Morning Buzz

Fanatics Markets has landed U.S. rights to offer the official prediction markets of the World Cup, combining with global FIFA rights-holder ADI PredictStreet on a co-branded digital hub that will include tournament news, stats and other in-app content.

Owned by the Abu Dhabi royal family, ADI PredictStreet signed on as FIFA’s official prediction market platform in April but was unable to offer its recently launched exchange in the U.S., where event contracts are regulated federally by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Fanatics Markets trades on Crypto.com’s CFTC-regulated exchange.

Fanatics offers the popular sports betting workaround in states that have not legalized online sports betting, including California, Texas and Georgia, as well as in Florida, where Hard Rock Bet operates exclusively.

It was named the the World Cup’s official in-stadium retail licensee in December.

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The USMNT officially unveiled its roster for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday, with F Christian Pulisic, MFs Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie highlighting the host nation’s 26-man squad for this summer. The players were informed via email on Friday, and the entire roster was revealed by The Athletic and The Guardian on Saturday. But the players still gathered at Pier 17 in Manhattan with the Brooklyn Bridge as their backdrop for what was the “grand unveiling” in a “televised, patriotic celebration and sendoff for one of the tournament’s three cohosts.” Fans in USMNT kits “bore the heat, as temperatures reached 80 degrees” in N.Y. by Tuesday afternoon. The crowd was expected to be at capacity, but it “felt like scarce turnout with 30 minutes to go until players were expected to take the stage.” The players were “donning dark gray suits with the U.S. Soccer crest emblazoned over the heart” and were introduced one at a time after that (THE ATHLETIC, 5/26).

Among the notable omissions from the roster was Real Salt Lake MF Diego Luna, who had “emerged as a national team regular” under coach Mauricio Pochettino and had been “featured in several of the USMNT’s pre-tournament marketing campaigns.” A possible starter at defensive midfielder, Tanner Tessmann was also “left off the roster entirely” (N.Y. POST, 5/26).

A bipartisan bill on college sports from U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) is expected to “be introduced within days,” according to sources cited by CBSSPORTS.com. Language for the bill is “being finalized and is now moving through the standard pre-introduction process.” The bill is expected to carry a “limited antitrust exemption regarding player eligibility and transfer rules” -- the legal shield that would let the industry “write its own rules and enforce them without being challenged in the court system.” But whatever else is in the bill has “largely remained a mystery.” The bill will “address player movement in the transfer portal and eligibility windows, legally limiting player movement to as few as one transfer per career.” Sources said that the upcoming bill would also “impose a hard, enforceable salary cap on players” (CBSSPORTS.com, 5/26).

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment CEO Stan Kroenke’s 300-acre retail, office and residential development that includes SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, is “demanding roughly” $400M as reimbursement for improvements it made to its property and the surrounding area, citing the development agreement it struck with the city in 2015. Inglewood is pushing back, “arguing that the agreement is void because of a subsequent state court decision that invalidates agreements adopted by voter initiative.” Kroenke’s lawyers argued in court documents that his development “turned the city’s fortunes around.” Those lawyers say that if Inglewood prevails in this dispute, it “could affect other developments in California.” The city’s lawyers have emphasized in court documents that “billionaires are not above the law” and dispute the amount that Kroenke and his group “say must be reimbursed for improvements to public infrastructure like roads, sewer lines and streetlights.” Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. said that the city “cannot pay because the development agreement it signed is invalid” (N.Y. TIMES, 5/27).

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce is joining the Guardians ownership group “as a minority investor,” purchasing a stake in the team he grew up watching. The team is valued at $1.7B. Kelce was brought into the Guardians ownership group by minority owner David Blitzer, whose pathway to majority ownership of the club “could be converted as early as after the 2027 season.” Other current athletes who have become minority investors in baseball teams include Lakers F LeBron James (Red Sox), Bucks F Giannis Antetokounmpo (Brewers), Pistons G Cade Cunningham (Rangers) and Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes (Royals) (ESPN.com, 5/27).

The Cincinnati Regional Sports Commission and the Bengals are in an “ongoing conversation with the NFL” to bring the 2029 NFL Draft to the city. Cincinnati Regional Sports Commission Exec Dir Ben Huffman said that the organization “submitted a letter of interest to the NFL, but there’s been no formal proposal or bid just yet.” Huffman at the end of April “emailed local business leaders about his plans to attend a meeting in Pittsburgh, the site of the latest NFL Draft, for a Future Host City program.” Huffman said that there is “no clear timeline on when the NFL will reach out about next steps.” SBJ reported in early May that Cincinnati held the “inside track” on the 2029 NFL Draft (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 5/26).

