Sports & Entertainment Spotlight: Celebrities’ Latest Bread and Butter Investment Play Seems To Be Homed-in on the Restaurant Industry, Which Begs the Question: What Do They Do With Their Rotten Tomatoes? | Foster Garvey PC

Welcome back to “Spotlight,” where you can catch the week’s thought-provoking sports and entertainment stories and stay for the air conditioning. Yes, there’s a heat wave underway here in New York (joining the myriad of other vulnerable places on this planet) that I would say feels like a sauna, but that would be an insult to saunas. Luckily, perhaps as a remnant of the normal past, my New York Yankees brought the Heat (in a way that wasn’t civilization-threatening), driving viewership to heights not seen in over a decade. Elsewhere in the Major League Baseball world, player agent Casey Close and his agency Excel Sports Management have dialed in the temperature of radio host Doug Gottlieb, claiming Gottlieb defamed her when he tweeted that Close was telling the (now) star the Los Angeles Dodgers withheld information from Freddie Freeman in his contract negotiations with his former team, the Atlanta Braves. Certainly, in the interests of the Yankees competition, Gottliebs, and the world, a cooldown would be welcome. But none of that seems likely at this point. The intense but witty heat of a “Spotlight” probably won’t help either, but here it goes…

• The celebrities’ latest bread-and-butter investing game appears to be geared towards the restaurant industry, which begs the question: What are they doing with their rotten tomatoes?
• Texas Tech University’s NIL collective announced it will give $25,000 to each of 100 soccer players. That’s about the best participants’ cup I could dream of.
• Rapper Cardi B is being subpoenaed to testify in a lawsuit relating to sexually suggestive cover art for one of her mixtapes, for which she allegedly photoshopped the plaintiff’s signature tattoo onto another person’s body. The testimony will certainly draw ink itself.
• Coinbase appears to be set for a “Groundhog Day”-like reset for its NFT marketplace, with the help of popular actor and comedian (and not someone you’d think of when it comes to NFTs) Bill Murray, with new ” drops”. If all else fails, Coinbase will have someone to take care of their ghosts and gophers.

Endorsement Deals, Sponsoring & Investments

Launch Jewels & Brooklyn Brewery’s new craft beer collaboration
July 20, 2022 via Yahoo Finance
Run The Jewels, the prolific duo of Killer Mike and EL-P, and renowned craft beer experts Brooklyn Brewery, who pioneered America’s craft beer revolution, have just launched their new collaborative brew: a double Pilsner named 36″ Chain.

College Hoops Tourney forms NIL collective for the benefit of the players
July 20, 2022 via Sportico (subscription may be required)
Now that many collegiate sports fan bases have formed NIL collectives to support collegiate athletes, a basketball event comes into play.

Texas Tech Collective is offering $25,000 NIL deals to over 100 soccer players
July 19, 2022 via The Athletic
A week after Texas Tech announced a $200 million soccer facility project, a group of Red Raider boosters announced Monday they are taking their support to another level with a NIL program that will involve more than 100 Red will offer Raider football players $25,000 deals.

Celebrity Net Worth: Priyanka Chopra makes her first investment in fashion
July 17, 2022 via The National
In our two-week round of celebrity investments and wealth, Demi Moore expands her collaboration with swimwear label Andie, and Griffin Johnson joins a skincare brand. Priyanka Chopra wears an embellished ball gown at the Miss World final, which she won, at London’s Millennium Dome November 30, 2000.

Why are so many celebrities opening restaurants?
July 14, 2022 via Tasting Table
Everyone has a side job these days, even celebrities. From Scarlett Johansson’s popcorn shop to Ryan Reynolds aviation gin to Jessica Alba’s designer diapers, personal interests and hobbies are now open to monetization.

Sports

The W Series hopes to follow F1’s example to achieve its goals
July 18, 2022 via Sports Business Journal (subscription may be required)
The W-Series is geared towards Formula 1 and ready to capitalize on the growth in women’s racing. It plans to significantly increase sales, awareness and presence in the United States as early as 2023.

