Linzi Martin

The Savannah Bananas Are Redefining What “Value” Means in Sports When Savannah Bananas turn down buyout offers approaching $1B, it forces a different conversation about how sports assets are valued. Most teams optimize for exits. The Bananas are optimizing for obsession. Selling 2.2M tickets with a 4.2M-person waitlist is not a scarcity trick. It’s proof of demand that has been intentionally cultivated through experience, accessibility, and relentless fan focus. That demand now supports reinvestment decisions many franchises struggle to justify. More money into broadcast production. Higher player pay. More control over how the product feels and evolves. What stands out is how deliberately this model avoids dependency: • No media rights arms race • No venue expansion pressure • No forced monetization at the expense of joy Instead, the Bananas are building a self-reinforcing loop. Fans drive demand. Demand funds production. Production deepens fandom. That cycle compounds faster than traditional league economics. From an ownership perspective, rejecting liquidity isn’t stubbornness. It’s conviction that long-term brand equity, cultural relevance, and direct fan relationships can outpace a one-time valuation event. From an industry perspective, this matters beyond baseball. It shows that: • Entertainment-first formats can scale • Player compensation can rise without league mandates • Community-anchored teams can outperform traditional growth models Jesse Cole isn’t betting against capital. He’s betting that owning the relationship with fans is the most valuable asset in sports. That bet looks increasingly rational. #SportsBusiness #FanExperience #DirectToFan #MediaStrategy #TeamOwnership #SportsInnovation #CreatorEconomy #FutureOfSports

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A $275M Sports Performance Hub Is Taking Shape in Florida Source Youth Sports Business Report A major new multi-use sports development has officially broken ground in Homestead, positioning the city as a future hub for youth development and professional training. The Sports Performance Hub, a $275 million project backed by a group of former professional athletes including Manu Ginóbili, is designed to combine elite performance infrastructure with youth pathways, hospitality, and sports medicine. At the center of the development will be a 10,000-seat stadium, set to become the home venue for Miami FC of the USL Championship. The broader campus will include: • Professional training academy • Youth boarding school • Sports-themed hotel • Sports medicine and surgery center with rehabilitation facilities • New and upgraded playing fields at Homestead Regional Park City officials emphasized that the project is structured so it does not require additional taxpayer funding while still delivering economic development and youth opportunities. My take: Facilities like this reflect a bigger shift in the sports economy. Complexes are no longer just fields and stadiums. They are integrated ecosystems combining training, education, health services, hospitality, and competition. That model creates multiple revenue layers while turning cities into sports tourism and athlete development destinations. In many cases, the most valuable asset isn’t the stadium. It’s the year-round performance and youth pipeline infrastructure built around it. #sportsbusiness #youthsports #sportsfacilities #sportstourism #sportsdevelopment

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This is massive, massive growth in such a short period of time - NWSL clubs are now worth an average of $184M, an increase of 77% in just 18 months. They're on track to DOUBLE in value in ~2 years. And the women's game in the U.S. ain't slowing down anytime soon. Check back on these valuations after the '27 Women's World Cup in Brazil and the '28 Olympics in LA - my bet is most NWSL clubs will be north of a $500M valuation.

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Here’s what a $47,000 NIL campaign looked like on MarketPryce: Total impressions: 2.7M Athletes involved: 300 Videos created: 378 Cost per video: $124 Views per video: about 7k CPM: $17 Here are 4 things that stood out to me: 1. The best content always rises to the top. A lot of the top performing videos came from smaller athletes. Their reach was tiny, but their stories landed. The budget went farther because social, especially TikTok, rewards authenticity, not follower count. 2. Some of the highest converting videos were not the prettiest. This is why brands need to test everything in paid. The video you least expect often becomes the top converting ad. 3. The brand led with context, not control. No rigid scripts. Not even a creative brief. They shared a few talking points and gave the freedom to athletes to make it their own. That freedom made the content feel real, which unlocked WAY more impressions, as videos felt a lot less like an "ad". 4. The CPM structure made everyone better. Athletes knew that the better their content performed, the more they'd make.  They pushed for creativity. They focused on what their followers would actually enjoy vs following a rigid script. Another big reason the impressions were so high. When working with college athletes, scale is a competitive advantage. Not because 300 athletes looks impressive in a press release, but because it gives you 300 chances to find the breakout hits that move the brand forward. You never know which creator will unlock the best results. Finding the winners is easy once you have the right system to run it.

