Chicago Cubs Archives - Boardroom https://boardroom.tv/tag/chicago-cubs/ Sports Business News Tue, 26 Mar 2024 21:54:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox Boast Highest MLB Valuations https://boardroom.tv/headline-to-go/03-27-2024-yankees-dodgers-red-sox-highest-mlb-valuations/ Wed, 27 Mar 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://boardroom.tv/?post_type=headline-to-go&p=89052 Breaking down the highest MLB valuations and more of the most important stories shaping sports business, culture, and tech with HeadlineToGo.

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]]> Let the Shohei Ohtani Free Agent Sweepstakes Begin https://boardroom.tv/shohei-ohtani-mlb-free-agent-preview/ Wed, 08 Nov 2023 19:45:57 +0000 https://boardroom.tv/?p=83482 The unique free agency of Shohei Ohtani is here. Boardroom breaks down what his next contract might look like & which teams are in the mix.

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]]> Ohtani’s free agency will be like nothing MLB has ever seen before. Boardroom breaks down what his next contract might look like & which teams are rumored to be in the mix.

The second the Texas Rangers locked up their first World Series title last month, all eyes in MLB turned to Shohei Ohtani and his impending free agency.

Shoot, most eyes were there even before the Fall Classic began.

To say Ohtani has taken the league by storm is an understatement. The two-way star has led the league in WAR each of the last three seasons while ranking in the top 10 among pitchers and top 30 among position players. He’s a modern-day Babe Ruth — only he’s doing things that the Sultan of Swat himself never accomplished.

In theory, every team in the league should be interested in Ohtani, despite him having to undergo elbow surgery, forcing him to stay off of the mound in 2024. Even so, who wouldn’t want to have a true two-way, generational talent on the books? He’s too good to pass up, but because he’s so good, there are also only a handful of teams he’d consider (and only a handful that can afford him).

Buckle up, folks, because this saga won’t end anytime soon. For now, let’s break down who the rumored frontrunners are, as well as some other MLB teams that might be in the mix for Ohtani’s services.

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The Shohei Ohtani Free Agent Contract

Before getting into the teams, let’s take a look at what Ohtani’s next contract could look like.

If Ohtani were getting paid proportional to his actual on-field value, he’d get way more than what he will eventually sign for. ESPN took on the challenge of calculating his true value through various metrics, landing on $76 million AAV over the last three years. Even for a generational talent like Ohtani, we won’t get that high for a single season any time soon.

In July, CBS Sports asked multiple MLB insiders what type of contract Ohtani could fetch in free agency; none of them submitted an answer under $500 million. Given, the answers varied in terms of the number of years, but Ohtani does seem destined to shatter Mike Trout’s $426,500,000 record for total contract value.

It’s worth noting, however, that this survey was done before Ohtani’s injury. That he’s coming off TJ and won’t be pitching next season does throw some complications into the mix, such as various escalator clauses, opt-outs, etc.

There’s absolutely risk involved when signing Ohtani at this price. Even so, you can expect the two-way phenom to still bag the biggest contract in MLB history.

SHOHEI OHTANI’S CAREER EARNINGS THROUGH 2023: $42,269,259

More on Shohei Ohtani’s last Contract
Ohtani made $30M in 2023, his final year of arbitration. Despite the lofty number, it was a steal for the Angels.
Check it out!

Potential Landing Spots

Los Angeles Dodgers

It’s one thing for the biggest news-breakers in the business to report who the frontrunners are in free agency, but it’s entirely different when it comes from your peers. The Athletic conducted a player poll, asking roughly 100 active players a number of offseason-related questions. 57.2% of them predicted Ohtani would end up with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“The Mets and Padres will get in a bidding war and the Dodgers will swoop in,” one AL player told The Athletic.

The Dodgers have been planning for this since last offseason, opting not to spend big money in 2022 with eyes on Ohtani this year. In an effort to save every dollar it can for Ohtani, the team even opted not to extend a qualifying offer to JD Martinez, despite being interested in bringing him back to LA.

New York Mets

Can’t keep the Mets down. Well, at least when it comes to spending in free agency.

A year after opening the checkbooks to sign Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, only for them to have subpar seasons and get traded (with their hefty contracts) at the deadline, Steve Cohen and the Mets could spend big once again on Ohtani.

It might not be the smartest thing to do tax-wise, as the Mets already sit at the highest threshold possible. This means they would be taxed 110% on most of, if not all, a potential Ohtani contract.