Yankees Gains Power YES Network At 10-Year High
July 18, 2022 via Sportico (subscription may be required)
While Major League Baseball takes a few days to bask in the midsummer ritual that is the All-Star hiatus, one of its most celebrated franchises is enjoying a well-deserved rest.

MLB Agrees $185M Minor League Wage Case Settlement
July 16, 2022 via Sports Business
Major League Baseball has agreed to pay $185 million to settle a long-standing class action lawsuit filed by minor league players seeking overtime pay and minimum wage violations by MLB clubs.

Yankees Award Jersey Patch Sponsorship Search on Legends
July 14, 2022 via Sportico (subscription may be required)
The New York Yankees begin searching for a corporate sponsor patch to complement the iconic pinstripes. The team selected Legends, the data and experiences company he co-founded, to manage the search.

music store

BMG acquires further music interests in Simple Minds
July 20, 2022 via All Access
BMG acquired major music interests from Scottish rock band Simple Minds. The deal, with core members of the band Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill, includes the publishing rights to more than 240 songs on five chart-topping UK albums, the band’s related rights and royalties from their entire catalogue.

Cardi B testifies that mixtape artwork ad rights case goes to court
July 20, 2022 via Complete Music Update
Cardi B will testify in court next month for the second time this year.

How Web3 is redefining the music industry
July 13, 2022 via Yahoo Finance
Alex Salibian, Co-Founder and COO of Nvak Collective PBC, meets with Water & Music Founder Cherie Hu and Oneof.com CEO and Co-Founder Lin Dai at Consensus 2022 to discuss how the music industry is thriving Web3 is being redefined.

Movies & TV

Notre Dame plans $75 million annual media rights payout to remain independent; NBC seeks Power 5 help
July 18, 2022 via Google News
It looks like Notre Dame Independent is raking in $75 million annually in media rights revenue. According to a CBS Sports report, which adds that to reach that number, NBC is targeting “shoulder programming” from a Power Five conference.

Adorable Canadian preschool series Mittens & Pants snatched from Sky UK while Thunderbird takes global media rights
July 18, 2022 over deadline
The adorable Canadian preschool series Mittens & Pants has been acquired by Sky UK, with Thunderbird Distribution acquiring global media and consumer product rights.

Disney increases the price of ESPN+ by 43 percent
July 15, 2022 via Sport Business (subscription may be required)
Disney is increasing the price of its sports streaming service ESPN+ in the US by 43 percent to $9.99 per month starting August 23. The monthly cost for ESPN+ was previously $6.99. An annual subscription goes from $69.99 to $99.99.

OBB Media Signs Unwritten Development Deal With Disney Television Alternative
July 15, 2022 via RealScreen
Disney’s unscripted wing, Walt Disney Television Alternative, has signed a non-exclusive development deal with Michael D. Ratner’s OBB Media, the multimedia production company behind such celebrity-led projects as The Game Plan with Shaquille O’Neal for TNT and the YouTube Originals documentaries Justin Bieber: Seasons and Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil.

Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs)

MetaBeat, Global Music IP NFT Platform, Signs Strategic Alliance With Leading K-POP Entertainment Companies
July 14, 2022 via Atlanta New Online
Global music IP NFT platform MetaBeat announced that it has signed strategic partnerships with RBW, WM Entertainment, DSP Media, TR Entertainment, Beats Entertainment and Studio Jamm.

Can Bill Murray Save Coinbase NFT?
July 17, 2022 via The Motley Fool
Coinbase NFT has struggled to get off the ground, but a fresh launch with Bill Murray could bring fresh attention.

Laffy Taffy ‘Laffs’ goes digital with the NFTs collection
July 18, 2022 via Candy News
The popular confectionery brand is known for its delicious, fruity chewy sweets, but also for its “dad jokes” that have been on every package since the 1980s.