Happy Memorial Day Weekend! This edition is dedicated to the US military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

Also, Congrats to Tom Brady for reaching an agreement to buy ownership stake in Las Vegas Raiders. Here’s what fascinates us: Brady will be just the third player in the history of the National Football League to become an owner.

This is our second week of Sports Wire! For those who missed it… Sports Wire is a weekly newsletter delivered directly to your mailbox every Sunday providing you with the ins and outs of all business in sports.

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NEWS: WOW. What a game. The Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat in game six of their best-of-7 Eastern Conference Finals series Saturday at Kaseya Center. That means the series is all tied up. The Celtics slipped into an 0-3 series hole, but Boston hasn’t shown any signs of quitting. They will play tomorrow night in Boston. Boston is the fourth team to force a seventh game after trailing 0-3.

One thing to note about the series is the Miami Heat spent $6.9 million more than than the Boston Celtics this year on salaries in 2023. A study by the Harvard Sports Analysis Collective did some research on NBA and MLB payroll and performance. In both leagues, they found that there was high correlation between an organizations payroll and performance.

Headlines for the Week

• Wrexham turns first-ever stadium sponsor, renamed SToK Racecourse

• Mariners star Julio Rodriguez is now sponsored by Alaska Airlines

• YouTubeTV Adds MORE Benefits for Users

Wrexham turns first-ever stadium sponsor, renamed SToK Racecourse

Wrexhams historic Racecourse Ground will now be known as the SToK Racecourse under the terms of a new sponsorship deal led by Hollywood owners and Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds. The Racecourse has a capacity of 10,771, but will soon be able to hold over 15,000 fans once construction finishes. Ryan and Rob (owners of Wrexham) made a 46 second Ryan Reynolds type of commercial to promote the deal.

It seems like every week the small Wales football club has been in the news lately. SToK Cold Brew Coffee, according to the Wrexham website, is one of the largest and fastest-growing cold brew coffee brands in the United States. One strange thing: SToK Cold Brew Coffee does not sell in the UK.

So what’s in it for SToK? SToK will now sponsor Wrexham’s summer American tour, which will include matches against Chelsea (July 19th) and Manchester United (July 25th). Lastly, consider checking out this fascinating video interview with Ryan and Rob.

Mariners star Julio Rodriguez is now sponsored by Alaska Airlines

Fans of the Seattle Mariners are going to love this. And they deserve it. The Mariners are fourth in the American League West, with a record of 27-25. Star Julio Rodriguez is now sponsored by Alaska Airlines with a fun twist.

For every home run Rodriguez hits in Seattle, 44 fans in the section it lands in will win a free round-trip flight of their choice. This is a new and exciting promotion. It’ll be interesting to see how fans react- but so far it’s extremely positive.

YouTubeTV Adds MORE Benefits for Users

YouTubeTV has been continuously improving benefits as it prepares to attract millions of football fans in the fall when the NFL kicks off. This week, the streaming behemoth announced that it will allow “unlimited simultaneous streams at home” for NFL Sunday Ticket streams.

Here’s what catches our eye: YouTubeTV has been pouring a lot of ad spending on its new wording: YouTube is the new home of NFL Sunday Ticket. For the next nine or so days they will be offering a big promotion that offers $100 off their billing plan.

YouTube TV is one of the six primary services available today. The other competitors include Hulu Plus Live TV, Sling TV, DirecTV Stream, FuboTV and Philo. We’ll keep watching the streaming wars, and keep you updated with any changes.

Guess What: Speaking of streaming services… Don’t tell DirectTV, but according to WSJ, ESPN has plans to create a new streaming service centered around its flagship channel. The important think to know if ESPN+ already exists, but this would be completely Eyeing Cable TV’s Demise.

This announcement shocked many in the sports industry because it is a clear example of the impact cord cutting has on the media rights market and the fan experience, especially in sports.

Remembering 4 Different Passwords: Last week, you would have had to subscribe to four different services to watch the New York Yankees. This is a perfect illustration of how complex the current streaming wars situation is going.

SUN - Peacock

MON - off-day

TUES - YES

WEDS - Amazon Prime Video

THURS - YES

FRI - Apple TV+

Looking for Sports Biz Jobs?

Sponsorship Activation & Entertainment Intern - Minot Hot Tots (Minot · ND) - APPLY NOW

Stadium Operations Assistant - Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Binghamton · NY) - APPLY NOW

Coordinator, Partnership Activation - Huntsville City FC (Huntsville · AL) - APPLY NOW

People Operations Manager - San Francisco 49ers (Santa Clara · CA) - APPLY NOW

Senior Finance Manager - Legends (Holmdel · NJ) - APPLY NOW

Sponsorship Activation & Entertainment Intern - Minot Hot Tots (Minot · ND) - APPLY TODAY

Want to keep on looking? We highly recommend checking out Teamwork Online. It’s a free sports business job posting site.

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