The Super Bowl is going cashless.

The NFL, working with Visa, will make all future Super Bowls cashless, starting with Super Bowl LV in Tampa. 

Fans can bring cash to Raymond James Stadium, but will have to convert it into prepaid gift cards worth up to $500 at ATMs to make purchases. Slated for Feb. 7, Super Bowl LV is expected to allow 13,000-15,000 fans.

The Case For Cashless:

• Visa, which earns fees from cashless transactions, reported a 17% decline in revenue in Q4. 
• A recent Visa study found that 78% of consumers have changed how they pay in order to reduce contact.
• Fans at live events spend 25% more using contactless payments per Visa’s study.
• Both Visa and the NFL can collect better data on consumer behavior with all-digital payments. 

Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium kicked off the trend of sports venues not accepting cash in 2019, followed by other NFL venues like Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara and Lambeau Field in Wisconsin. Going cashless at NFL events was a goal of the league’s renewed deal with Visa in 2019.

Jay-Z and Novak Djokovic are the newest investors in connected fitness company CLMBR, which makes at-home vertical climbing machines. Set to go on sale in 2021, it is expected to be the first vertical climbers to feature a large-format touchscreen display with on-demand, instructor-led classes.

This year has been huge for connected fitness companies: Lululemon acquired Mirror for $500 million, Peloton’s stock price has risen more than 250%, and Tonal raised $110 million in new funding.

Jay-Z has also backed companies like Impossible Foods, Savage X Fenty and Uber. His latest investment comes nine days after Beyoncé signed a multi-year content partnership with Peloton.

Other CLMBR Investors:

— KBW-Ventures

— 22 Days Nutrition CEO Marco Borges

— Former YouTube CEO Chad Hurley

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler is now the face of Chinese sneaker company Li-Ning. Fresh off an NBA Finals trip, Butler had been with Jordan Brand since 2014.

Earlier this week, Li-Ning signed free agent Fred VanVleet, adding to an NBA roster that includes: 

• CJ McCollum
• D’Angelo Russell
• Udonis Haslem
• A lifetime deal with Dwyane Wade

Li-Ning isn’t the only Chinese sneaker company signing players: 

— Anta: Klay Thompson, Rajon Rondo and Gordon Hayward are all signed with the brand.

— Peak: Rumored to be connected to Andrew Wiggins. In the past, Peak has worked with Lou Willams, Dwight Howard and Tony Parker.

Rookie shoe deals are scarce right now: A normal year will often see roughly half of the top 10 picks sign shoe deals prior to the NBA draft. LaMelo Ball — who went No. 3 to the Charlotte Hornets — was the only top prospect with a deal in place after signing with Puma.

Why? Performance basketball shoe sales are down 20% year-to-date. Adidas and Nike have been relatively quiet this year; Nike’s fiscal 2020 revenue was down 38% year-over-year, while Adidas’ revenue is down 18% year-over-year through its third quarter.