Women’s sports had a banner year in 2023, according to a new report released by StubHub on Wednesday.

Ticket sales for women’s sports on the platform boomed to record growth, according to the resale site’s Year in Live Experiences report.

Nowhere was that more true than in college sports. Demand for women’s basketball Final Four tickets on StubHub was higher than it was for men’s basketball Final Four seats for the first time, as the LSU Lady Tigers went on to win their first NCAA championship. Total sales were six times higher than in last year’s women’s tournament, and ticket prices were 15% higher than in the 2023 men’s Final Four.

Football often dominates the U.S. sports landscape, but don’t tell that to Nebraska. The Nebraska Cornhuskers women’s volleyball team fetched a 60% higher average ticket price on StubHub than Cornhuskers football did this year.

Nebraska’s matchup against the University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks on Aug. 30 set the world record for women’s sports attendance with 92,003 fans. Stubhub said it was the site’s bestselling volleyball game ever.

“It doesn’t matter what sport, college sports have seen a massive uptick in demand across all live events, and certainly on the women’s side,” said Adam Budelli, a StubHub spokesperson.

The WNBA also scored big in 2023, as attendance rose 16% and viewership jumped 21% year over year, the league’s most-watched season in 21 years. Trends on StubHub mirrored the league’s broader success.

StubHub said overall ticket sales for the 2023 WNBA season more than doubled from the prior year. Sales for the Las Vegas Aces’ WNBA Finals victory over the New York Liberty were StubHub’s highest ever for the league’s championship series, tripling from the previous season.

Women’s soccer was also on a roll. As the National Women’s Soccer League breaks new milestones in areas from attendance to viewership and team valuations, Stubhub said ticket sales for the season doubled those from 2022. Angel City FC, the team owned by celebrities such as Natalie Portman and Serena Williams, was the highest-selling club on the platform, as sales spiked 62% compared with 2022.

Finally, sales for women’s tennis jumped 30% versus 2022, as the number of tickets sold climbed 42%. Once Coco Gauff secured her spot in the U.S. Open finals, total sales increased 20% overnight, StubHub said.

StubHub saw several other key trends emerge in what it called a strong year for sports ticket sales.

The Messi effect is real

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) celebrates after scoring a goal against Orlando City in the first half of a Leagues Cup Round of 32 match at DRV PNK Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Matias J. Ocner | Miami Herald | Getty Images

Lionel Messi’s U.S. debut captured the world’s attention — and ticket buyers’ wallets. Stubhub saw average ticket prices for Inter Miami games nearly triple after the superstar signed with the team in June.

Not surprisingly, Inter Miami rose to become the bestselling club, outselling the No. 2 team, LAFC, by 85%.

Messi wasn’t just good for Miami. He also helped drive ticket sales on the road. For example, LAFC averaged about $145 per ticket on StubHub for the season — when the team hosted Inter Miami, the average price rose to more than $800.

Budelli said StubHub expects MLS sales will increase again next year, particularly among international fans.

The NFL (Taylor’s Version)

Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes react during a game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on October 22, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri.

David Eulitt | Getty Images

Taylor Swift’s influence on the NFL season — not to mention her dominance of the music world — showed in StubHub’s data.

“Taylor Swift is certainly the story of 2023 whether it’s her own tour or the excitement she brought the NFL,” Budelli said.

The pop singer’s relationship with tight end Travis Kelce meant America’s sweetheart was a frequent guest at Kansas City Chiefs games. The “Blank Space” singer not only helped TV ratings, but also ticket sales.

After Swift’s first appearance at the Sept. 24 Chiefs game, StubHub saw sales for Chiefs home games more than triple.

Off the football field, Swift’s Eras Tour was the biggest in StubHub’s history. She was also the most searched act in 2023.

Looking ahead to 2024, StubHub is banking on another strong year of Swift sales, as U.S. buyers account for over half of tickets purchased for Swift’s international shows in 2024 on StubHub and viagogo, another platform StubHub owns.

