Welcome back to the "Spotlight"! After taking a week long hiatus for Thanksgiving, I feel like a modern day Rip Van Winkle awaking from a tryptophan-induced coma to find myself in a world in which "All I Want for Christmas" by Mariah Carey is again reigning as a chart-topper, NFL telecasts increasingly featuring the fan-favorite 'steam-rising-from-the-300 pound lineman's head' shots, and my DVR starts getting populated with schmaltzy holiday movies. It's true, the holiday season and cold weather is upon us, so in the spirit of the season of giving, I invite you all to get cozy and take in the very first "Spotlight" of the very last month of 2021.
- Celebrity-backed cannabis brands are showing varying degrees of success. One possible trend to look for as cannabis continues its path of de-stigmatization and comes into the mainstream: consumers may demonstrate stronger celebrity brand affinity. Or they may forget that celebrity brand exists altogether.
- The NFL and St. Louis, Missouri settled their four yearlong lawsuit over the relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles for a whopping $790 million. That alone is news, but the fine print in the settlement agreement gives the lawyers who represented St. Louis at least 35 percent of that amount. The sound you just heard was a horde of lawyers encouraging their home teams to go away.
- Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot's action-comedy film, "Red Notice" makes viewership history. One wonders how they would have done had they gone with my suggested title, "Two Guys, a Girl and an Interpol Chase."
- A testament to the fever pitch surrounding them, "NFT" has been crowned Collins dictionary's 2021 word of the year. The runner-up? 2020's unofficial winner: "WTF."
Endorsement Deals, Sponsorships & Investments
INFLCR Expands NIL Menu as Oklahoma,
Florida Sign Up for Athlete Deals
November 30, 2021 via Sportico - Business (subscription may be
required)
After the first few months of NIL, a number of athlete marketing
companies have begun to adjust their offerings as the market
develops. Software company INFLCR, for example, is introducing a
product it says will double its revenue coming from schools that
sign on.
Celebrities Are Endorsing Cryptocurrency.
Hear Why One Actor is Calling Them Out
November 30, 2021 via CNN Top Stories
While A-list celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Matt Damon are
being paid to promote crypto, one actor is publicly bucking the
trend.
Crypto, Blockchain Provide Sport
Sponsorship's Greatest Growth Opportunity, Not Sports
Betting
November 30, 2021 via Sportico - Business (subscription may be
required)
Come Christmas Day, the venue now known as Staples Center will be
renamed Crypto.com Arena after the cryptocurrency and payment
platform bought the naming rights to the longtime home of the Los
Angeles Lakers, Kings, Sparks and (for now) Clippers for more than
$700 million.
UConn's Paige Bueckers Signs
Endorsement Deal With Gatorade in Her Latest NIL
Activity
November 29, 2021 via Greenwich Time Insider
Just four games into her sophomore season and Paige Bueckers
continues to make history both on and off the court. Bueckers
became the first college athlete to sign an endorsement deal with
Gatorade, as announced by the company on Monday, November 29.
College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving®
Makes Historic Move, Sponsors Howard University Men's
Basketball
November 29, 2021 via PR Newswire
College HUNKS Hauling Junk and Moving®, a national industry
leader in moving and junk-removal, recently signed a historic
endorsement deal with the Howard University Men's Basketball
players.
Do Celebrity Weed Brands
Sell?
November 28, 2021 via Benzinga
While some industry analysts agreed that a celebrity can provide a
major boost to a brand, others in and around the industry are more
skeptical about celebrity pot brands.
How Cal and Stanford Athletes Are Raking
in NIL Deals Without Superstar Status
November 26, 2021 via San Francisco Chronicle
Cal freshman Mia Mastrov felt overwhelmed. In addition to all the
academic and athletic demands required of a basketball player at
one of the nation's most prestigious universities, she was
navigating numerous emails and social media messages from potential
sponsors.
Which UMD Athletes Are Making The Most
From Sponsorship Deals? It's Not Who You Might
Expect
November 25, 2021 via Biz Journal - Accounting News
Most people assumed star football and basketball players would rake
in the most money when the NCAA began allowing student athletes to
profit off their name, image and likeness. That hasn't been the
case at the University of Maryland, College Park, so far, according
to Athletics Director Damon Evans.
Mark Ironside Is Helping Current Iowa
Wrestlers With NIL Two Decades After His Own
Career
November 24, 2021 via Des Moines Register - All News
Mark Ironside is busy at work inside his Iowa Style Apparel store
here on the southwest side of town on a recent Friday morning.
He's excited for many things now that wrestling season is back,
but two things stick out.
Sports
MLB Lockout: Everything to Know About
Baseball's First Work Stoppage Since 1994-95
December 2, 2021 via CBS Sports
At 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 1, the collective
bargaining agreement (CBA) -- the negotiated accord that governs
almost every aspect of the working relationship between Major
League Baseball players and team owners -- expired.