If there’s a player worth going into this financial ruin over, though, it’s Ohtani.

Texas Rangers

Whether it was the World Series win or if they’ve been a dark horse this entire time, the Rangers are becoming increasingly discussed as a potential destination for Ohtani. There was talk that the Rangers wouldn’t wait and were ready to go all-in on the phenom at midseason this year.

After reaching the mountaintop and having a front office that isn’t afraid to spend, is it possible Ohtani will end up in Arlington?

Other Teams in the Mix

Chicago Cubs: The Cubs had a resurgent second half of the 2023 campaign. Couple that with the history of Wrigley Field, and maybe that’s enough to convince Ohtani. Cody Bellinger will also be a hot name this offseason, with the Cubs attempting to obtain his services moving forward over other interested parties.

Boston Red Sox: ESPN wrote that Ohtani is “intrigued” by Boston, and what kind of poetic justice would that be if — all these years after selling Babe Ruth — the Red Sox get the modern version of him decades later? ESPN also noted that New Balance — Ohtani’s apparel sponsor — is based in Boston.

Los Angeles Angels: A return to Anaheim seems unlikely, but we would be remiss if we didn’t at least mention his former team.

Other teams rumored to be in the mix are the Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays. As we’ve learned in past free agencies with Kris Bryant and Carlos Correa, nothing is ever a sure thing until it is, so stay tuned to see who wins the Shohei Ohtani Sweepstakes.

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]]> Loading Bought in: The State of Private Equity in Sports https://boardroom.tv/sports-private-equity-investment-nba-mlb-mls-nhl/ Fri, 15 Sep 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://boardroom.tv/?p=77740 Though the NFL still won’t allow them, PE companies and executives are profoundly invested in many of the most successful, most valuable teams in sports — take a closer look at the full list.

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]]> Though the NFL still won’t allow them, PE companies and executives are profoundly invested in many of the most successful, most valuable teams in sports — take a closer look at the full list.

There’s no investment under the sun that’s 100% foolproof, but given the steady increase in valuations among professional sports franchises year after year, we may be looking at the next closest thing.

Major North American sports organizations have appreciated as assets at a higher rate than both inflation and key index funds like the S&P 500 for many years. Forbes estimated in 2022 that the average NBA franchise value increased 15% from the year before — the Los Angeles Clippers‘ $3.9 billion valuation is nearly double what it was years ago when former Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer purchased the team in 2014 for a then-record $2 billion.

It’s no coincidence, then, that sports leagues’ rules have become more lenient over the years as to allow private equity companies to buy minority stakes in their respective franchises. On Sept. 6, data research and insight firm PitchBook released a study exploring just how deep the sports private equity rabbit hole truly goes in North America across the NBA, MLB, Major League Soccer, and NHL — and what that might say about what happens next.

Check out our topline overview below.

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Sports Private Equity Ownership & Investment Snapshot

  • A total of 63 North American sports teams across the NBA, MLB, MLS, and NHL have private equity ties, which PitchBook defines as either direct investment from such companies or through individual co-owners who are PE-affiliated.
  • The total value of these franchises adds up to an estimated $205.9 billion.
  • Notably, the NFL — the most profitable sports league in the world top-to-bottom — does not yet allow private equity investment.

The NBA Private Equity Landscape

The NBA leads the way with 20 of its 30 teams having some direct ownership connection to private equity.

NBA TEAMS CONNECTED TO PRIVATE EQUITY: Hawks, Celtics, Nets, Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Warriors, Pacers, Lakers, Bucks, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Thunder, 76ers, Suns, Trail Blazers, Kings, Spurs, Jazz, Wizards

Which Sports Teams Have Publicly Traded Stocks?
From the Knicks and Rangers to Manchester United, Juventus, and beyond, check out Boardroom’s overview of the sporting organizations currently listed on the world’s stock exchanges.
Let’s Go!

MLB PE Investments

Not to be outdone by much, 18 of the 30 Major League Baseball teams have a private equity relationship.

MLB TEAMS CONNECTED TO PRIVATE EQUITY: Diamondbacks, Orioles, Red Sox, Cubs, Reds, Guardians, Astros, Royals, Dodgers, Marlins, Brewers, Yankees, Athletics, Padres, Giants, Mariners, Cardinals, Rangers

Private Equity in MLS

In Major League Soccer, 15 of the 29 franchises include private equity ownership in some form.