Vegas in the spotlight

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain drives past the Sphere during the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday, November 18, 2023 on the Las Vegas Street Circuit in Las Vegas, NV.

Icon Sportswire | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images

The ticketing company said it is paying close attention in 2024 to Las Vegas, which will hold its first Super Bowl next year.

Sin City vaulted into the sports scene in recent years, and ticket demand is closely following suit. The Stanley Cup-winning Vegas Golden Knights are the bestselling NHL team in 2023 on StubHub, with tickets sales nearly triple those of last year. The NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders are the third-highest selling team in that league.

StubHub is also watching Formula 1 closely, as the races made up nearly 40% of its top events in 2023.

In November, the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix brought in fans from all over the world, making it the third most popular U.S. event for international buyers on StubHub.

Budelli also said the Vegas Sphere, the immersive concert and event venue that opened in September, has quickly become a big international draw. StubHub expects it will continue to boost ticket sales.

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Golf superstar Jon Rahm officially signed on with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league Thursday in an industry-shocking departure from the PGA Tour. The announcement follows numerous reports that indicated Rahm was gearing up to sign off on the deal.

Rahm, who won the Masters in April and is ranked No. 3 in the world, told Fox New’s Brett Baier on Thursday, “The growth that LIV Golf has brought to the game is something with a ton of potential and something I’m really excited about.”

“I can’t comment on that, private business,” Rahm added in response to speculation regarding the reported price tag of the deal.

The move is the latest blockbuster development in the long and tumultuous saga of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. The two leagues face a Dec. 31 deadline to decide the fate of their proposed combination.

The golf world is rife with speculation that the deal with Rahm could be part of a strategy by LIV to pressure the PGA Tour into signing off on the merger.

When asked for comment, LIV Golf referred CNBC to the announcement made Thursday.

ESPN reported Thursday that the deal with Rahm could extend beyond three years and is worth more than $300 million. By comparison, former PGA golfer Phil Mickelson inked a deal with LIV in 2022 for $200 million. Rahm could also be getting an ownership stake in a new team on the league as LIV recruits additional PGA Tour players, ESPN added.

Last month, PGA announced that its league members would get the opportunity to take an ownership stake in the new company formed after the completion of the PGA-LIV Golf merger.

LIV has repeatedly poached PGA players, creating a particular point of contention for other golfers in the sport. Rory McIlroy, the world’s No. 2 player, said in July that he would retire if LIV Golf was “the last place to play golf on earth.”

The PGA Tour declined to comment on news of a deal with Rahm. An agency that has represented Rahm also declined to comment. Another firm representing Rahm didn’t immediately respond to a request.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Rahm was working on a deal with LIV.

HONG KONG — Soccer fans in Hong Kong will be able to see the world’s best player Lionel Messi in action next year when David Beckham’s Inter Miami play the Hong Kong team in February.

The highly anticipated match has been scheduled for Feb. 4 at the Hong Kong Stadium. 

During their visit, the team will have an open training session — and half of those tickets will be reserved for community outreach. This is the team’s first international tour.

Beckham, the American club’s co-owner and president, sealed the deal to bring the team to Hong Kong when he visited the city last week. 

Messi, widely regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time, was last in Hong Kong in 2014 when Argentina played against the city’s national team.

The Argentina captain completed the set of major soccer honors after leading his country to clinch the World Cup title last year, which was promptly followed by his U.S. club winning the Leagues Cup in August. In addition to Messi, the all-star line up will also include teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.

Luxury and lifestyle media company Tatler Asia will host Inter Miami in Hong Kong, after having secured a 3-year agreement with the team. There are plans to hold a sporting and lifestyle event that rivals the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix.

Between the open training session and the exhibition game, some 80,000 people will be able to watch the game, Michel Lamunière, Tatler Asia’s chairman, told CNBC. He predicted that about 50% of the people will be from Hong Kong, 30% from mainland China and the remaining from the rest of Asia.

Lamunière expects the event to be a boost to Hong Kong’s economy.

