Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships, products and purchases across the sports business industry.
PERSONNEL
REG, Cleveland WNBA Appoint Allison Howard President
Rock Entertainment Group (REG) and Cleveland WNBA have appointed Allison Howard as the first president of the expansion team. Howard will lead the team’s business operations as it plays its inaugural season in 2028 at Rocket Arena. Howard will continue to serve as executive vice president and chief commercial officer for Rock Entertainment Group and the Cleveland Cavaliers, where she oversees corporate and ticket sales revenue and strategy, corporate partnership, membership sales and service, venue experience, ticket operations and youth sports programming. She will remain in this role until the end of the 2025-26 NBA season, while initiating and activating the operations for Cleveland WNBA.
Togethxr Names Kati Fernandez Chief Content Officer
Togethxr, the women’s sports media and commerce company co-founded by professional athletes Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel and Sue Bird, announced that Kati Fernandez has joined the company as chief content officer. Fernandez has spent seven years at ESPN, where she most recently was head of content development. Fernandez will lead Togethxr’s content strategy and execution, with a focus on how the platform can drive audience and revenue growth through original IP, studio programs, special events and branded content.
Versant Names Larado to Oversee Talent Strategy for Sports
Versant has appointed Charisse Williams Larado as vice president, talent strategy and recruitment for sports, overseeing all talent management, recruitment and development across the company’s sports businesses. Larado will drive talent relations, aiming to maintain a competitive roster of on-air voices and define recruitment strategy. She will also collaborate with The Golf Channel, NASCAR, WNBA, USGA, IMSA, Olympics, Premier League and international counterparts. Larado joins Versant from NBCUniversal News Group, where she most recently served as senior director of talent strategy and recruitment.
Playfly Promotes Robert Eckstein
Robert Eckstein is being promoted from Playfly director of strategy to its chief of staff. He’s been at Playfly for one-and-a-half years and has played a key role in securing MMR partners such as Texas A&M and working on numerous other corporate initiatives. His new role will focus on supporting company-wide growth strategies alongside the corporate leadership team.
Prime Video Names John Wall to NBA on Prime Studio Team
Prime Video announced that five-time NBA All-Star John Wall will join the lineup for the inaugural season of NBA on Prime as an analyst. The longtime Washington Wizards guard will make appearances in-studio alongside Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Dwyane Wade, Candace Parker and Udonis Haslem. NBA on Prime tips off on Friday, Oct. 24, with a doubleheader featuring the Boston Celtics at New York Knicks followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers.
PARTNERSHIPS
USAA, NFL Extend Long-Standing Partnership
USAA and the NFL announced a long-term partnership extension. The insurance company and the NFL have already completed 14 seasons of their partnership, with USAA an Official Salute to Service Partner of the NFL. USAA says it “is reaffirming its dedication to providing NFL experiences to our military, veterans and their families” and will incorporate “new elements” in the partnership kicking off in the 2026 season.
LIV Golf, Fever Announced Global Ticketing Partnership
LIV Golf announced a partnership with Fever that will make Fever the official global ticketing and demand generation partner for LIV Golf. It puts Fever behind Liv Golf’s ticketing operations and fan engagement approach across the league’s expanding international schedule. In addition, Fever has been announced as an official partner of Fireballs GC, one of LIV Golf’s teams captained by Spanish icon Sergio Garcia, which will showcase the Fever logo on the sleeve of Fireballs’ playing kits. The partnership launches ahead of the 2026 LIV Golf league season.
NFL Teams Up With The Gist to Redefine Football Fandom
The NFL and The Gist, a women-led sports media brand, announced a new content partnership. The Gist will create gamification content, allowing fans to engage interactively with the NFL season through weekly free-to-play games and playoff brackets tailored for The Gist’s community. The Gist will also have the opportunity to create content at the NFL’s tentpole events, including the Super Bowl and the NFL Draft.
ATP and TikTok Announce Global Content Partnership
TikTok and the ATP Tour have announced a strategic global content partnership, which the tour said will be focused on bringing ATP athlete and tennis content to Gen Z and Millennial fans through creator collaborations. The partnership will focus on two pillars: player engagement, helping more ATP athletes build a presence on TikTok and giving fans exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the sport; and the Tennis Creator Network, identifying TikTok creators to produce content across ATP Masters 1000s and other ATP Tour events.
NFL, Microsoft Expand Partnership to Bring Copilot to the Sidelines
The National Football League and Microsoft announced a multiyear strategic partnership extension. Technologies like Microsoft Copilot and Azure AI are being used by the the league and its teams for sideline evaluation and workflows, scouting new talent and streamlining operations for stadiums. The NFL’s Sideline Viewing System for every club has been upgraded with more than 2,500 Microsoft Surface Copilot+ PCs to give 32 clubs, roughly 1,800 players, and more than 1,000 coaches and club football staff real-time game data and analysis tools.
