Pepsi is out and credit-rating agency Moody’s is in as a cornerstone sponsor at MetLife Stadium. Under the deal, Moody’s gets branding on one of the four stadium gates and entitlement to the Commissioners Club high-end hospitality suites section, along with bowl signage and digital display advertising in the stadium. Pepsi has been a cornerstone sponsor at MetLife since it opened in 2010. However, the beverage/food giant some time ago dropped its MetLife corner sponsorship, while concomitantly extending its other assets there, including pouring rights, "well into the future," according to a source. The other gate sponsors at MetLife are HCLTech, Verizon and Bud Light.

In addition to being a cornerstone partner of MetLife Stadium, Moody's also will be an official partner of both the Jets and Giants. They will be able to use both teams' IP. Excel Sports Management handled the sellers in the deal. 

The Bears will unveil plans for a "new enclosed stadium on the Chicago lakefront" during a news conference tomorrow at Soldier Field. The Bears are planning for "a state-of-the-art, publicly owned enclosed stadium, along with additional green and open space with access to the lakefront for families and fans, on the Museum Campus." The Bears in recent months have "shifted the focus of their stadium search" to the parking lot on the south side of Soldier Field. The team is prepared to provide $2B to support a publicly owned stadium on the Museum Campus, but it "remains unclear exactly how much public money the Bears will be seeking." Tomorrow's news conference will happen just one day before a "potentially transformative NFL Draft night" for the Bears, who hold the No. 1 overall draft pick and appear "likely to select" USC QB Caleb Williams (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 4/22).

PGA Tour player Rory McIlroy will return to the PGA Tour policy board this week, "just five months after stepping down from it." It is expected that McIlroy's involvement "will help appease sponsors and Yasir Al-Rumayyan " -- governor of the PIF -- to "expedite an agreement" between the two parties. McIlroy said last night, "I'd rather the men's golf professional landscape survived this, so I'm happy to do my bit." McIlroy would replace Webb Simpson, who has reportedly "offered his resignation and requested the former world No 1 takes his place" (SKY SPORTS, 4/23).

McIlroy "reappearing on the frontline" will represent a "major boost" to the PGA Tour and its sponsors. Others "likely to be impressed" by McIlroy’s potential return include the DP World Tour, which would have a boardroom voice at the PGA Tour, and Fenway Sports Group as part of the Strategic Sports Group. Fenway and McIlroy have existing connections via the TGL (London GUARDIAN, 4/22).

AI technology firm Infinite Reality has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Drone Racing League for $250M. The acquisition bolsters Infinite Reality's capabilities and IP, and boosts its valuation to $3.5B. The DRL deal marks Infinite Reality's latest acquisition to a portfolio that includes spatial web design firm Ethereal Engine; fully integrated entertainment production company iR Studios; esports franchises Team Rogue (League of Legends) and London Royal Ravens (Call of Duty); as well as digital media, content and creator services. DRL has previously received investments from sports, media and technology entities including RSE Ventures, Liberty Media, Exor, ISOS Capital, WWE, T-Mobile Ventures, CAA Ventures, Lux Capital, Lerer Hippeau, Courtside Ventures, Sky and Hearst Ventures (Infinite Reality).

As part of the acquisition, Infinite Reality will take on DRL’s staff, while DRL founder & CEO Nicholas Horbaczewski will become Infinite Reality’s Global President. DRL President Rachel Jacobson, who previously worked at the NBA as SVP/Business Development, will become Infinite Reality’s President of Global Business, Ventures & Partnerships (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/23).

The Univ. of Missouri has hired Memphis AD Laird Veatch to run its athletic department, ending a two-month search, according to Eli Hoff of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. The UM System Board of Curators will meet Wednesday to approve Veatch's contract. He could be officially introduced in Columbia "as soon as Friday." His start date will be May 1, though his starting salary is "unclear" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 4/23). In St. Louis, Hoff & Frederickson noted as a “veteran fundraiser who has been proactive” around NIL, Veatch brings “several of the key traits” MU leaders targeted in their search for an AD. Veatch will return to Columbia with “some familiarity with MU” from two prior stints working with the university. During his time at Memphis, Veatch secured a partnership with the city of Memphis for a $200M renovation to “modernize the school’s football stadium.” And last week, he secured a $25M NIL agreement with FedEx, a “massive deal for a school of Memphis’ stature.” Veatch’s background and specialties “align with a Missouri athletics department” that must finance half of announced $250M renovations to Memorial Stadium through donations and extend NIL momentum granted by a favorable state law. Key wheels "already are turning” for Mizzou athletics, including last week’s unveiling of renderings for the “extensive addition of premium seating to Memorial Stadium’s north concourse” and an NIL operation that has boosted Missouri football’s program and made the men’s basketball program “competitive in the transfer portal this offseason.” But “maintaining that momentum will be key” for Veatch when he takes over (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 4/22).

