The Wilf family, owners of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, completed their purchase of Orlando City SC and the Orlando Pride last week, the latest in a flurry of soccer team investments.

Terms weren’t disclosed, but the deal has been pegged at up to $450 million. The DeVos family, which owns the NBA’s Orlando Magic, joined as a limited partner.

The Wilfs are among several individuals investing in both MLS and NWSL teams.

• Ted Segal bought the Houston Dynamo and Dash in June for an estimated $400 million. Oscar De La Hoya and the Brooklyn Nets’ James Harden became minority owners of both franchises.
• In December, Dell Loy Hansen, owner of MLS’ Real Salt Lake, sold the NWSL’s Utah Royals FC to a group that moved the franchise to Kansas City.
• Mia Hamm-Garciaparra is a part owner of LAFC and Angel City FC, which is set to join the NWSL in 2022. 

MLS clubs are on an upward trend: Both DC United and LAFC were recently valued at over $700 million.

The nature of MLS team ownership could be set to change. Earlier this month, MLS opened its doors to private equity financing after taking close to $1 billion in losses last year due to pandemic-related attendance shortfalls.

Skechers is coming out of its pandemic woes. The performance footwear company released second-quarter results, reporting $137.4 million in net earnings compared to the $68.1 million it lost during the same quarter last year.

Quarterly sales rose 127% year-over-year to $1.66 billion, a new record for the brand.

Despite delayed shipments and temporary store closures, Skechers capitalized on its athletic partnerships to fuel growth.

• Last month, Skechers became the official supplier of the European and U.S. Solheim Cup teams. It also added German soccer pro Michael Ballack to its roster.
• Brooke Henderson earned her 10th career pro victory in April wearing Skechers GO GOLF footwear. She’s been a Skechers athlete since 2016.
• Skechers ran a Super Bowl ad with Tony Romo, its eighth spot for the big game.
• In January, Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden joined Team Skechers, as well.

Earlier this week, Matt Powell, senior sports industry adviser for the NPD Group, tweeted that Nike and adidas “ceded share in women’s sport footwear to Skechers,” among other brands.

Skechers expects full-year 2021 sales to reach up to $6.25 billion.

It’s been a bumpy road for Snapchat since the company went public in 2017, but the social platform’s comeback is now in full swing.

Daily active users are at 293 million, up 23% year-over-year.

Quarterly revenue reached $982 million for the period ended June 30, a new record for the company and significant improvement over the $770 million haul in Q1.

The return of advertising spend that disappeared at the height of the pandemic gets some of the credit for Snap’s performance.

This is where sports play a major role for Snap. Take its partnership with the NBA:

• The revenue-share model sees Snap sharing ad revenue from the platform’s NBA videos with the league.
• The NBA pays to advertise on Snapchat too, with Discover channels designed to drive viewers to linear games on ESPN and Turner Sports.

In addition to NBA, Snap renewed its content deal with the NFL in 2020, saying it wants to triple the number of NFL highlights it offers.

MLB uses Snap’s tech for its augmented reality lenses in the Ballpark app.

Snap’s revenue forecast for Q3 is $1.07 billion to $1.085 billion — a YoY spike of up to 60%.

Alex Rodriguez made over $455 million playing baseball, but he’s not resting on his laurels.

Rodriguez is arguably as active in business as he was on the field, especially since linking up with Marc Lore, who stepped down as Walmart’s head of e-commerce this year.

On Wednesday, A-Rod and Lore’s firm VCP was announced as an investor in Tornado, an online brokerage that focuses on educating stock traders. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy also bought into the $10 million round.

• That same day, Rodriguez and Lore officially joined the ownership group of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx. The two are expected to be controlling owners by 2023.
• He and Lore are major investors in NOWwith, a social commerce company that’s raised $18 million and also counts heavy hitters like DAZN chairman Kevin Mayer and singer Dolly Parton as backers.
• A-Rod Corp. has invested in at least 62 companies, including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Oura, Snap, Acorns, and UFC Gym.

Next on the agenda may be a big move into the collectibles space: A-Rod and Lore’s SPAC Slam Corp. is in talks with Panini on a $3 billion merger.