodity Exchange Act,” but it “found various states trying to outlaw or hamper activities of designated contract markets that are operating in accordance with the law.” The CFTC’s lawsuits come amid “mounting scrutiny of prediction markets on Capitol Hill and elsewhere” as platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket “skyrocket in popularity.” A group of Congressional Democrats last week introduced legislation “banning prediction market bets on topics including elections, war and sports” (CNBC.com, 4/2).

Fox Sports are looking for a Senior Producer/Digital Talent Production & Storytelling-Motorsports. The Charlotte-based position is responsible for producing original, optimized and VOD content franchises, which includes researching, scripting, scheduling and post-production editing (Fox Sports).

PWHL is looking for an Email Marketing Coordinator. The remote-based position is responsible for the coordination and execution of transactional email campaigns across the league and its teams and will also provide support in email/SMS automation and optimization (PWHL).

The Heat are looking for a Senior Manager/Corporate Partnership Sales. The Miami-based position is responsible for generating new corporate partnerships for the Heat group through local, national and international marketing partnerships (Heat).

The NFLPA is looking for a Player Services Coordinator. The D.C.-based position is responsible for providing customer service to players and NFLPI partners and assists account managers with tasks including drafting and facilitating correspondence, responding to player inquiries and logistical support (NFLPA).

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