Sports & Entertainment Beat

Welcome back to the Spotlight! To those who were hoping that Tom Brady’s retirement (the second time around) meant that his winning ways in the NFL were over, you might want to sit this one out. Indeed, the future Hall of Famer, widely thought to be the greatest quarterback of all time (except for when he plays my New York Giants in the Super Bowl) has managed to work a pretty sweet deal for himself. For one thing, he’s in the first year of a 10 year, $375 million broadcasting deal with FOX Sports to handle commentary on NFL games. Now, he’s using a substantial portion of his salary to fund his purchase of a minority ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders franchise. In so doing, finds himself restricted by the NFL from having to do some of the more labor-intensive aspects of sports broadcasting—attending production meetings and meeting with players and coaches—all while collecting his same paycheck. In sum, Brady has gone from owning NFL teams (not the Giants) on Sundays, to owning an NFL team everyday. Brady’s detractors can take solace in the fact that the Raiders don’t win many games—for now. 

• • Famed singer-songwriter Randy Newman sells his publishing and recorded music catalogue to Litmus Music.  Although the terms of the deal have not been publicly disclosed, rest assured that the dollar figure involved is enough for people to come out of the woodwork to tell Newman, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.”
     
  • Golf legend Jack Nicklaus finds himself embroiled in an effort to reclaim commercial rights to his name, image and likeness from his old company that has since developed an A.I. version of Nicklaus and attempted to restrain the real Nicklaus from using his name in a commercial setting.  In other words, Nicklaus wants to take a mulligan to prevent the commercial value of his NIL from being nickel-less.  
     
  • The New York Knicks jersey patch sponsorship will shift from Sphere Entertainment Co. to Experience Abu Dhabi coinciding with an announcement from Sphere that it will be bringing another immersive entertainment venue comparable to its Sphere in Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi, bringing things full circle (or (4/3)πr³ divided by (3/4)r)  

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn. 
 

Welcome back to the Spotlight! With my being glued to the Yankees game, amongst other things, I will be brief here. But hopefully, I have left just enough meat on the bone for you to dig in below.

• • Rock band Limp Bizkit sues record label Universal Music for $200 million in allegedly unpaid royalties. Universal would be forgiven for thinking that the group did not want the money since, by their own admission, they did it all for the nookie.
     
  • Former Ohio State University standout quarterback Terrelle Pryor follows in Reggie Bush’s footsteps with an NIL lawsuit against the NCAA and the Big Ten Conference, seeking to recover a substantial sum from years Pryor. 
     
  • Former NBA star Carmelo Anthony turned entrepreneur reveals his next venture is in the cannabis industry—a fitting endeavor for someone well acquainted with being mellow.

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn. 

Welcome back to the Spotlight! Shana Tova to those who celebrate Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) was not going to write this week because, well, I am one of those who celebrates.  On Rosh Hashanah, it is traditional to enjoy sweet foods such as apples and honey as symbolism for a sweet year that lies ahead. So, in a world in which there is so much acrid vinegar, I aim to bring you at least a few drops of sweet honey—you know, as long as cringe-inducing humor is your thing…

• • Loti, a Seattle-based startup that aims to protect celebrities from so-called “deepfakes” and fake endorsements closed its seed financing round, with an impressive list of backers including Abraham Lincoln, Christopher Columbus and Joan of Arc.
     
  • Formula One racing and luxury brand conglomerate LVMH enter into a huge 10 year partnership worth…well, if you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it. (OK, fine it’s $1 billion).
     
  • Paying homage takes on a new meaning, as Kevin Durant, Jason Kelce and Rob McElhenney invest in Nostalgia-inspired sports apparel brand Homage, joining the likes of Ryan Reynolds. 
     
  • YouTube users hoping to listen to songs by Adele and others found themselves sitting in silence this week as a continued dispute between performing rights organization SESAC and YouTube’s parent Alphabet led to the music being taken down from the site.  Said one disheartened Adele fan, “I must’ve clicked a thousand times.”

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.