The Coach Knapp Memorial Fund, named in honor of veteran NFL assistant coach Greg Knapp, dedicated to educating drivers on the dangers of distracted driving, reduce the number of distracted driving related deaths, and promote distracted driving awareness reform, will have its busiest weekend of the year to date this week, as three NFL teams and a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) will take to the stairs.
Thursday night at MetLife Stadium, the New York Jets and Houston Texans will combine efforts for this season’s first join stair climb, taking place at approximately 5:30 PM. Then on Sunday prior to their game at Nissan Stadium against the New England Patriots, the Tennessee Titans will join this year’s participants. The week will end on Monday, with the Boston College Eagles running the steps of Alumni Stadium in Newton, Mass. as part of their return to play week when the face another Knapp Stair Climb participant, Syracuse University.
Nearly half of the NFL and over a dozen NCAA teams are participating in this fall’s “Coach Knapp Stair Climb,” the largest number in the brief three-year history of the event.
In honor of Coach Knapp, NFL coaches, players, executives and alumni will participate in raising funds and awareness at each NFL stadium prior to team warmups. Teams confirmed to participate in the stair climb include: Packers, Colts, Titans, Rams, Jets, Browns, Texans, 49ers, Commanders, Falcons. Participating NCAA teams include: Boston College, Oregon State University, Georgia State University, University of Oregon, University of Houston, Syracuse University, Sacramento State, Boston College, Butler University, East Carolina University, Ripon College, Rice University, and the University of Utah.
Over 500 coaches, players and staff will be participating in various forms on game days, easily eclipsing the goal of 20+ participating teams.
The fund, which has raised over $250,000 to date already, was created by Greg’s wife, Charlotte, and close friend and agent, Jeff Sperbeck, to honor the legacy of Greg Knapp who tragically passed away in July 2021 after being hit by a distracted driver while he was bicycling. Coach Knapp was known for climbing the stadium stairs before every single NFL game he coached over his 25 season career. All will be tagged #knappstairclimb on social platforms.
At the time of his passing, Knapp was recently named Passing Game Coordinator of the New York Jets under head coach Robert Saleh, after serving as an assistant coach for over a quarter of a century.
The United Football League (UFL) and Kitman Labs, the sports technology and analytics company setting the industry standard for how elite sports organizations use data, today announced the deployment of the Kitman Labs Intelligence Platform (iP) as the new EMR of record for the League, inclusive of the 8 member teams.
The Performance Medicine Solution – one of four Solutions offered as part of Kitman Labs’ iP: Intelligence Platform – will provide the centralized technology and infrastructure to automate and power accurate, league-wide medical data collection and analysis, drive collaboration among all relevant league and team stakeholders, yield actionable intelligence to support specific performance outcomes and enable data-led decision-making and research.
Each Team in the UFL will operate from a distinct, configurable system designed to support their respective operating philosophy and will aggregate and mobilize all player medical data in one integrated platform – providing an accurate, real-time view of each player from a health, injury and readiness perspective.
iP: Intelligence Platform will enable the UFL and Teams to: • Unify, consolidate and standardize league-wide medical documentation and data collection – eliminating data gaps, inconsistencies and inaccuracy and facilitate club-level compliance • Collaborate and align relevant internal stakeholders across both the Medical and Performance Teams to support evidence-based decision-making around player health, care and wellness • Enable practitioners to spend less time dedicated to data collection, analytics and administrative oversight and more time with athletes • Establish a solid and complete data set to support ongoing and future league-wide research initiatives and innovation • Establish a data and analytics infrastructure that can scale, adapt and grow as the League continues to evolve
“The UFL needed to ensure that we unify data, people, and processes around shared infrastructure and technology to support the continued improvement and evolution of both the League and teams,” said Phil Hedrick, Director of Athletic Training, UFL. “Kitman Labs’ iP and Performance Medicine Solution allows us to provide best-in-class technology and tools to empower our medical teams, practitioners, and players while leveraging medical data to advance player health, wellness, and performance outcomes across the League.”
“It’s clear that the UFL is laying the foundation for sustainable growth and innovation at the League and Club-level. By deploying a league-wide medical solution, the UFL is providing a platform not only capable of aggregating and analyzing disparate data sets and ensuring data integrity, but powering the advanced analytics and actionable intelligence necessary to maximize player health and performance outcomes,” said Stephen Smith, Founder & CEO Kitman Labs. “Each team within the UFL will have a configurable operating system, designed to support the unique needs of their particular club and operating style, providing each with the insights necessary to support data-led decision-making at every level of the organization ”
Kitman Labs has an established track record of working with top governing bodies, leagues, teams and athletes across a variety of sports, including soccer/global football, basketball, rugby, and American football. The company’s technology has been used by teams in some of the world’s most elite sports organizations and universities including the NFL, NBA, Premier League, MLS, NWSL and NCAA. The company represents the industry’s largest network of elite and youth organizations (2000+) and iP: Intelligence Platform represents the industry’s largest dataset of talent, performance, and medical data for all stages of the athlete lifecycle..
For more information about Kitman Labs, visit www.kitmanlabs.com.
San Francisco, with an NFC-best 12-5 regular season mark and 17-14 victory over Baltimore in the championship, reigned supreme as Strat-O-Matic (@StratOMatic), the market leader in sports simulation, played out the 2023 football season through the playoffs. A 59-yard field goal attempt by Justin Tucker missed wide in the final minute to secure the sixth title for S.F.
San Francisco bested AFC #1 Baltimore after defeating Philadelphia in the conference championship game, 27-7. Baltimore outlasted rival Pittsburgh, 40-33, in the AFC title game.
