Welcome to the Spotlight! As hard as it is to believe, summer is winding down, Joro spiders seemingly avoided (wish I could say the same about spotted lantern flies), hot dogs (OG or vegan) consumed, marshmallows roasted, medals awarded and for many, lifelong memories made. That last one came into striking relief last weekend at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. As if it wasn’t enough that the kids on these teams get to play in nationally televised baseball games, they also get to spend the day with, and cheer on, their favorite Major League Baseball players as part of annual MLB Little League Classic.
This year featured a game between the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees, but I am not writing to talk about the game—particularly after the Yankees closing pitcher Clay Holmes blew yet another save to hand the Tigers the victory. Instead, the real standout from this year’s event was from a player who did not even play in the game due to a stint on the injured list. The Yankees’ recently acquired dynamic All-Star player Jazz Chisholm, Jr. not only played video journalist to document the Yankees’ day behind the scenes leading up to the game, capturing compelling, joyful, authentic moments shared amongst Major League and Little League teammates alike, but he also took up the mantle of becoming a “big brother” to an adoring Little Leaguer named Russell McGee, proclaiming in a television interview that he’s “gonna make sure he gets to the big leagues one day.” What could have been empty words were followed up with a heartwarming gesture as Chisholm exchanged phone numbers with McGee and joined him in the stands to cheer on Chisholm’s teammates. A really cool moment of kindness, humility and paying it forward to witness—and one that it sounds like McGee and Chisholm will carry with them for a long time to come. I’ll catch you all back on the other side of the Labor Day holiday, but for now here’s my payment forward to you.
- At long last, the collaboration between Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese and Reese’s candy has become official, as they roll out some cleverly co-branded apparel. What Reese is getting paid for the collaboration is not yet known, but it’s probably more than peanuts.
- Oklahoma State University’s football team is leaning into the name, image and likeness (NIL) era in college sports as they will all have QR codes on their helmets, linking people to the program’s NIL fund. With this on-field innovation possible, sportsbooks across the country are now wondering whether they can buy a referee if you use a barcode scanner on his or her uniform.
- NASCAR’s Hendrick Motorsports sues its former sponsor, restaurant chain Hooters over its failure to pay $1.7 million in sponsorship fees. What a hoot—I thought owls were supposed to be wise!
Endorsement Deals, Sponsorships & Investments
Boxing Champ Floyd Mayweather Is About To Make Some Good Money With His Latest Venture
August 21, 2024 via Haute Living
WNBA's Angel Reese to Have 'Reese's Pieces' Collection After Sponsorship Contract
August 21, 2024 via Bleacher Report
Prospect of player pay another wrinkle for HBCU schools, where big NIL deals still taking root
August 21, 2024 via WVTM 13 - Top News
Oklahoma State to wear QR codes on helmets to assist NIL fundraising
August 20, 2024 via ABC News - Money
Paris Was a Marketing Warmup for Los Angeles Olympics and World Cup
August 19, 2024 via AdWeek - Advertising and Branding
WNBA, Delta Expand Partnership With Sponsorship, Charter Flights
August 19, 2024 via Sportico - Business
Shohei Ohtani Hand Guard Puts New Balance in MLB Vanguard
August 16, 2024 via Sportico - Business
MLBPA group sues Pirates, Sheetz over social media posts
August 16, 2024 via Awful Announcing
Sports
NWSL Eliminates Draft, Boosts Pay as New CBA Overhauls League
August 22, 2024 via Sportico - Business
Innovation or Not – Oklahoma State Football Helmets Seek to Revolutionize NIL
August 22, 2024 via Business Strategy Innovation
Jazz Chisholm Had the Time of His Life Watching MLB Game With Little League Players
August 19, 2024 via SI
New York Yankees Star Goes Viral For Heartwarming Story at Little League Classic
August 19, 2024 via Fastball On SI
Music Biz
The future is now: U2’s Sphere concert experience opens in September
August 21, 2024 via Las Vegas Review Journal - Local News (Las Vegas,Nevada)
Grammy-winning singer/songwriter James Fauntleroy sells ‘select publishing assets’ to HarbourView Equity Partners
August 21, 2024 via Music Business Worldwide
Blackstone’s Hipgnosis is getting ready for its next phase…
August 19, 2024 via Music Business Worldwide
Roc Nation merges Label and Equity Distribution units to form ROC Nation distribution
August 19, 2024 via Music Business Worldwide
Primary Wave acquires Springsteen manager Jon Landau's producer and neighbouring rights...
August 17, 2024 via Music Week
HarbourView Equity Partners Acquires Select Producer Royalties and Music Publishing Assets of Record Producer and Songwriter Noel Zancanella
August 16, 2024 via Shippensburg News-Chronicle (Shippensburg, Pennsylvania)
Film & TV
Quiver Distribution Acquires Medical Drama ‘A Mistake’ Starring Elizabeth Banks
August 19, 2024 via Deadline - Hollywood Breaking News
Disney, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery sports streaming venture launch blocked by federal judge in win for Fubo
August 16, 2024 via CNN - U.S. News
Emerging Sports
FloSports Plans to ‘Carry That Flame Forward’ After Olympics
August 18, 2024 via Sportico - Business