Raphael Stevens

Florida-based Fanatics will leverage merchandise tied to past and future Olympic Games in a deal that extends until the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.  

The Olympic rings standing in front of the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on July 20, 2021 ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
BEHROUZ MEHRI | AFP | Getty Images

The International Olympic Committee struck its first global e-commerce deal on Thursday, partnering with Florida-based sports company Fanatics.
The revenue-sharing agreement gives Fanatics a percentage of sales from Olympics merchandise and extends to the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. The agreement, however, will not include sales from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing because China has a separate e-commerce deal with Alibaba.

Fanatics will make items tied to past and future Olympic Games and it has already started producing items around the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. The company also gets manufacturing rights to make and sell Olympic rings.
Financial terms of the pact weren’t disclosed, and Fanatics didn’t offer estimates as to how much it could profit from the IOC agreement. 
“This is an exciting launch for us, as fans from an increasing number of territories will be able to purchase official Olympic merchandising and connect with the magic of the Olympic Games ahead of each edition,” IOC television and marketing executive Timo Lumme said in a statement. “We are looking forward to collaborating on this new shop with the Organising Committees of Paris 2024, Milano Cortina 2026 and LA28,” he added.
Fanatics already held Team USA’s e-commerce rights via a deal with the United States Olympic Committee. The IOC deal should align it with more revenue, especially around the 2028 Summer Games in the U.S.

Bronze medallist Simone Biles of the United States poses in front of the Olympic rings at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Women’s Beam Medal Ceremony, Ariake Gymnastics Centre, Tokyo, Japan, August 3, 2021.
Mike Blake | Reuters

It’s unclear what the IOC generated from merchandise sales for the pandemic-impacted Tokyo Games this past summer.

But to paint a picture of the revenue that could be available to Fanatics, organizers projected $100 million from selling licensed products around the 2020 Olympics. For the 2016 Games in Brazil, officials initially estimated more than $400 million in sales. And the 2002 Winter Games – the last Olympic games held in the states – generated $500 million in gross retail sales for licensed products, according to the Salt Lake Organizing Committee.
Fanatics plans to leverage a heritage line that offers apparel, souvenirs, and other merchandise around previous Olympic games, including the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. And the company’s “Olympic Collection” will target younger consumers with toys and sports equipment products. The collections are available domestically, in Mexico, and in European countries, including the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
The IOC pact also helps strengthen Fanatics’ economic moat. The company is valued at $18 billion after chairman Michael Rubin lured investors, including Japan-based SoftBank, to pump money into the e-commerce giant.
In 2021, Fanatics started a non-fungible token (NFT) company valued at $1.5 billion. Fanatics also said its trading card company is worth $10 billion. It took over just about all of Major League Baseball’s e-commerce rights and aligned with America’s team with the Dallas Cowboys’ e-commerce rights.
Fanatics also has operations in the world’s second-largest economy China. That division is a joint venture with investment firm Hillhouse Capital, an Asia-focused private equity fund with companies in Asia’s e-commerce and retail sectors.
Fanatics estimates it will surpass $3 billion in sales this year and plans to leverage its over 80 million user base to grow future digital offerings including sports betting.

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

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Trial attorney Jeff Harris explained that a question of negligence on the “Rust” movie set could come down to the level of firearm training that actor Alec Baldwin received. 
 “I do believe that someone, ultimately, is going to be charged with at least criminal negligence in this case,” said Harris.

Trial attorney Jeff Harris said that a question of negligence on the “Rust” movie set following the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins could come down to the level of firearm training that actor Alec Baldwin received. 
“It may ultimately boil down to really a question of whether or not the actor was appropriately trained in the use of firearms, and that would fall on the production company, and it might absolve Baldwin of negligence,” said Harris, who is not representing any party involved in the incident.