  • Ares Management invested $150 million into Inter Miami in 2021 and an additional $75 million in August, an investment set to pay off handsomely following Lionel Messi‘s summer signing.
  • Bennett Rosenthal, Ares’ chairman, has a significant stake in defending MLS Cup champion LAFC.
  • In 2022, Arctos purchased a 15% stake in the Portland Timbers and NWSL‘s Portland Thorns at a $600 million valuation. Its investment in the Jazz also included a stake in Real Salt Lake.

MLS TEAMS CONNECTED TO PRIVATE EQUITY: Austin, Charlotte, DC United, Houston, Inter Miami, Nashville, New England, NYCFC, Philadelphia, Portland, Real Salt Lake, San Jose, Sporting KC, Toronto

PE Investors in the NHL

The NHL has just 10 of its 32 teams involved in PE.

NHL TEAMS CONNECTED TO PRIVATE EQUITY: Hurricanes, Wild, Canadiens, Devils, Islanders, Penguins, Kraken, Lightning, Maple Leafs, Capitals

Read More:

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]]> Loading Allen Iverson Shouts out Post Malone for Spotify Billions Boost https://boardroom.tv/headline-to-go/aug-16-2024-allen-iverson-post-malone-spotify-billions/ Wed, 16 Aug 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://boardroom.tv/?post_type=headline-to-go&p=76117 The post Allen Iverson Shouts out Post Malone for Spotify Billions Boost appeared first on Boardroom.

]]> The post Allen Iverson Shouts out Post Malone for Spotify Billions Boost appeared first on Boardroom.

]]> Dansby Swanson Contract & Salary Breakdown https://boardroom.tv/dansby-swanson-contract-salary-cubs/ Mon, 19 Dec 2022 12:00:00 +0000 https://boardroom.tv/?p=53613 Another All-Star shortstop is breaking the bank — let’s take a closer look at the Chicago Cubs’ Dansby Swanson contract particulars. The 2022-23 MLB offseason was supposed to be all about Aaron Judge. And

The post Dansby Swanson Contract & Salary Breakdown appeared first on Boardroom.

]]> Another All-Star shortstop is breaking the bank — let’s take a closer look at the Chicago Cubs’ Dansby Swanson contract particulars.

The 2022-23 MLB offseason was supposed to be all about Aaron Judge. And while Mr. #AllRise set the free agency pace in record-setting fashion, shortstops have truly put on the most impressive show.

From Carlos Correa ($350 million) to Trea Turner ($300 million) to Xander Bogaerts ($280 million), we’ve witnessed an explosion of spending at the position. And while the quarter-billion club isn’t likely to add any additional free agent members in the near future, Atlanta Braves All-Star and 2021 World Series champ Dansby Swanson has joined the nine-figure party after agreeing to terms with the Chicago Cubs to the tune of seven years at $177 million.

This wasn’t a photo finish between the North Siders and the ATLiens, though — the Braves reportedly had no interest in going bigger than six years and approximately $100 million.

With that in mind, let’s reckon with what is now over a billion dollars in shortstop spending this offseason with a closer look at the details of the Cubbies’ impressive Dansby Swanson contract.

Who Are the Highest-paid MLB Players of All Time?
Check out Boardroom’s full rundown of the national pastime’s earnings honor roll.
Show Me the Money!

Dansby Swanson Contract & Salary Breakdown

All figures via Spotrac.

  • Years: 7
  • Total Value: $177 million
  • Average annual value: $25.2857 million
  • Free Agency: 2030

The suburban Atlanta native’s contract includes a full no-trade clause. As of this writing, it’s the No. 8 largest active shortstop contract in baseball by total value and No. 6 by average annual value.

The deal, which takes Swanson through his age-35 season, amounts to more than the career earnings of all but two shortstops all-time: Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter.

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Dansby Swanson’s Career Earnings

Numbers via Spotrac.

