Electric Feel Automakers put the pedal to the metal in their promotion of their electric offerings during Super Bowl LVI last week. In fact, seven of the nine car commercials during the big game were for electric vehicles. Lisa Whalen, Morning Consult’s lead automotive and mobility analyst, writes that the relatively positive consumer response to those ads indicates that sentiment toward these types of vehicles among American consumers is on the rise. They’re Electric: Automakers Resonated With EV-Interested Consumers at the Super Bowl
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Professional services firm KPMG and beer brand Amstel Light each ended their sponsorship of golfer Phil Mickelson following the publication of his comments justifying his support of the Saudi Arabia-backed Super Golf League despite the country’s human rights abuses. Mickelson apologized for his comments, which he claimed were meant to be off the record, and said he has given his corporate partners the option to pause or end their relationships with him. (Sportico)
Former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores and his attorneys said he forfeited the millions of dollars remaining on his contract by declining to sign a two-year non-disparagement agreement presented to him by team owner Stephen Ross upon his dismissal last month, instead opting to file his discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and several teams. The Dolphins said it is “categorically false” that Ross tried to get Flores to sign an NDA, but Flores’ attorneys pushed back by posting screenshots to Twitter of what they claim are the draft agreement and payment termination notice. (ESPN)
D.C. United signed a kit sponsorship deal with Blockchain technology company XDC Network that sources familiar with the arrangement said runs for three years and is worth $6 million annually. The agreement represents a raise from the $4 million that United received from its previous uniform sponsor, technology company Leidos, and makes it the second club in MLS to have a crypto-related company as a shirt sponsor after Inter Miami. (The Athletic)
Disney Advertising Sales said it has sold all of the commercial inventory for the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Women’s Basketball Tournament. Disney Ad Sales said the tournament drew 14 sponsors, including Capital One, which returns as the presenting sponsor.
After losing the fall book to ESPN New York’s “The Michael Kay Show,” Carton and Roberts are in the midst of a comeback. The duo took the first month of the winter book with a share of 6.1 to Kay’s 4.9, according to Nielsen Audio Ratings.
Comcast has selected 10 startups for the second class of the Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator. The PGA Tour and WWE have been added as advisors, joining NBC Sports, Sky Sports, GOLF, Comcast Spectacor, NASCAR, U.S. Ski & Snowboard, USA Cycling and USA Swimming.
Allegations of widespread sexual harassment in the Washington Commanders workplace and dissatisfaction with the NFL’s response have revived congressional interest in eliminating a lucrative tax break that professional sports teams routinely use to help fund new stadiums. Three Democrats reintroduced the “No Tax Subsidies for Stadiums Act,” which would do just that, effective immediately upon enactment.
Emmanuel Morgan and Jenny Vrentas, The New York Times
The National Invitational Camp, the organization that operates the N.F.L.’s annual scouting combine, relaxed Covid-19 restrictions for draft prospects scheduled to attend next week’s event in Indianapolis amid fears of a potential boycott. More than 300 players are expected to attend the weeklong event.
The NFL at first fought the lawsuit filed in 2020, arguing race norming was standard practice for neurological testing. Under public pressure, and following concern expressed by Judge Anita Brody, the parties went back into negotiations and reached a preliminary resolution, which is awaiting the judge’s approval.
The Commanders are amending their much-criticized crest — part of the worst-kept rebranding secret in sports — to avoid confusion over the franchise’s championship seasons. Washington conceded that the crest was confusing, and updated it to reflect the seasons the franchise won the Super Bowl — not the calendar year in which the games occurred.
The Cincinnati Bengals will lose one of their largest corporate sponsors this month, and the Covid-19 pandemic — not the team’s heartbreaking loss in Super Bowl LVI — is largely to blame as the organizations mutually part ways. The move ends a seven-year, $2 million annual contract with the team.
Who has access to it? How is it used within the NBA’s officiating department, both for training and advancement purposes? How involved can NBA teams be in this process, and how do team decision-makers feel about it?
Day 2 of in-person meetings Tuesday between Major League Baseball and the MLBPA once again produced little progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement while the league actually viewed the negotiations as a step back. The union cut down on its proposal for players to enter arbitration after two years, but countered that by asking for more in its minimum salary structure.
