DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Olivia Dunne made $500,000 from a single NIL deal. Here's how she became the highest-paid female college athlete.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Margaret Fleming | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The gymnast started a collective at LSU to create more NIL opportunities for female athletes. Read more about why college athletes are the 'best performing subset of influencers' for brandsDunne is an outlier with her multi-million dollar income, however. She also founded in July the Livvy Fund at LSU to bring more NIL opportunities to the school's female athletes. Collectives, which are donor-funded groups that help college athletes build their brands, make up 80% of all NIL deals. "Most of the collectives, the NIL collectives, they go to the men's sports, so I'm creating my own collective for the women's sports," Dunne told "Full Send."

Persons: Olivia Dunne, On3, Dunne, " Dunne, Captiv8, she's, Read, haven't Organizations: NCAA, LSU, Morning, Louisiana State University, ESPN, BodyArmor, Sports Illustrated, Motorola, Twitter, Fund Locations: Instagram, Canada

☆ How ‘Swagger’ Raised Its Game
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Calum Marsh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The first season of “Swagger,” a sports drama set in the high-stakes world of high school basketball in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Seat Pleasant, Md., was released in fall 2021 to moderate critical acclaim. The creator, Reggie Rock Bythewood, and his cast and crew were proud of what they had accomplished. But for the show’s second season, which premiered on Apple TV+ last week, Bythewood’s ambitions were much bigger. And he wanted to use the story of a prep school sports team to make a statement about the country. The second season jumps ahead to Jace’s senior year as the demands of budding fame and the pressure of mounting expectations reach a fever pitch.

Persons: “ Swagger, ”, Reggie Rock Bythewood, ” Bythewood, ‘ Swagger ’, Jace Carson, Isaiah Hill, Jace, Jenna, Shinelle, Quvenzhané Wallis, Ike, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Jace’s Organizations: D.C, Apple Locations: Washington, Seat Pleasant, Md

☆ Aaron Rodgers: NFL star credits psychedelics for improving his performance on the football field
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Aaron Rodgers has continued to advocate for the legalization of some psychedelics, claiming this week that ayahuasca helped to improve his performance on the football field. The NFL has confirmed that taking ayahuasca doesn’t violate its drug policy. CNN has reached out to the NFL about psilocybin and its drug policy. Rodgers, who recently left the Packers for the New York Jets, made reference to the decriminalization of psilocybin in Colorado while speaking in Denver. “The response from other people in the sports industry has been pretty incredible,” said Rodgers.

Persons: CNN — Aaron Rodgers, ayahuasca, It’s, ” Rodgers, “, Rodgers, Matthew Stockman, Aubrey Marcus, they’ve, ” Organizations: CNN, NFL, Green Bay Packers, Oregon, Packers, New York Jets, Getty Locations: Denver , Colorado, Colorado, Denver, psychedelics

CNN —Following the harassment of WNBA star Brittney Griner at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Phoenix Mercury’s leadership plans to make adjustments to prioritize players’ travel safety, head coach Vanessa Nygaard said Sunday. When asked if Griner was approved to charter flights and why she wasn’t chartering on Saturday, Nygaard said the team was following league-established rules and guidelines. Griner’s longtime teammate and WNBA star Diana Taurasi said that the harassment occurred during the team’s first public appearance since Griner’s release. Describing the incident as “unnerving,” Taurasi said the players’ safety comes first. “We implore the league and the teams not to wait another day to change the rule regarding travel.”

