#146 💰 Dallas Cowboys hit record $12.5B valuation, up 18%

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It is being said out in the open now, 2025 is definitely the year of sports as an asset class.

CNBC's Official NFL Team Valuations 2025 put the Dallas Cowboys at a record $12.5 billion valuation, an 18% jump from last year. With 10 teams now worth $8 billion+ and the average franchise valued at $7.65 billion, the numbers speak volumes. Speaking of trends on the rise, we cover our recent visit to Riyadh for the New Global Sports Conference, held alongside the Esports World Cup. Significant investments & efforts are working to make esports a mainstream spectator sport; this is definitely one to watch.

The New Global Sport Conference: Building the Future of Gaming, Esports, and Sports

Attending the New Global Sports Conference in 2024 marked our first visit to Saudi Arabia, a market whose importance to the sports, esports and gaming worlds continues to grow. It was such an impressive conference that the invitation to return was an easy one to accept. This year's event definitely took it up a couple of notches.

Organized by the Esports World Cup Foundation in partnership with the Saudi Esports Federation, the conference was held on 23-24 August at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, coinciding with the closing weekend of the Esports World Cup. Over 1,500 delegates attended to explore the future of sport, gaming and esports, underscoring Saudi Arabia's ambition to become a global hub for the industry. The theme: The Next Game - Building the Future of Gaming, Esports, and Sports.

A-list speakers, a blend of sporting icons and business leaders, brought some pizzazz to the agenda. Chess Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, Diary of a CEO host Steven Bartlett, and two-time FIFA World Cup winner Alex Morgan were joined by industry heavyweights including Yves Guillemot (CEO, Ubisoft), Peter Moore (ex-Liverpool & EA Sports), and Eric Shanks (CEO, Fox Sports). We even recorded podcasts with the latter two, link to the first episode included later in this newsletter.

Our Takeaways

• High quality speakers meant high quality panels: A couple stood out. Magnus and Steven shared their insights on 'Winning as a Habit'- the many small things that go into elite performance. I especially enjoyed listening to Jens Hilgers (GP & Co-Founder, BITKRAFT Ventures) on the future of entertainment and Akshat Rathee (MD & Co-Founder, NODWIN Gaming) on how gaming could become the new hub for dating / social interaction. There was a great moment when one panelist jumped in to add that he met his wife of 25+ years through game chat.

• Major announcement: Ralf Reichert unveiled the Esports Nations Cup, a country-vs-country format designed to drive fan engagement at scale. While there have been many attempts to deepen fan engagement around their favorite esports, this patriotism-driven route, a format not seen on this scale before in gaming, might be the way to truly make esports a spectator sport at scale.

• Spectator energy: Because Esports is highly watchable! As a gaming novice (major FIFA & Football Manager player, a bit of CS, but that's it, all 10+ years ago) I was struck by the raucous atmosphere in 1,000-2,000 seat arenas. My highlight was the Street Fighter semifinal where 15-year-old Chilean Blaz upset Korean favorite Leshar in a truly epic battle. Was a great watch!

• Investment with intent: Conversations with peers reinforced the clarity of purpose and ambition around these topics in this region, there’s no doubting the potential of what can be achieved.

A top class event, and likely a permanent fixture in an already packed events calendar.

Special shout out to Anna, Inga, Dima and the rest of The Story Mob & Burson teams for being excellent hosts. Will be back next year for sure.

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Top News from the World of Sports Tech & Biz

📺 ESPN inked a deal with EverPass Media, the joint venture backed by RedBird, the NFL, and TKO, to distribute ESPN+ content to bars and restaurants.

🎾 Netflix secured exclusive global streaming rights to the second edition of Riyadh Season’s Six Kings Slam tennis event.

⚽ Major League Soccer introduced new broadcast features on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass, including Ref Cam and TikTok Player Spotlight, to provide immersive match perspectives.

⚾ The Oakland Ballers announced that AI will manage most aspects of their Pioneer League home game against the Great Falls Voyagers, including pitching changes and pinch-hitting decisions.

🏹 TDK and World Athletics visualized the javelin throw using sensor technology in a successful collaboration project to enhance understanding of athletics performance.

📺 NBC introduced new broadcast features for the NFL season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.

📺 TNT Sports prepared to launch a standalone app ahead of Warner Bros. Discovery’s planned corporate split next year.

📡 ATHLOS announced ION as its domestic linear broadcast television partner under a multi-year deal beginning with Athlos NYC 2025 at Icahn Stadium.

🎟️ Dick’s Sporting Goods launched a virtual House of Sport experience on its website featuring an avatar of J.J. Watt as tour guide.

🏈 The Tennessee Titans benefited from the NFL’s first-ever virtual measurement during their game, marking a technological milestone for officiating.

📡 Roku integrated YouTube TV into its Sports Experience, allowing U.S. fans to find live games more easily across all Roku devices.

🤝 CAA signed Stephen Curry and Erick Peyton’s Unanimous Media in an exclusive deal to represent its film and television projects.

🏀 Unrivaled expanded its women’s 3×3 basketball league by adding two new teams and 18 players for the 2026 season.

⚖️ The FA cleared Lucas Paquetá of four suspected breaches of FA betting rules from 2022-23 allegations he intentionally got yellow cards to sway betting markets. A key plank of the FA’s case against Paqueta was data, but it also proved one of its weak spots. Read more here.

Money Talks:

🤝 Chiron Sports Group partnered with athletes including Rob Gronkowski and the McCourty twins to launch Legacy25, a private investment initiative aimed at transforming U.S. college sports and adjacent businesses.

💰 PlayMaker Software closed a $1 million funding round led by Precursor Ventures to scale its sponsorship operating system.

💰 INTIX secured an undisclosed capital raise, appointed a new CEO, and established beachheads in the US and UK to accelerate growth of its Melbourne-based sports tech business.

🤝 Minute Media acquired VideoVerse, owner of AI sports video platform Magnifi, for an undisclosed amount to strengthen its content and technology portfolio.

🤝 Zepp Health acquired the core assets and IP of Wild.AI for an undisclosed amount to integrate hormone-informed coaching for female athletes into its Amazfit devices.

🤝 Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner acquired MotoGP team Red Bull KTM Tech3 for an undisclosed amount.

💸 Serena Williams invested an undisclosed amount in women’s basketball league Unrivaled, which is now valued at $340 million.

💸 Angel Reese invested an undisclosed amount in TOGETHXR, a media and commerce company co-founded by Olympic swimmer Simone Manuel that prioritizes representation.

💸 Logan Paul joined Aescape as an investor and partner, backing its AI-powered massage technology following $83 million in funding and deployments with Equinox, Life Time, Marriott, and Hyatt.

💸 The NBA invested an undisclosed amount in MediaKind while extending their partnership to power the League Pass direct-to-consumer platform.

💰 Julia Koch and her family agreed to buy a 10% stake in the New York Giants at a $10 billion valuation, the highest ever for a sports franchise.

💰 Tottenham Hotspur raised about $122 million through a receivable financing deal with Macquarie Group tied to media rights.

🏈 The Dallas Cowboys were valued at a record $12.5 billion in CNBC’s 2025 NFL franchise rankings, with ten other teams exceeding $8 billion in value.

Recap from our content archive:

🔙 STX Article: New Leagues and Emerging Formats

✅ STX Monthly: Last month’s sports tech dealflow, in case you missed it.