Here Comes the Money

Sunday service

January 29, 2023

Welcome back to The Sports Road, the best sport and tech newsletter out there. Today, as ever, we keep you up to date with the newest advancements and stories in Sport. You know the drill - news, laughs, and some cringeworthy stuff to keep you on your toes.  

Quick note - we’ve gone pretty crazy on the rewards for referrals to this newsletter (sports tickets, $2000 and more!) check the referral link here and at the bottom.

Here's what we got for ya today:

  • Pokemon Go but it's ... The NBA?

  • The Premier League's ridiculous spending spree

  • Sapphire Sports are on a mission

  • The success of women's cricket

Most valuable public market sports teams

Now, onto the good stuff... 

Slam Dunk for Pikachu

Niantic, the creators of the worldwide phenomenon "Pokemon Go" are at it again with their new basketball game "NBA All-World". This game, just like "Pokemon Go", uses real-world locations to let players challenge each other to games on the street.

  • The game utilizes mobile phones to play, with no need for expensive VR headsets.

  • CEO John Hanke is promoting the game as a "real-world metaverse."

  • Microtransactions are present in the game, where players can purchase virtual items to help them advance through the game or customize their avatars with branded items.

  • Despite the success of Pokemon Go, Hanke is playing down the expectations for "NBA All-World" to reach that level of success.

Our take - where the NBA goes, all top-tier sports IP will eventually go. We think Sports plus Metaverse is an inevitable outcome.

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Spend, spend, spend in the Premier League

Looks like the English Premier League clubs are feeling flush again, breaking records with their spending habits. We guess they're making up for lost time during the pandemic!

-Total spending by English Premier League clubs reached almost $2.2 billion

-6 of the 10 biggest international transfers involved moves to Premier League sides -

-Spending on international transfers in the women's game rose to $3.3 million

-French clubs brought in the most money, with $740.3 million, but still down on 2019 figures

Sapphire Sports bulks up

Looks like Sapphire Sport has been hitting the gym, bulking up with a fresh $181 million investment to pump some iron into sports entertainment and culture.

-Sapphire Sport has now raised a total of $300 million from investors to fund startups that are disrupting the sports entertainment industry.

-Some startups Sapphire Sport is investing in include Overtime, which pays six-figure deals to high school athletes to stream their games, Buzzer, which aims to be the mobile version of the NFL's RedZone for all sports, and Tonal, which makes smart home gyms.

-Sapphire Sport's parent firm, Sapphire Ventures, has over $10 billion in assets under management and is looking to capitalize on the current climate in the startup industry.

We think this is perfect timing for Sapphire - get startups at realistic valuations and ride them all the way to the public markets!

Womans cricket thriving in India

The Indian Premier League (IPL) announced the creation of a new tournament, the Women's Premier League (WPL), which will be played in March. 

The new league will consist of five franchises, and the owners of the IPL's Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore franchises are among the five entities who purchased teams in the WPL. 

The Adani group made the highest bid of approximately $158 million to buy the Ahmedabad franchise, while Capri Global Holdings Private Limited agreed to pay $92.84 million for Lucknow. 

The BCCI has already sold the tournament's media rights for the next five years to Viacom 18 for $117 million. 

This new tournament marks a revolution in women's cricket and paves the way for a transformative journey ahead not only for women cricketers but for the entire sports fraternity.

 Quick bites

Jake Paul announces new opponent in what is his biggest challenge yet: Bout confirmed for late February against Tommy Fury

Meme of the week

Here's to hoping no big fights get cancelled anytime soon 😅

Quote of the week

“Oh my God I already have my name! This is really unbelievable. With all these stars, all these names.”

Aryna Sabalenka seeing her name engraved on the Australian Open trophy; the realisation of a life's goal.

Photo of the day

Artur Beterbiev stops Anthony Yarde in Round 8 of thrilling contest. The thrill and agony of the fight game.

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Chat to ya next week ☮️