Morning Buzz

Playfly Sports will handle local media sales for three teams under MLB’s TV umbrella as part of an expanded deal extension with the league.

The Twins, Guardians and Rockies will outsource their local media sales to Playfly Sports.

Playfly Sports has already been doing national media sales for all five teams under MLB’s TV umbrella, including the Padres and D-backs.

From MLB’s perspective, Playfly Sports has been locked in on advertising sales for regional sports networks for a long time, and the league has already been able to tap into their expertise on a national level. The new deal is an expansion of a partnership that has been successful for both sides.

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The NFL “vowed to be resilient,” two days after league headquarters was targeted by a gunman who killed four people on Monday. The league said in a statement Wednesday, “The NFL is deeply grateful for the global outpouring of support following the tragic act of violence at the New York city building that houses our league office among other organizations.” The league “held a virtual town hall” Wednesday, “giving employees an opportunity to connect and share resources.” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told employees on Tuesday they could work remotely at least through the end of next week because league offices would be closed (AP, 7/30).

Levy will pay a 45% commission on all food concessions sales at Michigan State athletics venues, per the terms of the company’s contract with the university. The food and beverage hospitality provider also pays a 50% commission on all alcohol sales, which the university began at its athletic venues in 2023. The venues Levy will service include the 75,000-capacity Spartan Stadium, the 14,759-capacity Breslin Center, the Munn Ice Arena and five other venues.

Michigan State issued an RFP for a food and beverage provider in January and selected Levy this summer. SBJ obtained the contract via the Freedom of Information Act.

The deal that Levy struck with the Big Ten school runs until June 30, 2035. Michigan State has a five-year renewal option, as well as the one-time right to terminate the agreement, for any reason, after five years (effective June 30, 2030), as long as MSU provides Levy notification in writing on or before March 31, 2030.

Additionally, Levy will invest $8M to fund cap-ex projects that generate incremental revenue at the athletic facilities covered in the deal. No single cap-ex project shall exceed $5M.

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The Tisch family’s Next 3 has acquired a minority stake in SailGP’s U.S. team. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though SBJ reported last month that the team was seeking an investment of $10M-$20M at a $125M valuation. The team did not use an investment bank to manage the process.

The pro sailing team’s lead investor has been Marc Lasry’s Avenue Sports Fund since it acquired the team in 2023 for a reported $35M. That deal, which had a $70M post-money valuation, was organized by Thursday Ventures partner Ryan McKillen and sailor Mike Buckley, the team’s CEO. Other investors include Gary Vaynerchuk, Issa Rae and a lineup of athletes including Deontay Wilder, DeAndre Hopkins and Jozy Altidore.

Next 3 was founded and is led by Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, a member of SBJ’s Game Changers class of 2024. The investment firm has amassed stakes in the NWSL’s Gotham FC, TMRW Sports, TGL’s L.A. Golf Club and volleyball property LOVB, as well as Jackpot.com and Transmit Live. The Tisch family has owned half of the N.Y. Giants since 1991.

Tisch Blodgett told SBJ last year that she aims for Next 3 to play a role in shaping teams and leagues for the future of sports: “The goal is to have our core assets -- our ownership stakes in the Giants, Gotham, TGL -- be kind of modern and at the cutting edge of where sports are going because of the role Next 3 has played in them.” SailGP fits the mold with a focus on tech and innovation. The league recently unveiled a $10M innovation facility in England.

Evolv Technologies has entered into a $75M credit facility deal with MidCap Financial, a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management. Evolv was advised in the deal by Houlihan Lokey.

The private credit deal includes a $30M term loan facility (drawn at closing), another $30M delayed draw facility (available for two years from the closing date) and a $15M undrawn revolving credit facility. The rate is SOFR plus 5.25%; the SOFR average over the past 180 days was 4.38%.

Publicly traded MidCap Financial was founded in 2008, focuses on middle market companies and has roughly $55B in committed capital.

The $75M credit facility will support Evolv’s subscription-based sales model. Evolv’s management believes the model -- in which clients, including sports venues (and teams) lease the Evolv’s frictionless security hardware through multiyear security-as-a-service subscriptions to operate that hardware -- enhances revenue visibility, deepens customer relationships and supports long-term margin expansion.

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MLS SVP/Partnership Marketing Sana Shuaib is leaving to join TKO Group as SVP/Partnership Marketing & Digital.

Shuaib’s first day at TKO will be Monday. She’ll report to EVP/Global Partnerships Grant Norris-Jones, who worked for Shuaib at the NBA more than a decade ago. She’ll be based in N.Y. and sell across TKO’s portfolio of PBR, UFC and WWE sponsorship assets.

