| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker · Jul 13, 2022 | | 👋 Good morning! My Orioles may never lose again. Today's word count: 1,568 words (6 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🎓 Looking back (and ahead) at NIL |  | | | Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios | | | | There's already a self-proclaimed "King of NIL," just one year into the new rule allowing college athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. - After NIL went live one year ago this month, Norfolk State running back Rayquan Smith reached out to 100 companies hoping to strike a few deals.
- He's since signed at least 69 deals for well into the five figures, per Forbes, including with larger brands like Arby's, Boost Mobile and Pedialyte.
The big picture: This is a prime example of "athlete-driven" NIL deals that let college athletes act as entrepreneurs, Blake Lawrence, CEO of NIL marketplace Opendorse, tells the L.A. Times. Yes, but: What keeps the NCAA up at night are "athletics-driven" deals, where boosters and booster collectives (groups of donors who pool NIL resources) are inducing recruits to sign with their school under the guise of NIL.  Data: Opendorse; Chart: Axios Visuals By the numbers: College athletes pocketed $917 million during year one of NIL, per estimates from Opendorse. - Football players earned 49.9%. Men's (17%) and women's basketball (15.7%) were the only other sports to crack 3%.
- The average transaction was $1,815, per INFLCR, another marketplace. Football transactions were higher ($3,396), but not the highest — female gymnasts, for example, earned over $7,000 per deal.
- The median transaction was just $53 — evidence that a majority of deals were in fact "athlete-driven."
What's next: The NCAA recently updated its guidelines in an effort to crack down on collectives, but more than 100 already exist, with more expected to form. |     | | | | | | 2. ⚾️ The AL East won't stop winning |  | | | Trey Mancini celebrating a recent walk-off. Photo: Scott Taetsch/Getty Images | | | | The Orioles are 44-44. Last year, they were 44-93. State of play: The O's won their ninth straight game on Tuesday, their longest winning streak in a season since 1999. The last team to win nine straight a year after losing 110+ games? The 1889 Louisville Colonels. Zoom out: It's mid-July and there are no losing records in the AL East. The Yankees remain MLB's top dog, and the rest of the division is in a battle for the three Wild Card spots. - Yankees (61-26)
- Rays (47-40)
- Red Sox (47-41)
- Blue Jays (46-42)
- Orioles (44-44)
Fun fact: This is the fourth time in the Wild Card Era that an entire division was at .500 or above on July 12 or later. The other three: 2012 AL East, 2005 NL East (all finished there) and 2000 AL West. | | | | | | | | 3. 🏟 Snapshot: Stadium naming rights |  Data: Axios research; Chart: Thomas Oide/Axios If a company's name is on a "Big Four" sports stadium, that company is likely part of these "Big Three" industries: financial services, insurance or telecom, Jeff writes. Driving the news: Heinz Field, home of the Steelers, is now Acrisure Stadium after the Michigan-based insurance firm bought the naming rights, the team announced Monday. - Kraft Heinz and the Steelers struck a 20-year, $57 million deal when the stadium opened in 2001.
- That $2.85 million annual payment is now well below market value, so Heinz threw in the terrible towel rather than re-up.
- Acrisure will reportedly pay more than $10 million annually during its 15-year deal.
The big picture: Acrisure is the 52nd of 98 (53%) sponsored stadiums across the Big Four sports leagues whose naming rights are owned by a company in financial services (29), insurance (12) or telecom (11). - Three other industries sponsor more than five stadiums: automotive (9), food and beverage (8) and retail (7).
- The others: Technology (5), energy (3), airline (3), shipping (2), health care (2), crypto (2), environmental (2), gaming (1), aerospace (1) and chemicals (1).
Of note: Just 13 unsponsored stadiums remain — seven of which are in tradition-rich MLB and two of which are only temporary. - MLB (7): Angel Stadium, Dodger Stadium, Kauffman Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, Nationals Park, Oriole Park at Camden Yards
- NFL (3): Lambeau Field, Soldier Field, Paul Brown Stadium
- NHL (2): ASU Multi-Purpose Arena (the Coyotes will temporarily share an arena with Arizona State), FLA Live Arena (interim name after BB&T deal expired).
