On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including an update on the sale of the Portland Thorns. The Bhathal family, minority investors in the Sacramento Kings, are in exclusive talks to acquire the NWSL team, which is being sold by Merritt Paulson’s Peregrine Sports.
The team has been on the market for almost a year, with the sale complicated by the dense overlap between the Thorns and the Portland Timbers of MLS, also owned by Peregrine. The Timbers have helped the Thorns with a lot of backend functions—like ticket sales, sponsorships, legal counsel, etc.—and they also operate the stadium where the Thorns play.
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The Bhathal family was part of the group that bought the Sacramento Kings for $534 million in 2013. The Thorns are worth $65 million, according to Sportico‘s most recent numbers.
Next, the hosts talk about Manchester City’s record haul last year. On the field, the team won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League; off it, City brought in a record $891 million (£713 million). The financials include about $108 million in operating profit and $530 million in player salaries. For reference, the NFL salary cap in 2023 was $208 million, a fixed cost that creates substantially more profit for owners in that league.
Next the hosts discuss the launch of ESPN Bet. The tie-up between Disney and Penn Entertainment made its formal debut this week. The sportsbook is the latest to launch in the U.S., hoping that heavy integrations with a media company will keep customer acquisition costs down. The hosts mull the wisdom of that thinking, and how sports betting fits within the broader family-friendly Disney portfolio.
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