Stop us if this sounds familiar: A group of well-heeled investors are seeking to lure a sport’s biggest stars with large bonuses to join a breakaway tournament.

It’s more than déjà vu. A Saudi-backed group of organizers has reached out to top golf players, guaranteeing eight-figure bonuses in the hopes of filling 12 four-person teams that would compete in 15 to 18 tournaments around the world.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has threatened an immediate ban and lifetime suspension of any players who join the breakaway league.

• Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, and Justin Rose have all been approached with offers ranging from $30-$50 million. 
• Players would also be part-owners of the tour.
• Rory McIlroy has said he is not interested in the concept, but Mickelson is intrigued. DeChambeau, Rose, Stenson, Scott, and Fowler are considering offers per Telegraph.

If the parallels with the recent attempt at a breakaway league in European soccer weren’t strong enough, the tournament is being referred to as either the “Premier Golf League” or “Super Golf League.”

The league reached out to players in 2020 but lost steam when McIlroy declined to participate, and then the global pandemic put plans on hold.

Current plans would see the league’s first events start in September 2022. What could go wrong?

The list of Endeavor’s investors continues to grow — and get more interesting. 

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and AC Milan owner Paul Singer are among the new investors who have acquired a stake in UFC’s parent company Endeavor, per Sportico. 

Kraft and Singer became stakeholders through a private placement held during Endeavor’s IPO last week. The transaction became official on Monday. 

Billionaires Michael Dell and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison also picked up some of the 74.5 million shares sold for $24 each during the IPO. 

Tencent, Fidelity Investments, and Silver Lake Partners bought in, too. Elon Musk, another recent investor, joined the board of directors in April.

Endeavor’s stock has performed well, closing at $27.95 on Wednesday. 

The company raised $511 million in its IPO at a valuation of $10 billion, per Bloomberg. Additional funds raised in a private placement brought the total raised to $1.8 billion. That should help with plans to buy the remaining 49% of the UFC it does not currently own. 

The IPO and private placement also allowed global investment company KKR & Co. to cash out most of its position, selling 18.2 million of its shares for a profit of $437 million.

Formula E is gaining momentum among racing fans and businesses that support the sport. 

The third-largest form of global auto racing and its 24 full-time drivers will be on display this weekend when Formula E hits the streets of Monaco. Formula E is a single-seater motorsport championship that only uses electric cars.

The 2021 Monaco ePrix will have drivers compete for points using an extended track layout to show the potential of EV compared to when drivers would use multiple cars to finish a race.

The series has a collection of high-profile sponsors that includes:

• TAG Heuer
• Moët & Chandon
• Automation tech company ABB Group, Formula E’s title sponsor

Other racing organizations are on the same page. NASCAR has its Green campaign, which includes initiatives around biodiesel and oil recycling. Formula One plans to have a net-zero carbon footprint by 2030. 

Ferrari is the latest carmaker to integrate the Le Mans Daytona hybrid classification, a new hypercar class that demands a clean-energy output. Ferrari will join Acura, Toyota, and Audi on racetracks in 2023 with LMDh-classified vehicles that cost around $1 million (minus the engine).  

Luxury Italian apparel brand Moncler announced a partnership with Extreme E in December and will provide the electric off-road racing series with a dedicated uniform for its onsite team. 

Formula E turned a profit for the first time in 2019 with $220.5 million in revenue. The series returns to the States for the New York City ePrix in July.

Sports media and sports betting are converging, and it’s impacting the world’s media outlets.

With gaming giants like FanDuel and DraftKings hiring sports media personalities and creating their own content, popular network insiders like Adam Schefter and Adrian Wojnarowski could be in their crosshairs. 

“If I’m ESPN, I’m more worried about FanDuel and DraftKings stealing my talent than CBS,” said one talent agent.

With sports betting legalized in 25 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., legacy networks like ESPN are starting to play in the betting arena, experimenting with gambling-focused studio shows and alternative telecasts. 

“We’re actively looking into the marketplace now,” FanDuel’s chief marketing officer, Mike Raffensperger, told FOS. “It is absolutely part of the strategy if we want to continue to grow the No. 1 sports book in the country.” 

Recent deals further illustrate the trend: 

• DraftKings bought VSiN, then forged a $50 million content deal with ESPN veterans Dan Le Batard and John Skipper of Meadowlark Media.
• Bally’s Corp. rebranded 19 regional sports networks as “Bally’s Sports” via a 10-year, $85 million deal.
• Penn National Gaming bought 36% of Barstool Sports for $163 million.  

Startups appear to have the advantage here. 

“It’s easier to go from operator to media company than it is to go from media company to an operator,” said Chad Millman, chief content officer at The Action Network, which was just acquired by Better Collective for $240 million.