Shuaib, a 2024 SBJ Game Changers honoree, has been with MLS since 2019; holding the title of SVP/Partnership Marketing, Integrated Marketing Solutions & Commercial Insights since 2023. She previously held marketing positions at the NBA, Hyatt Hotels and FedEx.

A corresponding move at TKO sees Brit Santypal elevated to SVP/Operations within TKO Global Partnerships. Santypal started with UFC in 2013.

USA Fencing has signed an agreement with Masters Academy International to launch a national training center and academy for the sport.

The partnership, announced Thursday, is expected to be a revenue driver for the national governing body as well as offer new training opportunities in fencing.

MAI is working with the town of Stow, Mass., on a $56M redevelopment project that will create a sports and education complex for fencing and a host of other sports. It is expected to open in the fall of 2026, targeting five hours of daily academic instruction with four hours of sports training for athletes in grades 6-12.

The deal will see MAI become the official home of the national teams for the Olympics and Paralympics.

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ESPN will air a 51-minute film called “Big Dreams: The Little League World Series 2024” on Aug. 12 at 9:30pm ET.

It was directed by Rudy Valdez and produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Documentaries and Cookie Jar & A Dream Studios in association with MLB Studios.

The film is essentially a synopsis of the last year’s LLWS, featuring behind-the-scenes footage, with an emphasis on human interest stories and unique cultures. A few central characters emerge along the way, as 20 teams are whittled down to one champion in Williamsport, Pa.

Colin Boots, an infielder for the team from the Great Lakes region, discusses his father being diagnosed with leukemia a year ago and undergoing several transplants, saying of the treatment, “so far, it’s gone really well.”

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Longtime entertainment industry talent executive Krista Burditt is launching a football-focused representation agency. Titled Wilde Entertainment, the Nashville-based outfit has 10 employees, including NFLPA-certified agents Ezra Thompson and Chad Berger, as well as several clients in the NFL and college football such as Bears CB Josh Blackwell, Bills WR Jalen Virgil, Jaguars LB Jalen McLeod and N.C. State LB Sean Brown. Burditt serves as founder and CEO. Berger will be Wilde’s head of football personnel while Thompson will serve as head of football operations.

The agency also launches with a partnership with Fort Myers, Fla.-based physical therapy company X3 Performance and Physical Therapy. X3 will help Wilde’s clients with physical training, rehabilitation, recovery and mental wellness. Burditt says the partnership is a key aspect of the agency’s “360-degree model,” as Wilde will focus on more than contract negotiations for clients such as brand development, long-term career planning, strategic partnerships, philanthropic efforts and educational support. Nick Walker, co-founder at X3, said Wilde’s 360 approach “immediately resonated with us.” Burditt said the agency will target clients ranging from high school students to professional football athletes.

“Wilde was created to do things differently because athletes deserve more care, clarity and commitment,” she told SBJ. “My goal is for, even our rookies that are signed with us, now that we have them, to represent them until they hang it up and then beyond.”

Others joining Burditt and Wilde in the launch of the agency are Heather Kamins, former CAA brand management SVP and general counsel, who will become Wilde’s VP/Strategic Partnerships & Opportunities, and former Maryville College RB Hubert Payne, who is the agency’s VP/Athlete Development.

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Grass League, a team-based, par-3 competition, has raised $2.75M in a seed round led by Creator Sports Capital and Old Tom Capital. The funding will be used to elevate the league and live event experience, scale operations, expand in-house content capabilities and invest in sales and strategic partnerships. The funds also will allow for the addition of key roles, such as a commissioner for the league. Creator Sports Capital is no stranger to golf, having led recent raises for Good Good Golf. Old Tom Capital is an early-stage firm focused on golf industry innovations.

Grass League told SBJ in April that its main revenue generators are ticket sales, team sales and sponsorships. Grass League has also been working with WME on promotion. Members of Good Good Golf are members of Grass League’s Dallas team. Sponsors for Season 1 included Gila River Resorts and Casinos, Red Bull, Heineken and clothing brand UNRL.

NBC Sports has a media deal with Grass League than runs through 2025. Live events have been on Peacock, Golf Channel and GC’s YouTube page.

On the pod this week, co-hosts Austin Karp and Mollie Cahillane break down the latest in sports media, including NBCUniversal potentially launching a new cable sports channel. Also, The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch joins the show to break down the future of NFL Media, including what may happen in the wake of the Paramount/Skydance merger. The trio also examines what a 16-team CFP could look like from a media perspective. Finally, an examination of the media future of both the NBA and MLB.

“Part II of this 17th century work says, ‘I see myself now at the end of my journey; my toilsome days are ended.’”