Baldwin’s production company, El Dorado Pictures, was producing the upcoming film. Neither a rep for Baldwin nor El Dorado Pictures immediately responded to CNBC’s request for comment. 
The assistant director who handed Alec Baldwin a loaded gun on the movie set admitted to investigators that he did not check the revolver carefully enough, according to a search warrant released Wednesday. The Santa Fe County Sheriff also confirmed Wednesday that there was a real bullet in Baldwin’s revolver and that investigators found even more suspected live rounds on set. 
Harris served as the lead trial attorney on the lan Jones v. CSX case and secured an $11.2 million verdict on behalf of the family of camera operator Sarah Jones, who was killed while working on the “Midnight Rider” movie. 
He told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” that gross negligence likely occurred on the set of “Rust.” 
“I frankly think that if you have a movie set where you’ve got live ammunition that is intermingled with dummy ammunition and intermingled with blanks, that’s the kind of activity that rises to the level of gross negligence, and I do believe that someone, ultimately, is going to be charged with at least criminal negligence in this case,” said Harris.

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The NFL held its first in-person owners meeting in over 600 days to discuss the latest issues surrounding the league.
The Washington Football Team investigation and email scandal involving former Las Vegas coach Jon Gruden were big topics among media members.
“We all have demons in our lives,” said Raiders owner Mark Davis.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during the NFL Football match between the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts on October 3rd, 2021 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, FL.
Andrew Bershaw | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis sat down in the lobby of a New York City hotel on Wednesday, and was quickly bombarded by media members.
Davis was one of the few National Football League owners who didn’t rush to depart the InterContinental Hotel after the league concluded its 2021 fall meetings. He even smiled while answering about 20 minutes of questions about the state of pro football.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell held the first in-person meetings with team owners in over 600 days this week, and the sessions came as numerous scandals swirled around league ownership. There’s the public backlash from the leaked emails containing racist and homophobic remarks, which led to the ouster of Raiders coach Jon Gruden. Meanwhile, congress is looking into the NFL’s handling of the Washington Football Team’s workplace misconduct.
When it comes to revenue, certain media rights remain up in the air, and the offseason pre-draft NFL combine may be headed to a new location.
As the NFL enters week eight of its season, Davis, was asked to describe the state of the NFL.
“I really can’t describe it,” Davis said. “I know where the Raiders stand.”
Davis confirmed that the Raiders agreed to a financial settlement with Gruden, who signed a 10-year $100 million deal to coach the team in 2018. Gruden resigned earlier this month after emails from him were leaked containing racist and homophobic language.

Davis said that if the NFL knew about the emails, it could’ve addressed the matter before the season.
“We all have demons in our lives,” he said. “You have to understand that. And then, you have also look at redemption as well.”
The emails were uncovered as part of an investigation into the Washington Football Team.
The NFL has obtained over 600,000 emails stemming from a probe into workplace culture at the WFT, which is owned by Dan Snyder. Last July, an investigation into the team found the club presented a “highly unprofessional” workplace, especially for women. The NFL fined the team $10 million, and Snyder agreed to step aside, turning over day-to-day control to his wife, Tanya.
The NFL thought the matter was resolved until the New York Times reported that Gruden used offensive comments in emails to then WFT president Bruce Allen over seven years. That was while Gruden was an employee at ESPN.
Former female employees of WFT crashed the NFL meetings to request documents about the investigation be released publicly. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform also sent a letter to Goodell asking that records tied to the investigation be turned over by Nov. 4.
Goodell addressed the matter on Tuesday. He said it would be “difficult” to provide additional detail, citing the league’s promise to protect the anonymity of the over 150 people interviewed. He said the NFL would be cooperating with Congress.
With regards to the investigation into the WFT, Davis said he favors a more detailed report, “especially with some of the things that were charged.”
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones tried to escape the media scrum, but didn’t entirely succeed. He threw his bag down and briefly said he “approved of the way the league handled,” without answering additional questions.

