The carbon-neutral Nascar team | $14.1 billion in pandemic losses | Six-figure salaries for high schoolers

Plus: $20 million in funding for a startup capitalizing on the sports card craze

Auto Racing

With a heightened focus on recycling equipment from its racecars, along with other initiatives, Roush Fenway has become the first team in all of Nascar to go carbon neutral.

The 23-year-old driver Quin Houff hasn't won a Nascar Cup Series race yet, but he's already done something to leave his mark: lure a new sponsor into the sport.

A year after IndyCar owner Roger Penske created the Race for Equality and Change initiative to push for a more diverse paddock, the series' first all-female team is preparing to take the green flag.

Basketball

The internet-first sports network Overtime is launching a basketball league with an enticing pitch for high school prospects: year-round development, six-figure salaries and additional earning opportunities through their names, images and likenesses.

Soccer

Women's soccer continues to grow, with an increase of more than 6,000% in the number of matches from 1998 to 2019. So why are only 20% of the head coaches women?

Golf

Payntr, a U.K.-based cricket shoe brand that's gaining momentum in Europe and India, is setting its sights on the American market with a biomechanically designed golf shoe.

Olympics

Erin Jackson picked up ice speed skating at age 25 after an accomplished career on inline skates and quickly became the first Black woman to compete for the U.S. Olympic long-track speed-skating team. She's hoping to build on that momentum at the 2022 Beijing Games, telling us, "I welcome being a trailblazer."

Sports Business

A rosy forecast has sent DraftKings' stock soaring and made a billionaire out of cofounder and CEO Jason Robins.

In a bid to break eBay's hold on the online auction marketplace and capitalize on the sports collectibles boom, two tech entrepreneurs have founded their own platform and raised $20 million in a funding round led by an early investor in Facebook.

With some experts estimating the sports tech sector will reach $30 billion by 2024, two venture capital shops are jointly raising $5 million for a new U.S.-based seed fund focused on the space.

Featured Story

A year into the pandemic, we have an estimate of how much it has cost the sports world: $14.1 billion in lost revenues from 2019 to 2020 among the four major American leagues and March Madness. But with Covid-19 vaccines rolling out and events like MLB's opening day and the Masters fast approaching, there's optimism for a recovery. "This could be an amazing summer on all fronts," Mark Cuban tells us. Read more on the sports world's big comeback.

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Upon Further Review

Puma, a brand with a long history in performance footwear, is placing a new emphasis on road running and rebuilding the segment from scratch. It's the latest step in an impressive turnaround, with the brand outpacing rivals Nike, Adidas and Under Armour in recent years. Partnerships with stars like Usain Bolt and Rihanna, and a savvy marketing strategy, have played a key role, landing Puma on our most recent list of the most valuable sports brands. See the full ranking here.

The Last Word

“I want to flip the script. It’s time to rethink how we do things.”

Erin Kane

Early in her career, Erin Kane was told, "You can't be an agent; you're a woman." Having disproved that notion while representing athletes like two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne and softball icon Jennie Finch at powerhouse agency Octagon, Kane is ready to go even further. She's launching the Clarion Agency—a firm dedicated to women in sports. Learn more about Kane and her new venture.