Yankees Made $225M Playing Zero Games

The professional baseball team nearly matched last year's early sales, making $225M despite hosting no home games in the first three months.

Fans bought $119.5M in advanced tickets before the year even began, showing stronger early demand compared to the previous season.

Total ticket earnings hit $387M last season, down from a franchise record of $411.7M set during their 2024 World Series run.

The state agency is buying the property from racing operator The Stronach Group and expects to spend $120M total on the purchase and upgrades.

This deal allows the state to build a dedicated racehorse training center while its main track, Pimlico, undergoes a $400M renovation.

Before the transformation begins, the newly purchased Laurel Park will temporarily host the famous Preakness Stakes horse race next month.

The sports department turned last year's loss into a $1.3M profit, generating $204.5M in total revenue.

The surplus was driven by $42.5M in funding from the university itself, offsetting a $10.1M drop in football earnings.

Media broadcasting rights became the biggest money maker at $44M, while ticket sales grew to $33.3M to help cover rising expenses.

Prediction market operator Polymarket will pay the team around $10.6M annually to be its front-of-shirt sponsor through the 2027/28 season.

The agreement ends a two-year period without a primary sponsor for Lazio, though the payout remains below top Italian rivals earning $35M yearly.

The partnership signals a major European expansion for US-based prediction platforms, despite strict Italian laws that currently ban sports betting advertisements.

US broadcasting networks TNT Sports and ESPN saw double-digit ratings growth, with TNT attracting 20.4M total viewers this season.

The major ratings rebound was driven by professional players returning to the 2026 Winter Olympics, boosting late-season game viewership by 47%.

Following this massive success, TNT executives already plan to renew their $225M annual broadcast contract with the hockey league.

The professional golf circuit is moving its season-opening events to the US mainland after a water dispute damaged a key Hawaiian course.

The longstanding Sony Open will likely transition to a senior tour, while insurance firm Sentry plans to sponsor a new mainland tournament.

This departure supports a broader plan by the tour's CEO to create a more exclusive, condensed schedule featuring smaller 120-player fields.

Sports broadcaster Dan Patrick reports that the agreement for Nashville to host the major football championship is fully finalized.

The event will take place at the new home stadium for the local Tennessee Titans football team, opening in 2027.

Building a brand new stadium often helps cities secure the rights to host this highly profitable global sporting event.

The New York Mets, an MLB franchise with a $381.7M payroll, are suffering an 11-game losing streak and hold the league's worst record.

Four other rich baseball franchises, including the $314.2M Philadelphia Phillies, are similarly struggling while low-budget teams like the $108.3M Tampa Bay Rays win.

These surprising losses threaten the job security of several team managers and could complicate upcoming labor negotiations between league players and team owners.

Unrivaled Sports, a youth facility operator valued at over $650M, is hosting a new 12-and-under baseball championship across its newly acquired nationwide properties.

Retail giant Dick's Sporting Goods and Under Armour are sponsoring the event, utilizing Unrivaled's massive scale to easily reach 800K young athletes annually.

CEO Andy Campion, a former Nike executive, says this sponsorship-heavy model lowers registration costs to prioritize everyday youth participation over elite talent scouting.

Thielen, who recently retired after earning nearly $90M in the NFL, co-owns ETS Performance, a personalized athletic training gym chain.

The business recently acquired Denver-based Kula Sports Performance, expanding its footprint to 80 nationwide locations serving over 50K young athletes.

Thielen is shifting focus to grow the business as the broader youth sports market booms into a massive $40B industry.