TOTAL MLB EARNINGS THRU 2022: $25,445,717

PROJECTED SALARY EARNINGS THRU 2028: $202,445,717

Read More:

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]]> Loading Ohtani Injury FanDuel MLB DFS Studs to Target on April 14 https://boardroom.tv/mlb-fanduel-dfs-studs-april-14/ Thu, 14 Apr 2022 17:23:00 +0000 https://boardroom.tv/?p=27955 Powered by numberFire and FanDuel From reliable aces to undervalued stacks, get Thursday’s best daily fantasy prep from FanDuel and numberFire. Just like in other sports, the focal point of your daily fantasy baseball lineups will be your high-salary

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]]> Powered by numberFire and FanDuel

From reliable aces to undervalued stacks, get Thursday’s best daily fantasy prep from FanDuel and numberFire.

Just like in other sports, the focal point of your daily fantasy baseball lineups will be your high-salary studs. These guys take up by far the biggest chunk of your cap space, but they also offer the highest ceiling. And in the case of pitchers, the high-salary options typically come with the highest floors, too.

For hitters, we’re looking for guys with big numbers, strong matchups, and with players around them that are likely to produce, as well, increasing our chances for runs and RBI. For pitchers, we want big strikeout numbers, while the ability to go deep in a game and pick up a win is also valuable.

With your high-salary picks playing such a big role in your lineup, you need to be right on these guys, so let’s take a look at a few top-end MLB FanDuel DFS options you can count on to anchor your lineup today.

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Dodgers SP Walker Buehler ($10,500)

Thursday’s main slate is a doozy — especially from a pitching perspective. Arms like Shohei Ohtani, Joe Musgrove, and Kevin Gausman are all taking the bump, but the arm I like the most is Walker Buehler of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Buehler gets to face the Cincinnati Reds, and while it is still very early in the season, they are really struggling at the plate so far. They rank third-worst in team wOBA (.265), including a poor isolated power (ISO) mark of only .120. They’ve added a healthy 27.6% strikeout rate.

Another small benefit for Buehler is that he gets to face the Reds at home. He’s projected to be our highest-scoring arm on the main slate tonight.

Cubs C Willson Contreras ($3,700)

There’s a Coors slate on tap for tonight, and it’s definitely an interesting one. Most games have fairly tidy over/under totals tonight, but the game between the Chicago Cubs and the Colorado Rockies has an inflated 11.0 run total, and that’s something we want to target.

Southpaw Kyle Freeland takes the mound tonight, and a peek into Freeland’s 2021 season showcases why he struggles a bit. Spanning 23 starts and 120 2/3 innings pitched, the lefty recorded a 4.63 FIP, 1.49 home runs per nine innings (HR/9), and only a 20.4% strikeout rate.

Throughout Freeland’s career, righties like Willson Contreras have always been a problem. Opposite-handed bats have bopped him for a .340 wOBA and a .452 slugging percentage.

He’s a great opportunity to get some exposure to this matchup at a reasonable salary.

Pirates 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes ($3,300)

Want some exposure to a sneaky good stack today? The Pittsburgh Pirates are running a bit hotter than you may realize.

Joan Adon takes the ball for the Washington Nationals, and while he has an extremely small sample size of 9.2 innings for his major league career, it showcases a volatile profile. Perhaps the ugliest metric in his brief career is that he has walked (18.2%) more batters than he has struck out (13.6%). Woof.

And the batted balls? Equally ugly. He’s allowed 2.08 HR/9 and induced only a 4.7% swinging-strike rate.

Ke’Bryan Hayes sits firmly in the middle of this Buccos lineup, and their 4.79 implied team total isn’t ugly, either. Take them and run with it.

— Matt Kupferle

Matt Kupferle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matt Kupferle also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username MKupferle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

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The post FanDuel MLB DFS Studs to Target on April 14 appeared first on Boardroom.

]]> Loading Loading The Universal DH: 5 MLB Free Agents Who Just Got More Valuable https://boardroom.tv/mlb-free-agency-universal-dh/ https://boardroom.tv/mlb-free-agency-universal-dh/#respond Sun, 13 Mar 2022 15:00:00 +0000 https://boardroom.tv/?p=24013 Free agents like Kyle Schwarber already had legit market value. But with the universal DH rule now official, this group can suddenly count on a much longer list of suitors.

The post The Universal DH: 5 MLB Free Agents Who Just Got More Valuable appeared first on Boardroom.

]]> MLB free agents like Kyle Schwarber already had legit market value. But with the universal DH rule now official, this group can suddenly count on a much longer list of suitors.

Baseball is back after a 99-day lockout that tested the resolve of every last fan who saw March roll around with no Spring Training to speak of. But the game that officially resumes regular season play on April 7 won’t be the same one we watched in 2021.