WANTING TO BE THERE: In St. Louis, Ben Frederickson wrote if you had “jotted down a list of experiences, qualities and accomplishments you wanted Mizzou’s next AD to have after” Desiree Reed-Francois made a surprise departure to the Univ. of Arizona, Veatch “should check many of your boxes.” That “includes the most important one," as Veatch, “unlike Reed-Francois, wants to be at Mizzou and is willing to embrace the challenges it will throw at him, including maximizing a relationship with a board of curators that has significant and increasing say in athletic department doings.” Veatch was a candidate before Reed-Francois got the job the last time around and again after. That means he "knows what he’s getting into and still wants it" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 4/22).

Range Media Partners will today announce a new growth capital investment round led by Forest Road Asset Management with investments from telecom giant Liberty Global and David Bonderman’s Wildcat Capital Management, among others. Financial details of the transaction were not available. The company previously welcomed a minority investment from A+E Networks in 2022 that reportedly valued the business at less than $300M, and an industry source suggested the latest investment round now values the company at closer to $400M. 

The new growth equity round is expected to fund even further investments and acquisitions. “We founded Range with the express intention to build a multi-vertical, full-service offering, one that extends beyond the traditional business of film & TV representation,” said Range CEO Peter Micelli in a statement. “We saw the dynamic changes happening, our clients were feeling them through the ripple effect, and we wanted to be more aggressive in how we could advantageously leverage those changes accordingly.” 

Range was founded in 2020 by a group of agents who departed roles at CAA, UTA and WME with backing from Mets owner Steve Cohen’s Point72 Ventures. The firm is involved with film production and talent representation, with Hollywood clientele including Halle Berry and Bradley Cooper. Range’s sports division, launched in 2022, is co-led by former WarnerMedia EVP Will Funk and Greg Luckman, previously the head of brand consulting for CAA and CEO of Allied Sports. That vertical has grown quickly over the last year-plus with the acquisitions of media rights advisory firm Claygate Advisors, Olympic athlete agent Lowell Taub’s Stoked Management Group and golf agency Makers Sports Management. Range Sports also expanded into football representation last year with the addition of NFL player rep Kyle Strongin; the firm’s 35 NFL clients include 49ers QB Brock Purdy. Range Media now has around 200 staffers, about 30 of which are in the sports group. 

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Audio entertainment giant Audacy is launching Audacy Sports, a new umbrella brand intended to consolidate its sports offerings for advertisers. Lee Davis, Audacy’s SVP/Sports Monetization, said the new Audacy Sports banner allows the company to provide potential advertisers with an aggregated menu of offerings that would otherwise have been divided across radio, streaming and podcast verticals. “We were just missing an opportunity in expressing what we are to the advertising community,” Davis said. “The way we were going to market was a little clunky, and this made it much more seamless. ... To be able to go to a potential advertiser, especially a national one, and not be able to talk about Audacy sports as a whole made it a little more challenging than it should have been.” 

Audacy oversees a network of 40 owned-and-operated sports radio stations and affiliates, 160 sports channels on its app and a podcast network with over 600 titles and live events. It also has two national sports networks with Westwood One -- Infinity Sports Network (formerly CBS Sports Radio) and BetQL Network -- and is MLB’s official audio and podcast partner. All of those will now live under the Audacy Sports banner. Davis said the biggest national ad categories include consumer packaged goods, automotive and sports betting.

Audacy Sports will officially launch at the upcoming NFL Draft, where five Audacy broadcast stations will form a standalone radio row at the Buffalo Wild Wings location adjacent to Detroit’s Hart Plaza. Davis said it will be the first time Audacy has coordinated multiple radio stations under a single banner, though he stressed there are no plans to change any stations’ local branding. “The strength of our over-the-air broadcast radio stations is their individual brands,” said Davis, who pointed to flagships like WFAN in N.Y. and WIP in Philadelphia.

“We certainly don’t want to diminish those brands; they are as known in their particular markets as any other sports brands. We want to lean on that strength but still have the [advertising] community know, if they choose to buy us at scale nationally or through a roll-up of all these brands, they can do that. If they want to buy us at scale through streaming or our podcasts, they can do that.”

Olympic champion Michael Johnson has secured more than $30M from investors and strategic partners for a track league he plans to launch next year. Winners Alliance, the for-profit arm of the Professional Tennis Players Association, was the lead investor and will be the league's operating partner.

Johnson, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, announced in February that they would launch a track series in 2025 aimed at promoting interest in the sport. The league will include a series events during the normal track season, which is April to September, limiting the number of events and athletes. It aims to elevate the sport's stars and rivalries between them while catering to fan interests.

The plan is to create content around those athletes to increase interest in the sport, which is one of the most popular during the Olympics every four years.

To that end, Johnson's league has added three agencies to promote the sport's stars through fan-focused storytelling. The league has hired Doubleday & Cartwright, a creative studio that specializes in sports, music, art and culture. The agency has worked with brands, including Apple, Nike and Red Bull, as well as MLB, MLS and NBA teams. It will work with Johnson's league create its graphic identity and later work with athletes to create their individual graphic identities.

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The Earthquakes have signed a multiyear sponsorship agreement with Udemy, an online skills marketplace and learning platform, that grants the brand front-of-kit exposure on the team’s training jerseys. In addition, Udemy will be the presenting sponsor of the team’s Pride Night on June 15 and offer complimentary course credits to members of the local community at three additional matches. The partnership will also serve as a vehicle for Udemy to promote its relationship with Amazon Web Services. Klutch Sports Group supported the Earthquakes in securing the partnership.