Persons: Brittney Griner, Vanessa Nygaard, Griner, ”, Viktor Bout –, Biden, ” Nygaard, Nygaard, Brianna Turner, “, Griner’s, Diana Taurasi, ” Taurasi Organizations: CNN, Fort Worth International, Phoenix, WNBA, “, “ League, Indiana Fever, Mercury, Basketball Players Locations: Dallas, Russia, of

☆ The war for hedge-fund talent has traders getting paid like star athletes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Matt Turner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Money is pouring into the hedge fund business, adding to a war for talent. Maybe a bunch of NBA or NFL players end up on a trading floor for charity. The war for talent is partly a reflection of hedge-fund performance. My colleague Alex Morrell wrote recently:After years of relative quiet, macro strategies at hedge funds surged back to life in 2022 amid rising interest rates, inflation, and geopolitical convulsions. Writing for Insider recently, hedge-fund recruiter John Pierson said that "the competition for investment talent is escalating, and finding top portfolio managers is no longer a contact sport — it's an all-out war."

Persons: Bloomberg's Nishant Kumar, Maureen Farrell, Rob Copeland, Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Lamar Jackson's, Alex Morrell, Brevan Howard, Rokos, John Pierson Organizations: Millennium, Citadel, Morning, NBA, New York Times, Times, Golden State Warriors, ESPN, NFL, Baltimore Ravens, Premier League

☆ 2023 NBA Finals: How to watch the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat compete for the Larry O’Brien trophy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

There’s Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets – the hulking Serbian center who has battled underappreciation and misinterpretation to become one of the league’s greats and a two-time Most Valuable Player. It’s the performances of Jokić and Butler which help to explain why the NBA Finals are being contested by Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat as the 2022/23 NBA season concludes. Jokić shoots the ball during Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. Jokić admitted that the celebrations were short-lived after the Western Conference Finals sweep of the Lakers as Denver’s goal is lifting the title. Jokić leaves the floor after the Nuggets beat the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

Persons: There’s Nikola Jokić, underappreciation, Jimmy Butler –, Jokić, Butler, Erik Spoelstra, Denver’s Michael Malone, Larry O’Brien, Butler –, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Adam Pantozzi, Jamal Murray’s, Aaron Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell, Pope –, “ I’m, ” Jokić, AAron Ontiveroz, – Miami, Al Horford, David Butler II, – Butler, ”, “, Pat, Riley, Spoelstra, Nathaniel S, you’ve, I’ve Organizations: CNN, Denver Nuggets, NBA, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Western, Nuggets, Boston Celtics, Ball Arena, Games, ABC, Western Conference, Denver, Lakers, Denver Post, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Bucks, New York Knicks, Celtics, Eastern, USA, Sports, Reuters, Heat Locations: Serbian, Denver , Colorado, Miami, Denver, Milwaukee Bucks . Miami

☆ Barack Obama on what 'the most successful people' do differently in their careers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Throughout his career, former President Barack Obama has had the chance to meet — and work with — some of the world's most successful people, from tech billionaires to Nobel Prize laureates. But if you are passionate about your job, and have a genuine interest in the work that you do, you'll set yourself up to have "an extraordinary career," Obama said. "You can't let your failures define you — you have to let your failures teach you," he said. No one's born being good at all things … you become good at things through hard work." Check out:'Focus on unsexy problems': 3 millennial freelancers on how to build a successful careerThis author spent 3 years interviewing over 100 workers—here's the No.

Persons: Barack Obama, Dan Roth, Obama, Bill Gates, who've, Michael Jordan, —, Simon Cowell

☆ Red light therapy: How it affects sleep
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Red light therapy has been found to be helpful for skin health, wound healing, hair growth among people with alopecia and pain management. “That’s why when we talk about blue light or red light, we’re not talking about a red-colored light bulb. A 2019 study led by Figueiro looked into whether delivering red light to closed eyes during sleep — using a red light mask — and to open eyes upon waking — via red light goggles — reduced sleep inertia among 30 adults. In other words, it might be that any benefits come from replacing the light you’re exposed to before sleep with red light, rather than adding the latter during sleep. The bottom line is that when it comes to sleep, “what’s better than red light is no light,” Dasgupta said.