That’s right: Welcome to the Universal DH Era.

The days of writing National League pitchers into the No. 9 spot as a near-automatic out are over, with the designated hitter now the law of the land across the whole, wide MLB. And with players now permitted to sign with teams again, Boardroom got to thinking about which free agents out there on the big board suddenly have more market value now that the NL features a year-round DH.

We submit five for your consideration — including the reigning MVPs of both the NLCS and the World Series.

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All dollar figures via Spotrac.

OF/1B Kyle Schwarber

UPDATE 3/16: Kyle Schwarber signed with the Phillies for four years and $80,000,000.

Age: 29
Previous team: Boston Red Sox
Expired contract: 1 year, $7,450,541
2021 salary: $7,450,541

SchwarBombs are an institution unto themselves, but perhaps just as important in the calculus that factors into signing a guy like Kyle Schwarber is the extent to which he’s a defensive liability no matter where you attempt to stash him: left field, first base, you name it.

As a guy who started 2021 in the NL with the Nationals before switching leagues to return to the Boston Red Sox, he’s the perfect posterboy for these Universal DH times — expect teams like the Phillies and Rockies to have their ears perked up.

OF Jorge Soler

Age: 30
Previous team: Atlanta Braves
Expired contract: 1 year, $8,250,027
2021 salary: $8,250,027

In the 2021 postseason, unsuspecting fans around the league witnessed #SolerPower. Former Kansas City Royal Jorge Soler’s monster home run in Game 6 of the World Series put an exclamation point on the Fall Classic and put a bow on what became the Braves’ first championship since 1995, earning the Cuban slugger World Series MVP honors.

And a universal DH negates any conversations about whether the 30-year-old is resigned to be part of a platoon for an NL club with solid outfield coverage. In fact, the rule change significantly increases the chances he returns to the ATL, but that possibility is mitigated by the presence of another player on our list.

1B Anthony Rizzo

UPDATE 3/16: Anthony Rizzo re-signed with the Yankees for two years and $32,000,000.

Age: 32
Previous team: New York Yankees
Expired contract: 7 year, $41,000,000
2021 salary: $16,500,000

Three-time All-Star Anthony Rizzo is at a bit of a crossroads at age 32, but any team wondering if the lefty first baseman will retain the get-up-and-go that landed him four Gold Gloves (and a 2016 World Series ring) as a member of the Chicago Cubs can now rest assured in this new DH era of ours.

He still swings an above-average bat. And if certain rumblings are to be believed, a return to Wrigley Field could even be in the cards.

OF Eddie Rosario

UPDATE 3/16: Eddie Rosario re-signed with the Atlanta Braves for two years and $18,000,000 guaranteed.

Age: 30
Previous team: Atlanta Braves
Expired contract: 1 year, $8,000,000
2021 salary: $8,000,000

Remember when Eddie Rosario became Mickey Mantle for two weeks? The unlikely MVP of the 2021 NLCS caught fire of an otherwordly magnitude down the stretch for the Braves, an unlikely turn of events following a deadline acquisition that took place while he was still occupying the Cleveland Guardians’ injured list.

So, is NLCS “Super Rosario” the real Eddie? Probably not. But given the inconsistency of his outfield glove, a few more teams are suddenly in play for him under the rules of baseball’s new CBA. Expect the Braves to decide between him and Soler.

OF Nelson Cruz

UPDATE 3/13: Nelson Cruz signed with the Washington Nationals for one year and $15,000,000 guaranteed.

Age: 41
Previous team: Tampa Bay Rays
Expired contract: 1 year, $13,000,000
2021 salary:

Oh, Nelly Cruz, how do you keep doing what you do? One of the most underrated, eternal power hitters of this baseball generation is still soldiering on into his 40s and has no plans to hang ’em up after starting the 2021 season with the Twins and finishing it with the Rays.

Cruz has played exclusively in the American League since departing Milwaukee for the Rangers following the 2005 (!) season, his very first in the bigs. A seven-time All-Star whose latest appearance in the Midsummer Classic came last season shortly after turning 40, Cruz rounds out our list as its only member with a chance to one day — perhaps — make the Hall of Fame.

And it’s hard to think of very many teams ready to roll out a designated hitter more fearsome than this man, whose 32 dingers last year upped his career total to an incredible 449.

