Here are the latest articles curated by Sports Geek Reads. Get these updates as a podcast by subscribing to Sports Geek Rapid Rundown.
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Key Reads
Everyone Thinks Sports Rights Are Too Expensive. What If They're Wrong? – Huddle Up (Substack) *
Why AI may actually make live sports undervalued.
Global, MediaRights, AI, SportsBusiness, Strategy
The NFL wants to own the toll gates — Marques Colston – Marques Colston *
How the NFL is restructuring who owns the upside.
US, NFL, Finance, Sponsorship, Strategy
Why clubs have a fan data resolution problem, not a collection one – SportsPro
From more data to clearer, actionable fan profiles.
Global, Data, Marketing, Fan Engagement
CMU researchers teach football AI models – Carnegie Mellon University *
AI trained on game film reshapes analysis and storytelling.
US, AI, Performance Analytics, Media & Content, Data Strategy
Professional Sports
CFP and ESPN agree on five-year, $1.7 billion deal to expand the College Football Playoff to 24 teams – Yahoo Sports *
Playoff expansion as a media-rights and inventory play.
US, CollegeFootball, MediaRights, Sponsorship, Strategy
LIV Golf is done after 5 years and $5 billion spent dividing the sport – The Athletic *
What a $5B breakaway league really bought — and broke.
Global, Golf, MediaRights, Investment, Strategy
Gotham FC announces $100 million capital raise at a $350 million valuation – Yahoo Sports
Record women’s club valuation and what’s behind it.
US, NWSL, Investment, Valuation, WomenInSport
WTGL Had a Mostly Smooth Debut – Front Office Sports
New women’s golf league launch, formats and early learnings.
US, Women’s Sport, Media Rights, Sponsorship, League-Strategy
Penrith Panthers Retains Title as NRL’s Most Valuable Brand in 2026 – Ministry of Sport
How Penrith keeps topping NRL’s brand valuation rankings.
AU, NRL, Brand Valuation, Sponsorship, Fan Engagement
Digital & Social
Don’t like this post: NBL targets social media likes in crackdown – Daily Telegraph
League-level rules on likes, refs and reputational risk.
AU, NBL, Social Media Policy, Governance, Reputation
Liverpool Football Club Executes Historic Global Campaign to Thank International Fanbase – Ministry of Sport *
Inside a multi-market campaign built purely to say thanks.
Global, Sports Marketing, Fan Engagement, Digital Media, Global Campaigns
Meet the man in rhinestones who defied the odds to go viral – Code Sports
What a surprise TikTok star teaches about niche fandom.
AU, Social Media, Athlete Branding, Content, Global
Media & Entertainment
Soaring in Stamford: Major League Soccer’s Seth Bacon Details the Growth of MLS Productions – Sports Video Group *
How MLS built its own production powerhouse with Apple.
US, Soccer, Media-Rights, Strategy, Production
With Decision Day on Deck, MLS Productions’ Stamford Hub Prepares for 15 Matches in Five Hours – Sports Video Group
Centralised live production at serious scale in one night.
US, Soccer, Broadcast, Remote-Production, Operations
The Record: Q3 2026 US audio listening trends – Nielsen
Podcast and audio trends teams should plug into now.
US, Audio, MediaRights, Sponsorship, Data
Geek Out
How Klaviyo Scaled Analytics by Getting Out of the Way – Klaviyo
Designing a data layer business users can actually trust.
Global, AI, Data Strategy, Sponsorship, Sports Marketing
Your LLM Writes Good SQL. That’s Not the Same as Safe SQL – InfoWorld
Why AI data assistants can quietly leak sensitive information.
Global, AI, Data Governance, Privacy, Sports Business
AI
AI Is Causing Signal Collapse Everywhere All At Once – The Last Software Engineer (Substack)
When polished AI output makes real performance harder to see.
Global, AI, Sponsorship, Marketing, Data
Adobe says the next AI skill isn’t better prompting — it’s creative direction – The Neuron
What content teams should really train for in an AI world.
Global, AI, Marketing, ContentProduction, Sponsorship
Make You Think
What Did $5bn Actually Buy LIV Golf? – Behind Sport *
Beyond collapse: how LIV permanently rewired golf’s economy.
Global, Golf, Investment, Media & Commercial, Strategy
High School Athletic Directors Say They’re Running ‘Mini Colleges’ – Front Office Sports
Youth sport is professionalising faster than many realise.
US, High School, NIL, Digital, Operations
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Featured image credit: Ken Lund, “Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin” (Lambeau Field exterior, 2013; archival illustration, not a photograph of the current NFL business story), via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo cropped and composited with the supplied SG Reads overlay; adapted image under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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