Josh Allen, who paced the Bills to a 13-4 mark and #2 seed in the AFC with 4,259 passing yards, 814 rushing yards and 40 touchdowns total, earned MVP honors, edging Aaron Rodgers, who helped New York to 10 wins, throwing for 4,827 yards and 37 touchdowns.
Justin Jefferson of Minnesota had a league-best 115 receptions and 1,543 yards.
Division winners were: AFC, Buffalo (13-4), Baltimore (13-4), Tennessee (10-7) and Kansas City (10-7); NFC, Dallas (10-7), Green Bay (10-7), Atlanta (9-8) and San Francisco (12-5).
Full standings and playoffs scores below:
AFC East Buffalo, 13-4 New York, 10-7 Miami, 9-8 New England, 5-12
AFC North Baltimore, 13-4 Pittsburgh, 12- 5 Cleveland, 9-8 Cincinnati, 8-9
AFC South Tennessee, 10-7 Jacksonville, 9-8 Houston, 8-9 Indianapolis, 4-13
AFC West Kansas City, 10-7 Las Vegas, 9-8 Los Angeles, 8-9 Denver, 8-9
NFC East Dallas, 10-7 Philadelphia, 10-7 New York, 8-9 Washington, 7-10
NFC North Green Bay, 10-7 Detroit, 7-10 Minnesota, 7-10 Chicago, 5-12
NFC South Atlanta, 9-8 Tampa Bay, 9-8 Carolina, 8-9 New Orleans, 7-10
NFC West San Francisco, 12-5 Seattle, 9-8 Los Angeles, 7-10 Arizona, 2- 15
AFC Wild card BUF over MIA 24-23 NYJ over KC 31-17 PIT over TEN 17-16
NFC Wild card DAL over SEA 26-23 TB over GB 34-32 PHI over ATL 17-16
AFC Divisional BAL over NYJ 33-27 (OT) PIT over BUF 26-23
NFC Divisional SF over TB 29-28 PHI over DAL 27-20
National Research Group (NRG) Sports, a global insights leader at the edge of sports, technology, and content, today released key survey findings specific to Super Bowl betting and viewership.
The survey is highlighted by the fact that 37% of Americans say they’re planning to bet on the game through a sportsbook and 33% are planning to open a new sportsbook account specifically for the Super Bowl.
Additional key data and insights surrounding Super Bowl betting, viewership and commercial branding are included below.
Super Bowl Betting Insights:
This weekend’s Super Bowl represents a significant opportunity for betting sites to bring in new customers. 37% of Americans (21+) – including 53% of avid sports fans – say that they’re planning to bet on the game through a sportsbook.
33% of Americans – including 46% of avid sports fans, say that they’re planning to open a new sportsbook account specifically for the Super Bowl.
53% of Americans say they’re more likely to watch a game if they’ve wagered on it (up from 46% last year), including 39% of non-sports fans. Similarly, 50% of consumers overall and 59% of avid sports fans say that betting on the Super Bowl makes it much more interesting.
65% of likely Super Bowl gamblers are planning to bet $100 or more on the game, while 20% are planning to bet upwards of $500.
Among likely Super Bowl bettors, the most commonly used online sportsbooks are: Draftkings (55%), FanDuel (54%), BetMGM (43%), Caesars (38%), and FOXBet (37%).
The most popular types of wagers that bettors are planning to make on this year’s Super Bowl are: Moneyline (40%), Live bets (38%), Spread (27%), and Boxes/Squares (26%).
Boxes / Squares is the only type of bet that declined year over year.
The least popular types of wagers are: Over/Under (24%), Parlay (24%), Same Game Parlay (24%), Prop Bets (24%), and Micro Bets (16%).
61% of Americans support legalized online sports betting, compared to just 15% who are opposed to legalization. At this time last year, support was at 50%. Two-thirds (67%) of those in favor of legalized online sports betting believe that it should be done at the federal level, compared to 33% who feel it should continue to be left up to individual states.
49% of active sports bettors now use multiple online sportsbooks, compared to 32% who just use a single site.
Super Bowl Viewership and Branding Insights:
89% of polled fans expressed excitement for watching Super Bowl commercials, which slightly outweighs the 86% who expressed excitement for watching the game itself
75% of fans like to hear about what brands are planning for their commercials ahead of the Super Bowl
41% of fans say they have become a fan of a product because of its Super Bowl commercial and 56% say past Super Bowl commercials have deepened a connection they had with a brand
53% of Americans plan on attending a Super Bowl party this year, while 37% plan to watch at a bar. Either way, this may explain why 42% of Americans – including 57% of avid sports fans, think that the day after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday. 52% of consumers and 60% of avid sports fans would prefer if the Super Bowl was played on a Saturday.
33% of avid sports fans bought a new TV specifically for the Super Bowl.
CELSIUS fitness drink today announced its new partnership with the University of Southern California’s quarterback, Caleb Williams. CELSIUS continues its support of collegiate athletics by partnering with athletes nationwide as part of the company’s growing Collegiate Program.
CELSIUS University, which officially launched in August 2022, has begun partnering with college athletes nationwide as part of the NCAA’s new Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policy that allows college athletes opportunities to monetize their name. The CELSIUS Program aims to provide best-in-class consumer experiences with elite brand partners within NIL and collegiate sports.
“Proud to be a brand partner of CELSIUS who has been pioneering their way into college football,” said the University of California’s star quarterback. “I’m looking forward to the projects we’ll do together to support college athletes in the future and bring more visibility to NIL as a whole.”
Athletes partnering with CELSIUS are further educating their peers and audience through their social media channels, while promoting the energy drink and LIVE FIT lifestyle, the brands mantra which aims to inspire people to LIVE FIT in the world around them and in everything they do. LIVING FIT isn’t just for the gym, it’s a mindset and a lifestyle. CELSIUS provides people with the Essential Energy they need to elevate their everyday lives and achieve their personal bests.
