Rassul Fazelat’s Post

I shared a poll last week asking if Dan Hurley should take the Lakers job. It got over 5,000 views but only 100 votes - I guess people don't care. One of the things I love most about sports at this point in my life are the leadership and business aspects. They're public displays of the same things going on in companies and with job seekers. And Dan Hurley recently had a major business decision presented to him. Stay in the college ranks at UCONN or move on to the NBA with the Lakers. To me it didn't make sense for a bunch of reasons but I'll pose one of them below. Who is a better basketball coach? Billy Donovan or John Calipari? I'd argue Donovan. If you're unaware Billy Donovan is currently the head coach of the NBA's Chicago Bulls where his contract pays him $6M a year. Prior to coaching the Bulls - Donovan won back to back National Championships at the University of Florida. And his contract is less than Calipari's. Calipari has won one title and makes $7M per year as the new coach at Arkansas. Additionally, if a college coach coaches their team all the way to the National Championship game - they will have coached 40 games - or that's the most Hurley's ever coached anyway. NBA regular season alone is 82 games. Billy Donovan would be making more money - be the big man on campus - likely have additional national championships - and live in Florida instead of Chicago. Dan Hurley made a smart decision. If you'd like to see a former professional athlete's take on it - check out Jacob's post below. #hiring #leadership #motivation

Who is going to buy the Boston Celtics? The Boston Celtics, who won their 18th NBA finals championship in June, are officially on the market. Valuations have the Celtics being worth around $5 billion, but current Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck thinks that his franchise could be a record sale. The record for the highest sold sports team belongs to the Washington Commanders who were purchased for $6.05 billion in July of 2023. When Grousbeck was asked about breaking the record he said, "I haven’t thought much about [it] going forward, but I am a competitive guy—why not?” The Celtics, coming off an NBA finals championship, have a very good chance at breaking that record. Boston is a large market with a passionate fan base and rich history in winning. A potential knock on the final sale price, are the recent extensions of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Combined, the stars signed for $600 million dollars in guaranteed money. Some might few this as a negative thing, but personally I think this makes the Celtics more appetizing. As a new owner, you don't want to deal with contract negotiations. Walking into the office on day one with two of the hottest stars in the league locked in for the next few years would be very comforting to any new owner. Do I think the Celtics will break the Commanders record? No. Simply because the NFL is a much bigger market. But, I will not be surprised when the Celtics sell for more than what people think. https://lnkd.in/g3ERn9bg

NFL Superstars Leading the Way! 🏈 🚀 Former professional football players Martinas Rankin and Neal Sterling turned successful ISI® Franchise Partners in Mississippi and Florida! "Bringing the turf to Mississippi will help the people mentally and physically, I am excited for everything that's coming. But before any results are earned, you've got to #dothework!" -Martinas Rankin, ISI® Elite Training Jackson, Mississippi Owner and Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Champion When Neal finished his career in the NFL, he immediately missed the community. He knew he had to be involved in a sports or athletic business moving forward. He fell in love with the ISI® community and felt right at home through the high fives, Iron Nation community, and Athletic Based Training. -Neal Sterling, ISI® Elite Training Jacksonville, Florida Owner and former New York Jets player Martinas Rankin Adam Rice Caleb Clayton Amanda Hall Kara Willis Matt Coffey Robert Kisiah Alexander Garcia Nashelly Moronta Abbi Bull FranChoice International Franchise Professionals Group - IFPG Amy Comerford Kimberley Daly Red Boswell, MBA, CFE, CFC Melissa Lewis Steve Belko Jelena Kuchar Nick Neonakis Nick Day Drew Paras Andrew Horton Irving Chung Andy Banker BJ Bacha John Balkhi Wes Barefoot Brandon Beachy Jeff Bruce Dru Carpenito Patrick Michael Donohue Conor Godfrey Jessica Houston Adam Goldman #ownabusiness #businessownership #investmentopportunity #franchisee #franchiseexpansion #businessgrowth #boutiquefitness #investinyourself #franchiselife #entrepreneurship #franchiseopportunity #businessmodel #businessexpansion

The Minnesota Timberwolves sit atop the NBA's Western Conference, and the team's new ownership group led by Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore is set to take over pending a final ~$600 million payment to Glen Taylor and approval from the NBA Board of Governors. This payment is the last piece of a savvy agreement signed in 2021, which gives Rodriguez and Lore the option to acquire 80% ownership of the Timberwolves and the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx via fixed annual options that imply a franchise valuation of $1.5 billion. NBA valuations have skyrocketed since then, and per Forbes, the Timberwolves are now worth $2.5 billion. Talk about an IRR. Rodriguez' and Lore's 'buy-now, figure-it-out-later' approach capped upfront risk and seems certain to generate arbitrage in the near term. Strapped for cash and with no shortage of investment firms looking to invest in pro sports teams, it seems a matter of when, not if, Rodriguez and Lore announce additional equity partners at or above their initial $1.5 billion entry valuation. A cash infusion will allow them to take some chips off the table and, critically, bolster the coffers as the Timberwolves look to retain their young stars and chase sustained contention. What does it mean and where do things go from here? My full breakdown on Substack: https://lnkd.in/gDiVM4V4 🏀 🐺 National Basketball Association (NBA)

Las Vegas' path to being "sport capital of the world" includes attracting major sports franchises. Here’s my newest story on how Las Vegas is going from Sin City to the sports and entertainment capital of the world:

