ManU "stand to lose" £85M ($106.1M) if the club fails to reach the Champions League. The Old Trafford side would see its record-breaking £750M ($936M) kit deal with adidas cut by 30%, a loss of £22.5M ($28.1M). The 10-year contract "stipulates that no Champions League football for two seasons running will result in the cut." Last season, ManU qualified only for the Europa League. The club would also miss £60M ($75M) from Champions League TV revenues and prize money (London DAILY MAIL, 2/4).
EPL sides Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United were on Thursday night singled out by living-wage campaigners after being accused of "failing to ensure everyone who works for them was paid 'a fair wage.'" The chairs of the three London clubs were sent open letters by Citizens UK -- which has "long lobbied for the living wage" -- calling on them to join Chelsea and Everton in becoming a so-called "Living Wage club." The letter followed one sent to Arsenal, Spurs, West Ham and Crystal Palace last month by London Mayor Sadiq Khan "urging the quartet to pay the London living wage as part of a drive to ensure all employers across the capital do so" (London TELEGRAPH, 2/3).
With Liberty Media offering teams shares in Formula 1, Ferrari President Sergio Marchionne said that "the Scuderia are interested, they just have a few issues they want clarified." As part of new F1 CEO Chase Carey's plan, he "wants the current teams to buy into the sport" and is offering $400M worth of shares. Marchionne revealed that he is "considering the offer but wants clarity" from Liberty Media as to what F1 will look like after the current Concorde Agreement expires. Marchionne: "We have started exploring the opportunity now. We are in discussions with Liberty and I recently had a meeting with Chase" (PLANET F1, 2/5).
Winter sports company Rossignol Group entered into a binding agreement to acquire Felt Bicycles. Felt designs and engineers its own propriety-branded bicycles, framesets, components and accessories. The company, whose HQ is located in Irvine, Calif., has more than $60M in global sales (Rossignol).
