Hannah Gordon Advisors

Former 49ers Chief Legal & Administrative Officer and 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree Hannah Gordon will today announce the launch of Hannah Gordon Advisors LLC, which she says will offer wide-ranging guidance to both individuals and corporate clients in sports and other industries.

Gordon left her C-suite role with the 49ers last May after 12 years and has been an advisor to team President Al Guido since then. She built the team’s first in-house legal division on the business side, restructured the team’s charitable foundation and led the COVID-19 response, among other duties.

An independent consultancy appealed to her over returning to a team or other property because of the potential range of work. “For me the appeal is the variety of clients,” Gordon said. “What I’ve always loved in my career is the variety in terms of breadth.”

Hannah Gordon Advisors

The new business, based from her home in the Bay Area, is seeing traction in two specific areas in the early going: advising individual executives on a front office/general manager track, and corporate crisis communications and management. She also promotes advice in executive strategy, venue and organizational development and social responsibility.

She’s promoting her track record as an operator, which she hopes will allow her to stand out among consultants who promise to optimize a business or career. “Some consultants come in, and a few months and a hefty bill later, leave you with a pretty slide deck and not much else,” Gordon said. “I want to use the experience of being a practitioner for so long to give people what they really need.”

In a press release announcing the launch, Gordon lined up testimonials from Guido, KC Current President Raven Jemison, 49ers EVP/Football Operations and President/49ers Enterprises Paraag Marathe and Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

“Hannah is a proven leader and change agent,” Jemison said. “Her knowledge of the business is not only additive but culture-shifting.”

Related Midwest

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is "a bit reluctant" about the idea of using taxpayer dollars to finance a new ballpark for the White Sox as "three different Chicago professional sports teams float tapping public funds." White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf last week went to the state capitol to seek support as he explores building a new stadium in Chicago. The NWSL Chicago Red Stars management is also asking to "be part of such discussions." And these efforts follow the "roughly two-year effort" by the Bears to erect a new stadium in the city or one of its suburbs. Pritzker: "We’ve seen other teams be able to support their own stadiums privately. That would be ideal here, and I think that’s something that I would encourage" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 2/26). But Pritzker said he "has not been directly asked" for the reported $1B in public money that Reinsdorf is seeking, "at least not yet" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 2/26). 

Red Stars Exec Chair Laura Ricketts and President Karen Leetzow recently met with Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch and "are scheduled to meet this week" with Illinois Senate President Don Harmon. The Red Stars are "in the fact-finding phase" of selecting a potential stadium site within the city and "have not determined the level of funding that would be needed." The Cubs, meanwhile, "acknowledge active talks have begun" with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration about what the city "can do to help the team secure an MLB All-Star Game as soon as 2027 or 2028." The Cubs' previous efforts "were rejected by other mayors," but Johnson has "signaled he’s more amenable to helping" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/26).

ESPN/USL

USL will announce later today that ESPN will be the second national broadcast partner for its two men’s professional leagues over the next three seasons alongside CBS. The ESPN deal runs through the 2026 season, a year before the conclusion of the four-year agreement with CBS. 

The upcoming season will mark USL’s ninth campaign with ESPN, which had previously been USL’s lone national broadcast partner. SBJ first reported that ESPN would be the league’s second broadcast partner beginning in 2024. 

Under its new deal with USL, ESPN will stream more than 400 USL Championship (Division II) and USL League One (Division III) matches per season and air a minimum of 10 matches on its cable networks. ESPN will also have exclusive rights to League One’s new in-season cup competition. Between the ESPN and CBS deals, 35 USL matches will air nationally on linear channels, up from nine in 2023. 

Financial terms of the ESPN and CBS deals were not disclosed, but a source with knowledge of the deals said they combine to pay the league a sum in the high-seven-figure range annually. USL Championship and League One will have 24 and 12 teams, respectively, for the second consecutive season in 2024, but both are adding expansion teams over the next few seasons. USL Chief Commercial Officer Court Jeske said the new deals don’t have built-in revenue escalators tied to the addition of new teams. 

