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2 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya |Garima Yadav
On most days, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth are fan favorites. Their affable demeanor, suave personality, and past exploits as up-and-coming stars have left a lasting impact on fans. So, when it comes to Spieth and Fowler, fans mostly speak in positive terms. Except for a few days. When these two get sponsor exemptions. Then, fans love these two PGA Tour pros with a combined 19 wins a little less. Or, maybe a lot less.
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2 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya |Mallika Singh
$134.2M. That’s the combined net worth of two athletes whose aggregate age is 48. Anthony Edwards and Justin Jefferson are two of the top-five highest-paid athletes under 25, per a recent Forbes report. Both of them are part of Minnesota-based teams–the Vikings are No. 18th in the NFL’s most-valued teams, Timberwolves are 29th among 30 NBA Teams. How did these two players, despite not being part of a big franchise, become the highest-paid young athletes?
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2 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya |Mallika Singh
It’s the New York Knicks vs. the Indiana Pacers. Again. After last year’s playoff, these two giants, with a history among themselves, will face each other at the Eastern Conference Finals this season. The game, loaded with stars and trash-talk, is likely to be a fillip for the MSG Network, the oldest RSN network in the country, whose financial status is the exact opposite of the team’s current form. But a high-octane match-up will change that.
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2 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya |Mallika Singh
What’s the most you’ve ever paid for a ticket to a game? Last year, some NHL fans forked out over $2,000, while others went even further, paying upwards of $18,000 to watch the Florida Panthers clinch the Stanley Cup. Ticket prices for hockey are now rivaling those for the Super Bowl and NBA Finals — and in some cases, they’ve already surpassed them. Could a Stanley Cup final ticket set a new record for the highest average price ever? At this rate, it seems all but inevitable.
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3 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya |Mallika Singh
What’s in a name? Turns out plenty. Plenty of money. Cooper Flagg, the Duke star and a probable Mavericks star, already raked in big money as a college star. Now his name and image on a piece of cardboard are fetching eye-watering money. The 2024 Topps Chrome McDonald All-American trading card was sold for $85,400 last month at Goldin Auctions. Cllct reports that it’s higher than nine NBA All-Stars of 2025 and 39 of the 75 players of the NBA’s 75-year-anniversary team.
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3 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya |Mallika Singh
NBC announced recently that no less than Michael Jordan will grace their broadcasting booth when the NBA returns to their platform next season. Meaning, from October, you will hear His Airness analyzing, dissecting, and debating about matches along with his peers. Maybe while puffing a cigar, too. Of course, NBC is tapping into fan nostalgia of the ’90s, when Jordan’s surge to the top coincided with the broadcast giant’s coverage of basketball.
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3 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya |Riya Singhal
Barely a week is left before the second major of the season kicks in. The 2025 PGA Championship, at Quail Hollow, will kick off next Thursday, May 15. It will be the 107th iteration of the tournament. And in this century-long history, the PGA Championship has witnessed moments of stunning rules decisions. There have been times when a potential champion ended up losing the tournament because of a penalty. Or at times, when some past champion was saved from an embarrassing rules gaffe.
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4 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Parnab Bhattacharya
Justin Thomas is a happy man. The two-time major winner, paired with Rory McIlroy, opened with a 4-under 66 at the Truist Championship. He is tied at T25 at the no-cut sixth signature event of the calendar year. Thomas carded six birdies and two bogeys on Thursday at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. And you can say he is hungry for more. The first spot JT hit – after the scoring arena, of course– was Angelo’s. Now, if you are from Philadelphia or have been there, you know the charm of Angelo’s Pizzeria.
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4 weeks 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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4 weeks 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.
