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1 week ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya |Mallika Singh
Add another name to the growing list of sports investment groups. TPG, in partnership with golfer Rory McIlroy, who recently completed his career Grand Slam at the Masters, his business partner, Sean O’Flaherty, and their company, Symphony Ventures, has launched TPG Sports. The newly floated entity will focus on investing in businesses across different companies, teams, and leagues. And it’s only par for the course. Last year, JP Morgan built a dedicated sports investment banking team.
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1 week ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya |Mallika Singh
‘We’re Changing the Game’. Reads the tagline of rapper and actor, Ice Cube’s BIG3 Basketball. In 2017, it was a ridiculous idea–bringing the popular 3-on-3 basketball to a bigger stage, when there was already the NBA. Eight years later, the league is an established product with a growing fanbase, expanded teams, and more sponsors. Despite some alleged threats from the NBA. Back in 2022, Ice Cube claimed ESPN and the NBA are trying to destroy their league.
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1 week ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya |Mallika Singh
Professional hockey is returning to Greensboro. Darren Yorke, Associate General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes and General Manager of the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves, announced that the Greensboro Gargoyles will serve as the organization’s ECHL affiliate. They will be the 30th team and will start playing from the 2025-26 season, which begins in October. The team will call the iconic 22,000-capacity First Horizon Coliseum its home arena.
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2 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya |Mallika Singh
It’s 2025. And if you still think that women’s golf is a very niche sport, you are mistaken. There is no cross-sports legend like a certain Babe Didrikson Zaharias–a ten-time major winner with two Olympic gold medals in Track & Field. But led by Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko, and Jeeno Thitikul, women’s golf is expanding beyond the borders of the United States.
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2 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya |Mallika Singh
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be jointly hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico, is poised to be a watershed moment. From the early looks of it, the next year’s iteration might be the most technologically advanced tournament in history. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will lead this transformation, redefining the way fans have traditionally engaged and interacted with the sport. AI will not enhance the game on the field, but revolutionize the spectator experience off it.
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2 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya |Mallika Singh
The Professional Women’s Hockey League is less than 30 months old. On January 1, 2024, the women’s hockey league, after much anticipation, saw the light of day. A modest beginning by all means–the jerseys of six teams only showed the city’s name. No brand logos. No sponsors. No partners. Cut to 2025, it’s a different picture altogether. All six teams have a unique branding of their own, thanks to Hockey giant Bauer. The PWHL is just one example of minor leagues drawing on big-money sponsors.
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3 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya |Mallika Singh
The 2024-25 NBA Business Report is telling. The overall growth continues to be robust, with the NBA generating $893.8 M in sponsorship revenue. Yet there is a larger disparity between the big-market and small-market teams. The giants like the Lakers, Knicks, and Celtics dominate the sponsorship revenue as well as merchandise sales. The Collective Bargaining Agreement has tried to offer a balance. But the current scenario reveals it’s still a far cry.
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3 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya |Mallika Singh
Sports fans and businesses are bracing for impact as President Donald Trump’s tariff regime continues to send ripple effects through global supply chains. Because most sporting goods are imported, from hockey sticks to basketball jerseys, tariffs are likely to cause retail prices to soar. By some estimates, costs could climb as much as 50% for items like golf equipment and sports apparel. It threatens to shift the burden squarely onto fans and aspiring pros.
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Jan 7, 2025 | 
essentiallysports.com | Mallika Singh
Imagine this: I am both a sports bettor and an investor. My skills and strategies for predicting NFL outcomes bear striking similarities to my approach to stock trading. I track player stats and game conditions just as I track earnings reports and market trends, searching for patterns and opportunities. While this experience might seem unique, it reflects a growing trend where the lines between sports betting and financial investing are increasingly blurred.
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Dec 17, 2024 | 
essentiallysports.com | Mallika Singh
Before Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese stepped onto the hardwood, the WNBA was a league with immense potential but a modest footprint. Attendance hovered below one million annually, and merchandise revenue struggled to make headlines, trailing significantly behind other major leagues. The narrative was clear: a league full of talent, but yearning for its breakthrough moment. Enter two strong cultural icons, reshaping not just the game but the entire business ecosystem surrounding it.
