🌍US Sports Going Global: NFL, NBA & MLB plans.

Welcome to the fourth edition of The Sports Stack! This week is the first bite-size edition, but don’t worry—it’s still packed with great insights and stories on every sports business and technology.

This week, we’ll be covering: 

• Inside Super Bowl Week: Tech, Ads & AI.

• US Sports’s Global Ambitions Accelerate.

• Quick Hits: This Week’s Top Stories And Updates.

🏈 Inside Super Bowl Week: Tech, Ads & AI. 

This weekend’s Super Bowl LIX is sure to be a spectacle, so it would be remiss not to take a look at some of the week’s headlines. Out of all the amazing technology, advertisements, and storylines of the week, this caught my eye the most! Time to begin trademarking phrases. 💰

The Highlights

• More than 240 still broadcast, aerial, and 8K cameras will capture this year’s Super Bowl, along with all the content generated by fans. Every angle will be covered.

• The lowest ‘get-in’ price I could find for Sunday is between $3,111 and $3,307.

• FOX Tubi has agreed to partner with ShopSense AI to make Super Bowl LIX shoppable, allowing fans to ‘shop the red carpet’. 

• Fox sold out its entire advertisement inventory by November 2024, months ahead of schedule, marking the earliest sell-out since 2011 and achieving record-breaking prices of $8 million for 30-second spots.

• AI is expected to feature heavily as an ad theme throughout the coverage (no surprise!) AI takes centre stage in 2025 Super Bowl ads - AS USA

When will the first AI-produced ad appear in the Super Bowl? Based on recent advances, it might not be long. Check out Icon below:

🌍 US Sports’s Global Ambitions Accelerate.

The theme of the month (if not the year) is international expansion, particularly for American sports. Historically, US sports have held sporadic games worldwide, but the success of the NFL's London and international games has heightened the demand for more frequent in-season games. And it’s not just the NFL that is considering global domination.

According to CBS Sports, NBA commissioner Adam Silver told reporters last week in Paris that the league has been exploring whether starting a league in Europe is a commercially viable option. This could also be in response to the speculation about a global challenger league (mentioned in my previous newsletter) and what Silverman describes as ‘existing leagues [overseas] not fully capitalising on the sport’s opportunity.’

Separately, the NFL has been accelerating its global footprint with reported international matches in Australia and, excitingly, at Croke Park, Ireland. The Steelers are widely rumoured to be the first NFL home team to host a game in Ireland. We might even get confirmation about this home game during Super Bowl media week, so stay tuned!

Editor’s note: Australia is now confirmed!

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Major League Baseball plans to ramp up its international schedule in 2025. Tokyo, Mexico City, and Puerto Rico are all being discussed. (These are not new countries for MLB; however, they’ve never played in all three locations in one season.

Why are so many American Sports going global?

The push for global expansion by American sports leagues is motivated by strong business fundamentals. The NFL's international games could be valued at $1B in media rights alone, while the NBA now generates 40% of its sponsorship revenue ($450M annually) from international deals. 

Beyond pure financials, these leagues are seeing strong cultural penetration. When the NFL came to Germany, there were 3 million ticket requests for just 50,000 NFL seats.

This global ambition is not without its challenges: player welfare concerns over travel, lost home-game revenue ($8-12M per relocated NFL game), and the delicate balance of maintaining traditional appeal while adapting to new markets.

In what seems like the biggest endorsement of going global, Roger Goodell spoke this week about the prospect of an international franchise and an international Super Bowl. Maybe we’ll finally see a London NFL team? 🌍

On the flip side, we won’t see any regular-season premier league games heading to the US anytime soon.

🗞️ Quick Hits: This Week’s Stories & Updates.

• I’ve been ‘influenced’ by the latest UnOfficial Partner Podcast, and now I’m reading a great book called Gamechangers & Rainmakers: How Sport Became Big Business. So far, it’s very good.

• The NBA announced its five launchpad companies. Last year, I had the privilege of seeing a demo of OneCourt’s technology. They’re building a tactile experience so fans with visual disabilities can watch the game with their fingertips.

• This article stopped me in my tracks. A thought-provoking piece on AI training data rights - it raises critical questions about sports IP valuation and monetisation in the AI era. The potential annual revenue for major leagues could be staggering: the NBA alone could generate $87M+ from video licensing. Hat tip to Aaron Miller 👇

• According to Bloomberg, The NFL is working on a Pro Flag Football League for Men and Women.

• Arch Manning signs a new NIL deal with Red Bull, adding to his impressive resume of sponsor deals. 

• Grand Slam Track signs broadcast deal with Peacock and The CW to show races.

Thanks for reading!