AFL Secret Concussion Deal, FIFA World Cup Sell-Off & DAZN’s RSN Play

Concussion bombshell: Player signs secret deal to absolve Vic club – Code Sports *

AFL concussion waiver sparks major legal and ethical questions.

AU, AFL, Legal, Health, RiskManagement

FIFA World Cup sell-off: Infantino battles to restore confidence – Insider Sport *

Inside FIFA's abandoned World Cup rights sell-off and fallout.

FIFA, Governance, World Cup, Investment, Leadership

DAZN offers US major leagues a way out of RSN crisis as it uses local sports to finally crack America – SportsPro *

How DAZN wants to solve the RSN collapse for leagues.

US, MediaRights, Streaming, MLB, NBA, NHL

BravesVision Rollout Drags Braves Revenue Lower – Front Office Sports

Team-run streaming network hits Braves' revenue in short term.

US, MLB, MediaRights, DirectToConsumer, Finance

LIV Golf Has Spent Four Years Disrupting Golf. Now It Has to Build a Business. – Culture of Sport (Substack) *

Can LIV's disruptive model become a sustainable golf business?

Global, Golf, Media Rights, Sponsorship, Sports Business Strategy

It's time Australia took notice of padel – Notice Sports

Why padel could be Australia's next big participation boom.

AU, Padel, Participation, Sponsorship, Strategy

With New Commissioner in Place, MLS Has One Opportunity It Cannot Afford to Miss – The Athletic *

What MLS must nail in its next growth phase.

US, Football, Media Rights, League Strategy, Digital

LIV Golf Secures $250M Investment, Players Set to Become Majority Owners – ESPN

New capital and player equity reshape LIV's power dynamics.

Global, Golf, Investment, Governance, AthleteEmpowerment

Arsenal Extend Emirates Sponsorship Deal Until 2033 – The Athletic

Inside one of football's longest-running, richest partnerships.

UK, Football, Sponsorship, Commercial Strategy, Partnerships

Footy, Fans and Future: Inside the AFL's Digital Playbook – Bec Haagsma, AFL – Sports Geek *

How the AFL is reshaping its digital and data strategy.

AU, AFL, Digital Strategy, Marketing, Fan Engagement

Hot Takes: Why the Smartest Sports Are Letting Fans Take Control – B&T

Why giving fans real control can supercharge engagement.

Fan Engagement, Sports Marketing, Innovation

Aston Villa taps Winvia Entertainment to drive fan engagement and new revenue with ‘Villa Win' – SportsMint Media

Prize-draw platform becomes Aston Villa's new fan funnel.

Football, Digital Engagement, Revenue Generation, Technology

Disney Sells Out 2027 Super Bowl Ad Units at Record Rates, Record Pace – Sportico *

Record-speed Super Bowl sell-out shows live sport's pricing power.

Business, Media, Advertising, NFL

13% of US weekly podcast consumers say they consume podcasts most often… on the television – SSRS

Why big-screen podcasting matters for sports content strategy.

US, MediaRights, CTV, Digital, Strategy

Into the Great Wide Open: Teams Launch In-House Networks and Streaming Services – Sports Video Group

MLB, NBA and NHL teams detail their own DTC builds.

US, Teams, Streaming, DTC, Strategy

Warner Bros Discovery's Anne Graham Details the Organization's Media-Ops and Metadata Consolidation Across Sports and Entertainment – Sports Video Group

How WBD is unifying metadata to unlock AI and scale.

US, Media, Data, AI, Operations

The Agent Access Model – Cloudflare Blog

Designing safe, auditable access for AI agents in your stack.

Global, AI, Data, Cybersecurity, Governance

Working theory: AI slop isn't just an AI problem – These Chapters

Why incentives, not tools, drive low-quality AI content.

Global, AI, Content Strategy, Fan Engagement, Sponsorship

Last of the Unicorns – by Adam Schwab – The Contrarians – The Contrarians (Substack) *

What Canva's struggles reveal about unicorn-era business models.

Global, Technology, Startups, Marketing

The Great Candy Heist: How a Chocolate Bar Stole Babe Ruth's Name – Medium

A classic IP battle with lessons for modern athlete brands.

US, Sponsorship, IP, Commercial, History