“This event is not just a football game — we see the event [becoming] the equivalent of Formula One that is happening in Singapore, but in Hong Kong.”

“In addition to the football game, there will be multiple festivities across the city, from F&B festivals, music, retail,” he said, adding that Hong Kong’s party district Lan Kwai Fong will be made pink to match the team’s colors.

Tickets for the friendly match will go on sale from Dec. 15, priced between $880 Hong Kong dollars to HK$4,880 (about $112 to $624). They will be sold exclusively through Hong Kong based e-commerce travel app Klook.

A coalition of U.S. sports investors led by Fenway Sports Group have entered the final round of negotiations to become co-investors in a potential deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the PGA Tour announced on Sunday.

The Fenway-led consortium, named Strategic Sports Group, includes a variety of investor and private equity names like Celtics majority stake owner Wyc Grousbeck, Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts and Cohen Private Ventures, a venture capital firm of New York Mets owner Steve Cohen.

The investor list also includes Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank, Liverpool Football Club owner John Henry and Boston Red Sox owner Tom Werner among others.

The announcement noted that Strategic Sports Group had been selected after a rigorous review of other outside investor offers. The PGA Tour had previously turned down a proposal from TKO majority owner Endeavor Group Holdings.

As it narrows down its investor pool, the PGA Tour said it would aim to further negotiations with the Saudi PIF in the coming weeks.

The news comes as time is running out for the PGA Tour to secure the long-awaited deal with the PIF, which owns the DP World Tour and LIV Golf. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan previously said that the parties would aim to finish the deal by Dec. 31.

The PGA Tour and the PIF agreed to the merger in June but have gone back and forth on the specific deal terms due partially to resistance from big-name PGA Tour players like Rory McIlroy. The deal also faced probing from lawmakers who are skeptical of Saudi Arabia’s intentions, claiming that the country might be trying to gain influence in the U.S. via sports investment.

– CNBC’s Jessica Golden contributed to this report.

When sports platform Fanatics acquired trading card company Topps in January 2022 for roughly $500 million, part of the investment thesis for Fanatics was that there was an opportunity to not only create more products for the already passionate collector, but also for the wider group of sports fans that had little exposure to trading cards and collectibles.

That has included some new sales experiments not traditionally seen in the trading cards market, like jersey patches for prominent rookies and livestream shopping, with high-profile collectors opening packs at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

One of the most anticipated yearly releases for baseball card collectors is the Topps Bowman Draft set, the first time MLB draftees are featured on a card. While the odds of a prospect making the majors are historically low, the chance for collectors to get the first card of a potential Hall of Famer makes it one of the most popular trading card sets under the Topps umbrella.

But there was one MLB draftee who was a lock for the Hall of Fame, albeit in another sport: Tom Brady.

Brady, well-known for his NFL career, was drafted in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos. When Mike Mahan, CEO of Fanatics Collectibles — the arm within Fanatics that oversees Topps and its cards and collectibles business — heard that Brady never had a baseball card, it fit perfectly into what the company is trying to do with trading cards.

“When we think about our products and brands, we really think about product segmentation; we think about something for everyone,” said Mahan, who was previously the CEO of Dick Clark Productions prior to joining Fanatics in June 2022. “But as we think about what we want to do, we just want collecting to be fun. … have fun and do so in a way that we think is authentic and fits within the narrative and storytelling that we do,” Mahan added.

LINWOOD, NEW JERSEY – SEPTEMBER 30: (L-R) Travis Scott, Michael Rubin, Kevin Hart and Tom Brady attend Fanatics and Topps ‘Hobby Rip Night’ Event with Michael Rubin, Tom Brady, Kevin Hart and Travis Scott on September 30, 2023 in Linwood, New Jersey. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Fanatics)

Dave Kotinsky | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

Releasing on Tuesday, the Topps 2023 Bowman Draft set will have 162 Brady cards randomly dispersed across packs, with 81 of those featuring autographs. Fanatics Collectibles is also creating a variety of Brady-related content linked to what his career would have looked like if he had chosen baseball instead of football.