Persons: ”, Raj Dasgupta, “, ” Dasgupta, ‘, Dasgupta, Joshua Tal, Mariana Figueiro, Figueiro, who’s, ” Figueiro Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control, University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, Health Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine Locations: China, New York City, Mount Sinai

☆ On the Denver Nuggets, the Role Players Get to Be Stars, Too
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“So we just go with the hot guy.”Jokic is the engine that powers the Nuggets, but Gordon also called him “one of the most unselfish basketball players.” Jokic is averaging a triple-double in the playoffs, with 29.9 points, 13.2 rebounds and 10.1 assists per game. That happened on Saturday, in the Nuggets’ 119-108 win in Game 3 with the Lakers. Jokic had just 5 points and 2 rebounds at halftime, then got into foul trouble by committing his fourth less than halfway through the third quarter. That means somebody else has to step up.’ I think that’s something our team has done time and time again.”The Nuggets’ players have not just accepted roles that require them to defer to others, but embraced them in service of winning a championship. Jokic was the team’s only All-Star this year and no Nugget made an All-Defensive team; Jokic has never played with someone who made those teams while playing with him.

☆ Aces lose 2025 first-round pick, Hammon suspended for WNBA rule violations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 16 (Reuters) - The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) stripped defending champions Las Vegas Aces of their 2025 first-round draft pick and suspended head coach Becky Hammon for two games without pay for violating league rules on Tuesday. Hammon, who took the reins last year after eight years as an assistant coach with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs, was found to have committed a "Respect in the Workplace" violation with comments regarding Hamby's recent pregnancy. The investigation, however, was not able to substantiate concerns over the Aces' conduct during the off-season. The Next reported in February that The Aces were under investigation by the WNBA for circumventing the salary cap. "The Aces failed to adhere to league rules and regulations and have been disciplined accordingly.

☆ Victor Wembanyama: How ‘Wembymania’ gripped France due to the most exciting draft prospect since LeBron James
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

There have been few players whose journey to the pinnacle of basketball have been as highly followed; in figures released by the NBA, Wembanyama is No. And I keep having to explain to them that having a sold-out, 15,000-people crowd for a regular French professional basketball game is not normal at all,” she said. His father was a high jumper, his mother was a former basketball player who is now a coach and his two siblings – older sister Eve and younger brother Oscar – are basketball players. And the French basketball system where he has been nurtured has helped develop his unique talent, says Krasnoff. “And it certainly has driven US interest in French basketball, at least as far as Wembanyama is concerned.

☆ Nothing Is Bigger Than Stephen Curry vs. LeBron James
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Sopan Deb | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A playoff series headlined by Curry and James is the basketball equivalent of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles touring together. Or Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, except with a touch more gray and way more mutual respect. Or, in basketball terms, this is Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird in the 1980s. James, at 38, and Curry, at 35, are nearing the end of careers that have revolutionized basketball, with no clear heirs to continue the progression. “I think the league is very healthy as far as star power, but who takes the lead in that role?”

☆ A new NIL report based on over 100,000 deals breaks down the highest-paying sports for college athletes and the industries spending the most
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Nearly two years after student-athletes gained the right to make money from their names, images, and likenesses, typically referred to as NIL, the tech platform Opendorse said it's processed over 100,000 NIL deals across the US. Snapchat and TikTok were much less common, representing just 6% and 3% of activations of NIL deals, respectively, per Opendorse's report. The average brand deal paid to athletes in the sport was $3,837, followed by $2,472 for football players and $1,693 for men's swimming and diving athletes. Women's college basketball players were the fourth highest earners on average for brand deals, with an average of $1,418 per deal. Haley and Hanna Cavinder earned nearly $2 million in NIL deals in the first year of the program, for example, per Forbes.