The CBS and ESPN deals are part of what Jeske called a “three-legged stool” distribution strategy, as clubs can also sign over-the-air broadcast agreements in their local markets. Those packages allow the local networks to simulcast matches being streamed on ESPN+ or CBS’ Golazo Network. Jeske said he expects 80-90% of USL Championship and League One clubs to have local broadcast deals signed by the start of the 2024 season. 

“We wanted to make sure between now and [the 2026 FIFA World Cup], we can be the most widely available soccer league for fans in this country,” Jeske said. “You've got CBS, ESPN and local stations amplifying that. One of the things we’re really proud of is that between FAST (free ad-supported TV) channels like Golazo and the local linear partnerships, more than two-thirds of our matches will be free for fans.” 

CBS will air the Nov. 23 USL Championship final on its flagship broadcast network and the USL League One final (date TBD) on its CBS Sports Network cable channel. 

USL tapped Octagon to manage the sale of its media rights for USL Championship and League One. The agency is also representing USL in the separate sale of rights for its forthcoming Division I women’s professional league, the USL Super League, which is set to launch with eight teams in August.

From l-r: Rose Zhang, Lexi Thompson, Max Homa and Rory McIlroyJohn Nowak/TNT Sports

The ninth edition of the made-for-TV golf event "The Match" featured a mix of both PGA Tour and LPGA players last night as Max Homa, Rory McIlroy, Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang teed it up in a 12-hole mixed skins match at The Park in West Palm Beach, Fla. But 12 holes weren’t enough to decide a winner and the event "went to a sudden-death playoff that featured a closest-to-the-pin challenge." McIlroy ended up hitting it closest to take his total on the night to $2.4M and "claim a golden Tiffany bracelet for his efforts." All four players were "complimentary of the experience," and the women who made their Match debut "hoped it was a sign of things to come." Zhang: "It’s definitely an inspiration for me and all the other younglings who are kind of growing the game." Homa "praised the setting and what the evening represented," saying, "This is what golf should be more like" (GOLFWEEK, 2/26).

The under the lights experiment "is working," as the "visuals are very tough to beat and this match in particular was so well lit you could follow the ball all the way through the night sky to the point it first landed." Also, the LPGA-PGA Tour crossover "might need to be the move going forward." People "want to see very good golf shots at very good courses," and this edition of The Match "checked both those boxes" (GOLF DIGEST, 2/26). The "best part of The Match is what happens in between shots" as it’s "one of the few times we get to hear the best players mic’d up while they’re on the course for the entirety of a round" (GOLF, 2/27). 

The PGA Tour has signed on to a coalition of major U.S. leagues and sports networks that formed last year to craft and implement joint policies governing sports betting advertising. The Tour joins the Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising alongside the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, MLS, the WNBA, Fox and NBC Sports, which agreed to guidelines meant to create a consistent approach to sportsbook advertising content. The Tour also renewed as a member of the leadership circle of the National Council on Problem Gambling.

LIV Golf/Caffeine

LIV Golf later this morning will announce a partnership with streaming platform Caffeine that will carry the league's opening rounds on Fridays. Financial terms weren't available, and while the length of the agreement was not clear, it will be at least through the end of the 2024 season.

LIV's Friday rounds will continue to air on The CW app, LIV Golf Plus and LIV's YouTube channel. In addition to live tournament play, Caffeine will carry LIV's pre- and post-round shows, podcasts and other affiliated programming. Weekend LIV rounds will continue on The CW's linear channel as well as the league's other streaming options.

Caffeine is a social broadcasting platform, launched in 2018, with a focus on live sports. Caffeine is backed by studio partners, investors and media companies including Disney, Fox, a16z, Riot, Greylock, Sanabil and Cox.   

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is "set to meet" today with Jets co-owner & Chair Mark Chipman, key sponsors and business leaders, members of the media and even some fans in a "fireside chat" prior to puck drop against the Blues at Canada Life Centre. Jets attendance has "taken a nose-dive" this season, which is "raising alarm bells within the league’s head office." Speculation and consternation "are running wild" in a market that has already lost the Jets once before "only to get a second chance." But Bettman "is not playing the role of the Grim Reaper" -- "at least not yet." His drop-in visit is "meant to bring a sense of urgency," but "we're nowhere near the point of no return." Fans will "likely not" get some kind of defined timeline from the commissioner, but "expect Bettman to deliver a fairly loud and clear message to the market" (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, 2/26).