Leaning further into the broader Fanatics ecosystem, retro jersey producer Mitchell & Ness (acquired by Fanatics last year) will also be selling No. 12 Brady Expos jerseys. “We want to do things that are unique and differentiated, and when you gain that trust of the athletes, leagues, and partners, it just completes the circle and that helps us make things feel bigger and more important to really galvanize not only the collecting community but the sports community at large,” Mahan said.

Fanatics Collectibles is on track for a record year, Mahan said, pointing to the strength and growth of the card collecting industry even as there are larger challenges in the economy. While Mahan declined to comment further on the financials of Topps, the company had previously reported record sales of $567 million in 2020 (at a time when it was preparing for a later scrapped initial public offering), then a 23% year-over-year increase.

“I think that this industry is growing; it may not feel like it compared to Covid, but for our business in particular, the things that we are doing are working across our portfolio very well,” Mahan said.

The National Hockey League’s Washington Capitals and the National Basketball Association’s Washington Wizards are slated to move to Alexandria, Virginia, as part of a $2 billion entertainment complex effort, the state’s Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday.

The development, about 8 miles south of Washington, D.C., will house the new global headquarters for Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Capitals and Wizards, as well as the new home arena for the teams. The 9 million square foot district will also feature mixed-use retail, hotel and conference spaces.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin answers questions following the announcement of a new sports arena for the Washington Wizards NBA basketball team and Washington Capitals NHL hockey team, December 13, 2023 in Alexandria, Virginia. 

Win Mcnamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images

“This is the most visionary sports and entertainment development in the world. The Commonwealth will now be home to two professional sports teams, a new corporate headquarters, and over 30,000 new jobs — this is monumental,” Youngkin said in a statement. 

Construction on the complex is slated to begin in 2025 and it is set to open in late 2028.

The development is subject to legislative approval, the statement noted. Legislators will have to greenlight the creation of the complex in the next Virginia General Assembly session.

In an aerial view, the site of a new sports arena for the Washington Wizards NBA basketball team and Washington Capitals NHL hockey team is seen on December 13, 2023 in Alexandria, Virginia.

Win Mcnamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The $2 billion investment will come from bond sales as well as a $403 million contribution from Monumental Sports & Entertainment.

“We are committed to providing world-class fan experiences while continuously evolving our teams, deepening community ties, and solidifying our role as leaders at the forefront of sports and technology,” said Monumental chair and CEO Ted Leonsis in a separate statement.

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While Ben Sherwood was working as a top Disney television executive, he was juggling another major commitment — one he couldn’t quite get the hang of.

Sherwood traveled back and forth between the East and West Coasts to coach for his son’s baseball, soccer, basketball and flag football teams. He became passionate enough about it to launch a youth sports venture, MOJO Sports, following his tenure at Disney.

“I wasn’t very good at it, but I loved it,” Sherwood, also a novelist and a former journalist, told CNBC. “As I got ready to leave Disney in 2019, my thought was how could we bring a little bit of Disney magic to youth sports and build a consumer-facing app that helps parent like me who wanted to be involved.”

Now, Sherwood is looking to level up his platform with a new partnership. TeamSnap, a sports management platform, is buying MOJO, the two sides announced Thursday morning. Financial terms of the deal were not announced. Sherwood, who’s MOJO’s CEO, is joining the TeamSnap board, as well.

Sherwood hopes the deal will scale MOJO to TeamSnap’s millions of users. Parents and youth team managers use TeamSnap, founded in 2009, to organize rosters and schedules, while enabling communication between parents and coaches. The business also has a business-to-business arm, which facilitates management, registration and payments for league owners.

The partners hope MOJO’s coaching resources and live game streaming will make involvement in youth sports a better experience for players, families and coaches. MOJO’s data has shown that its platform leads to lower coach churn and supports lower dropout rates for players.