Caleb’s work on and off the field truly embodies the CELSIUS “Live Fit” mentality and lifestyle. His shared passion for supporting his community, and love for the brand is the type of partnership CELSIUS® is proud to be part of and looks forward to continuing to help empower collegiate athletics. The partnership with Caleb and CELSIUS will run for 6 months.
Ready®, one of the fastest growing sports nutrition brands in America with co-owners Aaron Donald and Giannis Antetokounmpo, today announced the signing of NFL first round draft pick and Pittsburgh Steeler rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett as a Ready® athlete.
Pickett was already quite familiar with Ready® having used its products while at Pitt, so the partnership was a logical extension. “Kenny already knew the fueling and recovery benefits of our products from his own experience. We really focus on our mentality and mission; and it became obvious he was a great fit to be a member of the Ready® Team,” said company founder and CEO Pat Cavanaugh.
Pickett will only promote products he uses during training, its Sports Drink and a few other select Ready® products in his various online and non-digital platforms. He joins NFL world champion Aaron Donald, NBA star and global basketball icon Giannis Antetokounmpo, and top rated American female tennis player Jessica Pegula as Ready® brand champions and ambassadors.
Pickett was the 2022 first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers after a stellar senior season when he was a Heisman Trophy finalist, first team All-American, and voted ACC Football Player and co-Athlete of the Year while leading Pitt to an ACC Championship.
“Kenny is a great example of continuing to work hard and remembering it’s not where you start it’s where you finish, which is a pillar of the Ready® mentality that defines our brand,” said Cavanaugh. “Throughout his career and breakout senior season, he continued to get better and better achieving one goal after the next. He’s just getting started.”
“I’m excited to be part of the Ready® Team especially since I’ve experienced the benefits of the products when I was at Pitt,” said Pickett. “The more Pat and I spoke about the brand and their mission to inspire athletes to take more pride in their effort than their talent; that attitude and mentality resonated with me and how I approach my football career.”
Sports Gambling Podcast Network (SGPN) has successfully seized the narrative as the top wagering authority on the United States Football League (USFL) with a major commitment of resources to the newly-minted pro football league, which launched its upcoming season last week with the 2022 draft.
SGPN produced a two-part, 10-hour, live USFL Draft Show and delivered interviews with five soon-to-be star players as the league’s eight teams began to stockpile talent. That in-depth coverage, unmatched by any other platform on the media landscape, generated over 10,000 views last week alone, demonstrating a level of consumer interest that SGPN is serving with its free podcasts and website postings and app (www.sportsgamblingpodcast.com).
NBC Sports’ prominent pro football news/information platform Pro Football Talklinked to Sports Gambling Podcast Network’s report in a post-Super Bowl offering and other mainstream outlets referenced ahead-of-the-curve SGPN content in late February.
Led by co-founders and Sports Gambling Podcast hosts Sean Green and Ryan Kramer, SGPN experts immersed themselves in the new spring football league’s resources and established relationships with league executives in January. The two-day live draft show followed and SGPN landed exclusive first interviews with USFL players Peyton Ramzy (WR, Tuskeegee University), Ben Holmes (QB, Tarleton State), Adewale Adeoye (DL, Utah State), Josh Taylor (OL Mississippi Valley State) and Michael Rodriguez (OL, Louisiana Tech). The SGPN USFL homepage is here.
“It’s pretty much indisputable that we’ve got a greater depth of knowledge on the USFL than any media platform out there and our competitors will never catch up,” stated Green, who assigned multiple contributors to the unprecedented initiative. “Our football guys are rabid, they know what our audiences want and we’re getting the answers on quarterback and skill position talent, coaching and what teams will be tops in the trenches so we can make winning, educated picks.”
Before the end of February, SGPN posted more than 20 separate podcasts and 15-plus articles laying out the top talent competing for jobs in the league. SGPN experts produced detailed rundowns of prospective players at each position. Analysts are breaking out each position group with special notice for former NFL players and college stars whose names are familiar to gridiron fans.
Accurate advance predictions on which players would be selected early in the USFL Draft in late February reflected SGPN’s inside sources and scope of research and the result has been return visits from information-hungry football fans looking forward to the USFL’sApril 16season openers. League competition will be airing on multiple major networks.
“We experienced tremendous growth during the NFL Playoffs window and our college basketball content with Colby Dant is more popular than ever,” added Kramer. “For USFL, we’re doing Fantasy, team-by-team breakdowns and more. The sportsbooks are going to list these USFL games and our picks and analysis will reflect a level of sophistication exclusive to SGPN.”
SGPN’s eye-opening growth was highlighted this week in an article in the Los Angeles Business Journal, which explored the entrepreneurial platform’s success as an independent entity in the midst of the sports wagering legalization environment of recent years.
SGPN experts will also assert their knowledge as part of SGPN’s new alliance with Colorcast, the innovative Social Sportstalk App that allows commentators to provide audio analysis to audiences in and around games being simultaneously viewed on television. Colorcastalso provides users with stats, scores, betting odds, and other real-time information about the game. The platform and is fully interactive and is expected to provide a user experience that will attract additional followers to SGPN’s no-cost platforms.
cover image:
Sean Green (left) and Ryan Kramer at the SGPN studios in Los Angeles. (SGPN photo).
After New York set numerous national records in its first month of mobile sports betting, the Empire State faced lofty expectations for last weekend’s Super Bowl, the marquee event on the annual U.S. sports calendar.
