The Rise And Rise Of The Golden State Warriors
— Since drafting Steph Curry in 2009, the Warriors' valuation has grown from $315 million to $8.8 billion..DS8e8kh-_Z1U8KAU.webp)
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Nobody saw this coming in 2010. When Joe Lacob and Peter Guber outbid Oracle CEO Larry Ellison to buy the Warriors in 2010 for a then-record $450 million, many in the NBA world were puzzled. Just seven months earlier, Forbes had valued the team at $315 million, 18th in the league. The arena was aging, attendance was lukewarm, and the team was mediocre at best, having reached the playoffs just once in 15 years. Today, the team is worth $8.8 billion, the highest in the NBA, even ahead of the Lakers and the Knicks — that’s a whopping 1856% increase on the original buying price.
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Chase Center changed everything. The Warriors paid $1.4 billion out of their own pockets to build Chase Center in 2019, and the return on investment has been staggering. According to a 2024 report by Accenture, the 18,000-seat arena has generated $4.2 billion since its opening in 2019, including over $2.9 billion in direct spending and more than $1 billion in recirculated spending. The Warriors remain one of the only NBA teams that fully own their arena.
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The Steph Curry effect - and the championships. The Warriors have been the team of the decade, with six NBA Finals appearances, four championships, and a historic 73-9 season. But it all starts with Steph. When the Warriors drafted Curry in 2009, few could’ve predicted that he would go on to revolutionise the NBA.
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See our previous newslettersKit Deals Aren't Made Equal
— Real and Barca have acquired the gold standard in kit sponsorships - maximizing revenue as well as lengthy terms. Liverpool, on the other hand, have maximized flexibility, taking a short 5 year deal, while still raking in a solid £60m a year. Meanwhile, Nike has a steal on their hands with Tottenham signing a lengthy 12 year deal of just £32m a year.
NFL is the crown jewel in NBC's sports portfolio
— NFL makes up more than 50% of NBC's annual spending on sports. Sunday Night Football is one of the most marketable sports real estate on air, and NBC is paying $2B annually to keep it. All of NBC's sports investments are geared towards gaining a massive international and loyal viewership that can be converted into subscribers of Peacock, its streaming service.
The Super Bowl remains must-watch TV, while the Oscars' decline continues
— This year, the Super Bowl drew an estimated audience of 127.7 million viewers, the largest audience for a Super Bowl in TV history. Meanwhile, the Oscars viewership has shown a general decreasing trend over the last two and a half decades. In 2000, almost 50 million people tuned in to watch the Oscars. This year? Less than 20 million.
Tom Brady is the highest-paid sports media personality in America
— Stephen A. Smith’s new 5-year $100M deal with ESPN puts him at No. 3 among the highest-paid sports media personalities in America. Shaq and Charles Barkley are in the mix too with big TNT contracts. But no one comes close to Tom Brady—his $37.5M annual salary with Fox is in a league of its own.
F1 is still the most popular Netflix Sports documentary
— In 2019, F1 Drive to Survive set the standard for the sports-documentary model. Since then, many other sports have partnered with Netflix to boost popularity, but none have quite had the same success. Netflix doesn't plan on pausing its model, with a 2025 lineup including all-women driving F1 Academy, SEC College Football, and Cricket. But the question remains - will any of these have the special sauce that makes F1 Drive To Survive so popular?
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