So following the discussion above with regards to Larry Tanenbaum’s role also as Chairman of the NBA Board of Governors,
and following plenty of reporting on Lebron James et al in the lead to bring an NBA Team to Las Vegas as of course would go through Tanenbaum et al if it is going to happen,
and given The Rock’s interest with Tanenbaum,
there’s this fine report on not only Lebron’s interests but a vast amount of money that is flowing to the US from abroad into live sports including from the various owners of Premier League sides.
Now I have no doubt via also Genius Sports that the CFL, Tanenbaum, and others want a share of all that money flowing down here given especially the growth of the gambling landscape and the streaming audiences for live sports as discussed in also that thread.
How much of this massive new flow into more live sports in the US does the CFL want to tap?
That’s the open question and the answer better be far more than zero.
With the FSG empire now worth some $10bn, James’ decision has paid off and that £4.5m has turned into around £100m. During the past decade a number of investments, from his creation of his SpringHill Entertainment company with Maverick Carter to his investments in Blaze Pizza, not to mention his Nike sponsorship and annual salary from his various NBA teams, presently the Los Angeles Lakers, means that he became the first active NBA player to become a billionaire, an achievement even Jordan didn’t manage to unlock.
James is now 37 and attention for him around what happens after he finishes playing has been going on for more than 10 years. He wants to be an NBA team owner, and he will likely get that opportunity if FSG get their wish in the next couple of years and acquire an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas.
and
It is almost a multi-layered approach to bring together LeBron James’ fan base with Liverpool’s fan base in the US and other markets.
“The jury is still out on just how successful that is but as a concept it makes a lot of sense and I think that it is a really smart way to try and unlock and engage with those global audiences.”
There is something of a race against time for English clubs.
The flood of US capital into the Premier League, where now almost half of clubs either have a US owner or significant American investment, means that the opportunity that potentially exists across the Atlantic is something that won’t be lost on many Premier League clubs.
For years there has been the hope that football in the US would take off given the potential economic benefits that exist this side of the pond. Where the UK audience looks to the US when they follow a basketball or American football team, the UK wants the US audience to look at them in the same way, where avidity is created around Premier League teams.
But with the MLS having bagged a significant multi-year broadcast deal on the Apple streaming platform, and with more and more clubs able to sell out grounds, with new franchises set to come on board in the future, there is a need for English clubs to try and capture that audience before the MLS does.