In the wake of Super Bowl LVI, the first Super Bowl ever for New York mobile sportsbooks, there are indications that the state may have shattered those expectations. Vancouver-based geolocation security firm GeoComply identified 80.1 million Super Bowl-related transactions among U.S. sportsbook clients, well over double the amount from last year’s Super Bowl. In total, New York activity represented about one-quarter of the company’s U.S. sports betting traffic, ranking first in the market, GeoComply Managing Director of Gaming Lindsay Slader told Sports Handle.
At the same time, about 5.6 million accounts accessed legal online sportsbooks on Super Bowl weekend, a 95% increase from the previous year, according to GeoComply. New York also ranked first in that category, representing around 20% of nationwide accounts identified by GeoComply.
The figures likely would have been higher had the Buffalo Bills ended a two-decade-plus Super Bowl drought. The Bills, one of the top favorites to reach the Super Bowl, suffered a crushing overtime defeat to the Chiefs in the AFC divisional round, a game in which they took the lead with 13 seconds left in regulation. On Monday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul disclosed that New York handled nearly $2 billion in online sports wagers over the market’s first 30 days of operations.
Will New York top $200M in Super Bowl handle?
When the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) issued conditional licenses to nine mobile sportsbooks last November, New York state Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. pressed the commission to roll out online sports wagering before the Super Bowl. Addabbo, chairman of the Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee, lauded the NYSGC for the expedited rollout in launching online sports wagering before the start of the playoffs.
“I always knew New York had this kind of potential, being one of the sports meccas and capitals of the world,” Addabbo told the Gamble On podcast on Wednesday. “But I’m quite surprised sometimes at some of these numbers.”
At present, seven of the nine licensed mobile sportsbooks are live in New York, led by industry heavyweights FanDuel, Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM, and DraftKings. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt told the Financial Times on Monday that BetMGM took more digital bets in New York than in any other state in which it operates.
Ahead of the Super Bowl, the American Gaming Association predicted that a record 31 million Americans were expected to bet on the event, resulting in a handle of about $7.6 billion. It is important to note that the estimates also included projected betting on the unregulated black market, consisting of offshore sportsbooks and wagers placed with illegal U.S. bookmakers.
The NYSGC indicated on Monday that it will not report a separate breakout for Super Bowl wagering activity. The commission, rather, will include Super Bowl-related betting activity in Friday’s weekly mobile sports betting report.
Nevertheless, there appears to be a strong likelihood that New York reached $200 million in Super Bowl handle, even by conservative estimates. On Tuesday, neighboring New Jersey reported a Super Bowl handle of $143.7 million, second only to Nevada’s $179.8 million on the event. New York’s population is more than double that of New Jersey.
Turning back to GeoComply’s data, there are further indications that New York may eclipse the $200 million threshold. If New Yorkers averaged $12.50 per bet on 20 million wagers placed, the handle would approach an astounding $250 million. According to GeoComply’s figures, about 20.02 million transactions were identified in New York.
The average wager at DraftKings’ Illinois sportsbook in December came in at $47.80 (on a sample size of six million wagers). The Illinois metrics are gleaned from a mix of pro and college football on the month. Over the first 30 days of online sports wagering in New York, the sportsbooks handled more than $600 million on football, the NYSGC disclosed. The handle includes last month’s College Football Playoff national championship, contested on the third day of mobile sportsbook operations in the Empire State.
Next up: March Madness
Following the Super Bowl, the sports betting industry enters a relatively quiet period before the start of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament on March 15. The KeyBank Center in Buffalo will serve as one of eight regional sites for the first and second rounds of the tournament, more commonly known as March Madness.
By then, it’s possible one of the two remaining holdouts, Bally Bet and Resorts World, will have made its New York debut.
Addabbo, who pushed for an open market with more than a dozen mobile skins in New York, is impressed with the early returns considering that the state only has seven online sportsbooks.
“I’m amazed at those numbers, given the circumstances,” Addabbo added.
Sports Gambling Podcast Network (SPGN) hosts Sean Green and Ryan Kramer will make their debut on Super Bowl Radio Row next week, producing live, daily, mid-afternoon shows for the Blue Wire Podcast Network at the National Football League’s annual promotional extravaganza.
One of the fastest-growing sports wagering prognostication and analysis website/podcast platforms, SGPN hosted the first-ever show last year from the showpiece Blue Wire Studio at Wynn Las Vegas, where some of America’s most prominent podcasts are produced. SGPN co-founders Green and Kramer will interview prominent guests each day on Radio Row as they provide their unique, entertainment-oriented analysis and predictions on the Feb. 14 confrontation between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals.
They will also be doing guest appearances on other shows during the week-long mediafest, providing definitive calls on the side, over/under and on the hundreds of prop bets that populate the sportsbooks in this new-age world of legalized wagering.
A primary feature of the week’s content will be SGPN’s $100,000 Super Bowl Props Contest, in which entrants must
predict the outcome of 10 specific offerings with money to be awarded to those who go 10-for-10.
Fans can enter the SGPN Super Bowl Props Contest on the SGPN App, which is available on all devices and is downloadable at Apple’s App Store, the Google Play Store and from www.SportsGamblingPodcast.com. SGPN is the only independently-owned and operated sports gambling media network that places a premium on entertainment value.
The no-cost app includes content for sports wagerers on the move from over 50 SGPN writers and personalities plus exclusive access to multiple, free audience contests, now including the $100,000 Super Bowl Props Contest.
“We do expect some of our biggest audiences as we host from Radio Row during Super Bowl Week,” offered Green, whose company will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this spring. “We’ll let people know who, what, why and how much on the Rams and Bengals, for sure. We’ll also have the other major sports covered for those seeking input on betting options across the entire spectrum of sports.”