This is partially due to the wide range of coaching materials available on the platform, which were created and supplied by MOJO’s partners in pro sports such as Major League Baseball. The resources give coaches the material and know-how to lead a better, and more fun, team practice, Sherwood said.

“The biggest reason kids drop out of sports is that it’s not fun,” said Sherwood. “One of the biggest reasons it’s not fun is practice sucks and the coach is terrible.”

When your kids are involved in youth sports, every weekend becomes Super Bowl weekend, said TeamSnap CEO Peter Frintzilas.

“We recognized that we had a massive opportunity to accelerate the consumer side of our business,” Frintzilas told CNBC. “How do we bring cutting edge tools to the mobile device in order to help and continue to improve the overall experience of youth sport, right? We couldn’t be more excited to have Ben and team joining, and I think Mojo will help accelerate our growth towards our aspirations of becoming a global business.”

“This is a defining moment for TeamSnap and for youth sports,” Frintzilas added in a company statement.

MOJO rising

MOJO Sports launched its platform in 2021 fully decked out with coaching materials, virtual player cards and a photo library for players. But the main attraction is its live game streaming, a service that, say, lets grandparents watch their grandkids’ games from across the country.

MOJO also boasts National Football League star power. Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson, who is now with the Denver Broncos, came on board with MOJO in 2021 as a founding partner and investor. MOJO announced a partnership with NFL Flag, where Wilson serves as chairman, in August 2021.

“I’m deeply connected to our mission at MOJO, which is to enhance the youth sports experience,” Wilson said in a statement. “With the size, scale and resources of TeamSnap, the combined new platform will be unstoppable in helping us reach that goal.”

While Ben Sherwood was working as a top Disney television executive, he was juggling another major commitment — one he couldn’t quite get the hang of.

Sherwood traveled back and forth between the East and West Coasts to coach for his son’s baseball, soccer, basketball and flag football teams. He became passionate enough about it to launch a youth sports venture, MOJO Sports, following his tenure at Disney.

“I wasn’t very good at it, but I loved it,” Sherwood, also a novelist and a former journalist, told CNBC. “As I got ready to leave Disney in 2019, my thought was how could we bring a little bit of Disney magic to youth sports and build a consumer-facing app that helps parent like me who wanted to be involved.”

Now, Sherwood is looking to level up his platform with a new partnership. TeamSnap, a sports management platform, is buying MOJO, the two sides announced Thursday morning. Financial terms of the deal were not announced. Sherwood, who’s MOJO’s CEO, is joining the TeamSnap board, as well.

Sherwood hopes the deal will scale MOJO to TeamSnap’s millions of users. Parents and youth team managers use TeamSnap, founded in 2009, to organize rosters and schedules, while enabling communication between parents and coaches. The business also has a business-to-business arm, which facilitates management, registration and payments for league owners.

The partners hope MOJO’s coaching resources and live game streaming will make involvement in youth sports a better experience for players, families and coaches. MOJO’s data has shown that its platform leads to lower coach churn and supports lower dropout rates for players.

This is partially due to the wide range of coaching materials available on the platform, which were created and supplied by MOJO’s partners in pro sports such as Major League Baseball. The resources give coaches the material and know-how to lead a better, and more fun, team practice, Sherwood said.

“The biggest reason kids drop out of sports is that it’s not fun,” said Sherwood. “One of the biggest reasons it’s not fun is practice sucks and the coach is terrible.”

When your kids are involved in youth sports, every weekend becomes Super Bowl weekend, said TeamSnap CEO Peter Frintzilas.

“We recognized that we had a massive opportunity to accelerate the consumer side of our business,” Frintzilas told CNBC. “How do we bring cutting edge tools to the mobile device in order to help and continue to improve the overall experience of youth sport, right? We couldn’t be more excited to have Ben and team joining, and I think Mojo will help accelerate our growth towards our aspirations of becoming a global business.”

“This is a defining moment for TeamSnap and for youth sports,” Frintzilas added in a company statement.