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]]> https://boardroom.tv/mlb-free-agency-universal-dh/feed/ 0 Loading Loading Ian Happ: Coffee, Crypto, and the Cubs https://boardroom.tv/ian-happ-cubs-investments-coffee-meditation/ https://boardroom.tv/ian-happ-cubs-investments-coffee-meditation/#respond Tue, 04 Jan 2022 18:11:52 +0000 https://boardroom.tv/?p=16106 Baseball might be in a lockout, but Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ keeps busy with an ever-expanding list of investments and projects near and dear to his heart. No one knows exactly when the

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]]> Baseball might be in a lockout, but Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ keeps busy with an ever-expanding list of investments and projects near and dear to his heart.

No one knows exactly when the next Major League Baseball game will be played. Two months removed from the Atlanta Braves winning their first World Series since 1995, America’s pastime is mired in a lockout. The hot stove has cooled entirely as the MLBPA and the league’s owners hash it out over service time, competitive balance, and everything in between.

Through it all, the players need to stay baseball-ready, preparing as if pitchers and catchers will actually report to Spring Training in February. Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ is doing just that, spending his winter getting back into game shape and meeting with his trainers as he heads toward his age 27 season.

Happ has earned an estimated $8.65 million in his three Major League seasons to date, per Spotrac, which also projects him to make $8 million in 2022 in his penultimate year of arbitration.

But even if he and his teammates are still locked out by the owners when the scheduled start of the regular season rolls around, Happ is as locked in as anyone on the subject of putting his money to work.

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“This is the time for me to be able to work on a lot of the projects that I have going on off the field and get a lot of those things in motion,” Happ told Boardroom of his offseason.

He’s far from the first athlete to go heavy into real estate or crypto, but he’s assembled a diverse portfolio with one consistent thread throughout: Everything he does off the field is connected to something personally meaningful.

The Ian Happ Brand

Team: Chicago Cubs
Position: OF
Service time: 4 seasons
Free Agency eligibility: 2024
Career fWAR: 8.0
2021 fWAR: 1.3
Career earnings: $8,650,281
Projected 2022 Salary: $8,000,000

Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images

Twitter followers: 80.1K
Instagram followers: 126K

The Happ Portfolio

Investments

Partnerships

Crypto

“Your Most Powerful Tool”

Happ was a finance major at the University of Cincinnati, so it shouldn’t come as any surprise that he’s interested in making the most of the opportunities that an MLB salary provides. He linked up with investment firm Capital Creek Partners, at which his brother Chris is managing partner, in order to get a jump start on making the connections necessary to expand his portfolio to a point that few ballplayers 520 games into their MLB careers could hope to match.

It figures that a man as versatile as Happ — he plays all three outfield positions in addition to being able to cover at second and third base — would boast an assortment of holdings with similar flex.

Each project provides a different look into Happ the human being as much as Happ the investor. Perhaps no investment is more telling than Core, which is a training device used to develop meditation — when Happ lost his father to cancer in 2015, his brother introduced him to meditation as a strategy to help work through the loss.

“I was trying to start my professional baseball career,” Happ said. “And I started this journey of mental health, and being in touch with my mental health, and working on it, and using it as another form of performance, another form of exercise.”

While everybody deals with stress and grief differently, Happ does try to pass on pointers when appropriate. Mental health has become such an important part of who he is that he likens it to staying at the top of his game on the diamond.

“A professional athlete wouldn’t not work out for a full season and expect to be at his best,” Happ said. “So you have to exercise your mind. You have to train your mind because it’s your most powerful tool.”

Now, Happ says, guys are meditating in the clubhouse, and he is pleased with how much more openly mental health is discussed in sports compared to even just a few years ago. In particular, the Cubs have placed an emphasis on the subject while Happ was working his way up in the minors. The organization even established a mental skills department that would help developing players conquer those aspects of baseball fans don’t always see.

Quarantine & Opportunity

Just as Happ turned his own experiences into opportunities with meditation and Core, he treated the early days of the pandemic as another chance to try some new things.

He turned his passion for talking baseball into a podcast and his taste for coffee into his own brand.

The podcast he co-hosts with Zack Short and Dakota Mekkes, “The Compound,” is now part of the Jomboy Media network and will soon hit the 100-episode milestone. It’s an outlet for him to talk baseball the way he wants and to give his guest athletes like Anthony Rizzo and Josh Donaldson the chance to share their voices with fans.

