In this week’s SportsMoney Playbook: the billion-dollar esports company, the NHL’s highest-paid players and an MLB bat maker is ready to expand. Plus: Alex Rodriguez prepares to head to trial.

Esports

With a SPAC deal, FaZe Clan is set to become the first esports company valued at $1 billion. Its CEO, however, says its future isn’t in esports proper.

Baseball

Marucci Sports, the manufacturer of MLB‘s most used bats, is buying grip-tape company Lizard Skins for almost $50 million. The deal also opens the door for Marucci to expand to other sports.

For seven years, Alex Rodriguez has been deadlocked in a lawsuit brought by his former brother-in-law stemming from a real estate company they started in 2003, but the case is finally set to go to trial. Much is at stake for Rodriguez, both financially and personally.

Soccer

Kansas City NWSL is in its inaugural season, but it has already notched an important achievement, announcing plans to build a privately financed $70 million stadium—the first stadium built specifically for an NWSL club.

The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund‘s takeover of Newcastle United has riled English soccer fans, and one college professor has a controversial theory why.

Auto Racing

With cable viewership declining, Nascar has a choice to make: steer into streaming services (and likely earn more cash) or maintain a large audience with traditional broadcasts.

Full-season sponsorships are making a surprising return to Nascar’s Cup Series, but it’s a lower-level series that’s providing the real sign of the sport’s health.

Behind drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing might finally be ready to unseat the Mercedes dynasty that has dominated Formula 1 for the last seven years. “It doesn’t matter who you’re fighting,” Verstappen tells us. “What’s most important is that you’re in the fight.”

College Sports

Invesco QQQ, the official exchange-traded fund of the NCAA, is launching an interactive game that aims to teach college athletes “how not to suck at money,” and the timing couldn’t be better with the arrival of name, image and likeness opportunities.

The NCAA has a bad track record when it comes to complying with federal antitrust laws, and its new effort to limit who can advise college basketball players about their draft prospects could spell more trouble.

Featured Story

Highest-Paid NHL Players 2021-22: Connor McDavid Leads A Top Ten Still Being Stung By The Pandemic

Auston Matthews may be the NHL’s top sniper, but the year’s biggest score belongs to Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who reclaims the top spot on our list of the league’s highest-paid players with $16.4 million for the 2021-22 season, including endorsements. Not all of hockey’s top stars are represented; one of its biggest names misses the top ten because of a contract quirk. See the full ranking.

Hot Reads:

Upon Further Review

Among Europe’s top five soccer leagues, Serie A suffered the largest revenue loss at the hands of the pandemic, with AS Roma, Juventus and Inter Milan all posting a deficit of at least $200 million in the 2020-21 fiscal year. The crisis in Italy, which has four of the world’s 20 most valuable soccer clubs, provides extra motivation for a deep run in the highly remunerative Champions League. See how Italy’s best stack up against the rest of the world’s top clubs in our annual soccer team valuations.

The Last Word

“I was a big, growing kid, so I couldn’t really make it from lunch all the way to dinner.” – Mitchell Schwartz

Mitchell Schwartz discovered his passion for cooking while making himself creative snacks after school as a teenager. With a back injury keeping the former All-Pro offensive lineman out of the NFL, he now has an opportunity to spend more time in the kitchen, making cooking videos for YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and his personal blog. But while it’s been a fun change of pace, Schwartz has no plans to give up on football and open a restaurant. “I’m just trying to get healthy,” he tells us. Learn more about Schwartz’s culinary curiosity.

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