MOJO rising

MOJO Sports launched its platform in 2021 fully decked out with coaching materials, virtual player cards and a photo library for players. But the main attraction is its live game streaming, a service that, say, lets grandparents watch their grandkids’ games from across the country.

MOJO also boasts National Football League star power. Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson, who is now with the Denver Broncos, came on board with MOJO in 2021 as a founding partner and investor. MOJO announced a partnership with NFL Flag, where Wilson serves as chairman, in August 2021.

“I’m deeply connected to our mission at MOJO, which is to enhance the youth sports experience,” Wilson said in a statement. “With the size, scale and resources of TeamSnap, the combined new platform will be unstoppable in helping us reach that goal.”

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson drops back to pass during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIX.

Icon Sports Wire

TeamSnap’s platform captures more than two million daily active users, which will allow MOJO to scale its streaming and training content to the vast user base, Sherwood said. MOJO already has five million users worldwide on the platform, the company said.

While professional leagues such as the NFL and National Basketball Association generate billions in revenue, youth sports isn’t exactly small fry. The market captures $37.5 billion globally, with an estimated 60 million young athletes involved, according to Sports Business Journal, referencing Maia Research. The NFL made revenue of nearly $12 billion in 2022 in its main market, the U.S., NBC Sports reported.

The youth sports market as whole is heating up after a pandemic slump, when Covid restrictions limited social interactions and events, according to youth sports expert and Aspen Institute director Tom Farrey.

“Private equity is flowing billions of dollars into the youth sports market,” said Farrey. “Firms are buying up and aggregating clubs in a number of sports, and creating new products for an industry that serves as many as 30 million children and could serve tens of millions more in the U.S. alone if it can reduce attrition rates.”

Chicago private equity firm Waud Capital, of which Frintzilas is an executive partner, gained majority ownership over TeamSnap in 2021.

Youth sports is uniquely positioned because of its ability to attract a far more devout customer than even that of top professional sports leagues. The average parent in the U.S. shells out $883 a year for one child’s sports commitments with many families paying far more, according to an Aspen Institute report from 2022. In total, parents cough up $30 billion to $40 billion annually for youth sports, the Aspen Institute added.

“I love the Liverpool Football Club, but I’m a way bigger fan of the team my son plays soccer on,” said Sherwood. “You are a much bigger fan of your child’s team than any pro team, and it’s that fandom that we are trying to unlock.“

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Shohei Ohtani made history this week with a 10-year, $700 million contract to play for Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers. The deal’s unique payout structure, however, could carry some risks, financial experts say.

The Japanese superstar will receive $2 million per year over the 10-year agreement, which defers $68 million annually.

Ohtani isn’t the first MLB player to defer income. Players such as Bobby Bonilla and Ken Griffey Jr. also chose yearly payments. In Bonilla’s case, those came with a guaranteed 8% interest rate. But Ohtani will receive the bulk of his contract, $680 million in payments, between 2034 and 2043, without interest.

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The deal could provide tax benefits for Ohtani if he leaves California before receiving his deferred income, according to certified financial planner Eric Bronnenkant, head of tax at Betterment.  

For 2024, California’s top tax rate climbs to 14.4%, which includes a 1.1% payroll tax on all income. Bronnenkant said federal law protects nonresidents from taxes on “retirement income,” including payments structured for at least 10 years.

But California might disagree, he added.

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Ohtani could face higher federal tax rates on the deferred payments, said CFP and enrolled agent Louis Barajas, who is also CEO of International Private Wealth Advisors in Irvine, California. He is a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council.

Without changes from Congress, the highest federal income tax rate will revert to 39.6% in 2026 from the current top rate of 37%. By accepting payments later, “he’s taking a risk,” Barajas said.    

The opportunity costs of deferred income

Another downside of deferring income is Ohtani cannot spend or invest $68 million per year over the next decade.

“A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow,” Barajas said.

By deferring payments without interest, Ohtani also faces reduced purchasing power. While inflation has dropped significantly since June 2022, it’s difficult to predict rates over the next decade.

