📰🏟️ Angel investor
Plus: Emmitt Smith accused of Ponzi scheme…
Good afternoon. Today’s edition brings you the top news from around the sports world. Let’s get right to it.
—Kyle
1) Rams owner Kroenke buys Angels for MLB record $4B
Billionaire sports mogul Stan Kroenke has agreed to buy a controlling stake in the Angels from Arte Moreno at a reported $4B valuation.
- The deal eclipses the Padres’ $3.9B sale earlier this year as the most expensive price in league history.
- It also ends Moreno’s 23-year run as controlling owner, during which the Angels’ valuation grew nearly 22x—from his $184M purchase price—despite not posting a winning season since 2015.
- Kroenke’s sports empire also includes the NFL’s Rams, NBA’s Nuggets, NHL’s Avalanche, MLS’ Colorado Rapids, and Arsenal FC of the Premier League—all of which have won championships under his ownership.
2) Soccer’s transfer deadline brings one blockbuster, one bust
European soccer’s deadline for buying and selling players arrived yesterday, with Manchester City landing one of the summer’s biggest stars while Everton saw its top target walk away at the last minute.
- Man City agreed to pay Chelsea $168M for midfielder Enzo Fernández, matching the Premier League record for a player transfer.
- Everton agreed to pay Monaco $54M for American striker Folarin Balogun—but concerns emerged during medical testing and Balogun called the deal off at the last minute, leaving Everton without a replacement.
Winners and losers from the deadline drama
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3) Emmitt Smith accused of Ponzi scheme
Hall-of-Fame Cowboys RB Emmitt Smith is being sued by a Cherokee investment group that claims it was defrauded out of $2.5M by Smith and his business partners through a failed Texas solar venture.
- Kituwah LLC says it was promised a stake in Smith’s Project Exodus solar farm, which defendants allegedly claimed would receive permanent financing from the US Dept. of Energy.
- Instead, the lawsuit alleges the $2.5M was secretly used to repay a previous investor in what Kituwah described as “essentially, like a Ponzi scheme.”
Smith & co. are running into trouble
4) Tiger Woods receives 5-yr driving ban in plea deal
Tiger Woods had his driver’s license suspended for 5 years this morning after striking a plea deal stemming from his March DUI arrest and rollover crash in Florida.
- Woods pleaded no contest to reduced charges of reckless driving and refusing a lawful test and received a $1.5K fine, while the original DUI charge was dropped.
- The 15-time major winner passed a breathalyzer after the crash, but refused urine and blood testing for other substances.
- Woods, 50, stepped away from golf following the arrest to seek treatment, and has yet to return to competition.
Tiger puts it in park for plea deal
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