Scott Soshnick

1 week ago | sportico.com | Scott Soshnick |Kurt Badenhausen

The Tampa Bay Rays are in advanced talks to sell the team to a group led by Jacksonville, Fla. developer Patrick Zalupski, according to multiple sources who asked not to be named because the details are private. The deal values the team at roughly $1.7 billion. Zalupski has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to purchase the team. An LOI is not a purchase agreement, and the deal ultimately might not be completed.

1 week ago | sportico.com | Scott Soshnick |Kurt Badenhausen

The NFL will not replace longtime executive Brian Rolapp with one person, according to someone familiar with the league’s plan. Rolapp’s vast responsibilities will be divided among current NFL executives, per the source, who was granted anonymity because the details are private. Last week, Rolapp was named the first CEO of the PGA Tour. He spent more than 20 years at the NFL and had been its chief media and business officer since 2017.

2 weeks ago | sportico.com | Scott Soshnick |Kurt Badenhausen

The PGA Tour has zeroed in on longtime NFL executive Brian Rolapp as its top candidate to be the entity’s first CEO and work alongside commissioner Jay Monahan, according to multiple people familiar with the search process. In December, the PGA Tour officially launched a search process for the new position as it continues its negotiations with LIV Golf and its backers, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Monahan has been commissioner since the start of 2017, replacing Tim Finchem.

2 weeks ago | sportico.com | Eben Novy-Williams |Scott Soshnick |Daniel Libit

Penn State and UCLA have become the inaugural partners in Elevate’s newly unveiled $500 million College Investment Initiative, according to three individuals familiar with the situation. Accordingly, the two Big Ten institutions have emerged as the first known universities to formally embrace private capital as a means of funding their athletic departments—signaling a significant milestone in the growing convergence of institutional capital and intercollegiate athletics.

3 weeks ago | sportico.com | Scott Soshnick |Brendan Coffey

Excel Sports Management has retained Moelis & Company to explore raising additional growth capital for the talent representation and content business. Such a capital raise could include the sale of Shamrock Capital’s minority stake in the talent management and market agency. The potential sale, confirmed by three people close to the companies involved who asked not to be identified because the news isn’t public, comes after a years-long period of active acquisition by Excel.