Industry analysts and MLB insiders on the Orioles’ $1.725 billion valuation: ‘Low’ https://ift.tt/ZbJOBD8 Around baseball, the reaction to the valuation of the Baltimore Orioles at $1.725 billion was one of surprise and in some cases disbelief. Seven industry analysts and rival officials, granted anonymity in exchange for their candor, all used the same word to describe the price: “Low.” The Orioles officially announced the sale of the franchise Wednesday to a group led by David Rubenstein, a Baltimore native who founded private equity firm The Carlyle Group. According to Puck News, which first reported the sale, the Rubenstein group initially will purchase about 40 percent of the club. The group, according to a source briefed on the terms, then will have the option to gain full control after the death of Peter Angelos, pending approval from Major League Baseball. That approval likely would take months as the league conducts background and financial checks on the members of Rubenstein’s group and reviews the sale through internal committees. People in the sport offered a variety of potential reasons for why Peter’s son, Orioles managing partner John Angelos, accepted the $1.725 billion valuation, even though higher offers might have been available both in the past and future. Those reasons included John’s possible frustration over the recently included lease negotiations for the Orioles at Camden Yards, cash-flow issues the family might be experiencing and the influence of Georgia Angelos, John’s mother and Peter’s wife. John Angelos has been running the club in the absence of his father, who is 94 and has been incapacitated due to illness since 2018. A spokesperson for John Angelos declined comment. Other major-league teams in recent years sold for less than the Orioles. The Miami Marlins went for $1.2 billion in 2017, the Kansas City Royals for $1 billion in 2019. The Cleveland Guardians, under the same type of path-to-control arrangement the Orioles are using, were valued at $1 billion in 2022. While Miami and Cleveland are bigger media markets than Baltimore, the Orioles are seen as a franchise with greater potential because of the current quality of the team and the passion of their fan base. Georgia and Peter Angelos at an event in 1996. (Andre Chung/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) Peter Angelos bought the Orioles in 1993 for $173 million. Forbes estimated the Orioles last March to be worth $1.713 billion. That valuation, however, did not include the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), in which the team is the majority shareholder in a dual ownership with the Washington Nationals. MASN is included in the Rubenstein group’s purchase, and some in the industry expect the group to sell the network to Ted Leonsis, the owner of NHL, NBA and WNBA franchises in Washington and a different regional sports network, Monumental, that broadcasts all three teams. Like all regional sports networks in this er...

Yesterday's announcement that the Baltimore Orioles were sold to David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle Group for $1.725B, coincided with our class discussion of sports industry revenue generation and franchise valuation. Fans in Baltimore and anyone following Major League Baseball (MLB)’s business issues have known for a while that there was a dispute among the sons of Peter Angelos, the ailing 94-year old team owner. A few weeks ago, the team renewed its lease at Camden Yards and son/CEO John Angelos repeatedly insisted to state leaders that the team was not for sale. So while bankers and insiders may have been in the loop, in the public eye, the team wasn’t on the block. At The Wharton School, MBA students are deeply entrenched in sophisticated quantitative models to determine the value of a business.  Studying the business of sports brings forth the economic concept of scarcity.  Franchises of MLB, National Hockey League (NHL), National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) just don't change hands that often. If it were known that the team was for sale, could there have been more bidders? Low supply is a given, but how about increasing demand? The Orioles last won the World Series in 1983 but their young team won 101 games last year. With a strong pipeline of prospects, it seems that the business was poised to further increase in value. A long history of losing, a family dispute and a contentious lease negotiation may have led the family to a quieter route that would avoid public scrutiny. In the end they may have gotten a lower sales price, but with far less angst. There is more to business than quantitative analysis. #sportsbiz, #sportsfinance #sportseducation

The Chiefs slapped L'Jarius Sneed with the Franchise Tag but are set to let Chris Jones test the Free Agent waters.  Did they make the right choice?  How will it all play out? Jeff Chadiha (NFL Network/NFL.com/@JeffriChadiha), Eric Eager (Sumer Sports/https://lnkd.in/eWA4nB7z) and Soren Petro (Sports Radio 810 - WHB/810whb.com/@SorenPetro) are breaking down what to expect in Free Agency... - Where does Kirk Cousins land? - What's the best landing spot for Justin Fields? - Is there a spot that makes sense for Russell Wilson? - Which Free Agent RB can teams trust the most? - What's the future for Mike Evans? - Is JJ McCarthy worthy of joining the top 3 QB's in the top 10 picks? - What does Xavier Worthy's 4.21 time in the 40 mean?

🇬🇧 The NFL returns to London on Sunday as the Vikings "host" the Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the English Premier League venue's 9th American football game. While the NFL's strategy around international growth has evolved a lot over the years, there now appears to be a clear vision. 🏈 More one-off regular season games in new markets 🏈 Less ambition for a franchise, or division, outside the U.S. 🏈 5 int'l matchups this fall, up to 8 coming in 2025 🏈 Owners eventually want 16 contests abroad 🏈 London & Germany primed to remain as staples 🏈 Brazil last month, Madrid next year, Australia under consideration Perhaps one day, if and when the NFL is playing games outside the U.S. nearly every week of the season, the league would take the leap of launching a franchise in a city like London—Roger Goodell has said the logistics, while challenging, are not impossible. 📺 What I'm most interested to see is whether the NFL's expanded international slate next season and beyond leads to a new media rights package being sold. Keep in mind, the U.K. and Germany games are only on NFL Network. Peacock paid big for the Brazil game. For now, enjoy the extra Sunday morning action!