MMA Groups Battle in Court as Squared
Circle Gives Way to Triangle
November 30, 2021 via Sportico - Law (subscription may be
required)
You know the first rule: You don't talk about Fight Club. Yet a
new federal lawsuit is forcing a conversation about fight club
rings - namely, whether their unique designs are protected under
intellectual property law.
NFL, St. Louis Agree to $790 Million
Settlement for Rams Relo Suit
November 24, 2021 via Sportico - Law (subscription may be
required)
The four-year litigation between the NFL and St. Louis over the
Rams' relocation is near resolution. The St. Louis Dispatch
reported on Wednesday, November 24, that the parties have agreed to
a $790 million settlement following a mediation session.
UFC Posts Record Year to Date as Business
Hits On All Cylinders
November 24, 2021 via Sportico - Business (subscription may be
required)
Endeavor Group Holdings recently posted Q3 2021 financial results,
reporting a profitable quarter that outpaced Wall Street
expectations.
NBA's Enes Kanter Calls for 2022
Olympics To Skip China's 'Dictatorship': 'It Should
Be Morals Over Money'
November 23, 2021 via Fox News - Latest New
NBA star Enes Kanter, who has spoken out many times in support of
global human rights causes, called on the International Olympic
Committee to vacate its plan to hold the 2022 Olympiad in Beijing,
especially after the brief disappearance of Chinese tennis player
Peng Shuai.
Film & TV
Disney Elects Susan Arnold as Board
Chairman, Replacing Robert Iger
December 1, 2021 via The Wall Street Journal (subscription may
be required)
Walt Disney Co.'s board of directors has elected Susan Arnold
its new chairman, replacing Robert Iger, the longtime chief
executive who is set to depart from the company later this
month.
"Red Notice" Is Netflix's
Biggest Movie of All Time, Says The Rock, Rivaling Avengers:
Endgame's Opening Viewership
November 28, 2021 via Polygon
According to data provided by Netflix, Red Notice fever is sweeping
the globe. The number one movie in 93 countries, from Bahrain to
Bangladesh, Israel to Indonesia, Poland to Peru, Spain to Sweden,
the United States to Uruguay, Venezuela to Vietnam, and many more,
viewers poured in 129,100,000 hours into watching stars Dwayne
"The Rock" Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot during
the week of November 15 alone.
UK - Farrukh Dhondy and Bite-Sized Books
Announce Publishing, TV & Film Agreement
November 24, 2021 via MENAFN - Top Stories
Acclaimed novelist, television executive and screen writer Farrukh
Dhondy has signed publishing company, Bite-Sized Books to publish
his latest book: Hawk and Hyena - What Ever Happened to The
Serpent, and to commercialize the TV and film rights.
Music Biz
Mötley Crüe Sell Entire Recorded
Music Catalog to BMG
November 30, 2021 via Register Citizen
In the music industry, it's exceedingly common for artists to
yearn for ownership over their original master recordings, but
Mötley Crüe have found themselves in the enviable
position of doing the opposite: The hair metal legends have inked a
new deal to sell their entire recorded music catalog.
Adele Is No. 1 With a Huge Week, but
Without a Million in Sales
November 29, 2021 via New York Times - All Sections
The music business is full of gigantic numbers. Investors are
pouring billions of dollars into funds to buy up song copyrights.
Licensing clearinghouses like ASCAP and BMI process trillions of
plays each year to collect and pay royalties.
Adele Lands Huge £1 Million Amazon
Christmas Deal - Amid Speculation Her Agent Boyfriend Could Manage
Her
November 27, 2021 via Newsbinding - Top Stories
All-conquering Adele lands huge £1 million Amazon Christmas
advert deal - amid speculation her American super-agent boyfriend
could step in to help manage her.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
Doconchain Announces New Celebrity NFT
Marketplace Called 'The Famous'
November 26, 2021 via MarketWatch - All Company Press Releases
News & Commentary
Doconchain announces a brand new entertainment-themed NFT
collection in collaboration with long-standing partners.
Loud Market - the First Music NFT
Marketplace
November 26, 2021 via Yahoo Finance - Top Stories
Loud Market Ltd has launched the world's first Music NFT
marketplace for the buying and selling of music as crypto assets,
on the 24th of November.
Steve Aoki Teams Up With The Untamed
Producer NSMG to Kick Off Their NFT Collection
Frenzy
November 25, 2021 via Atlanta New Online
Steve Aoki, a Grammy nominated musician, NFT artist, and collector
has recently teamed up with "The Untamed," a popular
Chinese murder mystery drama. Together they have established a
special NFT vault called The Steve Aoki Untamed Vault
(#AokixTheUntamed).
NFT Wins Collins Dictionary's Word of
the Year Award
November 24, 2021 via Crypto Briefing
Collins Dictionary has acknowledged the recent NFT boom in its 2021
Word of the Year list.
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