BlackRock Holds Women’s Hockey As Collateral

The English soccer club reached $900M in yearly sales and expects to top $1B soon by returning to the lucrative Champions League tournament.

Strict cost cuts helped the team earn a $30M operating profit, but financing debts caused a $57M net loss for the seventh straight year.

To boost future earnings, the sports franchise recently secured land to build a massive new stadium that will hold 100K fans.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will earn $88.8M this season, per sports business outlet Sportico, including $32M from endorsements and business ventures.

The 20 best-paid players will earn $1.07B combined, up 7% from last year, with salaries and bonuses making up 84% of the total.

Quarterbacks, who run each team's offense, fill 17 of the 20 spots, including the entire top 15, up from 15 quarterbacks last year.

British sneaker retailer JD Sports, which relies on Nike for over 40% of sales, made £282M pre-tax profit over six months on £5.9B revenue.

North American sales, over a third of JD's business, fell 6.8% last quarter amid cost-of-living strain and heavy discounting.

JD kept its already-lowered full-year profit forecast of £700M to £800M, down from £852M last year, warning tough conditions may persist.

Cable, satellite and telecom TV subscriptions fell 10% from a year earlier to 40.1M households, down from 97.3M a decade ago.

Counting cheaper internet-based TV services like YouTube TV and Sling, 61.5M homes still pay for TV, but that growth has nearly stalled.

Media research firm MoffettNathanson expects the market to bottom out at 53M subscribers by 2030, split almost evenly between traditional and internet providers.

Walter's holding company pledged nine Professional Women's Hockey League trademarks, including its name and logo, to BlackRock-owned lender HPS Investment Partners.

The June 30 deal came after federal investigators and the SEC began probing loans made by insurance companies Walter controls.

Amid the probes, Walter agreed to sell the NBA's Lakers for $12.5B, though a senior Walter executive says the hockey league is not for sale.

Former Louisiana State University players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris are banned from college and the NFL this season over contract disputes.

The United Football League, a minor professional spring league, confirmed both athletes can play when its season begins next April.

The athletes can earn a $64K minimum salary, keeping pro hopes alive after missing out on $885K minimum NFL rookie contracts.

Bettman, nearly 75 and the longest-serving boss among major North American leagues, has grown the NHL from 24 to 32 teams since 1993.

His cap on team player payrolls fueled two decades of value growth, and the average NHL team is now worth more than $2B.

Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, a tech investor, now chairs the owners' board, which will help run the eventual search for Bettman's successor.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is probing whether Trump ties helped FIFA earn $15B from the 2026 World Cup.

FIFA, world soccer's governing body, missed an August 9 deadline for records, and president Gianni Infantino has not sat for the requested interview.

Democrats cannot force cooperation now, but winning the House in November's midterms would give them subpoena power to compel it.