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WNBA needs a company willing to create a product dedicated percentage of sales to offset operating costs of the company. First company that comes to mind is Google. Google can send prizes based on searches of top players like Caitlin Clark. Keep ya posted 📫

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Snapback Sports has officially signed with Excel Sports Management. Why Now? We had a grinder (Alex Sheinman) to get us from 0 to 1 and 1 to 2 but we need the big agency to push us to 10. Why Excel? Ryan Orozco - He's Excel's Head of Digital Media Talent. His experience with Deestroying and Good Good Golf mattered to us. We are not an influencer or a creator. We are a new media company. Understanding how to sell and scale that type of business was important. What is Excel Actually Going to Do? #1: Drive Revenue #2: Open Doors This all came from my weekly newsletter if you want an even deeper dive, read here: https://lnkd.in/e3X8A4Uy A Reality Check for Creators 1. It doesn't happen overnight. We haven't done a deal with Excel yet. Sales cycles are longer than the month and a half we've been working together. At Radio Row, where we had 50-something guests, I think Excel brought two or three. That's not a knock on Excel. That's the reality of agencies. 2. They are not the ultimate unlock. As I mentioned above, all my thoughts are inside the newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/e3X8A4Uy #sportsbusiness #sportsmedia

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The biggest brands in youth basketball aren’t shoe companies or teams. They’re tournaments. Every weekend, thousands of teams travel across the country for exposure events run by tournament operators. Why? Because tournaments control: • visibility • competition level • recruiting access • brand partnerships Look at companies like MADE Hoops. They didn’t build a team. They built a platform hosting tournaments, creating media coverage, and bringing together top prospects from across the country. Now players and programs travel to their events to compete and be seen. In many ways, tournament organizers control the stage. And in sports, the stage often holds more power than the performers. Players perform. Teams compete. But tournaments create the environment everyone wants access to. Which raises an interesting business question: What if more people thought about building the platform, not just the team? Some creative ways people are starting to enter the tournament space: • niche tournaments (shooting showcases, position camps, analytics combines) • regional exposure events in overlooked markets • media-driven tournaments with livestream + content creators • brand-sponsored community tournaments Youth basketball is massive. And the infrastructure around it is still evolving. Question: What tournament had the biggest impact on your basketball journey? And why? #sportsbusiness #sports #athlete #basketball

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“We’re the best.” “We’re global.” “We’re game changers.” “We’re disrupting everything.” “We’re the future of sports.” “We’re more than a brand — we’re a movement.” Sound familiar? It feels like everyone in sports is saying the same thing. And after a while, all the hype starts to blur together. Here’s the truth: ✨ If everyone’s elite, then no one really stands out. ✨ If every brand is “redefining the game,” then what does that even mean anymore? I’m not against ambition — far from it. But bold claims only matter if they’re backed up by something real: ✔️ Independent, third-party recognition ✔️ Transparent metrics and honest case studies ✔️ A measurable shift — in fans, in revenue, in how the industry actually works In a world full of noise, credibility cuts through. If you’ve really changed the game, you shouldn’t have to shout about it. The impact should speak for itself. #SportsBusiness #BrandTruth #SportsMarketing #Authenticity #CredibilityMatters #Leadership #GlobalSports #GameChangers #CRSConsulting

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3 Tips for the Football NIL Transfer Portal
(From an NIL agent who’s worked on $2M+ in NIL deals) Disclaimer: Every player’s situation is different. These are general patterns, not one-size-fits-all advice. 1️⃣ Get on the field 
You need game film. Coaches and GMs are staking their reputation on you - they have to trust you can compete at the college level, and that trust comes from the tape. 2️⃣ Gather info but move quickly
 You need to collect as much information as possible, as early as possible. Understand the depth chart, scheme fit, coaching stability, and where you truly stand. In many cases, the right situation beats the highest offer. But once you’re confident, you have to pull the trigger. Schools are racing to fill roster spots with the right guys, and money and spots get allocated fast. Use your information, use your resources, and trust your gut when it’s decision time. 3️⃣ Know your agreement This isn’t just “free money.” It’s an agreement - and if you break the rules, they can take the money back. Know the terms of your deal, understand your obligations, and make sure the structure is as favorable to you as possible. And when you do get paid, be smart with it. DM me if you have questions about football portal deals, collectives, or contracts. #NIL #TransferPortal #NILagent Upper Edge Sports

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Sports teams are content rich and fan data poor…. Sports teams put millions of hours of content on social media every year to increase their “follower count” because of the “reach”…. Why? Views, likes comments and overall engagement are nowhere near as valuable as people alude to. Social media should be a funnel to your OWN content portal. Moonrise Sports was created to allow sports teams to benefit from entertaining their fans. A big shift in sport entertainment is happening. ✅ Entertaining fans with more than just match performance. ✅ Using squad knowledge and experince to inspire and educate fans. ✅ FAN FIRST model which is what sport is all about. ✅ Allowing sports teams to gather the crucial data of their fans through the use of content and experiences.

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