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Plus: The NBA's most valuable teams

Welcome to the Forbes SportsMoney Playbook, where we'll keep you up to date on the dollars driving the big decisions across the sports world. The SportsMoney Playbook is delivered every Thursday with analysis of what's next for the players, teams and leagues you care about. Check out more Forbes newsletters here.

Here's what you've missed recently:

Golf

The pandemic has been great for the golf industry, but it hasn't been able to turn around Donald Trump's fledgling properties in Europe. His losses now total more than $100 million.

Sports Business

The owners and ownership groups that dominate the sports world often own much more than a single team. In fact, the world's 25 most valuable sports empires represent a combined $141 billion in sports properties.

Pro Football

After 22 years, Tom Brady has announced his retirement. The seven-time Super Bowl champion departs as the NFL's all-time earnings leader. See how much he's made.

Tennis

The world's ten highest-paid female athletes earned a combined $167 million before taxes in 2021, a 16% jump from the prior record of $143.3 million set in 2013. Naomi Osaka leads the way with a record total of her own.

Pro Basketball

Suns guard Devin Booker has turned his seven NBA seasons into a crash course on business, and now he's starting to act on those lessons, picking up stakes in seven startups and rolling up his sleeves as a co-owner of a sports drink. He's already impressed Magic Johnson.

Auto Racing

Nascar legend Jeff Gordon has turned in his broadcast mic and will be working with Hendrick Motorsports full time as vice chairman. "I'm not big on titles, but I know it comes with a lot of responsibility," he tells us. "We have 600 people here."

Featured Story

The NBA is booming, with the average team value having climbed 13% since February, to $2.48 billion, on the strength of record sponsorship revenue and high expectations for the league's next media rights deal. The Knicks retain the top spot, but there's still major movement at the top of the ranking: For the first time ever, three franchises are worth more than $5 billion. See the full list.

Hot Reads

Highest-Paid NBA Players 2021-22: LeBron James Crushes Basketball's Earnings Record

LeBron James' Net Worth Revealed — And, Spoiler, He's Not A Billionaire

How Clever Deals Made Rockets Owner Tilman Fertitta Billions Richer During The Pandemic

Upon Further Review

Two-time WNBA champion Renee Montgomery is believed to be the first former professional athlete to join an existing venture firm as a general partner. But she's not the only sports star having success in the VC world. Joe Montana, Kevin Durant and Serena Williams have their own firms.

The Last Word

“It’s an interesting concept, retiring at the age of 39, especially when I’ve retired the same year as both my parents.”

Carli Lloyd

For Carli Lloyd, business is better than ever, with an estimated $4 million in off-the-field earnings in 2021. Sponsors don't seem to care that the soccer star recently hung up her boots—in fact, some see it as a positive.