But if higher inflation returns, “the net value of his contract isn’t worth as much as he thought,” Barajas said.

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The top risk of deferred compensation

While higher taxes and inflation could be issues for deferred income, the No. 1 concern is the company’s ability to pay, experts say.

That’s important for Ohtani’s potential tax benefits. To delay taxes on $680 million of deferred compensation, his future income must be “at risk,” per IRS guidelines, Bronnenkant said.

However, since he’s working for the Los Angeles Dodgers, “the odds of that happening are slim to none,” Barajas said.

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Ted Leonsis, the owner of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals, has a grand vision for growing a regional sports empire. Moving both teams out of D.C. and to Alexandria, Virginia, a plan revealed this week, fits into his idea of a greater D.C. sports business model that has the potential for $10 billion to $15 billion in value, and an eventual IPO.

“My goal is to build the world’s most valuable regional sports and entertainment company,” Leonsis said at the CNBC CFO Council Summit in Washington, D.C., last month.

Leonsis, the former AOL senior executive, founded Monumental Sports & Entertainment in 2010. Along with his majority stakes in both the Capitals and Wizards, Monumental’s portfolio also includes the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, minor league hockey and basketball teams, stakes in esports organizations, several arenas, including Capital One Arena in downtown D.C., and a regional sports network.

While the large collection of assets spreads across multiple sports, there is one significant factor that ties it all together: Washington, D.C.

“I will not buy a soccer team outside of London, and I won’t buy a football team in another market. I want a platform, Monumental Sports, and we’ll put on that platform [local] teams and venues and networks,” Leonsis said.

That sports footprint is set to grow in the coming years.

On Wednesday, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced that the Capitals and Wizards have agreed to move to a new arena in Alexandria, Virginia, as part of a $2 billion entertainment complex in 2028. The new development, which would see Monumental invest upwards of $403 million, would also house a new global headquarters for the company including an updated broadcasting studio, an esports facility, and a performing arts venue. The deal is pending legislative approval.

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Monumental said it also plans to update Capital One Arena, reducing capacity to around 12,000 seats but providing a home for the Mystics as well as other concerts and events that aren’t currently able to be in the arena due to the NHL and NBA schedules.

There is also the potential for Leonsis and Monumental to acquire additional teams in the area.

“It’s no secret, I’m unabashedly – we should own a soccer team locally. We should own a baseball team locally,” Leonsis said. “But I won’t chase outside [Washington, D.C.], it’s not a trophy for us. It’s ‘Is this additive, is this accretive to the platform?’ If the platform is successful, then you can invest more in your hockey team, your baseball team, and your basketball team.”

Leonsis has been previously rumored as a potential buyer of both the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals, two MLB teams that would fit his location-based investment strategy. Both teams are also potentially for sale, with Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein reportedly in talks to buy the Orioles, according to Bloomberg.

“You hear all the time, even when the Orioles do great — this year they had a fantastic team — how will they compete with the Red Sox? How will they compete with big market teams? By trying to build the world’s most valuable regional sports and entertainment company so those comments are void,” Leonsis said. “It should be how are they going to compete with us? We own the venue, we own the network, we own the teams, and our market is from Richmond to Delaware.”

The growing multi-sport ownership strategy

There are some examples of a multi-team investment strategy in sports. Fenway Sports Group, for example, owns the Boston Red Sox, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Premier League’s Liverpool. David Blitzer, Blackstone global head of tactical opportunities, became the first person to hold team equity in each of the five major North American men’s sports leagues in 2022 with stakes in the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, Washington Commanders, Cleveland Guardians, and Real Salt Lake.

James Dolan, through public companies MSG Sports, Sphere Entertainment and Madison Square Garden Entertainment, owns the New York Knicks, Rangers, the eponymous arena, and the corresponding regional sports network MSG Networks.

Atlanta Braves Holdings, which Liberty Media split off from its other businesses in August, consists of the MLB team, the operation of its stadium, and the surrounding mixed-use development.