Minor League Baseball and Diamond Baseball Holdings reached multi-year deals with Victory Live to be the pair’s preferred secondary ticketing service. Financial terms of the deal were not shared with SBJ.

For MiLB, Victory Live will provide more pathways to secondary ticketing providers while all 120 clubs will still use Tickets.com as their primary ticketer. On the Diamond Baseball Holdings side, Victory Live plans to modernize ticketing distribution and strategy for select DBH clubs.

Victory Live has a similar deal with the Las Vegas Raiders, which they announced in October of last year.

Performance tech company PlayerData, which started with a lower-cost GPS wearable and has grown to a broader performance offering, has now raised $12M in a Series A investment round. Pentland Ventures, Darco Ventures and Bolt Ventures were the leading funds with Tennis Australia and Kevin Durant’s 35V also joining as new strategic investors.

PlayerData collaborated with Puma and Mitre to launch a soccer ball embedded with a GPS tracker to capture ball data; it also has been testing connected balls produced by Nike. Other connected soccer balls use LPS (or local positioning system) technology, which requires the installation or portable setup of location beacons. The ball’s full commercial launch is planned for this summer and will be soon followed by an 8K, 190-degree portable camera that syncs with the player and ball sensor data for a full performance solution. The application of AI enables automated video clipping as well.

“It was never just our intention to democratize wearables,” said PlayerData Chief Commercial Officer Jess Brodsky, a recent finalist for the SBA: Tech Rising Woman of the Year award presented by Next League. “We’re really trying to create the ecosystem of data capture.”

Brodsky added that the investment round will be used to scale their products and expand the team, whose head count has grown about 40% in the past 18 months. Founded in Scotland, PlayerData also maintains a US headquarters, which it recently moved from Philadelphia to Boston. The wearable tracker also has gained significant traction, mostly in soccer with US Soccer and several MLS clubs having adopted the technology. It will also be worn by the officials at every FIFA men’s World Cup match this summer; PlayerData has also earned Preferred Provider status through FIFA’s Quality Programme. PlayerData works with several MLB clubs, including the Red Sox, Rays and Astros, and has a broad relationship with IMG Academy across several sports.

Major League Table Tennis closed its third season in April and recently hit two business milestones.

On Wednesday, the league will announce Graton Resort & Casino as a new sponsor of its Bay Area franchise, the Blasters. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the multiyear deal designates Graton as the Blasters’ exclusive “casino resort” and front-of-jersey partner beginning with the 2026-27 season. Graton will receive visibility at MLTT events, on MLTT broadcasts, and on the Blasters’ kits, as well as private event activations with MLTT athletes. The deal brings MLTT’s total sponsor count to 11; the league said its sponsorship revenue grew 188% last season.

“Graton [Resort &] Casino is a major milestone for us, because it’s completely outside of table tennis,” MLTT Founder & CEO Flint Lane told SBJ, adding that Graton could host an MLTT event in the future. “The Bay Area is known for its fandom around table tennis, and there’s a huge crossover between who attends casinos and who attends table tennis matches -- if you look at the demographics of our fans, they tend to skew more wealthy, the ethnicity is varied, which is similar to what casinos expect.”

Lane added that MLTT recently closed a $5M funding round from a number of individuals, which brings the league’s total funding to date to more than $15M. The raise comes off a third season from which Lane touted several growth metrics. In addition to the sponsorship bump, ticket sales rose 80% season-over-season (though the league declined to disclose dollar amounts), and MLTT’s social following grew 239% year-over-year, according to the league. Lane also noted that MLTT sold out its final event of the 2025-26 season, at the Table Tennis America club in Fremont, Calif., with about 500 spectators.

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Levy is looking for a Senior Dir/AI. The Chicago-based position is responsible for identifying, prioritizing and delivering AI-driven solutions that enhance guest experience, optimize operations and unlock new revenue opportunities across the business (Levy).

Omnicom Media is looking for a Dir/Sports Investment. The N.Y.-based position is responsible for contributing to new business efforts including research, ideation, pricing and presenting by analyzing and identifying insights and trends and applying those to buy executions (Omnicom Media).

Vanderbilt Univ. is looking for a Senior Associate AD/Communications. The Nashville-based position is responsible for leading athletics communications guiding strategy and execution across media relations, content, digital storytelling and engagement (Vanderbilt Univ.).

Rapha Cycling is looking for a Senior Partnership Manager. The London-based position is responsible for building and managing partnerships that grow the business and brand and leading athlete representation, brand collaboration and commercial partnerships (Rapha Cycling).

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