The GIST

Denver wins bid for 16th NWSL team thanks to historic $110M expansion fee

Per Sportico, Denver beat out competing NWSL cities Cincinnati and Cleveland to secure the league’s 16th franchise yesterday. Investors reportedly paid an expansion fee of $110M, which more than doubles the previous NWSL record and marks the biggest expansion fee in U.S. women’s sports history.

January 03, 2025

Netflix bags U.S. media rights for the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments

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Netflix pulled off quite the heist on Friday by acquiring the U.S. media rights for the 2027 and 2031 editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC). It will be Netflix’s first time covering an entire sports tournament and marks FIFA’s biggest deal with a streamer, not to mention it’s the first time the WWC’s U.S. rights were sold separately from the men’s FIFA World Cup.

December 23, 2024

UEFA establishes second-tier club tournament as investment in women’s soccer deepens

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In addition to sweetening the pot for Europe’s national teams, UEFA has been committed to creating a holistic ecosystem for women’s soccer at the club level. On Monday, the organization shared details around the Women’s Europa Cup, a second-tier club competition hoping to drive domestic investment in the women’s game across Europe.

December 18, 2024

Billionaire Marc Lasry and Avenue Sports Fund back out of NC Courage deal

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Per Sportico, billionaire sports investor Marc Lasry and his sports-focused private equity (PE) firm Avenue Sports Fund are no longer pursuing the purchase of the NC Courage, citing “NWSL restrictions for private equity investment as a control[ling] owner in teams.” With the NWSL being a sports league that uniquely allows PE investment, let’s dive into what we know.

December 02, 2024

Angel City FC invests in team, community with multimillion dollar practice facility

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Angel City FC (ACFC) announced yesterday that it’s constructing a new and improved, nine-acre performance center on California Lutheran University’s campus, the largest such facility dedicated exclusively to an NWSL club. The move comes as ACFC continues to strive for business growth and upping its valuation.

November 15, 2024

UK broadcasters Sky and the BBC agree to historic WSL media rights deal

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Women’s footy has finally caught its big break across the pond. Last week, the WSL — the top flight of UK women’s soccer — inked a five-year rights extension with Sky Sports and the BBC worth $84.5M. The deal follows months of speculation and has already been dubbed the “most significant” TV contract for women’s soccer in the UK and Ireland.

November 04, 2024

Men in Blazers becomes an official NWSL media partner with support from Ally

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In an exclusive with The GIST today, soccer media company Men in Blazers (MiB) announced it will become an official media partner of the NWSL. Its coverage will be led by women’s soccer vertical The Women’s Game (TWG), run by former USWNT star Sam Mewis, who spoke to The GIST yesterday about her experience with the company.

November 01, 2024

Sports Business

Celebrity investment is changing the game for women’s soccer, including for expansion team BOS Nation

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October 16, 2024

Launch day didn’t go as planned for NWSL expansion club BOS Nation FC, but it did successfully announce celebrity investment from actress Elizabeth Banks and gymnast Aly Raisman yesterday. The franchise uniquely boasts an all-women ownership group, but its incoming celeb investment follows an NWSL trend that’s helped franchises shine bright and far.

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The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #427

Unrivaled’s superstars, the NFL Divisional Round, and previewing the CFP Championship

January 16, 2025

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Unrivaled’s superstars, the NFL Divisional Round, and previewing the CFP Championship

Go long!

On today’s three-part episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz go long as they preview three major sporting events this weekend. First up, the gals continue their deep dive into new pro women’s basketball 3v3 league Unrivaled ahead of its inaugural tipoff on Friday, previewing the teams, players, and coaches that will make this league a thrilling watch.

Then in part two, El and Steph head to the gridiron to chat through the NFL Divisional Round taking place this weekend. This quarter-final round features eight teams and four marquee matchups, including an AFC showdown between the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens.

Finally, the gals wrap up with a preview of the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship game between No. 7 seed Notre Dame and No. 8 Ohio State. It’ll be the first title game in the 12-team CFP era, which paved the way for two low-seeded underdogs to advance all the way. May the best team win.