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Uber wants to predict your habits, Apple and Google team up, and Lebron James eyes Complex Networks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

And minting it could be a solution to avert a major economic catastrophe (here's an explanation of the looming disaster, by the way). This average-looking coin could prevent job losses, steep cuts to retirement savings, and other major financial blows. Shopify employees and experts brace for shakeup. Multiple sources told Insider that his company, SpringHill Co., has internally discussed offering around $100 million to buy Complex from Buzzfeed. Google tells employees to limit publishing AI research.

☆ Ronaldo tops Forbes' highest-paid athletes list in 2023 after Saudi move
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 2 (Reuters) - Cristiano Ronaldo became the world's highest-paid athlete after his move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr nearly doubled his annual playing salary while Paris St Germain duo Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe round off the top three, according to Forbes. Ronaldo, who joined the Saudi soccer club on a deal until 2025 after leaving Manchester United last year, earned $136 million with Forbes saying his annual playing salary went up to an estimated $75 million. Ronaldo's contract has been estimated by media to be worth more than 200 million euros ($219.98 million). Los Angeles Lakers player and NBA great LeBron James ($119.5 million) and Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez ($110 million) rounded out the top five. Four-times NBA champion Stephen Curry ($100.4 million) and Phoenix Suns' Kevin Durant ($89.1 million) are the other two basketball players on the list.

☆ 4 key takeaways on student-athlete NIL marketing from a new report that includes the industry's biggest earners and spenders
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Here are the biggest NIL earners and spenders, and other key takeaways from a new Opendorse report. Nearly two years after student-athletes gained the right to make money from their names, images, and likenesses, typically referred to as NIL, the tech platform Opendorse said it's processed over 100,000 NIL deals across the US. Snapchat and TikTok were much less common, representing just 6% and 3% of activations of NIL deals, respectively, per Opendorse's report. Women's college basketball players were the fourth highest earners on average for brand deals, with an average of $1,418 per deal. Haley and Hanna Cavinder earned nearly $2 million in NIL deals in the first year of the program, for example, per Forbes.

☆ Pro sports unions unite to discuss importance of mental health
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Jessica Golden | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The NFL Players Association, National Basketball Players Association, National Hockey League Players' Association, MLB Players Association, MLS Players Association and Women's National Basketball Players Association will work together to raise awareness about the cause and invest resources to improve mental health for the pro athlete community. This is the first time the sports organizations have come together to promote mental health. The high stakes, busy lifestyles and pressures of professional sports have caused many athletes to reveal their own mental health struggles in recent years. As athletes from all levels have expressed their struggles, many of the leagues realized that mental health needs to be as much of a priority as physical health is. The sports leagues will also highlight inspirational stories from athletes and the various mental health efforts they are leading.

☆ Durant signs 'lifetime contract' with Nike
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 28 (Reuters) - Phoenix Suns' Kevin Durant has signed a 'lifetime contract' with sportswear giant Nike, the NBA star said on Friday, following in the footsteps of greats Michael Jordan and LeBron James as the only basketball players to have lifetime deals. Durant, 34, has been with Nike since he made his NBA debut in 2007 -- the season he won the Rookie of the Year award -- and has released 15 different pairs of basketball sneakers. "When I first signed with Nike, I couldn't have dreamed of how far we'd go in this partnership. We've done amazing work creatively and philanthropically," Durant, a twice NBA champion and 13-times All Star, said in a statement via Boardroom. Nike has supported Durant's involvement in grassroots basketball by helping refurbish courts in communities across the world through the Durant Family Foundation.

CNN —Two former New Mexico State University (NMSU) men’s basketball players filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against former head coach Greg Heiar, three former NMSU players, assistant head coach Dominique Taylor and the NMSU Board of Regents, citing alleged hazing and sexual assault incidents within the team. Benjamin and Odunewu say they reported the alleged incidents to the NMSU coaching staff but that no action was taken, according to the lawsuit. “This action is clearly needed, especially after receiving additional facts and reviewing investigation reports related to the hazing allegations involving student-athletes on the team,” New Mexico State University Chancellor Dan E. Arvizu said in a statement to CNN in February. At the time, New Mexico State University said it was hiring “another law firm to conduct another internal investigation” according to the lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, Benjamin and Odunewu will not be a part of the team next season.