“We appreciate our friends at Blue Wire and look forward to being part of the action next week,” offered Kramer, who correctly picked Georgia plus the under January 10 in the College Football Playoff Championship Game. “The NFL is surging to the end of a great season, there’s tremendous interest in these quarterbacks and the game will likely live up to the hype.”
Genius Sports, the official data, technology and commercial partner that powers the ecosystem connecting sports, betting and media, today announced a landmark strategic partnership with the Canadian Football League (CFL), the second largest football league globally with over 100 years of history.
Genius Sports will provide a wide range of technology and services that will enable the CFL to accelerate its growth plans and engage new audiences around the world.
As part of the agreement, Genius Sports will have the exclusive rights to commercialize the CFL’s official data worldwide and video content with sportsbooks in international markets, replicating the global distribution and success of its official betting products for the EPL and NFL, among others. In connection with the partnership, in addition to the official data rights agreement, Genius Sports and the CFL have also agreed that Genius Sports will acquire a minority stake in CFL Ventures, the new commercial arm of the League, allowing the Company to benefit strategically and financially from the CFL’s growth.
The CFL will be provided with one of the widest and most innovative data ecosystems in world sport, transforming its relationships with fans, sportsbooks, and media in North America and globally. Bringing together its recent acquisitions of Second Spectrum, Spirable, FanHub and Sportzcast, Genius Sports will power the entire CFL digital infrastructure. This will include live broadcast augmentation, advanced data tracking tools, highly targeted and personalized fan engagement solutions, cross-platform streaming capabilities, play-by-play and scoreboard data collection technology, coaching analytics products, and integrity services to safeguard the league.
“Our partnership with Genius Sports has the potential to launch a new era for the CFL,” said Randy Ambrosie, Commissioner of the Canadian Football League. “It provides access to the technology and tools we need to engage our existing fans, and reach new ones, in exciting, innovative and highly customized ways. This goes beyond transforming our marketing. It can redefine our relationship with fans, partners and other key stakeholders, here in Canada and globally.”
“By providing the CFL with an incredible range of sports technology solutions, Genius Sports is setting a new precedent for sports partnerships,” said Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports. “Together, we will revolutionize the entire CFL product, delivering truly immersive experiences for their existing fans and attracting new audiences who crave year-round, top-flight football action.”
This partnership will help facilitate the CFL’s growth ambitions, expanding its audience in the U.S., while extending its reach into new international markets. Genius Sports will help the CFL to capitalize on the growth of the North American sports betting market, maximizing revenue and engagement opportunities.
The transaction is expected to become effective in January 2022. An O’Melveny & Myers LLP team, led by partners Charles Baker and Amy Siegel and counsel Eric Geffner and Rob Catmull together with McCarthy Tetrault LLP, advised Genius Sports on this transformative transaction.
On the heels of a pilot program between the American 7s Football League and fubo Sports Network, the network will showcase the top games from the A7FL’s hard-hitting 2021 season. The partnership, which kicked off October 25 and will continue each Monday thereafter at 6 PM ET with fubo Sports Network providing fans with their first free opportunity to view A7FL’s signature no helmets no pads football action from the league’s recently wrapped 7th season.
The fast-growing A7FL topped 200 million total video views in 2021 and grew to 750,000+ social media followers. The league recently extended its successful StartEngine fundraising campaign and added 4 new division owners, expanding to 8 divisions and 32 teams nationwide for its 2022 season, which runs April-July. In just the past year, several new sponsors have joined the fold including Cricket Wireless, Marshawn Lynch’s ZoomBang / Beast Mode, Herff-Jones, BioHemp+, and BetDSI.
Monday night’s game on fubo Sports Network features perennial A7FL powerhouse the Trenton BIC facing off against the Baltimore Cobras. The BIC head into their 2021 campaign led by explosive two-time MVP Matt Riddick and 2020 Rookie of the Year Ashante Worthy. The Cobras feature the always dangerous Jon “Ace Boogie” Gause Jr. at quarterback while nose guard Derrell Harris can clog holes on defense but can also break games open behind center or at wide receiver.
“We are thrilled to give fans the chance to tune in every Monday night to enjoy the action from our top games from the 2021 season,” said A7FL Co-Founder and CEO Sener Korkusuz. “Since we launched our “From the Vault” series with fuboTV in late summer, we’ve seen a 47% increase in viewing, so these games are clearly resonating with their sports-oriented audience – just as they have on social media and other platforms.”
“Our audience has a strong appetite for action-packed sports content from partners like the American 7s Football League,” said Pamela Duckworth, head of Fubo Sports Network and original programming, fuboTV. “We’re excited to bring the 2021 A7FL season to Fubo Sports Network and provide viewers with even more unique 7-on-7 football the league is known for.”
Available on 75 million devices, fubo Sports Network is the live, free-to-consumer TV network featuring sports stories on and off the field. Launched by live TV streaming platform fuboTV (NYSE: FUBO) in September 2019, fubo Sports Network airs live sports, award-winning original programming and partner content from BeIN Sports Xtra, Lights Out Xtreme Fighting, Stadium, USA TODAY and VSiN, among others. Stream for free on Hisense Smart TVs, LG Channels, Sports on Tubi, Plex, Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel, Vizio Channels and XUMO or as part of fuboTV’s subscription packages of 100+ sports, news and entertainment channels.
Having just completed one of the most decorated careers in college football history and weeks away from the likely No. 1 selection in the pro draft, Trevor Lawrencehas signed on with Topps in a landmark deal that will see the winningest starting quarterback in Clemson history featured in an exclusive box set of cards scheduled for release in April. The set will be created in collaboration with Trevor’s brother and sister-in-law Chase and Brooke Lawrence, professional artists who will create exclusive artwork of the decorated 2018 national champion and first quarterback ever to win three ACC Championship Games.
