SPONSORSHIP& PROMOTION
Among the top 10 members of Forbes’ highest-paid athletes for 2019, futbollers and footballers account for half the spots. Lionel Messi leads the way with $127 million, with $92 million in salary and $35 million in endorsements. That puts the Argentine well ahead of fellow soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo’s $109 million ($65 million in salary, $44 million in endorsements) and Brazil’s Neymar’s $105 million ($75 million, $30 million). Quarterbacks Russell Wilson ($89.5 million, $80.5 million in salary) and Aaron Rodgers ($89.3 million, $80.3 million in salary) ranked sixth and seventh, respectively.
Boxer Canelo Alvarez was fourth with $94 million ($92 million in winnings), while tennis icon Roger Federer was fifth, counting $93.4 million, led by $86 million in endorsements, the highest total among the group. Hoopers LeBron James ($36 million in salary, $53 million in endorsements), Steph Curry ($37.8 million, $42 million) and Kevin Durant ($30.4 million, $35 million) rounded out the top 10. Forbes calculates earnings include prize money, salaries and bonuses earned between June 1, 2018 and June 1, 2019, as well as endorsement estimates of sponsorships, appearance fees and licensing incomes for the same 12-month period.
The Ladies Professional Golf Association will implement a comprehensive integrity programming with Genius Sports around sports-betting-related monitory, education and investigation management structures. Genius will equip the LPGA's integrity team with regular reports, analysis and betting data. The technology tracks global betting activity for all LPGA Tour and Symetra Tour competitions and will automatically highlight any potentially suspicious patterns that may occur across domestic and international betting markets.
DIGITAL, DATA & TECH
Automated short-form video production proponent Thuuz Sports has inked a partnership pact with Australian streaming service Kayo Sports for highlight rights to the ICC Cricket World Cup, Basketball World Cup, Rugby World Cup, Australian Cricket and Hyundai A-League. Part of Foxtel Group, Kayo Sports has rights to over 50 sports. Thuuz’s client roster includes Fox Sports, NBC Sports, NFL, DIRECTV, Hulu, IBM, Liberty Global and Charter Communications.
The Olympic Channel has reached a media rights agreement for the upcoming 2019 European Games, which features 4,000 athletes from 50 nations competing in 200 medal events. The deal with the European Olympic Committees enables the service to stream daily from the competition from Minsk, Belarus from June 21-30, to 11 territories in the Americas and Caribbean, including the U.S., Brazil, Puerto Rico and Canada, as well as Japan, the Republic of Korea among 35 nations in Asia Pacific, Eight of the sports offer qualification opportunities for the 2020 Summer Games from Tokyo. Live streaming coverage will be available subscription-free on olympicchannel.com, its mobile apps and select connected TV devices
ESPORTS
- Immortals adds OpTic to Umbrella
- Dr Lupo talks E3
- May’s top tournaments
- AAU taps USeF
- RESPAWN’s big deals
- Nickelodeon preps esports platform
- Westwood One enters esports
- E3 wrapup
ROSTER MOVES
Former Marine Sergeant Kirstie Ennis will receive the Pat Tillman Award for service at the 2019 ESPYs. Ennis, who endured myriad surgeries from injuries sustained in a helicopter crash while on duty in Afghanistan, is being honored for her foundation that provides education and opportunity in the outdoors and supports other non-profits dedicated to improving the quality of life of individuals and families. As part of efforts to inspire others, Ennis, who had her left leg amputated above the knee, has walked 1,000 miles across Britain for a Walking Wounded Charity event, competed in the Warrior Games, scaled some of the world’s highest mountains and is a Paralympic hopeful in snowboarding. The ESPYs air July 10 on ABC at 8p.
Fresh off of his work as game analyst on Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, Eddie Olczyk, who also serves as a horse racing handicapper, will make his debut, alongside Britney Eurton, on NBC Sports’ coverage of Royal Ascot. The programmer’s presentation from Ascot, England comes out of the gate on June 18 at 8:30 a on NBCSN and culminates on NBC on June 22 at 9a.
THE MAIN EVENT
In the final contest ever at Oracle Arena, the Golden State Warriors will look to keep their three-peat hopes alive against the Toronto Raptors, seeking their first title, in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on ABC at 9p
ON THIS DAY in 1991, The National, the first all-sports daily newspaper, shuts down publication
In the Know: What were the most recent seasons in which the franchises with the most NHL championships hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup? (Email cpursell@cynopsis.com with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city)
Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Who was the Conn Smythe winner the last time there was a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final? Answer: Boston goaltender Tim Thomas. Congrats::Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group, Boca Raton; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union, Burbank; Jim Bono-NBCUniversal Hispanic Sports, New York; Thomas Moore-Kalt Productions, Los Angeles; Deena Fuchs-Endeavor Analytics, New York; Kathi Gillin-Comcast Spotlight, Langhorne, PA; Andy Pittman-Texas A&M, College Station; Traci Liner-Endeavor, New York; Christopher Long-DraftKings, New York; Michael Ritz-Northwestern Mutual, New York; and Larry Kahn, Golf Channel, Orlando.
Later - Chris