Owner Mark Davis of the Las Vegas Raiders looks on before a game against the Chicago Bears at Allegiant Stadium on October 10, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Chris Unger | Getty Images

The future of NFL Sunday Ticket 

On the money side, the NFL is set with media rights deal worth more than $100 billion rights over the next decade. Davis was happier to address that subject.
“We got to talk about the collective barging agreement and the new television contract which gives stability to the league – that’s really big for us,” he said. “And we have a lot of other things to work on as well.”
But there is a piece of unsolved business – the NFL Sunday Ticket. AT&T has the rights via its ownership of DirecTV. The deal, which pays the NFL over $1 billion annually, expires in 2023. After that, it could switch platforms.
On Tuesday, Goodell called Sunday Ticket a “streaming product” that the NFL wants to take off satellite and make digital. 
“I think that is best for our fans to make it accessible on a digital platform,” he said.
Goodell said the NFL hasn’t identified a new partner. Amazon is a target for the rights, but in league circles, the rumblings suggest the NFL eventually wants to lure Apple to take it over.
Apple has the distribution with iPhones and iPads and can put games on its streaming service. Longtime sports executive Andy Dolich referred to it as the “railroad tracks” when discussing the demise of regional sports networks.
A person familiar with the NFL’s thinking about Sunday Ticket told CNBC that several tech companies are showing interest, but didn’t reveal names. The person discussed the matter on the condition of remaining anonymous because the talks are private.
DirecTV has a streaming service and is trying to boost awareness by sponsoring ESPN shows. That service hasn’t received stellar reviews.
The NFL is considering a few ways to experiment with Sunday Ticket, including giving consumers the option to purchase individual team games. It could also mimic the broadcast TV package by letting streaming services carry a specific conference. And to increase the value of Sunday Ticket, the NFL could also include media properties like NFL.com and the NFL Network.
Last August, the NFL hired Goldman Sachs to seek investment partners in the properties.
The league still has another season with DirectTV, but the NFL likely wants a new agreement in place before the start of the 2022 season.

Defensive back Jeff Okudah of Ohio State prepares to run the 40-yard dash during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 29, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Joe Robbins | Getty Images

Combine moving to Dallas

Another property the NFL plans to discuss is the future location of its annual combine.
The pre-draft event serves as another potential media asset as it mainly airs on NFL Network and generates interest among hardcore football fans. On Tuesday, NFL executive Troy Vincent said the combine would attempt to return to normal in 2022 and will be held in Indianapolis after going virtual during the pandemic.
But there is some uncertainty around the 2023 event.
The NFL opened the bid for teams to host the combine, which has been held in Indianapolis since 1987. The event helps draw $10 million in economic impact to the city, according to tourism website Visit Indy. But that’s far below the more than $200 million the NFL Draft helps draw.
Location is key, which is why Dallas and Los Angeles have entered the mix. A source told CNBC that Frisco, Texas (outside Dallas) would more than likely get the winning bid for the 2023 event. It’s the home of the Cowboys practice facility, the Ford Center.
CNBC visited the entertainment ground last September, which is on a 91-acre piece of real estate controlled by Jones. The over $1 billion, 12,000 seat sports complex opened in 2016 at The Star. The Ford Center is attached to the luxurious Omni Hotel, and is surrounded by a shopping center, restaurants, a car dealership, and is a draw for football fans.
“There has been a focus on improving the experience for the athlete,” Vincent said. “We have to do things differently.”

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Texas officials on Wednesday laid out their case for the Supreme Court to dismiss two challenges to a restrictive state law that bans most abortions after as early as six weeks of pregnancy.
But the Biden administration and a group of abortion-rights providers and advocates in separate briefs slammed the law as unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Monday in both cases, Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson and United States v. Texas.