The series will include 50 cards, including autographs on select pieces and will feature a mix of oil paintings and digital depictions crafted by Chase and Brooke (https://bclawrence.art). To create the exclusive artwork, Chase and Brooke took inspiration from psychedelic period pieces from the 1960’s-70’s as well as classic comic book and graphic novel illustrations.
“Trevor Lawrence is one of the most popular and visible players in college football in years and we can’t wait to capture his talent and personality in this set,” said Jeff Heckman, Global Director of Ecommerce. “We look forward to revealing the unique designs that Chase and Brooke will develop, and we think football fans across the country will love the series.”
“I’m excited to be working with Topps on this really unique set,” said Lawrence. “Chase and Brooke are extremely talented artists and it’s special to collaborate with them on these custom designs.”
Lawrence completed 231 of 234 passes (69.2%) for 3153 yards and 24 touchdowns this past year, finishing second in the Heisman Trophy balloting as he led Clemson to the national championship game. In his storied three-year career, he completed 758-of-1138 career passes (66.6 %) for 10,098 yards with 90 touchdowns and 17 interceptions for a pass efficiency rating for 164.26 in 2,237 snaps over 40 career games (36 starts).
FanDuel on Thursday announced the expansion of its industry-leading free to play contests for the start of the upcoming football season. For the first time, FanDuel will be launching free to play Pick’em games with three NFL teams, including the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, and Washington Football Team.
FanDuel’s expanded free to play lineup will include the following, with more games coming throughout the NFL season:
In partnership with The Ringer, FanDuel is offering The Ringer Mega Contest, a free Survivor-style contest where participants pick games against the spread each week with the goal of making it to the last 100 participants standing going into the playoffs. Players pick five teams each week to beat the spread, including one “Double Down” pick worth double the points. Players will score one point for each correct pick or two points if their “Double Down” pick is correct. Whoever finishes the regular season in the top 100 on the leaderboard makes the playoffs. Then, the top 100 will pick their way through the playoffs to claim a share of $25,000 – including $10,000 to first place. FanDuel Gridiron Pick’em is a free NFL pick’em style contest, available today on FanDuel. Players try to pick the most correct winners of all of each Sunday’s matchups and split the weekly prize pool of $5,000. Coming later this week, in addition to the FanDuel Gridiron Pick’em, FanDuel will offer three white label Pick’em games in partnership with three of its team partners, the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, and Washington Football Team. Each week participants will answer a series of questions about the specific team’s matchups. The participants who get the most correct answers will split the $1,000 weekly payout. Plus, there will be an additional $10K prize awarded at the end of the season to the participant who gets the most correct answers during the regular season. To qualify for the promotion, eligible individuals must have an active FanDuel Sportsbook or DFS member account or sign up for one at https://sportsbook.fanduel.com or https://www.fanduel.com/join.
“Over the past several months, we’ve prioritized giving sports fans innovative games to play and new forms of entertainment,” said John Griffin, GM of Fantasy Sports, FanDuel. “With the upcoming football season right about to start, we have the most expansive selection of free to play games, giving fans more ways to win than ever before.”
FanDuel also recently announced the launch of Best Ball contests, available to enter now, and Daily Snake Drafts for NFL coming ahead of the football season.
With live sports still on hold (though hopefully coming back soon!), fantasy leagues have been looking for ways to keep their members together, combining their love of baseball and football with the camaraderie that goes with participating with friends. And for the first time, the popular Baseball 365 and Football 365 products from Strat-O-Matic (www.strat-o-matic.com), the market leader in sports simulations, give commissioners the tools to manage leagues of recent and all-time great rosters, with games simulated daily, just like regular fantasy sports.
Commissioner league users can invite specific guests to compete, incorporate league settings, draft teams at any pace, and even fill out spots with computer-controlled “bot” teams. Players serve as GM and manager, setting lineups, pitching rotations and managing styles (baseball) or starters, schemes and tendencies (football) for a realistic fantasy experience.
Baseball 365 Commissioner leagues can choose from the 2019 season, a new “All-Time Greats 9” set of more than 5,300 cards, additional single-seasons of 1982, 1986, 1999, 2007 through 2018, or mystery card sets from every decade from the 1960s through the 1990s. Football featured cards include the 2018 season, as well as an All-Time Franchises set with greats dating all the way back to the 1940s.
“Many Strat-O-Matic players are also huge fantasy sports fans, and just like Strat-O-Matic leagues stay together for years, a lot of the fun of fantasy is playing with your friends” said John Garcia, Strat-O-Matic’s Director of Research and exec-in-charge of 365. “There’s nowhere else to go right now to buy out a fantasy league in baseball or football with your friends.”
“The Commissioner leagues combine the excitement and strategy of Baseball 365 and Football 365 with the convenience and control that keep leagues and friends together,” said Bernie Hou, Director of 365 for Strat-O-Matic.
The XFL and The Action Network have announced a sports betting content partnership. As part of the collaboration, The Action Network becomes a preferred source of XFL betting analysis and information and will provide sports betting content for the league’s website at XFL.com.
All season long, The Action Network will develop multiple content features – including daily news from across the league, analysis of games and player performances, as well as expert picks and projections for both The Action Network and XFL platforms. The Action Network’s talent will also appear in XFL’s betting-related content.
“We’re thrilled to partner with the XFL and introduce in-depth betting coverage to a new legion of fans,” said Ari Borod, Chief Commercial Officer of The Action Network. “We remain committed to bringing our audience best-in-class coverage with innovative leagues and rights holders as the sports betting landscape continues to rapidly evolve.”
