The business of Kobe Bryant continues | Gatorade's big move into golf | MLB's first female GM

Plus: Big expansion plans for a betting app

Pro Basketball

The NBA draft is in the books—finally—and now teams can begin negotiating with their top picks. Based on the rookie salary scale, here's what Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman and all of this year's first-rounders can expect to make.

Baseball

Theo Epstein is leaving the Cubs, but that was hardly the big front-office news in MLB this past week. Kim Ng is the new general manager of the Marlins, becoming the first woman in that position in a major North American league. Ng seems ready to be a role model, saying: "If you can't see it, you can't feel it. Now, you can see it." The hiring could change perceptions of the Marlins, perhaps forever.

Soccer

La Liga, which tries to reduce the risk of unsustainable debt with measures that go beyond the usual Financial Fair Play rules, has slashed its spending limits for the 2020-21 season. That essentially squashes the chances that Barcelona or Real Madrid will sign a star in the winter transfer window—and ensures the flow of top players out of Spain will continue.

A new study suggests that simply letting some air out of soccer balls could reduce the risk of concussions.

Sports Apparel

Arizonans lovingly refer to the Phoenix area as the Valley. With a new jersey, the Suns are drawing on that name to lay claim to the broader region. "We're just trying to go out there and rep everybody," forward Mikal Bridges tells us. The NHL, too, is releasing new retro-influenced uniform designs—"with a unique twist," as one Adidas executive puts it.

Ralph Lauren has added a third Grand Slam to its tennis sponsorship portfolio.

Golf

Matthew Wolff, at 21, is just the second golfer ever to be signed as a Gatorade endorser.

Cobra Golf has produced the first 3D-printed club ever sold commercially by a major equipment company. Is it any surprise that Bryson DeChambeau—the PGA Tour's mad scientist—was involved?

Sports Business

BetMGM wants to expand rapidly in the U.S., targeting a market share of 15% to 20%. "We believe we can double, maybe triple our business in the next five years," says the CEO of BetMGM's newly rebranded operator, Entain.

DAZN, which once had the ambition of being "Netflix for sports," is entering into a resale agreement with a pay-TV operator and launching a linear channel in Germany. But the company still believes in the future of streaming and is merely being pragmatic about the state of the market, its chief subscription officer tells us.

MyRacehorse gives fans the chance to pay a nominal fee for a tiny stake in a horse—even a champion like Authentic, the front-runner for horse of the year honors. A group of 5,314 investors acquired a 12.5% stake in Authentic through the app—at a price of $206 a share—and now are looking forward to his career at stud.

Featured Story

After the shocking news of his death in January, Kobe Bryant's business partners were left to grapple with the question of how to build upon an already-lucrative legacy without seeming like vultures. Nike collects an estimated $250 million in revenue annually from Mamba shoes and apparel, the main source of the $20 million in annual pretax earnings that will now flow to his estate, which lands at No. 6 on the 2020 Forbes Dead Celebrity ranking. For more on how Nike, the Lakers and WME are managing Bryant's legacy, read the full story here.

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Upon Further Review

Pieces in Naomi Osaka's first Nike collection sold out online in less than 24 hours—exactly what the apparel giant was hoping for when it went all in to outfit her during the biggest bidding war in tennis in 2019. This just continues Osaka's winning streak: This year, she became the world's highest-paid female athlete, with $37.4 million over 12 months from prize money and endorsements—an all-time earnings record for a woman.

The Last Word

“2020 is the year that keeps giving, I think—the year that’s so crazy, no one can predict.”

Katie Zelem

Even by the standards of 2020, this year has been a roller-coaster for Manchester United captain Katie Zelem. A positive Covid-19 test cut short her first call-up to England's national team, and she was left off the squad the following month. She ended up an injury replacement, but then the match was canceled after a team staff member tested positive for the coronavirus. Things are looking up, though: Manchester United is leading the Women's Super League for the first time, and Zelem has been immortalized in a giant mural. For more on Zelem's up-and-down year, read the full story here.