RELATED: Columnist: Winnipeg Jets need to be more proactive amid attendance, season-ticket issues

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark told "Outside the Lines" yesterday that he and the other major commissioners "plan to address court storming." Yormark said, "I can tell you [Tuesday] in fact, I have a call with some of my commissioner colleagues and we are going to address it because it's not a conference issue, it's an industry issue and something that, you know, we need to address collectively." He added, "Those conversations are being had, and formally we will have one tomorrow and we'll see where it takes us" (ESPN.com, 2/26).

Alabama AD Greg Byrne took it a step further and said that he would "like to see the home team forfeit the just-played game if its fans storm the playing field." He said that he "didn’t think fines work to prevent fans from rushing after wins." Byrne: "You have two kids run out there, no, but when you have a sustained rush like what just happened the other day at Wake, you lose the game. That will get people to stop." Byrne added, "Kids aren’t going to be in the stands saying 'Oh, I don’t want to do this because the school is gonna get fined $200,000.'" Byrne: "If they knew that they were going to lose that game immediately, that would stop them" (AL.com, 2/26).

IMG Academy/Under Armour

IMG Academy and Under Armour have agreed to a multi-year extension of their partnership that will keep the Baltimore-based apparel company the academy’s sole outfitter. Terms were not disclosed.

Under Armour and IMG Academy have had a relationship since the early 2010’s. The extension will not only mirror a collegiate style apparel deal -- providing IMG Academy athletes with head-to-toe gear -- but also allow Under Armour and academy athletes to test products and provide customization not available to other schools.

The extension comes as Under Armour has stated plans to zero in on youth sports, specifically athletes between the ages of 16 and 24. IMG Academy offers a prep school and sports training for elite athletes.

Under Armour has held some of its marquee annual events for high school athletes at the academy’s flagship campus in Bradenton, Fla. IMG Academy President Tim Pernetti said Under Armour has leaned into the academy’s mission of finding partnerships that bring “direct experiential benefits to student athletes.”   

Negotiations were led by Pernetti and VP/Strategic Partnerships Vanessa Taveras along with Under Armour’s sports marketing leadership team. No outside agencies were involved. IMG Academy was sold by Endeavor Holdings to private equity firm BPEA EQT in June 2023 and Pernetti said the transition has not affected the academy’s internal sales structure.

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Powerade today is rolling out its first ad featuring USC men’s basketball G Isaiah Collier and LSU women’s G Flau’jae Johnson, who joined as NIL ambassadors last month. The spot, via WPP's OpenX, is titled “March Doesn’t Start in March” and will air nationally for the first time during CBS’ NCAA Tournament Selection Show on March 17. 

Puma's net profit in Q4 "slumped" to $868,780 from $1.52M, "in line with preliminary figures" the company released last month. EBIT climbed to $102.5M from $43.9M. However, sales "slumped 9.8% in reported terms and 4% on a currency-adjusted basis" to $2.15B from $2.39B. The company "expects geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic headwinds will continue to weigh on consumer sentiment and demand," particularly in the first half of this year. The company is also "leaving its dividend unchanged" after the devaluation of the Argentine peso "weighed on profitability" in Q4. Puma is forecasting "mid-single-digit sales growth on a currency-adjusted basis" this year, and EBIT between $673M and $760M (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/27).

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to strive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is a 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. 

SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

David Rubenstein’s purchase of the Orioles from John Angelos is "likely to become official in April," according to a source. There’s "an outside chance" the sale could be done in time for Opening Day, on March 28 (THE ATHLETIC, 2/26).

The U.S. Soccer Federation hopes to break ground within a few weeks on its new HQ and training center outside Atlanta. The USSF "is in the process of securing the land" and has selected Gensler as the architect (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 2/26).

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff met with Patriots owner Robert Kraft and civil rights leader Clarence Jones in Massachusetts yesterday to "discuss a surge in antisemitism and other forms of bias" in the U.S. (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 2/26).

