This is The Future

Morning. Back again with The Sports Road. Your personal butler for all things sport and tech.

Here's what we got for ya today:

• KSI and Logan Paul: Doing it right

• MLS and Apple are changing the game

• Boxing fans, it’s time

• Todd Boehly is that guy

Most valuable public market sports teams

Now, onto the good stuff...

PRIME: Youtube's Sport Revolution

KSI and Logan Paul. You probably know these two for their massive social media presence, or more recently, ventures into the boxing world.

From once battling against each other in a hard fought boxing match, last year the two announced a partnership to create a sports hydration drink - PRIME.

Since then, the company’s growth has been monstrous. In its first year alone:

• Prime sold over 100 million bottles

• Earned $250 million in retail sales

• Landed huge sponsorship deals with Arsenal and Timmy Hill

That brings us to today, PRIME’s deal with the UFC.

This week, Logan Paul announced that PRIME is now the official sports drink of the UFC. In a multi-year deal that is said to be worth “a high seven-figures annually”, the drink is beginning to land itself as a serious mainstay in the highest levels of the sports world.

With the help of the UFC’s reach, the drink will be integrated into:

• Every UFC Pay-Per-View and Fight Night

• Branding inside the octagon

• Worked into TV coverage - an estimated 900 million TV’s and 175 countries

Not bad for a couple of Youtubers, hey.

MLS and Apple: Changing the Game

Yesterday saw the release of Apple’s ‘MLS Season Pass’ - a huge moment in the world of Football coverage. Don Garber, MLS commissioner, described the initiative as:

😅Exciting. But what even is it? The details are as follows:

• It is a subscription based streaming service

• Will feature ever available MLS game, including cup games

• A 10 year deal between Tech giants, Apple and the MLS

• Available in 100+ different countries

• Cost varies from $12.99-14.99 per month and $79-99 per year

“For the first time in the history of sports, fans will be able to access everything from a major professional sports league in one place,”

Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services

I’m sure that sounds like music to many football fans’ ears.

Forced to jump between 3-4 different broadcasters, it’s not easy for football fans in the UK to watch all their favourite teams' games. Well, I guess some don’t mind that. I’m looking at you, Spurs fans.

Unseen before in football on such a scale, subscription based viewing is regarded by many as the future of football streaming.

Undisputed: Welcome Back, Boxing

For the first time in 12 years, fans of boxing have been treated to a brand new video game - Undisputed.

With its stunning graphics and realistic gameplay, the game offers players an unforgettable boxing experience.

Using the Unity game engine, the game relies on a combination of advanced AI and motion capture technology to ensure that each fighter's signature moves and fighting styles are accurately represented.

Whether you know it by its original ESBC or Undisputed, the road to yesterday's early-access release was… rocky to say the least. Here’s a couple of reasons why:

• Originally announced as being in development during early 2020, little was said about the game's release date.

• This had not been the first time boxing fans had gotten their hopes up over a prospective game - many had come and gone without a proper release

• The project grew significantly from the original small project

With that though, developers have said they will only consider releasing the full game once they feel it to be completely ready. Let’s hope it’s soon 😅

We Need to Talk About: Chelsea and Todd Boehly

From the summer transfer window onwards, Chelsea have spent nearly £500 million - the most (by far) of every club in Europe’s top leagues.

Now, I wasn’t gonna write anything about Todd Boehly’s absolutely mental spending spree. That is, of course, before they decided to smash the Premier League’s transfer record by splashing £106 million on Enzo Fernandez.

Ah, Todd Boehly. How do you keep doing this? No, but really. How? Financial Fair Play? Hello?

While many, myself included, had associated the Chelsea chairman with drawing up 443 formations, or listening to fan channels on twitter to try and get a better idea of what to do, he knew something we didn’t. Something that would allow Chelsea to essentially play the entire market.

• The owner found a loophole in the FFP rules by giving out outlandishly long contracts.

• The clever trick was to spread the cost of signing players over several years, making it easier to balance their books and stay within the FFP regulations.

Quick bites

• We all get nervous before our favourite teams play: Here are some shocking facts about sports fans superstitions

• Audi want in: The German car manufacturer buy small stake in Sauber ahead of 2026 F1 entry

That’s it for the GOAT: Tom Brady announces official retirement from the NFL

Meme of the day

Never fails to make me laugh

Quote of the day

Photo of the day

Thanks for everything, GOAT

Ready to rep your favorite newsletter? Refer your friends and colleagues to the Sports Road and you could win big

It’s easy to spread the word. Copy and paste your unique link below and share it in an email or on your timeline

Ps - please respond to this email to help us beat the dreaded spam filters!

Chat to ya on Monday! ☮️