Rematch U.S. Announces Partnership With PSG Academy USA
Rematch, the sports highlights platform, has announced its official partnership with Paris Saint-Germain Academy USA. Beginning this fall, Rematch will link with six PSG Academies across the U.S., including academies in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando and Phoenix. Through this partnership, PSG Academy USA coaches, parents and players will gain free access to Rematch’s suite of tools designed to capture and share highlights instantly. PSG Academies in the USA will receive weekly “best of the best” highlight videos from Rematch—branded and ready to share across all social media platforms—along with a collection of curated content throughout the season.
PIMCO Announced as Celtics’ Official Investment Management Partner
The Boston Celtics have named PIMCO as the Official Investment Management Partner of the team and the new entitlement partner of the PIMCO Parquet Club at TD Garden. As part of this multiyear partnership, PIMCO will elevate the premium game day experience through exclusive branding and hospitality integrations, while also teaming up with the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation on a signature community initiative focused on youth wellness and food accessibility across New England.
ESPN and Complex Opening First Flagship Store in NY
Complex and ESPN have announced an official partnership for the grand opening of the new Complex New York Store and the launch of the newly enhanced ESPN app. Beginning Aug. 22 through Sept. 7, ESPN is taking over Complex New York, with the SoHo store being transformed into an immersive ESPN universe. On Saturday, Aug. 30, Complex will host an ESPN Watch Party with focus on live-streaming the U.S. Open and key college football matchups. From Sept. 5-7, Complex will present the exclusive ESPN x Hellstar 5-Year Anniversary Collection.
Ripken Baseball, City of Pigeon Forge Extend Partnership Through 2035
Ripken Baseball has signed a 10-year extension with the city of Pigeon Forge to continue operating The Ripken Experience Pigeon Forge through 2035. Since launching The Ripken Experience Pigeon Forge, the facility has welcomed nearly 10,000 youth baseball and softball teams that played 30,000 games. Over 750,000 unique visitors have generated 480,000 room nights and driven an estimated $320 million in total economic impact for the city.
Mets Partner With Pantalones Tequila
After first entering the sports world with a MLS partnership with Austin FC, Pantalones Organic Tequila has its first Major League Baseball partnership. Pantalones Organic Tequila is now an “Official Organic Tequila of the New York Mets”. Starting right away this season, Pantalones will be served at Citi Field.
PRODUCTS
Yahoo Sports to Launch New Streaming TV Channel
Yahoo Sports and C15 Studio are announcing the launch of Yahoo Sports Network, a free, ad-supported streaming TV channel available on leading FAST services, as well as yahoosports.tv. Yahoo Sports Network features more than 60 hours of original programming a week from shows covering a range of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, combat and more. This includes live programming such as The Ariel Helwani Show, Yahoo Sports Daily, Inside Coverage and Yahoo Fantasy Forecast, as well as recorded episodes of The Kevin O’Connor Show, Football 301 and Network with Rich Kleiman.
ATP and PIF Announce ATP Tennis IQ Powered by PIF
The ATP and PIF have launched ATP Tennis IQ Powered by PIF, a technology platform for access to tennis data, insights and advanced match analytics. The platform will expand access to more players, up to 2,000 players across the ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour. Initially launched in 2023, the platform was developed in collaboration with Tennis Data Innovations (TDI) and TennisViz. The launch is part of the ATP and PIF’s broader partnership.
PURCHASES
MLP’s LA Mad Drops Sell Majority Stake at $13M Franchise Valuation
Major League Pickleball’s Los Angeles Mad Drops (LAMD) have sold a controlling stake at a franchise valuation of $13 million to Mad Drippin SPV LLC, headed by Alex Geesbreght, owner and operator of Prax Leadership. This transaction—along with the recent expansion franchise Palm Beach Royals at a $16 million valuation—represent MLP’s two largest franchise transactions since the close of the 2024 MLP/PPA merger. Mad Drippin SPV LLC is a Texas-based group with deep professional and personal ties to the Greater Los Angeles area. LAMD’s existing ownership group, including Drew Brees, Jayson Tatum, Josh Allen, Haley Jones, Zubin Mehta and Ryan Serhant, will remain part of the ownership team.
American Cornhole League Launches Licensing Program for ACL Pro Teams
The American Cornhole League (ACL) announced that 16 ACL Pro Teams will be available for licensing beginning with the 2025-26. Each team ownership license will cover a minimum two-year term at a cost of $25,000 per year. Licensed team owners will have full control over their team’s roster and operations, including the ability to select between five and 10 ACL Pro players. Each license includes team branding rights, marketing integration, event participation and promotional support across ACL’s digital, social and broadcast platforms. Owners will also have the right to sell sponsorships for their teams and players, and will receive a share of overall licensing and sponsorship revenue generated by both the league and their individual teams.
(This story has corrected that Pantalones Organic Tequila is an Official Organic Tequila of the Mets.)
