Will Taylor

[Will Taylor @chancerwill]

I’m excited to team up with @CoachCBell and @ImproveYourGame to host Elevated Game: The Rise of Athlete-Investor ⛹🏽‍♂️

This dynamic experience will explore how athletes are going from playbooks to portfolios during LA @Techweek_ 🌴

rsvp here: https://t.co/msFoGZbTv6 🎟️

[Sports Business Journal @SBJ]

The Bulls announced that Walmart heir Lukas Walton and wife Samantha have acquired a minority stake in the team & the United Center.

Neither the size of the stake nor the value of the transaction was disclosed.

MORE: https://t.co/GjJkJ1gtx2

[Tom Mars @TomMarsLaw]

INSANITY (definition): spending almost $300MM on lawyers over five years and having to pay $2.8BB to settle one case, having another court obliterate your NIL rules, having a jury award a $140MM verdict against you for a football player’s brain injury, getting your ass kicked from coast to coast in other litigation, and proudly saying you only lost 1/3 of the eligibility lawsuits filed against you.

[Sportico @Sportico]

The Cavaliers are nearing a deal to sell a 5%–10% stake in the franchise to Blue Owl, valuing the NBA team and Cleveland’s incoming WNBA franchise at a combined $5.5 billion. The sale would mark another major benchmark in the soaring value of NBA franchises.

Full story: https://t.co/EARoxdaej3

[Ross Dellenger @RossDellenger]

Learfield CEO:

[Ross Dellenger @RossDellenger]

Opendorse is projecting college athlete compensation - rev-share + third party pay - to exceed $4 billion this coming year, per its annual NIL Report.

A Big Ten school’s annual average spend exceeds all others at $48M, followed by the SEC ($44M), ACC ($28M) and Big 12 ($24M).

[Shams Charania @ShamsCharania]

BREAKING: The Charlotte Hornets are trading star guard LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps (2028, 2029, 2030) and three second-round picks (2029, 2032, 2033), sources tell ESPN.

[Puck @PuckNews]

An apparently massive cybersecurity breach at Madison Square Garden was all but lost in the chatter surrounding the Knicks’ NBA Finals win. But as the confetti is swept up, here come the inevitable lawsuits.

More from @eriqgardner: https://t.co/vXo8U7RhiN

[Sportico @Sportico]

Sportico launched Sportico Studio, a new video and content platform that helps brands reach sports business audiences through sponsored content, storytelling, and multimedia campaigns across digital, social, and events. The launch expands Sportico’s video offerings and follows its recent coverage at Cannes Lions.
Full story: https://t.co/hhvaE8Tm4v

[Pete Nakos @PeteNakos]

The College Sports Commission will not subject deals valued between $600-$15,000 to review unless and until an athlete has exceeded $50K in Associated deals in an academic year, per a memo sent to schools on Tuesday.

https://t.co/P0jTd9jOYp

[Reads with Ravi @readswithravi]

“In the short term, you are as good as your intensity.

In the long term, you are only as good as your consistency.”

— Shane Parrish

[Matt Baker @MattBakerCFB]

Add a new player to the mixed-use space. The major sports investment group Arctos announces it's partnering with the group developing the entertainment district for Tennessee's Neyland Stadium. We wrote about the mixed-use craze last month:
https://t.co/VtXk0NqQn6

[Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter]

The Milwaukee Bucks are trading Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, 3 first-round picks (including No. 13), 1 pick swap and 1 second-rounder, sources tell @ShamsCharania.

[Sportico @Sportico]

The NBA Players Association is launching Plyrs Untd, a new consumer-facing brand aimed at expanding the union’s nearly $300 million business beyond traditional licensing. The venture will focus on content, events and direct fan engagement, with a campaign featuring stars including Stephen Curry, Jalen Brunson and Kyrie Irving.

Full story: https://t.co/MC8XOyhZKk

[Sports Business Journal @SBJ]

Louisville athletics expects to run a record deficit of about $30 million in FY27, its fifth negative balance in eight years.

The projected deficit is $18.8 million higher than the department’s $11.2 million deficit in FY26.

Via @courierjournal | https://t.co/nca5x3py5M

[Jemele Hill @jemelehill]

There’s a pretty extensive history of our government purposely flooding the streets with drugs for inexcusable reasons — to quell rioting and Black liberation, to fund illegal wars, etc. This is just the latest verse in the same song.

[OnThinIce @OnThinlce]

The NBPA launched its “Own the Game” campaign, narrated by Kyrie Irving and featuring several NBA stars.

Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free’s creative agency ‘Project 3’ produced the film, which will debut at Cannes Lions.

[Reads with Ravi @readswithravi]

A reminder from Atomic Habits by James Clear:

“New goals don't deliver new results. New lifestyles do. And a lifestyle is a process, not an outcome. For this reason, all of your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results.”

[Darren Heitner @heitner]

The NCAA has recently been canceling pending eligibility extension and season-of-competition waiver requests outright rather than deciding them on the merits.

I'm seeing this increasingly in active matters right now.

It appears the administrative process is being dismantled ahead of the new five-year rule.

Where the facts justify it, court remains the only reliable path, particularly given the NCAA's newest strategy of essentially not even reviewing what was submitted.

[Sports Business Journal @SBJ]

Disney will launch ESPN Fan House in August, a new interactive hub aimed at bringing fans closer to the sports they enjoy while making advertisers part of the exchange.

The platform will debut alongside ESPN’s college football coverage, per @Variety.

MORE: https://t.co/vosMmpMeyO

[Boardroom @boardroom]

Amazon and Boardroom have reached a multi-faceted agreement.

Wondery will distribute Boardroom’s series via video and audio across Amazon services, including Prime Video, Amazon Music, and Fire TV Channels, as well as continue to be available on Boardroom’s YouTube, website, and social channels.

Beyond content, this deal supercharges Boardroom’s signature live events — from the Super Bowl to NBA All-Star and other major sports and entertainment moments — while unlocking new advertising opportunities across video and social platforms.