“I was living in a house in Arizona with a few guys that I played with and said, ‘hey, let’s start a podcast. There’s not much going on in sports landscape right now. I think we can provide people with some entertainment, some levity in this tough time,'” Happ recalled

Happ also teamed up with Connect Roasters during COVID shutdowns to develop Quarantine Coffee. That idea came about while Happ was trying to think of a way to help the Chicago community through the early days of the pandemic. He found Connect, which was already giving $1 per pound roasted to the communities where the beans were sourced. After reaching out, Connect sent him a couple of bags to try.

“I fell in love with the stuff,” Happ said. “It was the smoothest coffee I’d ever had.”

He then pitched the idea of selling Quarantine Coffee to benefit the Greater Chicago Food Depository and Save the Children.

But like everything Happ does, it wasn’t just about slapping his name on something, stepping back, and profiting passively. He’s learned from what he’s seen so far of the inner workings of coffee distribution and marketing. He’s helped the company develop a canned cold brew and re-brand its packaging. Overall, Happ says, Quarantine Coffee is his biggest equity stake and his biggest time commitment outside of baseball.

“It was always kind of a pipe dream to invest in a coffee roaster and to try and help bring my own spin on coffee,” Happ said.

And as if Happ doesn’t have enough to juggle, he’s also the Cubs’ MLBPA representative, which means he has been at the forefront of negotiations as the union and league owners try to get the game moving again.

Until then, Happ has ensured he’ll have plenty on his plate — and in his cup.

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]]> https://boardroom.tv/ian-happ-cubs-investments-coffee-meditation/feed/ 0 Ian Happ: Coffee, Crypto, and the Cubs - Boardroom The MLB is in a lockout, but Cubs OF Ian Happ keeps busy with an impressive list of investments and projects near and dear to his heart. baseball,Chicago Cubs,Ian Happ,Investing,MLB,Ian Happ Loading Colorado Rockies v Chicago Cubs – Game Two CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 25: Ian Happ #8 of the Chicago Cubs rounds the bases after his three run home run in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Wrigley Field on August 25, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) Loading Historic All-Woman Broadcast Team to Call Cubs-White Sox on MLB Network https://boardroom.tv/mlb-network-rizzo-newman-menaker/ https://boardroom.tv/mlb-network-rizzo-newman-menaker/#respond Fri, 27 Aug 2021 16:00:00 +0000 https://boardroom.tv/?p=7927 Melanie Newman, Alanna Rizzo, and Elise Menaker will make up the second-ever all-woman broadcast team for a Major League Baseball game. On July 19, Major League Baseball marked its first-ever game featuring an all-woman

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]]> Melanie Newman, Alanna Rizzo, and Elise Menaker will make up the second-ever all-woman broadcast team for a Major League Baseball game.

On July 19, Major League Baseball marked its first-ever game featuring an all-woman broadcast team, with the action streaming live on YouTube. On Friday, an all-woman team will step up to call a game once again. And this time, it will be for a national TV audience as part of the latest MLB Network Showcase.

Last month, Melanie Newman handled play-by-play, with Sarah Langs alongside the booth as an analyst. That night, the Rays defeated the Orioles 9-3 at Tropicana Field. Alanna Rizzo was the on-field reporter, while Heidi Watney and Lauren Gardner hosted pregame and postgame coverage.

And true to the phrase “it’s not a novelty, it’s about normalcy,” Newman and Rizzo are set for round two.

On Friday, a Windy City battle is on tap at Guaranteed Rate Field as the host Chicago White Sox take on the Cubs.

Elise Menaker, a Cubs reporter for the Marquee Sports Network and analyst for the network’s Triple-A Iowa Cubs, will join Newman and Rizzo on the call.

As there was with the first go-around, the run up to Friday’s game features a combination of excitement and a business-as-usual approach.

“The experience of the first game in July was so high-adrenaline,” Newman told Boardroom. “The excitement came on multiple levels, to not only break another ceiling for women but to work with women who I so very much admire. Friday’s Showcase game on MLB Network shows the sincerity of the original intent, something none of us ever doubted.”

Notably, Rizzo noted that the team did not know the game would have an all-woman broadcast until their work schedules were released.

“For us, it’s business as usual,” she said. “We realized who would be working together and the significance of that. The difference was everything surrounding the broadcast — the interviews talking about how momentous July’s telecast was.”

