The NCAA's latest antitrust threat | Nascar prepares for electrification | Soccer's uneven playing field

Plus: An NBA team adds partners during the pandemic

Auto Racing

Electrification is looming on the horizon in the automotive market—and Nascar is already preparing for it.

Pro Basketball

Hyperice, whose various products aid muscle recovery through massage, compression and heat, is partnering with the Lakers, the startup's latest high-profile sports sponsorship. Its CEO tells us he thinks the company's valuation is now "significantly" greater than $1 billion.

Despite the pandemic, the 76ers had their most successful off-season in years, with new sponsors coming on board—and a 28% rise in the average deal size from the previous off-season.

Baseball

Top Yankees prospect Jasson Dominguez hasn't had a pro at-bat yet, but there's a frenzied run on his trading cards. "I always dreamed of being on a card," he tells us.

Mariners president Kevin Mather resigned after his comments to a local Rotary Club exposed one of baseball's dirty little secrets and gave the MLB players' union new ammunition in its CBA negotiations.

College Sports

Makan Delrahim, who worked on the Justice Department Antitrust Division's opinion in the pending Alston v. NCAA case before leaving his post as assistant attorney general, explains why the NCAA is in uncharted territory.

Cricket

Oman has become a top-20 cricket team with help from the wealthy Khimji family.

Sports Business

With East Asia set to host two Olympic Games within a year of each other because of the pandemic, what can sports marketers looking to tap into the big China market learn from audience trends over the last year? Quite a bit, one expert tells us.

After a blockbuster year that saw eFuse accrue more than half a million new users, the esports social media venture—a LinkedIn for gamers—has received a further $6 million in funding.

Evolution Development Group, a newly launched sports management company, will pay for young pro athletes' travel, food, training and other expenses in exchange for a percentage of their future earnings. The company is looking to raise $2.4 million through the sale of shares to the general public on its website.

Featured Story

The success of the U.S. women's national soccer team has generated optimism that female athletes could be entering a promising new era, but the sad truth is that the playing field remains painfully uneven. Low pay and poor conditions have driven many players out of soccer. "I was an adult woman, but I was being treated like a prop," former NWSL player Brooke Elby says. Dive deeper into the crisis in women's soccer.

Hot Reads

In Hiring Amber Cox, Kansas City’s NWSL Team Shows Its Ambitions

U.S. Soccer Stars And Clubs Launch Coalition To End Racism In Soccer

Leeds United's Premier League Success Has Owner Andrea Radrizzani Aiming High

Upon Further Review

Michael McDowell's Daytona 500 win ended a 357-race losing streak and has Front Row Motorsports planning for long-term growth. It's a rare opportunity for the Nascar minnow, which we valued at $30 million last year, leaving the team next to last in our ranking of nine of the series' teams. Which team grabbed the top spot, with a value of $315 million? See the full list here.

The Last Word

“As a goalkeeper, I’m a big believer in sometimes you just need a bit of luck.”

Sandy MacIver

Sandy MacIver is modest about her performance for Everton in the Women's FA Cup, but whether it was luck or skill, that breakout tournament has her poised to step onto an even grander stage: the Olympics. While MacIver just made her debut for England's senior national team, she participated in the Summer Games once before—carrying the Olympic torch. Read more about MacIver's unconventional path toward Tokyo here.