In this week’s SportsMoney Playbook: soccer’s highest-paid players, NBA Top Shot maker is scaling up and the IPO payday at On Running. Plus: how a Hollywood producer is spotlighting Nascar’s Black trailblazers.

Sports Business

Google is partnering with Dapper Labs to scale its NBA Top Shot product—and other NFT lines running on its blockchain—to what they hope will be billions of users. Meanwhile, Sorare, an Ethereum-based fantasy sports platform, has raised $680 million in Series B funding, the second-largest round in crypto ever.

Pro Basketball

As they broke ground on their new home, set to open in 2024, the Clippers announced a 23-year naming rights deal. So why is it the Intuit Dome, and not the Intuit Center or Intuit Arena? Steve Ballmer explains.

The NBA reportedly hopes to triple the value of its broadcasting deal, which is prompting projections for a $171 million salary cap by 2025, a league source tells us. With or without cap smoothing, the implications for player contracts would be huge.

Candace Parker returned home this season on a free-agent deal with the Sky, and Chicago took notice, declaring a holiday in her honor. Adidas is celebrating the six-time WNBA All-Star, too.

Football

Former Baylor basketball center Mark Vital, who hadn’t played football since high school, is now trying to catch on with the Chiefs. “He’s a natural for a tight end,” his college basketball coach tells us.

A Tupelo-based bespoke jeans company has offered the entire Ole Miss football team a name, image and likeness deal.

Tennis

The Laver Cup—a three-day Europe vs. World team competition launched in 2017 by Roger Federer, his agent Tony Godsick and their TEAM8 agency—is back after a pandemic cancellation, bringing its unique brand of tennis to Boston. Rod Laver‘s name lives on elsewhere, too, on his signature shoes and on Australia’s largest tennis venue; the legendary champion explains how he became a brand of sorts.

Golf

Rain or Shine Golf, a retailer and manufacturer of equipment and accessories for at-home golf, has become a dominant player in the space since its founding in 2016. Here’s how a pair of high school golf teammates did it.

After a $100 million renovation, PGA National, the Palm Beach Gardens destination where the PGA Tour‘s Florida swing tees off in late February, now offers 99 holes of golf to play. It’s not the only golf resort getting attention: Big Cedar Lodge in the Missouri wilderness is setting a new standard for conservation-minded courses.

Auto Racing

After signing a multi-year deal with Hendrick Motorsports in June, Alex Bowman can breathe easier. But he’s not ready to rest on his laurels. “Needing to run well doesn’t change,” he tells us.

Featured Story

The World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Players: Cristiano Ronaldo Reclaims Top Spot From Lionel Messi

Soccer’s two most famous faces may have switched teams, but they remain the sport’s highest-paid players, with Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo edging out PSG’s Lionel Messi. A rival star who has eclipsed them as a goal-scorer is making up some ground off the field as well, with a leap up the ranking to No. 6. See soccer’s top ten.

Hot Reads:

Upon Further Review

On’s first shoe was so ugly that its cofounders say they called it “Frankenstein,” but they have since won over enough customers that the company’s IPO gives the three a collective net worth of about $1.8 billion. Another big winner from the listing is Roger Federer, who bought into the Swiss running brand two years ago and has a long track record of savvy business moves. The tennis legend made $90 million over the last 12 months despite scarcely playing. See how the rest of the tennis world stacked up.

The Last Word

“I wanted to make sure that everybody kind of knew that, hey, you know, African-Americans have had a place in Nascar for a long time.” – David Steward II

As Nascar works toward a more inclusive future, the organization is partnering with David Steward II, the producer behind an Academy Award-winning short film, to shine a light on some of the sport’s Black trailblazers. After producing a biopic about Charlie “Speed King” Wiggins, who persevered through racism on and off the track, Steward’s media company will bring the story of Wendell Scott, Nascar’s first Black driver, to the masses. Learn more about the effort to spotlight some of auto racing’s Black pioneers.

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