Hard to believe that June is just around the corner. Interestingly, June is one of two months with four letters in it (the other being July).
Speaking of four letter words (don’t worry—I’m not about to channel my inner George Carlin. I have a reputation to uphold here!), one four letter word that has not been recently uttered in this space is “NFTs.” That could be because after pandemic-fueled NFT bubble (I guess people were attracted to the fact they did not need hand sanitizer to handle them…) popped, leading valuations into a freefall and spurring a number of high-profile civil and criminal cases to crop up, not the least of which being a pending $1 billion class action lawsuit against Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo arising out of his promotion of NFTs on the cryptocurrency platform Binance. You might think that such a hefty lawsuit might influence Ronaldo to lay low for a little bit. Pelo contrário meus amigos.
Instead, Ronaldo has chosen to double-down and release a new collection of NFTs on Binance. But hey, when you’ve been labeled one of the sexiest men in the world, one of the greatest soccer players of all time and are paid $200 million a year to play soccer in a foreign land, you might have some built-up hubris. Sure, it’s not quite the same confidence booster as being told (mostly by family) that your “Spotlight” was well done in a given week, but I imagine it is up there…Whatever comes of Ronaldo’s decision, I would hope for the sake of him (and his lawyers) that they got a robust indemnification provision in Ronaldo’s deal with Binance. Otherwise, his defense attorney will be drinking Champagne while his transactional attorney drinks something stronger.
In any event, if you’ve made it this far, why not double down and see what else is in store this week.
- UEFA Champions League Final-bound, German soccer club Dortmund strikes a sponsorship deal with a German arms manufacturer, but don’t expect the deal to be a difference-maker for the club. After all, the sport relies more heavily on legs.
- Range Sports and The New York Mets partner up on a development deal to produce short form off-field content around the players. An exciting development for a team that struggles to produce quality on-field content.
- Sony Music seems poised to bid a king’s ransom of over $1 billion on the song catalog of legendary rock band Queen. Alexa, please play “We Are The Champions.”
Endorsement Deals, Sponsorships & Investments
Caitlin Clark, Jayson Tatum Star in Gatorade Ad Narrated by Michael Jordan
May 29, 2024 via Bleacher Report
German soccer club seals sponsorship deal with arms manufacturer ahead of Champions League final
May 29, 2024 via NBC News
NFTs ‘highly susceptible’ to fraud, scam uses: US government
May 29, 2024 via Business Times
New York Liberty Star Breanna Stewart on the Rise of the WNBA, Mom Style and Why Her Puma Relationship Is So Authentic
May 28, 2024 via Footwear News
Report: Japanese carmaker Toyota set to end massive Olympic sponsorship deal
May 27, 2024 via Lancaster Online
Sports
United Pickleball Association Taps Former Dallas Mavericks Exec as Chief Revenue Officer
May 29, 2024 via SGB Online
Billy Napier ‘comfortable’ with handling of Jaden Rashada recruitment
May 28, 2024 via Florida Sun Sentinel
Space City Basketball Club seeks a local owner to bring back the Houston Comets
May 27, 2024 via Biz Journal
Cristiano Ronaldo Announces 4th NFT Collection With Binance Amid Billion-Dollar Lawsuit
May 27, 2024 via International Business Times
U.S. Olympic break dancers ready to show off the sport's community and culture at Paris Games
May 26, 2024 via NBC News
Why the stakes are so high for the newest professional women's sports league
May 26, 2024 via MSNBC
Could pickleball become a high school sport?
May 24, 2024 via Daily Herald
Music Biz
How Selena Gomez Is Revolutionizing the Celebrity Beauty Business
May 29, 2024 via TIME Business
Dead & Company Extends Las Vegas Residency at Sphere Into August
May 28, 2024 via Vegas Inc
Film & TV
The NFL will likely undo all its TV deals early, and here’s why
May 29, 2024 via Awful Announcing
'Dancing for the Devil' review: Netflix doc tells troubling story that still lacks an ending
May 28, 2024 via Chicago Sun Times
Amazon MGM Acquires Documentary ‘Hollywood Ending’ On Actor Turned Ponzi Schemer Zachary Horwitz
May 28, 2024 via Deadline
Why the Biggest Tech Companies Are Suddenly Streaming Sports
May 28, 2024 via Sportico
Tony Khan on AEW media rights deal: ‘We’re in a great position’
May 27, 2024 via Awful Announcing
Scarlett Johansson’s OpenAI clash is just the start of legal wrangles over artificial intelligence
May 27, 2024 via The Guardian
Why Marilyn Monroe Remains a Cultural Icon: How Estate Owners Transformed Her Legacy Into $80M Global Sales
May 27, 2024 via Women's Wear Daily