The Bruins have announced a "blended price increase" of 9.5% for next season for season ticket renewals. The prices for loge seats are between $142 and $215 per game while balcony seats will run between $68 and $152 (BOSTON HERALD, 2/26).

“If Rory McIlroy goes and completes his [Career] Grand Slam without some of the best players in the world, there’s just going to be an asterisk. It’s just the reality. I think everybody wins whenever the majors figure out a way to get the best players in the world there" -- LIV golfer Talor Gooch, after he was not invited to play in this year's Masters (AUSTRALIAN GOLF DIGEST, 2/27).

"Part of our visioning process for what’s next for Gallery Place and Chinatown includes a vision with the Capitals and Wizards, and one without" -- D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, on the need for D.C. to consider a "Plan B" for the Capital One Arena site should Ted Leonsis’s plan to move the Capitals and Wizards to Virginia come to fruition (WASHINGTON POST, 2/26).

SI looks back at the career of longtime columnist Peter King, who announced his retirement yesterday, under the header, "MMQB founder Peter King retires: The NFL columnist who set the bar 'impossibly high.'" King's retirement leaves behind "a standard of generosity and greatness that has inspired the industry for 40-plus years." King worked at Sports Illustrated for 29 years, and he now leaves as the guy "who was the reason" many of today's sports reporters got into the business.

Also:

• MLS can’t afford to fumble its Messi moment and must make bold changes now.
• Mason Young: Why I'm excited about the EA Sports College Football 25 video game coming out this summer.
• Blake Toppmeyer: NCAA cries for help after loss to Tennessee in court. Expect no mercy.
• Saudis play the long game in making Ronaldo, other elite athletes obscenely rich.
• Mayor Brandon Scott believes the CIAA tournament could be the beginning of a Baltimore basketball renaissance.
• From Black History Month to Lunar New Year: How Raptors 905 are using jerseys to spotlight Toronto communities.

The "Rooted in Oakland" signage is being taken down at the Coliseum pic.twitter.com/MW83UOolvb

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) February 27, 2024

.@Daniel_SuarezG's photo finish at Atlanta was the most viral @NASCAR moment on social media since @RossChastain's Hail Melon in 2022, another last lap involving a @TeamTrackhouse driver, per data from the sanctioning body.

🔲 It was also the No. 10 play on @SportsCenter today. pic.twitter.com/zunHXIrG9c

— Adam Stern (@A_S12) February 27, 2024

The MAC has been a staple of consistency in college sports.

All 12 full members have been in the league since 1998.

9 of the 12 schools joined by 1973 or earlier.

UMass will be the 1st all-sport addition this millennium.

Conference realignment comes for us all. pic.twitter.com/aPuE2Oc0Wx

— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) February 26, 2024

The Braves have decided every Orioles hitter is now Edgar Allen Poe pic.twitter.com/GiBZgG10W9

— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) February 26, 2024

Monty Williams was upset after loss to Knicks and walked out of his postgame press conference 😳 pic.twitter.com/DJ51SESSrA

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 27, 2024

ESPN's Jay Bilas on court storming: "If they wanted to stop it, they could stop it tomorrow... You don't have to stop the court storming. One time, all you have to do is once they're on the court, don't let them off. Just say, 'You're all detained' and give them all citations or… pic.twitter.com/Bdbb0SZTDy

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 26, 2024

Rockies prospect Aaron Schunk's father Eric made a sketch of Salt River Fields while waiting for his son to enter today's game

(via @ericschunk) pic.twitter.com/4hKHcBuo8a

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) February 27, 2024

Woman Walking in an Exotic Forest, by Henri Rousseau, 1905 pic.twitter.com/05hMdbZTm2

— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) February 27, 2024

Well that was a blast. Thx to everyone involved. The Park is the greatest. That is an all time spot to play and learn to love golf. Despite the results, I do in fact love charity and am very stoked to see how much money was raised. Great night! #golf is awesome

— max homa (@Maxhoma) February 27, 2024

"The Royal Academy of Arts has this man’s 'La Fornarina' and in the 1800s the RAA’s love of him made some artists retreat to an earlier style."

"Who is Raphael?"