Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events: World Series Game 1 2023
Saquon Barkley and the sports stock market. The have's and have nots in sports business today. Be a fan and ignore the curmudgeons.
"The market is the market"
Saquon Barkley, Goldman Sachs Elevator, and the market economies of 2023
In his book "Straight To Hell," John LeFevre (Goldman Sachs Elevator author) talks about dealmaking over the decades in Asia. As customers are eventually disappointed with the outcomes of some of his bank's deals, he responds with the same line: "The market is the market." Nothing can be done.
We've seen that in action over the past few months in the sports business.
Josh Harris, though paying a mint, was the only real bidder for the Commanders. I'm friends with people on the deal team, and they confirmed Bezos was never serious nor made any offer.
Endeavor can't get traction in the public markets, even after a 25% bump on the news Silver Lake would take them back private; they're still down' 20+% while the market overall is flat (down with inflation adjustment)
Vivid Seats is down over >50% since going public.
SeatGeek had to cancel their SPAC. They filed for IPO in April. No news since.
StubHub filed as well. No news since.
The NBA is going to market for rights fees - their incumbents didn't jump at the opportunity to pay more, as Ethan Strauss details here:
Saquon Barkley is a generational talent. But he didn’t get paid because the market is the market. On that note:
Haves, have-nots, and the corporate recession.
Had an in-depth chat with a partnerships exec at an NBA team the other day (a contender on the rise). The NBA is a collaborative league. The teams talk and share a lot. They told us sponsorships are "down pretty bad" and that the tech category is "an anvil." My guess is we don't see that money come back until 2025 at the earliest for the mid-tier teams. Sponsorship teams have to get creative as they've thrived off of new categories in Tech, Betting, Marijuana, and Seltzers. Those categories are commoditized now. That cash grab is over. And there don't seem to be many new ones popping up while the legacy sponsors spent 2023 going through layoffs and cutting costs. Of course, things are rosy in public, so they have to sell more. Behind closed doors, there's a lot of concern.Bring your whole fan to work
I've been working in sports for 24 years. I've heard, and read, so many give the advice to "not be a superfan" in the interview process.
I totally disagree. Superfans make the best teammates and partners.
On a plane to Texas now to see our partners the Rangers play our partners, the Dbacks.
The CRO, VP of Sponsorships, and our partnerships contact are all born-and-raised Rangers fans.
Same thing with our partners at the Philadelphia Eagles.
What do they have in common: Both those deals have been fantastic for us. The service has been phenomenal, and their passion for their teams is infectious.
We had a team pull out of a deal with us years ago when I, as a fan, posted something about a player leaving them for my hometown team. We were all being fans. We're partners now. And they're great.
When I worked at the LA King in 2002, my hometown SF Giants went on a World Series run. I was watching game 5 of the NLCS in the office (the Kenny Lofton game) when my boss, Chris, walked by and said, "How come you don't root for the Kings like that?" He was right. I didn't care about the Kings. It wasn't the place for me.
We're in the business of fun. So make it fun.