“Our strategy is to embrace the spread and partnering with The Action Network helps us provide our fans with timely sports betting news and information,” said Jeffrey Pollack, President and COO of the XFL. “We want what our fans want and millions of football fans have an interest in betting on sports, so we’re answering the call and gearing up to be fully responsive.”
The Action Network will provide branded content on the XFL website and have rights to use certain league IP to promote the partnership across its platforms.
FOX Sports Super 6, a free-to-play sports prediction game that offers players the chance to win hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash each week, launches nationwide today.
Fans can enter multiple contests each week, with jackpot prizes up to $250,000 in cash. To play, users simply choose who they think the winning team will be and the corresponding margin of victory within predefined ranges or answer six multiple-choice questions, giving them a chance to split thousands in guaranteed cash prizes.
FOX Sports Super 6 offers a variety of ways for football fans to play throughout the season, and will be offering two NFL games and a college football game at launch:
Super 6 NFL Sunday
To play, fans will select the outcome and margin of victory of six upcoming NFL Sunday matchups. Players who correctly select all six picks could win up to $250,000. If no player correctly selects all six picks to win the $250,000 jackpot prize, there will be smaller guaranteed cash prizes.
TNF Super 6
FOX Sports Super 6 is also offering up to $25,000 in guaranteed prizes for each TNF Super 6 game. To play, fans will answer six multiple choice prediction questions about the upcoming Thursday Night Football game, across the 13-game TNF schedule across FOX and NFL Network. The $25,000 in guaranteed cash prizes will be divided among the players who select the most correct answers.
College Football Saturday Super 6
For each Saturday of college football, fans can play by picking the winning team and by how many points (e.g. Texas by 10 to 14 points). There is a jackpot prize available each week with thousands guaranteed to be paid.
Mark Silverman, President, National Networks, FOX Sports said: “FOX Sports Super 6 brings our unique and entertaining Fox attitude and our unrivaled talent to this fun free-to-play game. The FOX Sports Super 6 app will heighten the excitement of watching live sports while simultaneously deepening our viewers’ engagement with our brand.”
FOX Sports Super 6 anticipates adding more sports, with basketball slated to start in October.
“These awesome free-to-play games will get fans closer to the sports they love, competing against FOX Sports stars to win huge prizes,” said Robin Chhabra, Chief Corporate Development Officer, The Stars Group. “The FOX Sports Super 6 app offers a quick, simple and fun experience that we think sports fans here will love, just like they do in other countries where we run them.”
Thirty-eight million American adults—15 percent of the U.S. adult population—are planning to bet on National Football League (NFL) games this season, according to a new survey by the American Gaming Association (AGA).
The rapid expansion of legal sports betting has provided increased opportunity for millions of Americans to bet safely with a licensed, regulated sportsbook. This year, 7 million Americans say they will bet legally at a casino sportsbook, 1.2 million more than last year, and tens of millions of others will place bets with friends, participate in pools or squares contests or place their bets online.
“During this centennial NFL season, more Americans than ever before can wager on football in safe, well-regulated environments,” said Bill Miller, AGA’s president and chief executive officer. “It is clear that as jurisdictions enact policies to provide a legal alternative to the dangerous illegal market, consumers follow suit and seek the protections they deserve.”
The survey, conducted by Morning Consult, also found that nearly one-in-four (24%) American adults say they would place a bet on the NFL if it was legal in their state. As legal sports betting continues to expand, fan engagement with NFL games will see an impact:
39 percent of avid NFL fans plan to place a bet on the NFL this season.
75 percent of NFL bettors say they are more likely to watch a game they bet on.
28 percent are more likely to attend a game they have bet on.
51 percent are more likely to watch pregame shows and commentary.
63 percent are more likely to gather with friends or family to watch a game.
“Sports betting clearly impacts fans’ enthusiasm for engaging with the NFL. As the legal market grows, it is imperative for gaming and adjacent industries to focus on implementing and promoting legal sports betting responsibly to protect consumers and ensure the viability of legal markets to the continued detriment of illegal operators,” Miller added.
Among NFL fans, the New England Patriots are the favorite to win the Super Bowl (23 percent), followed by the Kansas City Chiefs (8 percent), Dallas Cowboys (7 percent) and New Orleans Saints (6 percent).
Background
Since the U.S. Supreme Court repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act—the failed federal ban on sports betting—in May 2018, more than $10 billion has been legally wagered on sports.
Thirteen states now offer legal, regulated sports betting, with five more states and the District of Columbia poised to open legal markets in the coming months.
Last September, an AGA study showed that the NFL stands to gain $2.3 billion annually from legalized sports betting, largely due to increased fan engagement.
AGA’s Sports Betting Consumer Study found sports bettors are more interested in the NFL than any other professional sports league (93 percent interested).
Today, the Fan-Controlled Football League (FCFL), the only professional football league where fans call the shots, including the plays themselves in real-time, announced legendary boxing champion Mike Tyson as the seventh Team Owner | Fan Captain to join the Owner’s Box. In addition to calling on fans to shape his team’s destiny – from name selection, serving as the final call on team uniforms, to drafting the players – Tyson brings his passion for sports and trash-talking skills to the league. Once the inaugural season kicks off, fans will find Tyson live commentating throughout games via Twitch, where they will have the unprecedented opportunity to engage with The Champ in a way never before seen in the history of professional sports.
“I’m fired up about joining the FCFL as its newest Team Owner and Fan Captain, and even more so to demolishing the competition,” states Tyson when asked about what he’s looking forward to accomplishing in the FCFL. “Leading into opening day, I’ll be engaging with fans from across the globe to stoke excitement and participation in the development of the Baddest League on the Planet.”
