Endeavor reported earnings on Wednesday for the first time since going public in April, revealing the extent to which its sports properties are driving the company’s growth.

In a quarter that saw overall revenue decrease to $1.07 billion from $1.19 billion in Q1 2020, Endeavor’s sports businesses recorded a 22.1% year-over-year increase in revenue — up to $283.5 million.

Though events and rights accounted for about half of Endeavor’s first-quarter earnings, revenue from the segment was down to $539.6 million, a 19.3% drop. Representation revenue fell 15% to $248.9 million.

The parent company of UFC, IMG, and WME has had an incredibly active year so far.

• June: On Location Experiences, purchased by Endeavor for $660 million in 2020, became the exclusive global hospitality partner of the 2024, 2026, and 2028 Olympics in a deal worth at least $1.3 billion, per Sports Business Journal.
• May: Endeavor agreed to acquire sports digital agency Mailman Group for roughly $60 million, according to Sports Business.
• April: The company raised $511 million in its IPO at a $10 billion valuation. A private placement of shares — that included New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and AC Milan owner Paul Singer as investors — raised $1.8 billion.
• March: Endeavor said in a filing with the SEC that it plans to use proceeds from the IPO to raise “at least $1.75 billion” to purchase the chunk of UFC it doesn’t already own. Also, Elon Musk joined the board.

Endeavor is still facing one of its long-standing issues: debt. It’s $50 million less than it was at the end of 2020, but still at $5.87 billion as of March 31. The company expects to reduce debt by $600 million in Q3.

The stock closed at $29.39 on Wednesday, down just under 1% for the day, but still above the IPO price of $24.

Electronic Arts has found its bread and butter.

The “Madden” and “FIFA” publisher generated $1.62 billion in revenue from its Ultimate Team offerings in FY2021, according to the company’s latest 10-K document filing.

Ultimate Team allows gamers to build and play with their own virtual team by earning, trading, or purchasing individual player cards or packs using the game’s token system. 

The game mode is available across EA’s “Madden,” “FIFA,” and “NHL” franchises, but “FIFA” is leading the charge. 

• “FIFA 21” has amassed more than 25 million console and PC players since its October 2020 release. 
• The title helped EA generate $1.34 billion in revenue in its fiscal Q4 2021.  
• EA’s full-year revenue reached $5.6 billion — 29% of that total came from Ultimate Team modes. 

Despite its success, Ultimate Team has been marred by controversy.

In March, EA opened an investigation into allegations that at least one employee had been selling rare FIFA Ultimate Team cards for as much as $2,500 through a back channel. The publisher later confirmed that unauthorized sales had taken place. 

EA has also been under fire due to accusations of pushing players to purchase loot boxes, which led to a class-action lawsuit. The boxes offer random virtual goods but are criticized by some as similar to gambling.

The California-based company has made more than $7 billion in Ultimate Team revenue since 2015.

The NFL announced on Wednesday that it will no longer assume that Black players have lesser cognitive abilities than white and other non-Black players when assessing brain injury claims.

The league had used the highly controversial practice of “race-norming” for years, but it received little attention until 2018. The policy made it more difficult for Black players to collect awards on a settlement from a lawsuit related to cognitive decline resulting from head injuries.

That lawsuit alleged that the NFL covered up information related to long-term brain damage from concussions.

Under the settlement, players can qualify for awards up to $5 million, with the average payout over $500,000.

• The settlement fund has paid out $765 million so far, with about $335 million of that going to claims related to dementia.
• Total payouts are expected to be north of $1 billion by the end of the 65-year settlement plan.

Supreme Court justices effectively finalized the settlement in 2016, when they refused to hear an appeal of a lower court’s decision. 

The issue received renewed attention in March, after a senior U.S. District judge threw out a lawsuit brought by two former players, insisting that the two sides reach a settlement. In May, a group representing former players delivered 50,000 petitions to the judge demanding equal treatment for Black players. 

The NFL said it would reassess previous claims from Black players in light of its new policy.

What started with a policy paper could end up creating a global soccer powerhouse.

The government agency that oversees sports in China drew up a plan that would place two teams each in 16-18 cities across the country, with a goal of establishing China as a top soccer nation by 2030.

• Each participating city would invest at least $4.7 million annually in soccer development.
• The Chinese government would contribute between $782,000 and $1.47 million per year to each city’s soccer program. 
• Cities would be tasked with developing facilities, boosting local soccer associations, managing the equity structure of pro clubs, and growing a soccer culture.

The move is the next step in China’s long-term pivot from European soccer and toward investing in its own athletics.

From 2015 to 2018, with the encouragement of President Xi Jinping, Chinese investors took majority stakes in at least 14 European soccer clubs and minority stakes in a handful of other teams, including Manchester City and Lyon. 

Now, that money is leaving just as quickly. In May, Oak Tree Capital Group bought the 31% stake in Inter Milan owned by Hong Kong-based LionRock Capital in a $336 million deal. There is chatter that Chinese holding company Suning will eventually sell its majority stake.

There are currently fewer than 10 European teams with Chinese investors — in 2017 there were more than 20. 

The world’s most populous country has its work cut out for it if it wants to be a force in soccer. In the last 10 FIFA World Cups, China qualified for the group stage only once, in 2002.