The billionaire aiming to take over African soccer | From NFL player to esports owner | Fanatics' push into China

Plus: Genie Bouchard's new sponsorship deal, and new perspective

Baseball

Former Mariners executive Kevin Mather's incendiary comments about manipulating top prospect Jarred Kelenic's service time came as no surprise to Gene Orza, a former players' union executive. "It's been around a very long time," he tells us.

The Blue Jays have unveiled a Player Development Complex in Florida that is triple the size of their old facility and has a host of new features. It could get some extra use this season if Canadian Covid-19 restrictions prevent the club from playing north of the border.

Pro Basketball

The WNBA has ended its Kelly Loeffler saga, with the Dream being sold to an ownership group that includes former player Renee Montgomery.

Ice Cube's BIG3 league has hired a CEO as it expands its pool of potential players, negotiates with streaming platforms and looks to add sponsors. The top item on his agenda, though: figuring out how to hold a season amid the coronavirus restrictions.

Golf

With lifestyle apparel brand Linksoul, Bubba Watson is the latest golfer to invest in a company whose vision includes fostering greater engagement in golf. "Normally deals give you money—I'm giving them money," he tells us. "But it's an adventure I love."

Auto Racing

Nascar, in the midst of preparations for the launch of its Next Gen car, got involved in a startup accelerator. The resulting partnership will protect golf carts from being stolen at racetracks.

Tennis

Players ranked outside the top 20 on the WTA Tour don't often attract interest from sponsors, but Genie Bouchard, with her 2.1 million Instagram followers, isn't your typical No. 143. She tells us why she's excited to be making the switch from Nike to New Balance.

Esports

Following pro athletes like Stephen Curry and Marshawn Lynch into esports, Packers receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling is teaming up with gaming lifestyle company Subnation to launch a franchise with teams across multiple game titles.

Sports Business

Sports licensing giant Fanatics is forming a joint venture with Asia-focused private-equity firm Hillhouse Capital to tap into the Chinese market.

While many colleges are cutting sports, Fairleigh Dickinson is adding a men's volleyball program with help from the First Point Volleyball Foundation, a nonprofit that is using grants to convince schools they can come out ahead financially by adding volleyball scholarships.

Featured Story

With the Confederation of African Football in need of a new leader, mining billionaire Patrice Motsepe is presenting his vision for the continent's future. Even though the organization has struggled with corruption and old-fashioned thinking for decades, Motsepe, who has Africa's ninth-largest fortune and a spotless reputation, believes the job is worth the risk. The typically media-shy Motsepe gives us his pitch—read the full story here.

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Upon Further Review

Sacramento's bid to gain a Major League Soccer franchise has hit a major roadblock, with billionaire Ron Burkle pulling out of the effort while citing the coronavirus pandemic. Still, commissioner Don Garber is optimistic MLS will grow to 30 teams, an expansion that could help the league keep valuations rising. In 2019, when MLS had 24 teams, we pegged the average franchise value at $313 million, a 30% increase from the year prior. Who's No. 1? See the full team ranking here.

The Last Word

“It shouldn’t be such a stuffy sport.”

Macklemore

The latest creation from rapper and songwriter Macklemore is a golf lifestyle brand called Bogey Boys. The Seattle native has been hooked on the sport since he first hit the links in Hawaii in 2018. Now, he's hoping to inject new energy into golf and attract more diverse players. Go inside the launch of Bogey Boys.