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Rizzo has seen some incredible games, having been a part of the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ television broadcast team from 2013 to 2020. She’s seen seven no-hitters, as well as the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series victory over the Rays.

But she and her Friday broadcast partners unanimously feel that the game and players are what matter the most.

“As a reporter, you never want to make the game about you, right?” Rizzo said. “The ability to connect with players is what’s most important. Each game has its own unique story and it’s our job to tell that. Sure, we talk baseball but we also give people a reason to care.”

Even though it’s not the first, this broadcast will still be monumental when viewed through the lens of “business as usual” for this trio. The second-ever all-woman MLB broadcast crew — this one on national television with an intra-city rivalry as storied as Cubs-White Sox — is an incredible event.

But, as Rizzo says, “once the first pitch is thrown and Melanie calls strike or ball, it’ll be like another game.”

And all along, that was always the goal.

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]]> https://boardroom.tv/mlb-network-rizzo-newman-menaker/feed/ 0 Loading Ralph Lauren, MLB Collaborate on Limited Edition Apparel Collection https://boardroom.tv/mlb-ralph-lauren-limited-edition-collection/ https://boardroom.tv/mlb-ralph-lauren-limited-edition-collection/#respond Tue, 11 May 2021 20:53:00 +0000 https://boardroom.tv/?p=2971 The iconic American brand will work with multiple fan-favorite teams and launch a nationwide promotional tour. There’s no elegance like timeless elegance. With that in mind, a new apparel collaboration between two iconic American

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]]> The iconic American brand will work with multiple fan-favorite teams and launch a nationwide promotional tour.

There’s no elegance like timeless elegance. With that in mind, a new apparel collaboration between two iconic American institutions — Ralph Lauren and Major League Baseball — is as natural as Roy Hobbs.

This week, Ralph Lauren unveiled a capsule collection featuring apparel for a select group of MLB teams: The New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. This is the first in a series of releases to take place throughout the course of the 2021 season.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with MLB to design capsules across some of baseball’s most iconic teams and to celebrate the nation’s favorite pastime,” Chief Innovation and Branding Officer and Vice Chairman of the Board David Lauren told Boardroom. “Our collaboration is both an incredible opportunity and a very natural partnership between two of America’s most iconic brands that have deep, rich histories.”

This isn’t the brand’s first foray onto the baseball diamond. A Bronx native, Ralph Lauren himself was invited to throw out the first pitch at his beloved Yankee Stadium to commemorate the celebrated brand’s 50th anniversary in 2018. A limited collection of New York Yankees gear was released as part of the festivities.

It sold out almost immediately.

The new capsule collection will feature signature pieces including classic takes on traditional baseball apparel, from bullpen jackets to New Era headwear.

“For the first collection, we wanted to design pieces that baseball fans would love and wear: baseball hats, satin baseball jackets, polo shirts, and hoodies,” David Lauren said. “We also wanted to stay true to the teams’ colors to get followers really excited about the collaboration, while injecting a bit of our iconic Ralph Lauren colors in there as well.”

Additionally, fans can look forward to a limited run of team-themed Polo Bear items.

To publicize the collaboration, Ralph Lauren will also be deploying “Ralph’s Airstream” on a cross-country road trip, making stops at some of the game’s most iconic landmarks and offering fans ballpark-themed refreshments.

Additionally, they will be teaming up with local artists to create murals in several cities across the United States and launching a digital collectibles campaign inspired by vintage trading cards.

The MLB venture becomes the most recent addition to Ralph Lauren’s extensive sports portfolio. Just last month, the brand released Team USA’s official closing ceremony fits for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

For those waiting on their favorite teams to get the Polo treatment, additional releases are coming up during the MLB playoff push this fall, as well as the 2021 holiday season.

“For the next two collections, we are excited to surprise everyone with uniquely different capsules that showcase even more of the Ralph Lauren DNA and will hopefully keep fans wanting more,” David Lauren told Boardroom.

The items will be available at select team souvenir shops across the country, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and online at RalphLauren.com and MLBShop.com.

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]]> https://boardroom.tv/mlb-ralph-lauren-limited-edition-collection/feed/ 0 RLCards RLDodgers Shoot Source: Ralph Lauren CorporationTalent 1 Name: Mackenzie Shoot Source: Ralph Lauren CorporationTalent 1 Name: James Turl Shoot Source: Ralph Lauren CorporationTalent 1 Name: James Turl Loading