🏟️ A $514,970 Bonus to Each Milwaukee Bucks’ Player

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Happy Friday!

Let’s jump right into today’s edition of Sports Industry Weekly, as we share the business, marketing and career insights from the sports industry’s most significant headlines.

Congratulations To This Year’s Winners!

The Next Wave Awards spotlight the future leaders of the sports industry.

Each member of this year’s Next Wave class represents bold and ambitious students and emerging professionals who are setting new standards and reshaping the future of the sports business.

The official Next Wave Awards Class of 2024:

• Ahmad Muhammad, Digital Content Publisher @ NBA

• Avery Wright, Sports Business Scholars President @ Arizona State University

• Damon Bomar II, Digital and Social Content @ NBA

• Dylan Meyer, Founder and CEO @ Legacy of Legends

• John Bonney, Partnerships Business Development @ 23XI Racing

• Nyah Beck, Founder @ The Black Gxming Society

• Sophie Kornick, Founder and Executive Producer @ Soko Productions

• Taylor Riller, Community Relations and Youth Football Development Associate @ Washington Commanders

Follow us this month on our SBV LinkedIn and SBV Instagram as we celebrate their success and look forward to seeing how they continue to make an impact in their career journey.

✅ A'ja Wilson has officially announced and secured a 6-year extension with Nike, gearing up to launch her signature sneaker in the upcoming season.

💰 The Milwaukee Bucks won the second-ever NBA Cup, with each player receiving a $514,970 bonus, an increase from the inaugural tournament’s prize of $500,000 per player.

🎮 EA Sports’ College Football 25 is now the best-selling sports video game ever in the United States, surpassing NBA 2K21. The game’s cover stars feature Donovan Edwards, Quinn Ewers, and the 2024 Heisman Award winner Travis Hunter.

⚾️ Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam ball sold for $1.56 million at SCP Auctions, making it the second highest all-time. The all-time record for an auctioned MLB baseball is $3 million, which was set by Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball from the 1998 season.

✨ The NBA announced a new format for the All-Star Game: a four-team mini-tournament consisting of three games. Teams will be coached by Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith, while Candace Parker will coach the fourth team, which will be made up of the Rising Stars champions.

💸 The newly established Unrivaled 3×3 women's basketball league, co-founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, has secured $28 million in Series A funding, bringing the league’s total capital raised to $35 million. Notable investors include Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dawn Staley, JuJu Watkins, and Michael Phelps.

🏀 Since his debut, Bronny James has made a remarkable impact on the league, with his jersey sales surpassing 500,000 units. At an average price of $100 per jersey, this has generated over $50 million in revenue.

🥃 Stephen Curry and his father, Dell Curry, released a special edition Gentleman’s Cut of bourbon to celebrate Stephen’s 16th NBA season, matching his father’s 16-year career.

Level up your sports career with full access to SBV’s Databases, Career Tools, Masterclasses and Networking Events.

Members of The Playbook will also be the first to receive the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NIL Databases!

Don’t wait for 2025…

🏀 Iowa Women's Basketball announced they will be retiring Caitlin Clark's jersey on February 2, 2025, during their home game against JuJu Watkins and USC.

🐍 CNN is releasing a three-part docuseries “Kobe: The Making of A Legend” that’ll provide an intimate look at Kobe’s journey to greatness. The series will premier on 1/25/25 at 9PM EST.

🥊 Logan Paul and Conor McGregor are set to fight in a boxing match in India in 2025.

🇨🇦 The WNBA announced its first international regular season game ever for August 2025, featuring the Seattle Storm against the Atlanta Dream in Vancouver.

📺 Just ahead of this season’s NFL playoffs, YouTube TV will raise its prices to $82.99 per month, a 137% increase since launching in 2017 at $34.99 per month.

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