Nike Founder Bids $2B for Blazers – Front Office Sports

June 3, 2022

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Want to watch a golf tournament sitting high above the first and 18th holes? Then head to St. George’s Golf & Country Club for next weekend’s Canadian Open. The venue’s “Skyline Seats” will harness 22 people into seats 100 feet in the air for about 30 minutes a session — and yes, food and beverages will be provided.

One of the sports world’s most prominent businessmen may finally enter the world of team ownership.

Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky have put in an offer to buy the Portland Trail Blazers for more than $2 billion, per Adrian Wojnarowski. 

• The team is currently owned by a trust in the name of former Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who died in October 2018.
• Wojnarowski believes Knight’s ownership would keep the Blazers in Portland long-term; there was speculation the team could move to Seattle, but NBA owners reportedly prefer expansion for the city. 

Knight has long been known for his donations to his alma maters, the University of Oregon and Stanford University, but this is his first personal foray into the professional sports world.

Nike’s eight-year, $1 billion apparel deal with the NBA runs through the 2024-25 season. 

Expansion Coming Soon?

In addition to Seattle, the NBA is eyeing Las Vegas as a site for a new team, and the addition of two new teams could happen as early as 2024.

As for the Trail Blazers, Knight may have competition: MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is reportedly considering a bid. Scott would be the NBA’s first female owner.

The team confirmed it had received an offer from Knight, but said that it is not for sale.

The battle for the Denver Broncos is taking shape, with four groups duking it out for the coveted NFL team.

Second-round bids are due on Monday, and proposals are likely to top $4.5 billion. With the team aiming to find new owners by the start of the next season in September, the process is expected to accelerate this month.

• A group originally reported as led by Los Angeles Dodgers, Lakers, and Sparks part-owner Todd Boehly is in fact helmed by Clearlake Capital co-founder Jose E. Feliciano with business partner Behdad Eghbali. 
• Clearlake, which manages around $43 billion, provided the bulk of the funding for Boehly’s purchase of Chelsea FC, but a Broncos purchase would come from the co-founders’ pockets. Both Feliciano and Eghbali are worth a reported $3.4 billion.
• Boehly and Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter are also part of that bidding group.

The other leading groups are led by Rob Walton, son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, along with Walmart chair Greg Penner, United Wholesale Mortgage CEO and former college athlete Mat Ishbia, and Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils co-owner Josh Harris.

Harris’ group includes Fanatics chair Michael Rubin and another Dodgers part-owner, Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

Allen Out?

While entertainment mogul Byron Allen has maintained a presence throughout the bidding process, he is now considered a long shot. Unlike other leading bidders, Allen has not visited the Broncos’ facilities, according to Denver TV station 9News.

The 2022 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina, is setting a standard in gender pay equality. 

The four-day event will have a record $10 million purse up for grabs, a $4.5 million increase compared to last year’s tournament at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.  

Increasing the purse is a step to closing the gender pay gap, but players like Lydia Ko say “there’s still a ways to go.” 

• The men’s 2021 U.S. Open purse was $12.5 million. Winner John Rahm took home $2.3 million. 
• The 2022 Masters at Augusta National had a purse of $15 million, up from $11 million in 2021.
• The winner of this year’s U.S. Women’s Open will take home only $1.8 million. 

The boosted purse comes after the USGA and non-profit organization ProMedica agreed to a long-term partnership in January that included presenting- partner rights and elevating the U.S. Women’s Open purse. The deal also requires the purse to reach $12 million by 2026. 

Growing Popularity 

The total number of golfers worldwide has reached 66.6 million — up from 61 million five years ago. No segment has seen as much growth since the pandemic began in March 2020 than female golfers, per the National Golf Foundation.

The percentage of women on courses hit 25% in 2021, up from 19% 10 years ago. In 2021, girls made up 35%, or 1.1 million, of junior golfers, compared to 15% in 2000.

The Boston Red Sox may start a trend as the first MLB team to offer in-market games through a streaming service.

The team’s longtime broadcaster NESN is launching streaming platform NESN 360, which will show Red Sox and Boston Bruins games, allowing fans to forgo a cable subscription.

• The service will cost $29.99 per month.
• It will include live games and certain on-demand games, as well as content unique to the service.
• Fans who pay for an annual subscription of $329.99 will also receive eight tickets to a 2022 Red Sox game.

Regional Streaming Network

MLB has long been tied to regional sports networks but has sought relationships with streaming services as more and more people move away from cable bundles. 

This year, it began a seven-year deal worth $85 million annually with Apple TV+ for Friday night games, as well as a $30 million per-year deal with Peacock for Sunday morning matchups.

“You’re going to have to have an over-the-top strategy for fans to watch beyond just MLB.tv,” Jon Cohen, Frequency’s senior vice president of business development and distribution, told Front Office Sports. “That’s why getting revenue deals done with Apple and with NBC for Peacock is important. You start building up audiences on those platforms and training them to watch there.

“Unless you start getting it into the market, you don’t allow others to build the audience and the acumen.”