SBJ Unpacks: Broncos head to court as sale looms

The Broncos’ lawyers will be in a Denver courtroom next week, seeking to tie up a long-running ownership loose end. But the rooting interests in this case may not be what you think, writes SBJ's Ben Fischer.

The team’s goal is to get a judge to declare, once and for all, that businesses tied to deceased former owner Edward Kaiser have no right of first refusal on team ownership stakes that may be for sale. That’s critical, given team president Joe Ellis’ prior claims that there will be some kind of ownership transition in 2022.

But there’s a wrinkle here. Broncos senior VP Brittany Bowlen could actually benefit if the case goes against the team, said two people familiar with the situation. Here’s why: Bowlen wants to succeed her deceased father as principal owner, but has not so far won the necessary backing of her siblings, who would be in line for a windfall if the team is sold outside the family. If the judge determines that ROFR Holdings (a company Kaiser set up before his death) does have a right of first refusal, that would complicate a sale of a controlling interest outside of the family -- thereby raising the appeal of keeping it and putting Brittany in charge.

Kaiser lost a similar lawsuit in 1999 when then-owner Pat Bowlen offered part of the team to John Elway. This issue was revived when ROFR Holdings claimed in 2020 that it still had a right. The Broncos will argue the right-of-first-refusal was an agreement between two individuals that expired when they died, and Kaiser can’t grant that right to a company that outlived him.

For more from Fischer, see today's issue of SBJ Football.

Prominent sports venue architect Bryan Trubey has joined San Antonio-based firm Overland Partners to launch their new sports practice, reports SBJ's Bret McCormick. Trubey left HKS in June and is bringing a handful of his former HKS colleagues with him to Overland, including John Hutchings, Austin Ash, Trip Boswell, Dan Trafford, Katie Miles and Cheryl Karalla.

Trubey and Hutchings and Boswell have worked together for over two decades. They’ll be based out of Dallas and already have several projects lined up. “I knew I still had quite a bit of my career left and I just wanted to really focus on where would be the absolute best place where I could continue the progression that I’d experienced in my career,” said Trubey, who will be a senior principal at Overland. Trubey's college roommate, Bob Shemwell, is also a senior principal at Overland.

Trubey started HKS’ sports practice in 1992 and the firm helped shape sports venue trends over the ensuing decades, designing AT&T Stadium, Dickies Arena, SoFi Stadium, U.S. Bank Stadium, Lucas Oil Stadium and both Globe Life Park and Globe Life Field, among others. HKS helped bring mixed-use developments and hospitality-grade design in premium spaces into the sports world.

Trubey joins a firm that is one of the best nationally when it comes to sustainability and hospitality. Trubey also expects the new sports practice to move quicker thanks to what he called “less organizational overhead." “In terms of being the underdog, that’s never bothered me,” Trubey said, laughing. “I’m very confident that we’ll be able to secure large-scale, significant work, especially with the creative team that we’ve already assembled here." 

London-based esports organization Fnatic has secured a multiyear partnership agreement with cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com, per SBJ's Trent Murray. The deal is valued at roughly $15 million and names Crypto.com Fnatic’s global cryptocurrency partner.

Through the deal, Fnatic will launch new digital products including NFTs and develop new content, collaborating with existing Crypto.com partners which include UFC, F1, and Paris Saint-Germain. Additionally, Crypto.com will have its logo placed on Fnatic jerseys. The deal is Crypto.com’s first foray into esports.

Oregon football apparel is flying off the virtual shelves this week, per data from Fanatics cited by SBJ's Michael Smith.

Since pulling an upset at Ohio State on Saturday, Oregon is the top-selling school for the company’s ecommerce business. Oregon sales are up a staggering 425% just since Tuesday. Since the college football season started, Alabama has held the top spot in licensed merchandise sales, followed by No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 Florida. 

Oregon's upset of OSU on Fox led all college football games in Week 2 with 7.7 million viewers in the 12:00pm ET window, notes SBJ's Austin Karp. The figure is better than any of Fox' " Big Noon Saturday " windows last season and the best regular season game for Fox since 13.2 million watched Michigan-Ohio State in 2019. It also marks Fox' sixth-best CFB game on record.

When experts discuss innovation in the esports team space, 100 Thieves is typically regarded as an industry leader, writes SBJ's Trent Murray. Since its first League of Legends Championship Series (LCS)  season in 2018, the company has introduced new methods of content creation, sponsor integration, and merchandising into esports all led by pro player turned content creator turned CEO Matt “Nadeshot” Haag. By Haag’s side since the beginning has been 100 Thieves President & COO John Robinson.

Robinson hadn’t planned on a career in gaming, but was recruited shortly after graduating college by game publisher Electronic Arts. After four years with EA and a stint leading Brothersport Games, Robinson landed at Korean mobile games studio Nexon. It was here that he was properly introduced to esports.

“By being at Nexon,” Robinson told SBJ, “spending a lot of time in Seoul, my understanding of esports largely came from going and spending Friday nights at the Nexon Arena watching Starcraft and League of Legends back in 2014. It got me really excited about the industry and where it was going.”

Read Murray's full profile of Robinson here.

The Esports Observer, a pioneer in esports media, has joined SBJ's award-winning coverage of sports business. Visit the new esports section on SBJ for all the latest coverage.

• Turner Sports and Disney today unveiled their regular-season programming schedules for the 2021-22 NHL season, with the latter airing 75 exclusive matchups on ESPN+ and Hulu, along with ESPN and ABC broadcasting 28 exclusive games, per SBJ's Mark J. Burns. Disney’s broadcasts begin Oct. 12. Additionally, ESPN+ will show more than 1,000 out-of-market games. Meanwhile, Turner Sports will broadcast a 50-game slate on TNT starting Oct. 13. That includes the league’s three outdoor games: Discover Winter Classic, Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series and Tim Hortons Heritage Classic. This year marks the first season of a seven-year media-rights deals for the two networks, which together are paying up to $625 million annually in fees.

• ICYMI: The increase in viewership for the NFL in Week 1 was aided by gains in 15 local markets, including big increases in some key locales like New York (Jets) and L.A. (Chargers). Las Vegas led all NFL markets with a 60% gain from Week 1 last year, as the Raiders were highlighted on “Monday Night Football” and Sin City residents for the first time saw fans pack the new Allegiant Stadium. SBJ's Austin Karp has the full story.
  
  

• PointsBet has secured a long-term deal with Austin FC, becoming a founding partner of the club as it plays its first MLS season. PointsBet gains exclusivity across the gaming category, including retail and online sports betting, daily fantasy, and free-to-play games. It will receive prominent brand integration at Q2 Stadium, including entitlement of the PointsBet Sports Bar.
  
  

• The latest SBJ I Factor features Warriors President & COO Brandon Schneider talking with SBJ’s Abe Madkour about leadership lessons, how he manages, executives he’s learned from and the advantages of staying with a company for the long term. The full episode can be viewed here.

• L.A.-based Movagar & Yamin Personal Injury Lawyers has inked a multiyear sponsorship deal with the NHL Kings and the team's AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, per SBJ's Mark J. Burns. M&Y Personal Injury Lawyers is the first law firm to work with both clubs.