Tyson joins a talented group of global influencers spanning the world of sports and entertainment, all of whom share one common factor – a fervidness for professional football. To date the FCFL has announced six FCFL fan captains, all of whom are Tyson’s ‘competition’ (if you can call them that), including Marshawn Lynch, Richard Sherman, Prince Royce, Kinda Funny, Bobby Bones, and Chad ‘Ochocinco’’ Johnson.
An undisputed heavyweight boxing champion and international entertainer known for his ‘take no prisoners’ approach, Tyson is also a serial entrepreneur; recent projects include a cannabis company called Tyson Ranch and a new podcast, HotBoxin, of which he produces and hosts.
“We are reinventing the sport of football for the digital age and a cultural phenomenon like Iron Mike could not be a better fit for this league. We are impossibly excited for him to bring his unparalleled energy, legendary smack talk, and unrivaled will to win to the FCFL,” shares Patrick Dees, FCFL co-founder and Chief Gaming Officer. “Tyson is a total badass and there is zero doubt in my mind that his team is going to be a force to be reckoned with and I for one, cannot wait to watch him stream his games on Twitch.”
The FCFL is the first professional sports league to combine the passion of live sports, the competitiveness of fantasy sports, the interactivity of video games, and the global reach of esports all into a live-streamed, real-life experience created for the digitally native fan.
Fans will create their team’s brand, hire (and fire, if necessary) a coaching staff, build roster through live fan-run draft, and call all their team’s plays in real-time. Games will be a seven-on-seven competition on a 50-yard field in a state-of-the-art production studio, creating a fast-paced, open style of play conducive to an action-packed sixty minutes of football. All games will be live streamed on Amazon’s Twitch, the world’s leading social video service and community for gamers and eSports. Using a brand new, unprecedented Twitch Extension, fans will get to use an interactive overlay that allows them to call the plays natively on top of the Twitch player.
To kick this announcement off the FCFL with WAX have partnered to give back to the fans who can enter to win one of three prizes anyone would be lucky to win: a pair of boxing gloves, a pair of boxing shoes, or a football – all of which are complete with Tyson’s autograph.
Morten Andersen (Wikimedia Commons/Samjudge. from UK)
Morten Andersen, who holds the all-time record for most games played in the NFL, will be delivering a keynote speech at this month’s Betting on Sports America conference, held from 23-25 April at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in New Jersey.
Andersen is attending #bosamerica as an ambassador for the Denmark-based igaming affiliate Better Collective – a key sponsor of the event whose US-facing brands include Betoclock.com, the us-bookies.com hub and a fast-growing bet-state network already featuring bet-nj.com, bet-wv.com and bet-pa.com.
The “Great Dane” will be talking about the NFL’s unique ability to connect with its fan base – and particularly those with an affinity for sports betting – as part of the “Sports and Betting”‘ track on Thursday 25 April, the second full day of the conference.
At the age of 17, Andersen did an exchange in the USA from his native Denmark. As there was no European football available at his school, he applied his skills to American football.
What followed was an illustrious career in the NFL, where he retired in 2008 as the all-time leader for games played and points scored in NFL history, as well as being the all-time leading scorer for both the New Orleans Saints – where he spent 13 seasons – and the Atlanta Falcons, for whom he spent a combined eight seasons.
Better Collective CEO Jesper Søgaard said: “It is exciting for us to be joined by Morten Andersen, an undisputed legend of the NFL. Andersen’s journey from starting in Denmark and obtaining such success in the USA is an obvious source of inspiration for us and our US strategy, and we are proud to have him as an ambassador for Better Collective.
“Betting on Sports America was already a key part of the 2019 agenda for Better Collective, as a prime opportunity to increase our knowledge of where affiliates sit in the new marketplace.”
Morten “The Great Dane” Andersen from his inauguration into the NFL Hall of Fame
Andersen added: “I am very honoured to be joining Better Collective at Betting on Sports America. Danish values are something that I have always adhered to throughout my career in the US, and I’m happy to see Better Collective is applying those same values to the betting industry.
“I hope to draw upon my experience from over 25 years in the NFL to deliver some useful insight to betting industry leaders, particularly those focused on making a mark in the newly liberalised US market.”
Rasmus Sojmark, SBC Founder and CEO, commented: “The so-called European betting ‘invasion’ – led by software providers, front-end operators and affiliates – has been a major talking point post-PASPA repeal, and something that will form a key part of the discussion at the inaugural Betting on Sports America conference.
“Therefore it is fitting that we can present Morten Andersen – one of the finest European exports across the top four US sports – as part of the stacked up agenda. We’d like to thank our friends at Better Collective for making this happen.”
STATS, the worldwide leader in sports data and intelligence, announced that media and gambling sales director Roy Clements will speak on a panel at Betting on Football at Stamford Bridge in London today.
Clements will present on the panel, “Data – do you get what you pay for?” at 15:30 on Thursday. The panel will focus on types of data feeds, delivery mechanisms, and creating the right data package for a business. Assaf Stieglitz, founder of Odds1x2, will moderate the panel with participation from other panelists spanning the sports data gambling space.
“Data is the backbone of the sports gambling sector, and having the right data feeds and integration is paramount to getting a sportsbook or other sports betting company off the ground,” said Clements. “Fast and accurate live data is obviously important, but we are also seeing a new wave of AI-powered predictions that are more accurately anticipating the events in a match. With third-screen experiences becoming a new part of following a match, it is important for companies to consider data integration when creating a fan experience on their platform. At STATS, we’re committed to investing in faster and more accurate data, and creating new match insights through AI-powered data solutions.”
Betting on Football brings together decision-makers from international operators to address the recent issues and opportunities in the sports betting industry. For more information, visit: https://sbcevents.com/betting-on-football-2019/
