Peyton and Eli Manning Get ESPN Extension
Peyton and Eli Manning’s Manningcast was an unexpected treat for NFL fans throughout the 2021 season and a major hit for ESPN. Following its success, ESPN expanded its agreement with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, the network announced on Wednesday. The new deal runs through 2024 and includes ongoing Monday Night Football coverage, and extends their beat to include UFC, college football, and golf. The news comes on the same day as ESPN’s parent company Disney reported outpacing expectations in its quarterly report, driven by the success of its Disney+ streaming service and record attendance as the parks reopened.
Snoop Dogg Acquires Death Row Records
The Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show is set to be one for the books, bringing together Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, and Eminem. In the run-up to the big game, Snoop Dogg announced on Wednesday that he has purchased the legendary Death Row Records from Blackstone’s MNRK Music Group for an undisclosed amount. Death Row was founded in 1992 by Suge Knight, Dr. Dre, The D.O.C., and Dick Griffey. Snoop’s 1993 breakout freshman album Doggystyle was one of the label’s first hits.
NFL Expands International Series to Germany
The NFL is positioned to go global. Last year, the league expanded teams’ marketing rights into international audiences in an effort to expand the game’s global reach. The strategy followed the success of the shield’s International Series, which has produced games in Mexico City and London through the years. Starting next year, there will be a third city on the international slate as the league announced that it will host the first-ever regular season game at the Allianz Arena in Munich in 2022.
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McDonald’s Makes Metaverse Moves
Last month, Elon Musk tweeted that he would become a McDonald’s enthusiast if the golden arches accepted Dogecoin. The legacy brand quickly quipped that it was looking for some crypto expertise in a viral Twitter moment. However, on Wednesday, the company made moves towards the metaverse, filing 10 trademarks for what appears to be a virtual restaurant that will serve IRL delivery. The applications also included McDonald’s signature McCafé.
NFL Enters the Metaverse with Roblox
The NFL is slowly making moves towards Web3 and on Wednesday, it announced a new partnership with Roblox in the run-up to Super Bowl LVI. Together, they will launch “NFL Tycoon” which will offer virtual activations, beginning with “Destruction House,” which corresponds with a much-anticipated Super Bowl commercial. The announcement makes the league the first of the big four to establish a presence in the metaverse.
Dawn of the DAO as Nationals Ink $40M Deal with Terra
Nationals Park is tracking toward becoming the first major league ballpark to accept cryptocurrency as part of the first-ever partnership between a major sporting organization and a DAO. The news comes as the Washington Nationals have entered into an agreement with Terra, a decentralized autonomous organization, in a deal that CoinDesk reports is worth nearly $40 million. As part of the deal, the Terra will take over naming rights to the Nationals’ premium behind-the-plate club seats. Terra will also get in-stadium signage and a five-part digital series to air on the Nationals’ social channels.
Candy Racing NFTs Highlight 23 NASCAR Stars
NFT community Candy Digital revealed “Candy Racing,” its newest set of digital collectibles, in partnership with Race Team Alliance. Dynamic “digi-cast” non-fungible tokens featuring 23 NASCAR Cup Series drivers from 10 racing teams are featured in the collection, including 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson and two-time champ Kyle Busch. The NFTs will be available for purchase at candy.com/racing next Tuesday, Feb. 15 — five days before the Daytona 500.
Red Bull and Oracle Unveil New F1 Partnership
Red Bull has made major noise in racing since entering the space in 2004. And it continued to do so on Wednesday as it announced its Formula 1 racing team’s partnership with Oracle Cloud, rebranding as Oracle Red Bull Racing as part of a groundbreaking deal reported to be worth approximately $500 million. The convergence of two titans in their respective spaces bodes well for visibility — the news coincides with the reveal of the iconic racing team’s new RB18 car for the 2022 F1 season.
Twitter Posts $1.57B in Revenue as Users Jump 13%
In the final quarter of 2021, Jack Dorsey left Twitter to pursue his blockchain interests, but his departure did not shake the foundation of the social media app. The company announced on Wednesday that it had a strong earnings quarter, posting $1.57 billion in revenue as it saw its user base grow 13% to 217 million daily users. In response, the stock jumped 7% and continued to be up in pre-market trading on Thursday.
PGA Golfer John Dahmen Joins Crypto Country Club NFT Community
Coming off of his sixth-place finish at Pebble Beach, John Dahmen is going digital. The golfer announced that he will be the first PGA TOUR athlete to join the Crytpo Country Club, an NFT project that aims to build an all-inclusive country club that makes both golf and crypto more accessible. Dahmen, a crypto enthusiast, will serve as the “Club Champion” for the community.
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