Hannah Wolfe, left, protests against abortion rights as Laurie Arbeiter protests for abortion rights in front of Wolfe, outside of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., October 4, 2021.
Leah Millis | Reuters

Texas officials on Wednesday laid out their case for the Supreme Court to dismiss two challenges to a restrictive state law that bans most abortions after as early as six weeks of pregnancy.
In a 93-page brief, the officials argued that since the Texas law is enforced by private citizens instead of the state government, both lawsuits were wrongly filed against them. “No state executive official actually enforces [the law],” Texas wrote, “making the injunction an improper attempt to enjoin a law rather than a person.”

But the Biden administration in its own court filing slammed that enforcement mechanism as a “brazen attack on the supremacy of federal law,” arguing that “if Texas is right, no decision of this Court is safe.”
And a group of abortion-rights providers and advocates in a separate brief urged the high court to reject Texas’s “cynical strategy” to avoid judicial review.
Those filings came less than a week before the nine justices are set to hear oral arguments in both cases — Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson and United States v. Texas — which were recently fast-tracked for briefing and argument.
The court had previously come under fire for declining to rule on an emergency bid to block the law before it went into effect in September. The majority in that 5-4 ruling included all three of former President Donald Trump’s appointees to the bench, while Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s liberals.
But the justices later granted an appeal for them to consider a challenge to the statute, even as litigation was still pending in a lower court. On Friday, the court laid out a schedule in that case and another one brought by the Department of Justice, with briefings due Wednesday, replies due Friday and arguments set for Monday morning.

The law, S.B. 8, bans most abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, which can occur as early as the sixth week of gestation. By that point, many women have yet to discover they are pregnant.
Critics say S.B. 8 violates Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that grants the right to an abortion before fetal viability, which is generally around 24 weeks. Texas’ brief makes no explicit reference to Roe, but argues that the law is consistent with another case, 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which protects against states placing an “undue burden” on abortion access.
S.B. 8, which was signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May, does not include an exception for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.
Rather than task state officials with enforcing the six-week ban, S.B. 8 delegates that power to private citizens, who are allowed to sue, for at least $10,000, anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion.
For that reason, both of the cases against the law suffer from the “inability to identify an appropriate defendant,” Texas officials argued in their brief Wednesday.
But lawyers for the Texas abortion providers argued that federal courts must be able to respond to claims against the “blatantly unconstitutional statute.”
The law’s provisions “create a heads-I-win-tails-you-lose regime whose evident purpose is to deter and obstruct access to federal and state court,” the advocates wrote.
The Department of Justice argued that the “unprecedented structure” of S.B. 8 is designed “to thwart judicial review.”
If allowed to stand, Texas’ legislative strategy would mean that “states need not comply with, or even challenge, precedents with which they disagree,” the DOJ wrote in its brief. “They may simply outlaw the exercise of whatever rights they disfavor; disclaim state enforcement; and delegate to the general public the authority to bring harassing actions threatening ruinous liability.”
The DOJ noted that “other states are already regarding S.B. 8 as a model.”

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At least 1.5 million Americans received a booster shot of either Moderna’s or J&J’s Covid-19 vaccine in the first five days after U.S. regulators authorized the extra doses, a White House official said.
“Our booster program is off to a very strong start,” Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, told reporters.
At least 15 million Americans have received a booster of any authorized Covid vaccine in total, he said.

At least 1.5 million Americans received a booster shot of either Moderna’s or Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine in the first five days after U.S. regulators authorized the extra doses, a White House official announced Wednesday.
“Our booster program is off to a very strong start,” Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, told reporters during a virtual news conference. He said the administration is working with states, pharmacies and other entities to quickly get boosters to tens of millions of eligible Americans.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday approved booster shots of Moderna’s and J&J’s Covid vaccines for millions of Americans.

