Travis Kelce's hot investment | The NBA's financial resilience | The video analysis startup changing soccer

Plus: The partnership elevating women in auto racing

This edition of the SportsMoney Playbook has been sent a day early. Have a great Thanksgiving!

Pro Football

The Chiefs' perennial All-Pros Travis Kelce and Mitchell Schwartz are among the investors set to score with the $800 million sale of Cholula. Their return for the 2019 investment? About 300%.

Basketball

The NBA's debt received a high rating, which says a lot about the financial resilience of the league given that its revenue was hammered by the pandemic and that it suffered subpar TV ratings this past season. It is capitalizing by moving to double its credit facility, to $2.4 billion.

As the NBA emerges from a whirlwind start to free agency, the Warriors appear set to spend at least $100 million more on player salaries and luxury taxes than they have at any point in their dynastic run.

Rutgers is ranked in the preseason AP men's college basketball poll for the first time in 42 years, but the only fans who will be around to see the Scarlet Knights play will be in the form of cardboard cutouts—priced at $50 for season-ticket holders and $30 for students.

Baseball

Even the Yankees aren't immune from the financial consequences of the pandemic as they try to address serious roster challenges this off-season. Some big-name hitters remain on the free-agent market, but advanced metrics raise questions about whether they're worth big investments.

Sammy Sosa's beachfront Florida home is on the market for nearly $20 million.

Auto Racing

Formula 1 is partnering with the first-of-its-kind W Series to increase the reach and influence of women in auto racing. CEO Catherine Bond Muir tells us more about the rise of the W Series.

Cricket

In a potentially game-changing announcement for the sport, USA Cricket unveiled plans to redevelop a vacant baseball stadium into a world-class cricket venue, making the Dallas area the sport's new home in the U.S.

Golf

Legendary actor Bill Murray launched a direct-to-consumer golf fashion brand in 2015. After a rocky month early in the pandemic, the company is growing again. It's not the only golf business on the upswing: Behind a 25-year-old founder, the premium golf towel maker Uther Supply is forecasting big growth for 2021 as it approaches the $1 million revenue milestone for 2020.

Soccer

The pandemic is posing challenges—and offering opportunities—as coach Vlatko Andonovski selects the members of the U.S. women's national team.

Featured Story

Three soccer fanatics with no experience in the industry founded a data and video analysis business over beers in 2013. Villarreal became its first client, and FC Barcelona quickly became its second. Now, the company works with more than 80 soccer teams in 27 countries—and is taking aim at recreational players, too. For more on how Metrica Sports is using machine learning to break down film, read the full story here.

Hot Reads

Mathieu Flamini And Mesut Ozil Launch Performance Academy To Take Expert Health Advice Mainstream

How 433 Became The Biggest Soccer Community In The World

A European Super League Would Worsen Soccer Inequality, But Revenue Would Soar, Economist Says

Can Mikel Arteta Solve Arsenal's Creativity Problem In The January Transfer Window?

Upon Further Review

Nascar didn't just survive 2020; in some ways, it thrived. That's great news for a series that faced major challenges even before the pandemic. In our ranking of Nascar team values this year, the average team value was down once again, but we also noted that a combination of new management and consolidation appeared to have provided much-needed stability.

The Last Word

“He might not be the most physically gifted guy, but he just knows how to get it done.”

Eric Viuhkola

Payton Pritchard, picked by the Celtics in the first round of last week's NBA draft, is a legend in his Oregon hometown. His old coach Eric Viuhkola gives us the inside story of his incredible high school career.