However, few have full operational control of the teams, the arena and a broadcast network centered on one metro area like Leonsis and Monumental do, something he believes would offer his teams a competitive advantage.

Billionaire businessman Stan Kroenke is perhaps the closest example to what Leonsis is aiming to build, with his Kroenke Sports & Entertainment company owning several Denver-based franchises such as the NBA’s Nuggets, the NHL’s Avalanche, and MLS’s Rapids, along with the team’s corresponding arenas and a regional sports network. Outside of Colorado, Kroenke owns the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and the Premier League’s Arsenal FC.

More sports teams going public?

Leonsis said Monumental is expected to earn $650 million in revenue this year, and through organic growth should reach $1 billion in revenue “relatively quickly.”

But a team acquisition would supercharge that. “We could have a billion-and-a-half-dollar revenue run rate and a $10 billion to $15 billion trend of valuation,” Leonsis said.

Earlier this year, Leonsis sold a 5% stake in Monumental to the Qatar Investment Authority, a deal that values the organization at around $4 billion. It also broke new ground for the investment of sovereign wealth funds into U.S. sports, which follows the opening of private equity firms and funds also being able to purchase team stakes in most leagues.

Leonsis said that QIA is “treated as investors, not partners, as it is a totally passive investment,” but he did note that he could see the potential for more sports teams and organizations to go public as these types of investments come in.

The market performance of public sports organizations has often been as unpredictable as the team’s actual play, despite revenues continuing to grow. For example, MSG Sports is up just 1.22% since splitting off from the broader MSG business in April 2020.

MSG Sports, which encompasses the businesses of the NHL’s Rangers and the NBA’s Knicks, has a market cap of roughly $4.15 billion. Earlier this year, the Phoenix Suns were sold for a NBA record $4 billion, and the Ottawa Senators were sold for an NHL record of nearly $1 billion.

Leonsis noted that in his view, sports organizations like his remain undervalued, as they should be viewed more like SaaS businesses with recurring revenue lines like ticketing, sponsorships, and media rights.

“I think now with the valuations that have come out and private equity coming into the world, they’ll want exits. There’ll have to be some kind of market that develops,” Leonsis said. “But my intuition is that if people understand the true nature of the revenue streams and the predictability and intrinsic global value of our content, I think there will become a market for at-scale size sports venues and operators.”

Could that include a Monumental Sports IPO akin to MSG or the Braves? Leonsis said that if the company reached those high-end revenue run rates and valuation, that’s when companies start to think about going public.

“So, I’ve said let’s act like a pre-IPO company, that doesn’t mean I want to go public,” he said. “But if you act that way, I think you’ll be well positioned because the sports world has changed dramatically.”

Federal prosecutors have disrupted a so-called pig-butchering scheme that cost victims more than $80 million, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Four men have been indicted and two arrests have been made in one of the most sweeping enforcement actions yet on a type of scam that costs U.S. citizens hundreds of millions every year.

Lu Zhang, Justin Walker and Joseph Wong, all California residents, allegedly conspired with Illinois resident Hailong Zhu to launder the illicit proceeds of their scam, according to prosecutors. Zhang and Walker were arrested and appeared in Los Angeles federal court Wednesday.

Pig butchering, from the Chinese phrase sha zhu pan, is an increasingly widespread scam that involves cold-messaging victims and attempting to build a rapport with them. After developing a bond, scammers convince victims to send significant sums of money to fake investment platforms, supposedly to teach the victims how to make massive profits trading crypto or other assets.

The exchanges are fraudulent, and the gains are falsified. Eventually, the scammers pick up shop and flee, sometimes with millions of dollars in profits.

The defendants allegedly used shell companies registered in California to funnel their profits to domestic and international bank accounts, according to the complaint. The conspirators set up accounts at numerous banks, including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, and had victims send transfers to those accounts, prosecutors alleged.

From there, the money would move to domestic accounts in their own names, to international accounts in Hong Kong or a Bahamas bank linked to money laundering and a well-known U.S. dollar stablecoin, Tether.

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