Major League Baseball, if it ever settles its owners’ strike, plans to wade further into the rapidly growing non-fungible token trend in 2022 and beyond. MLB and Candy Digital are not yet talking specifics about upcoming NFT projects, but the expectation is more digital player cards and special deals to commemorate milestones, major events, history, etc.
Former Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray, who resigned from his position on Nov. 10 after the team investigated accusations of improper professional conduct with players and staff, has joined the Calgary Flames as a scout, sources said.
The D-I Council has been given roughly two months to file a report on the effects of NIL on schools and athletes. The council will meet Wednesday for the first time to decide what process they’ll follow to research and write the report.
Marshall University filed a lawsuit against Conference USA in Cabell County Circuit Court on Tuesday in an effort to facilitate its early exit from the conference. Marshall is seeking relief in the form of a declaratory judgment and temporary, preliminary and permanent injunctions against Conference USA in proceeding with arbitration.
The University of Arkansas athletic department reported a 7.3% revenue increase during the 2021 fiscal year and an overall department surplus of a record $20.8 million. A financial bailout from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) is primarily responsible.
The Mississippi State athletic department weathered the first full fiscal year under the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic by cutting costs in several areas while receiving a major boost from the SEC. Mississippi State’s total operating revenue for the 2021 fiscal year, which runs July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 was $112,890,415.
MLS is aiming to finalize a deal this spring for Las Vegas to become its 30th team, Commissioner Don Garber said Tuesday. The city has been atop MLS’s list for some time, and should an agreement be reached, it would have a presence in three of the top five sports leagues in the United States.
Coca-Cola Consolidated Inc. has signed on as Charlotte FC’s official soft-drink sponsor, the Major League Soccer club confirmed today. In addition to Coke becoming the team’s soft drink, sister brand Dasani will be the only water sold inside the stadium.
UEFA is under mounting pressure over its ties to Russian state energy company Gazprom after Vladimir Putin’s decision to order troops into Ukraine. The crisis has forced UEFA to consider moving this season’s Champions League final from St Petersburg.
English Premier League powerhouse Liverpool F.C. is launching a partnership with a Boston-based cloud storage company, Wasabi Technologies. Nearly half of EPL clubs have similar partnerships with tech firms, but most are from Europe.
Churchill Downs Inc. has reached an agreement to purchase “substantially all” of the assets owned by Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, including Colonial Downs in Virginia and its off-track betting network. The transaction, which also includes casinos in upstate New York and in Iowa, will cost $2.45 billion.
Under a new multi-year agreement with Zapata Computing, Andretti’s four-car Honda-powered team receives “brand sponsorship and a multi-million-dollar agreement to deploy and leverage Zapata’s platform, Orquestra, in search of race day success with advanced analytics and quantum techniques.”
Presidents Cup organizers announced on Tuesday the creation of the Charlie Sifford Centennial Cup, a one-day team match play event featuring top golf teams from HBCUs. Quail Hollow in Charlotte, site of this year’s Presidents Cup, will host the event on August 29th.
Justin Thomas is throwing his hat into the course design ring, as the 14-time PGA Tour winner joins forces with Jack Nicklaus to build Panther National in Palm Beach County, Florida.
N.C. State has received $16 million from the state government for the construction of an on-campus esports facility. NCSU Vice Chancellor for IT Marc Hoit said that $12 million of the funding will be used for the venue itself, with $4 million allocated to create a mobile arena.
Caesars Entertainment Inc. jumped in after hours trading after the company said it would sharply reduce advertising spending for sports betting after accomplishing its customer acquisition goals. Caesars quickly captured the No. 1 spot in the New York mobile sports betting market after the state allowed such wagers last month.
Some five years after Amtrak exited as a longtime sports marketing brand, it’s returning to the fold. After a review, Amtrak has quietly named Hackensack-based Source Communications as its sports agency of record.
Silver’s comments from this All-Star Weekend on potentially ending locker-room media access were muddled and self-contradictory, but also unintentionally revealing.
The settlement ends a case that stood to cause long-term damage to the U.S. soccer brand at a critical juncture in the sport’s growth. The deal will enable U.S. Soccer to promote the sport without accusations of sexism in pay clouding its positions.
The US economy (and even culture) has become far too dependent on China. The result? Incidents such as what is occurring to Muslim NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom today: a culture of fear that silences critics and all those exercising their democratic right to free speech.