The Tennessee legislature yesterday approved two bills that "could help fund FedExForum renovations" in Memphis by "re-allocating how the city and county divide revenue from a hotel/motel tax." The legislation will now go to Gov. Bill Lee's desk. The bills provide a "pathway for the city and county to continue their discussions" with the Grizzlies, though "there's still work to be done ... before the renovations can be finalized and the Grizzlies sign a long-term lease." The Grizzlies "have not publicly said how much money they need" for the project, but the "expectation from around the city is it will cost at least" $550M. The bills passed by the state legislature allow the city and county to "start working on a deal to fill that gap," but those discussions are "far from being finalized" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 4/22).

Integrity Compliance 360 has emerged as the new combined brand for the merger between U.S. Integrity and Odds On Compliance. The two companies announced the start of their mergers in October, pairing U.S. Integrity’s monitoring tech with Odds On Compliance’s consulting firm focused on compliance. 

Before their melding, the pair created a software called ProhiBet, which can alert organizations when a player, coach or team employee tries to wager with a sportsbook via encrypted personalized data. The UFCand many college athletics conferences -- such as the SEC, Big 12, AAC and Mountain West -- were among the early users of ProhiBet. LIV Golf and the Professional Fighters League are also users of the software. 

IC360 CEO Matt Holt told SBJ that the company has approximately 100 clients using ProhiBet, adding a couple more with every passing week. The entire suite of IC360’s offerings include an Integrity Monitoring dashboard and a comprehensive sports betting laws and regulations resource called PlayBookAI.

Here's more on the new brand.

SBJ I Factor features an interview with Molly Mazzolini. Elevate's Sr Operating Advisor – Design + Strategic Alliances chats with SBJ’s Ross Nethery about the power of taking chances. Mazzolini is a member of the SBJ Game Changers Class of 2016. She shares stories of her career including co-founding sports design consultancy Infinite Scale career journey and how a chance encounter while working at a stationery store launched her career in the sports industry. 

SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

The K.C. Current have unveiled plans for a roughly 20-acre mixed-use district next to the club’s CPKC Stadium along the Missouri Riverfront, with groundbreaking expected later this year and the first of three phases scheduled for completion prior to the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. Read more about the plans in yesterday's SBJ Unpacks.

The T'Wolves' ownership dispute between majority owner Glen Taylor and the Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez group "will advance to a mediation session" on May 1 in Minneapolis. As part of the original contract, mediation is the "first step in the process of finding a resolution to the ongoing conflict" (ESPN.com, 4/22).

Tim McKone "will be the full-time third voice" on WBZ-FM's "Zolak and Bertrand" midday show in Boston. McKone has been filling in on various Sports Hub programs, including "Zolak and Bertrand," for several years (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/22).

The National Lacrosse League welcomed 1,060,706 game attendees through its turnstiles during the 2023-24 regular season, a 2% increase compared to last season and the second time the NLL has had consecutive seasons exceeding one million in attendance in its 37-year history (NLL).

"It wasn’t an overdose. I don’t know why when you have your name in the paper in the past, people throw that out there quickly. I don’t pay attention to it all that much, but I don’t think it’s fair" -- Colts owner Jim Irsay, refuting speculation that his current health issues include an overdose, which was the documented reason police and paramedics responded to a 911 call to his residence on Dec. 8 (FOX59.com, 4/22).

The AP looks at an NFL Draft night tradition under the header, "For years, a Michigan company has been the top pick to quickly personalize draftees’ new NFL jerseys." Employees of the company tasked each year with "rapidly personalizing jerseys for each first-round NFL draft pick as they are announced" don’t need to travel very far for this year’s player selections in Detroit. STAHLS' headquarters in St. Clair Shores, Mich., sits 17 miles from the stage where NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will inform players that they have been selected by an NFL franchise. The draft gets underway Thursday, marking the 13th year the apparel decoration technology, software and equipment manufacturer has "worked behind the scenes" at the draft. The STAHLS’ team "has under two minutes, from the moment each pick is made until Goodell greets him, to personalize the jerseys backstage" in the Nike jersey room at the NFL Draft Theater. The "secret sauce" is a Hotronix Fusion IQ heat press, a machine that features a "high-resolution touch screen controller and is used by custom apparel businesses." STAHLS' personalizes two jerseys for each draft pick, "including one handed to the player onstage and another that is used as part of his rookie playing card pack."

Also:

• MLB’s culinary game at ballparks has exploded in the past 20 years -- but eating healthy remains a challenge.

• Texans' new uniforms will include H-Town Blue. Houston's history with color that predates Oilers.

• How the Canucks pulled off an improbable single-season turnaround.

• First female 'Cup Keeper' talks journey with hockey's holy grail: 'A bit surreal.'

• Jack Todd: Women's sports have taken a huge leap forward, but much work remains.

"Best known for a novel, she wrote at least six full-length plays and collaborated with Moms Mabley on a 1931 Broadway revue."

"Who is Zora Neale Hurston?"