Happy Sunday!

For the first time in history, the New York Yankees are adding a patch on their iconic jersey. If you haven’t heard of Starr Insurance before this past week, that’s the same reaction millions of Yankees fans had when they found out their favorite players would be wearing a Starr Insurance patch until 2031. Yankees fans aren’t much fans of the patch at all. While it hasn’t been confirmed, its expected to rake in roughly $25M per year for the team. Here’s what the Yankees said in a press release. 

To make things worse for the Yankees Fans… they might not be having the best time watching their team be tied for last place for the first time since August 23, 1992, as of Saturday night. Additionally, the Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson was fired after last Sunday's 7-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs, a rare midseason change.

Wimbledon Winner: Marketa Vondrousova wins her first major title at Wimbledon. The Czech player was the first unseeded woman to reach the final since 1963. She defeated Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, 6-4, 6-4.

On Tuesday, United States Senators grilled two PGA Tour executives. Chief Operating Officer of the PGA Tour Ron Price and PGA Tour board member Jimmy Dunne were questioned during a three hour long Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee hearing. The hearing was designed to explore the PGA Tour’s controversial deal with Saudi Arabia’s LIV, and it probably will not be the last.

Senator Blumenthal (D-Conn.) questioned the pair over their decision to accept money from the Saudis after being so opposed to LIV Golf for more than a year. He also brought up financial and human rights questions surrounding the pending deal.

Plus, while you brush your teeth… watch Tim Brown (NFL Hall of Famer) talk about entrepreneurship, the Raiders, Patrick Mahomes, and more.

Weekly Headlines

🔥 The MLB is roaring as the second half of the seasons begins. The MLB made a big bet when they decided to make the bases bigger, add a pitch-clock, and tighten the rules of picking off a steal. It’s paid off big, since the rules were implemented. Average game attendance is up 8.11% to 28,832 stemming from this year’s games being shorter (2 hours and 38 minutes versus 3 hours and 04 minutes last season). Plus, TBS is averaging 338,000 viewers over 14 telecasts, which is up 41% from last season. If the MLB can keep this momentum, it’ll be one of the greatest rebounds in sports.

👟 Kyrie Irving signs a shoe deal with Anta, a Chinese sportswear company. This past Tuesday, Kyrie Irving signed a deal which will yield him a signature shoe. That’s not all, he will also join as the Chief Creative Officer in a partnership that will establish a series of youth camps in the United States and China. Irving just recently signed a three-year, $126 million deal to stay with the Mavericks earlier this month. Until his signature shoe will be ready (2024), he will wear ANTA's Shock Wave 5 sneaker.

⛳️ A fast-growing Korean PE firm takes a leap of faith at golf. Centroid Investment Partners, a Seoul-based private equity firm, is making a pretty big bet that golf will continue rising in value even as we enter the post-pandemic world. In March 2021, Centroid acquired South Springs Country Club, a prestigious Korean golf course. Centroid has been growing quite fast. In the past five years, Centroid grew its assets under management to some $2.1 billion, up from $65 million in 2018.

🏰 Disney CEO says ESPN is open to finding a new strategic partner. This past week, the CEO of Disney, Bob Iger announced that Disney is open to finding a new strategic partner for ESPN. As of right now, Disney owns 80% of ESPN, with Hearst Communications owning the remaining 20%. ESPN is estimated to be valued between $25B and $50B. Last week was also when Disney announced Iger’s contracted would be extended through 2026. It was last year in 2022 when Iger returned to run Disney last year after stepping down as CEO in 2020.

🏀 WNBA is having its best season ever. On ESPN, WNBA viewership is up by a whopping 46% on ESPN, and is averaging roughly 548,000 viewers across 13 games. To add, the ABC games are averaging 647,000 viewers, up 18%. Last night was the WNBA All-Star Game, as they approach the halfway mark of the season.

Big Transfer news for AC Milan. Hello, Rossoneri!

There’s some big transfer news for AC Milan. On Thursday, AC Milan confirmed Christian Pulisic’s transfer to the organization. The USMNT’s star Pulisic signed a 4-year and roughly $25M deal to play for the Italian club, which is substantially less than his former signing for the London club, Chelsea.

When Pulisic signed for Chelsea in 2018 he received $71.9M, yet his performance was held back by injuries which didn't allow him to rise to his full potential at the club. However, signing for the Italian club is a big accomplishment as he will be the third American player to ever play for AC Milan after Oguchi Onyewu and Sergiño Dest. Pulisic will dawn the No. 11.

In Case You Missed It

ICYMI: the Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry makes a hole-in-one at a celebrity golfing event at Lake Tahoe. Watch the video highlight below.

Required Reading

Victor Wembanyama Wants to Be the Greatest 7-foot-3 Pitchman of All Time (WSJ, Robert O’Connell)

Declan Rice joins Arsenal from West Ham for a record fee (CNN, Matias Grez)

Phoenix Suns, Mercury Move Forward With Gray Television Deal (Front Office Sports, Andrew Cohen)

Looking for Sports Biz Jobs?

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Want to find more sports business jobs? We highly recommend checking out Teamwork Online. It’s a free sports business job posting site.

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