☆ NCAA star Angel Reese says playing at LSU is more lucrative than the WNBA—and she wants to splurge on a Mercedes-Benz
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

NCAA basketball champion Angel Reese isn't fast-tracking her college career, even if she had the option to go pro. "I'm in no rush to go to the league," Reese, 20, recently told the "I Am Athlete" podcast. That's more than any other college basketball player, the report says. Reese knows exactly what she wants to spend her newly gained fortune on, too: a Mercedes-Benz, she said on the podcast. "My first year [in college], I was just taking money," Reese said.

☆ The Toughest Ticket in Paris Isn’t Messi—It’s Wemby
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Joshua Robinson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LEVALLOIS-PERRET, France—The hottest ticket in French sports these days is for a sleepy gym on the outskirts of Paris, where basketball players duck under doorways and fans use halftime as a collective smoke break. Supporters come to games just 2,800 at a time, because that’s all the building here can fit. But those who do get inside have all made the trip for the same reason: a 7-foot-3 teenager named Victor Wembanyama. At 19, he’s the brightest NBA prospect since LeBron James, and soon, he’ll be on his way out of France.

☆ Iowa's Caitlin Clark is captivating basketball fans — here's how the college star's NIL value compares to fellow women's college players
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Her NIL valuation is ranked among the top 10 in women's college basketball, according to the NIL database. But, according to On3.com, she narrowly cracks the top 10 highest NIL valuation for women's college basketball players. The Friday game peaked at 6.6 million viewers — nearly two million more viewers than 2022's national championship game between South Carolina and Connecticut. As of Sunday afternoon, Clark comes in at number nine on On3.com's college women's basketball NIL rankings with a valuation of $192,000. On Thursday, Clark was named the women's college basketball's National Player of the Year after leading the country in both points and assists for the 2021-2022 season.

☆ NBA and Players’ Union Agree To New 7-Year Contract As Focus Turns to TV Deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Robert O Connell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

NBA commissioner Adam Silver can turn to an upcoming round of media-rights negotiations now that a new collective bargaining agreewment with players is in place. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association agreed in principle early Saturday to a new collective bargaining agreement, the parties said, giving the league a long period of assured labor stability as it heads into a new round of media rights deals on the horizon. The seven-year agreement—which still needs to be ratified by players and team governors—will go into effect at the start of the 2023-24 season, according to people familiar with the negotiations. It includes a mutual opt-out after its sixth year and includes language to try to both curb the trend of top players missing games and limit the spending of the NBA’s richest teams.

☆ When Every Win Means Water, Water Everywhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Andrew Keh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

When Every Win Means Water EverywherePicture yourself at work. Teleport this scene into a sports locker room, though, and suddenly the dousing is perfectly in bounds. But like many coaches, he eventually accepted his fate, removing his shoes before entering the locker room. The athletes were unwinding in the locker room when Coach Mark Few and his assistants charged in and began sousing them with ice-cold water. Isaiah Wong, the team’s star shooting guard, said they would only consider spraying water now if they won the championship.

☆ March Madness shows how NIL money and the transfer portal are starting to reshape the balance of power in college sports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nearly two years into NIL, its impact on college sports is starting to show during March Madness. Most of the teams the Final Four — in both men's and women's basketball — have strong NIL backings. Changes to NIL and the transfer portal have created a "perfect storm that's allowed some schools to bank talent," one expert said. LSU's Angel Reese has the most NIL deals of any college baller, Just Women's Sports reported based on data from SponsorUnited, which tracks NIL deals. "The transfer portal and NIL happening at same time, to me, that's the perfect storm that's allowed some schools to bank talent," Dosh said.

Search resuls for: "Basketball Players"

25 mentions found