Aussies Spend $513M Chasing Olympic Gold

The national government is dedicating $513M to fund local athletes, coaches, and sports organizations.

This massive investment is designed to prepare national teams for success at the upcoming Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.

The state matched an $85M offer from racing company Churchill Downs to permanently own the famous horse race's brand and trademarks.

A state economic agency is issuing bonds to fund the purchase, meaning no regular taxpayer money will be used upfront.

The debt will be paid off over 30 years using future race revenues like ticketing and sponsorships, totaling around $200M.

Company filings show Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund (PIF) is now lending money to LIV, which must be repaid, rather than investing it directly.

The PIF has spent over $6B on LIV since 2022 but said in April it would stop bankrolling the league after this season.

Hunting for new investors, LIV plans to sharply cut prize money from this year's $32.3M purses to run a leaner business.

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian's venture firm Seven Seven Six bought ONIT, a rapidly growing card maker whose revenue jumped 244% in two years.

ONIT found a unique niche by creating cards for over 8K student-athletes, prioritizing women's teams and lesser-known college sports over major professionals.

Sports media executive Evan Parker takes over as CEO to keep collectibles affordable and elevate overlooked players instead of competing with giant card companies.

Insurance giant State Farm is the new main sponsor for the flagship video series of Dude Perfect, a prominent social media entertainment group.

The partnership gives State Farm access to the creator group's 115M followers, offering a massive, family-friendly audience for its brand marketing.

This deal supports Dude Perfect's physical expansion, following a $100M-plus funding round from private equity firm Highmount Capital to grow beyond digital content.

The 2026 hockey playoffs averaged 1.8M American viewers, jumping 68% from last year to set an all-time television record.

This massive surge followed a historic victory where the United States won its first Olympic men's hockey gold medal since 1980.

Better schedules on major sports network ESPN and newly updated audience tracking methods also helped drive these record numbers.

The UFL, a professional spring football league, averaged 674K viewers this year across major television networks like ESPN and Fox.

This matches last year's audience, marking a rare stability milestone since no other recent spring league has successfully finished three consecutive seasons.

The audience size comfortably outpaced other new sports ventures, including indoor golf league TGL (488K) and women's basketball league Unrivaled (166K).

A poll of 101 players shows 80 expect a work stoppage when the current labor agreement ends in December 2026.

Team owners are demanding a strict salary cap to balance competition, but the players union strongly opposes any limits on earnings.

Despite the sport's growing popularity, both sides remain far apart in negotiations, raising concerns that regular season games will be canceled in 2027.

The team is backed by investment firm Middle West Partners and billionaire Rob Walton, the Walmart heir who also owns the NFL's Denver Broncos.

WTGL, a new women's golf league built with the LPGA, launches in late 2026 using high-tech simulators in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

All four WTGL teams are owned by groups that already back the men's version, signaling strong investor confidence in women's golf.

Global soccer governing body FIFA rejected requests from Iran and Egypt to cancel LGBTQ+ celebrations during their upcoming match in Seattle.

Officials stated fans can wave rainbow flags inside the stadium because the sports organization views the flag as a statement of human rights.

Local advocates hope the event sends a powerful, welcoming message to countries known for having strict laws against the LGBTQ+ community.