- NBA (1): Madison Square Garden (also NHL)
The backdrop: Heinz's fate is reminiscent of what happened to two other classic consumer brands recently: Staples was replaced by Crypto.com and Miller Park became American Family Field. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Share Axios Sports and earn rewards | | |  | | | | Get free Axios merchandise when you refer your friends to Axios Local. The more subscribers you refer, the bigger the rewards! Start sharing. | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Kris Letang (L), Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Photo: Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images | | | | 🏒 Malkin's back: Evgeni Malkin has agreed to a four-year, $24.4 million extension with the Penguins, ending a tumultuous week between the two sides. The core of Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang will remain. 🏀 120 points: The Grizzlies beat the Nets 120-84 on Tuesday to tie the Las Vegas summer league record for most points scored in a game. 🏈 Snyder update: The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform has accepted an offer for Commanders owner Dan Snyder to testify virtually on July 28 — but only if he agrees to do so under a subpoena. 🏀 NBA supports ABA players: The NBA board of governors voted Tuesday to pay $24.5 million to former ABA players, many of whom are struggling to buy the basic necessities to live. | | | | | | | | 5. ⚾️ Money can't buy All-Stars |  | | | Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios | | | | 12 MLB players signed with new teams this offseason for at least $100 million. None was selected to next week's All-Star Game. - Corey Seager (Rangers, $325m)
- Marcus Semien (Rangers, $175m)
- Kris Bryant (Rockies, $182m)
- Matt Olson (Braves, $168m)
- Freddie Freeman (Dodgers, $162m)
- Javier Báez (Tigers, $140m)
- Trevor Story (Red Sox, $140m)
- Max Scherzer (Mets, $130m)
- Robbie Ray (Mariners, $115m)
- Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays, $110m)
- Carlos Correa (Twins, $105.3m)
- Nick Castellanos (Phillies, $100m)
Between the lines: Most of these guys (outside of Báez, Semien and Castellanos) are having solid seasons, which just shows how hard it is to make the All-Star team. Bryant and Scherzer have missed significant time; Freeman and Gausman easily could have been All-Stars. | | | | | | | | 6. ⚽️ MLS All-Star squad unveiled |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | 26 players — representing 10 different countries — were named to the 2022 MLS All-Star Game squad on Tuesday. - USA (8): Paul Arriola, F/W (FC Dallas); Jesús Ferreira, F/W (FC Dallas); Jordan Morris, F/W (Sounders); Aaron Long, D (Red Bulls); DeAndre Yedlin, D (Inter Miami); Walker Zimmerman, D (Nashville); Sean Johnson, GK (NYC FC); Darlington Nagbe, M (Crew)
- Argentina (4): Valentín Castellanos, F/W (NYC FC); Luciano Acosta, M (Cincinnati); Sebastián Driussi, M (Austin FC); Emanuel Reynoso, M (Minnesota)
- Mexico (3): Chicharito, F/W (Galaxy); Carlos Vela, F/W (LAFC); Julián Araujo, D (Galaxy)
- Spain (2): Carles Gil, M (Revolution); Ilie Sánchez, M (LAFC)
- Canada (2): Kamal Miller, D (Montreal); Dayne St. Clair, GK (Minnesota)
- Peru (2): Raúl Ruidíaz, F/W (Sounders); Alexander Callens, D (NYC FC)
- Germany (2): Hany Mukhtar, M (Nashville); Kai Wagner, D (Philadelphia)
- Greece: Taxiarchis Fountas, F/W (D.C. United)
- Ecuador: Diego Palacios, D (LAFC)
- Jamaica: Andre Blake, GK (Philadelphia)
Looking ahead: For the second straight year, the MLS All-Stars will play the Liga MX (Mexico) All-Stars, this time at Minnesota's Allianz Field on Aug. 10. | | | | | | | | 7. 🌎 The world in photos | | Photo: Richard Heathcote/R&A/R&A via Getty Images ST ANDREWS, Scotland — Former Open Champions — from legends like Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods to youngsters like Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa — posed for a photo on Tuesday. Race leader Tadej Pogacar (yellow jersey) waits for the road to clear. Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images MORZINE, France — Environmental protesters created havoc at the Tour de France on Tuesday after they chained themselves together and sat on the road, bringing Stage 10 to an abrupt halt. The New Zealand All Blacks perform the haka before a test match against Ireland. Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images DUNEDIN, New Zealand — The haka. | | | | | | | | 8. 📺 Watchlist: Gonzo vs. Waino |  | | | Tony Gonsolin (L) and Adam Wainwright. Photos: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images; John Fisher/Getty Images | | | | Two studs at very different points in their careers toe the rubber tonight in St. Louis when the Cardinals host the Dodgers (7:45pm ET, MLB). - Tony Gonsolin, 28, is having a season for the ages: He leads MLB in wins (11-0), ERA (1.62), WHIP (0.801) and hits-per-nine (4.9).
- Adam Wainwright, 40, is the gift that keeps on giving: 13 years removed from his first of four top-three Cy Young finishes, he's sporting a 3.15 ERA.
More to watch: | | | | | | | | 9. 🏀 NBA trivia |  | | | Photo: Alex Goodlett/Getty Images | | | | Donovan Mitchell, who could be traded, has averaged at least 20 points in each of his first five NBA seasons. - Question: Who was the last guard to do that?
- Hint: Not currently active.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🍿 Now streaming: "Edge of the Earth" |  | | | Courtesy: HBO | | | | "Edge of the Earth," a four-part HBO documentary that follows elite action-adventures athletes on never-before-accomplished missions, premiered Tuesday night. The first episode was awesome. - "Into the Void" (out now): A human-powered ski and snowboard expedition in the icy wilderness of Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska.
- "Raging Torrent": A first descent attempt of the potentially impassable Chalupas River in Ecuador.
- "Reaching for the Sky": An attempt at the first individual free climb ascent of a near impossible route on Pik Slesova in Kyrgyzstan.
- "The Great Unknown": A pursuit of never before ridden big waves along the remote West Coast of South Africa.
| | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Share Axios Sports and earn rewards | | |  | | | | Get free Axios merchandise when you refer your friends to Axios Local. The more subscribers you refer, the bigger the rewards! Start sharing. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Go O's" Baker Trivia answer: Allen Iverson (1996-97 to 2000-01) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. Tell your friends to sign up. |  | | Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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