Sports & Entertainment Beat

Welcome back to the Spotlight! The stage for Super Bowl LIX is set, with the Philadelphia Eagles due to square off against the 2-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.  More history repeating itself (a la Groundhog Day) as this will be a high stakes rematch of Super Bowl from two years ago between two cities known for steaks.  As a fan of the New York Giants (a division rival from whom the Eagles’ star running back Saquon Barkley left after last season) and parity (but also parody), as far as the game is concerned, I will again be much more invested in Puppy Bowl licks. By contrast, Taylor Swift cares more about the outcome of the Super Bowl (and not just because she’s a cat person).  One thing’s for sure, no one will be quite as invested as advertisers shelling out $8 million per thirty seconds of Super Bowl commercial airtime, bidding to go down in pop culture history while the Chiefs pursue history of their own as the first team to win three straight Super Bowls. That said, we have a little over week to prepare for the game, but don’t despair-trust your training in patiently waiting a week for the next Spotlight.

• • Originally slated to take place this year, the International Olympics Committee is having difficulties starting-up its inaugural Esports Olympic Games. And before you ask…yes it tried unplugging the router, waiting 5 seconds and plugging it back in.
     
  • WNBA All-Star Angel Reese makes more women’s sports history, becoming the first female professional athlete to have a signature menu item at McDonald’s—a meal comprised of a BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese, fries, and a soft drink.  Between this deal and her endorsement deal with Hershey’s brand Reese’s, her endorsement portfolio is an agent’s dream and cardiologist’s nightmare.
     
  • The highly coveted University of Texas Longhorns Quarterback Arch Manning signs an NIL endorsement deal with Red Bull, and I would love nothing more than to see him use his wings to follow his uncle Eli’s lead and fly to the Giants.

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.

Welcome back to the Spotlight! If you tuned in last week and you came here expecting clarity on the TikTok saga now that a week has gone by, I’ve got a bridge (and social media platform) to sell you. I bet you’d even believe that it snowed in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Florida last week Texas! Or even that two New York Knicks players were named starters in the NBA All-Star Game! (Wait…those last two are true!?). Anyway, as I was saying, after the statute banning ongoing US operations took effect, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance blocked US users’ access to the social media platform.  But not long after that, newly-inaugurated President Trump (having tried to ban TikTok during his first term as President, only to have it fall back in his good favor during the latest election cycle) issued an Executive Order aimed at keeping TikTok up and running for US users for more time so as to enable a last(?) last-ditch effort for ByteDance to divest its stake in TikTok. So queue up the Chubby Checker, because we’re back in limbo. Incidentally, the Spotlight would be a great limbo player, as it always seems to come up short of the bar. Without further ado or self-deprecation, your Spotlight for this week is below.  

• • The National Hockey League’s Utah Hockey Team may have to go back to the drawing board declaring an official name for itself, as the trademark application for the preferred “Utah Yetis” name was issued a refusal by the US Patent and Trademark Office. That may be a blessing in disguise as the team would be better suited with a name that is even more evocative of Utah—you know—like “Jazz.”
     
  • Rapper/Singer Post Malone announces a new collaboration with Oreo featuring a limited-edition salted caramel and shortbread crème swirl sandwiched between chocolate Oreo cookies that are embossed with prints related to his music.  With the product due to hit shelves ahead of the Super Bowl, they can be enjoyed with friends or malone.
     
  • Netflix is opening “Netflix Bites” – neither a subscriber complaint nor a warning not to approach, but rather an experiential pop-up eatery in Las Vegas at which patrons can enjoy food inspired by their favorite Netflix television shows.  A fun and novel concept, though I prefer to experience Netflix over wine and takeout.     

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn. 

Welcome back to the Spotlight! This may (or may not) be the last weekend that TikTok is operational in the United States, with legislation due to come into effect on January 19, 2025 that would ban TikTok failing Chinese parent company ByteDance’s divestment of the short form content-laden social media platform. That may (or may not) be welcome news depending on whether you’re a content creator, a national security hawk, a Chinese intelligence officer or someone with “mad skibidi rizz” who just spent the last few weeks choreographing the next big dance trend (none of these necessarily being mutually exclusive, by the way). There may (or may not) be efforts afoot for a last-ditch purchase of the platform and the incoming Trump administration may (or may not) have an Executive Order at the ready to suspend the enforcement of the legislation (something that may (or may not) be legally possible) when President Trump is sworn into office the next day on January 20, 2025. The point is, the only thing that is certain is that nothing is certain.  For brands and influencers/endorsement partners in active agreements that call for posts on TikTok, conventional wisdom dictates a wait-and-see approach as we watch the clock (tick-tock, TikTok).  

Welcome back to the Spotlight! This may (or may not) be the last weekend that TikTok is operational in the United States, with legislation due to come into effect on January 19, 2025 that would ban TikTok failing Chinese parent company ByteDance’s divestment of the short form content-laden social media platform. That may (or may not) be welcome news depending on whether you’re a content creator, a national security hawk, a Chinese intelligence officer or someone with “mad skibidi rizz” who just spent the last few weeks choreographing the next big dance trend (none of these necessarily being mutually exclusive, by the way). There may (or may not) be efforts afoot for a last-ditch purchase of the platform and the incoming Trump administration may (or may not) have an Executive Order at the ready to suspend the enforcement of the legislation (something that may (or may not) be legally possible) when President Trump is sworn into office the next day on January 20, 2025. The point is, the only thing that is certain is that nothing is certain.  For brands and influencers/endorsement partners in active agreements that call for posts on TikTok, conventional wisdom dictates a wait-and-see approach as we watch the clock (tick-tock, TikTok).  

• • Basketballer brothers LaMelo, Lonzo and LiAngelo Ball seem to have made good on their father Lavar’s aspirations for them, with LaMelo and Lonzo enjoying $203 million and $85 million NBA contracts, respectively, and LiAngelo (G3 Gelo) scoring off the court with a $13 million record deal from Def Jam.  Of course that’s nothing compared to Power Ball, whose current jackpot is $330 million.
     
  • In hopes of moving product off the shelf by aligning with the fastest growing high school sport, Cosmetics brand e.l.f. becomes the first beauty sponsor of the largest high school girls wrestling competition (Wonder Women of Wrestling Tournament). If successful, this will mark the first ever wrestling victory by an elf.  
     
  • University of Georgia quarterback Carson Beck is forgoing the NFL Draft for one more year and transferring to the University of Miami for the cool sum of $4.4 million – positioning him to make more NIL money in college than a handful of starting NFL quarterbacks. But more importantly, he also gets an on-campus meal plan and an opportunity to enroll in that Art History seminar he’s been hearing so much about.

Welcome back to the Spotlight! I would have loved nothing more than to kick off the first Spotlight of 2025 on a high note. In my own little bubble, winning another fantasy football championship seemed like a promising start.  In the broader world, NFL teams are preparing to begin the postseason, the College Football season is reaching its climax and exciting professional and collegiate basketball seasons nearing their halfway point.  In the entertainment industry, awards season kicked off nicely, with the Golden Globes being at its most critically acclaimed in some time. Sadly, we find ourselves having to confront yet another devastating and sobering situation in the wake of the ongoing wildfires in Southern California.  Suddenly, awards shows, sporting events and business as usual in the sports and entertainment industries have been put on hold or relocated as, more significantly, hundreds of thousands face evacuation orders, losses of homes, businesses and loved ones. Not a great start to the year, and it does not feel like the time to (try to) be funny—I can regroup and do that next week. Instead, it is a time to check-in on those who may be impacted, offer helpful resources and, if feasible, to donate funds towards relief efforts and services.  

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.