Maryland National Guard Specialist James Truong (L) administers a Moderna coronavirus vaccine at CASA de Maryland’s Wheaton Welcome Center on May 21, 2021 in Wheaton, Maryland.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images

The CDC cleared the Moderna booster to be given to elderly people and at-risk adults six months after they complete their primary series of shots, bringing it in line with the distribution plan for Pfizer and BioNTech’s booster. It also cleared J&J’s booster for adults who received the initial shot at least two months ago.
Zients said Wednesday at least 15 million Americans have received an additional dose of any authorized Covid vaccine since health officials in August cleared third shots of Pfizer’s or Moderna’s vaccines for people with weakened immune systems.
While the Biden administration is still working to persuade hesitant adults to get their first Covid vaccine shots, it is also preparing to distribute doses to younger age groups, he said.
U.S. health officials are expected to approve a smaller dose of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11 as early as next week.

States have placed their initial orders for the children’s doses, Zients said Wednesday, and millions of doses will be distributed by the U.S. government after federal regulators sign off.
About 28 million children would become eligible for Pfizer’s vaccine, pending authorization from the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC, he said.

CNBC Health & Science

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Ford nearly doubled Wall Street’s earnings expectations and slightly beat revenue projections for the third quarter.
The results led the automaker to increase its annual guidance for the second time this year.
Ford said increased availability of semiconductor chips and higher vehicle shipments in the third quarter enabled it to post higher-than-expected results.

DETROIT — Ford Motor nearly doubled Wall Street’s earnings expectations and slightly beat revenue projections for the third quarter, leading the automaker to increase its annual guidance for the second time this year.
Here’s how Ford performed versus what Wall Street expected based on average analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv.

Adjusted EPS: 51 cents per share adjusted vs. 27 cents per share expected
Automotive revenue: $33.21 billion vs. $32.54 billion expected

Ford’s shares jumped by more than 9% during after-hours trading. The stock closed Wednesday down by 2.7% to $15.51 a share.
Ford on Wednesday also said it would reinstate its regular dividend starting in the fourth quarter, more than a year and a half after suspending the payments during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

New guidance

The automaker’s new full-year adjusted earnings guidance is between $10.5 billion and $11.5 billion, up from between $9 billion and $10 billion. Ford maintained its expectations for adjusted free cash flow of between $4 billion and $5 billion.

Baked into the new guidance are expectations for the fourth quarter that include an increase in wholesale shipments from the third quarter, combined with a continued healthy mix of vehicles sold and net pricing. Those gains are expected to be against sequentially lower results from its finance arm, Ford said.
“The results are showing, really, the underlying strength of our business,” Ford CFO John Lawler told reporters Wednesday during a call.

The company increased annual guidance despite Lawler previously saying the second half of the year would be weaker than the first six months. He had cited $3 billion to $4 billion in favorable higher sales volumes, but said commodity costs, lower earnings from Ford Credit and other factors such as $500 million in higher warranty costs dragged down its results during the back end of the year.

‘More to come’

Ford cited strong demand for newer products such as the Bronco SUV and Mustang Mach-E, which the company said could reach 200,000 units in sales globally a year.
“I believe we have the right plan to drive growth and unlock unprecedented value,” Ford CEO Jim Farley told investors Wednesday during a call. “You’re already seeing favorable change in the slope of our earnings and cash flow. There’s more to come.”

On an unadjusted basis, Ford’s net income was $1.8 billion compared with $2.4 billion a year earlier, when dealerships and plants largely reopened after being shuttered during some of the second quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic. The automaker reported pretax adjusted earnings of $3 billion for the third quarter, down from $3.6 billion a year earlier.
Its automotive revenue was down 5% during the quarter compared with $34.7 billion in the third quarter of 2020.

2022

Ford declined to give financial guidance for 2022, but Lawler said the company expects the chip shortage to continue into next year and potentially, to a far lesser extent, into 2023. He said Ford expects a 10% increase in wholesale vehicle volumes in 2022 compared with this year, as the semiconductor shortage continues to impact the business.
Lawler also said the automaker expects commodity costs to be up $3 billion to $3.5 billion for 2021 and that they could increase another $1.5 billion in 2022.

Ford received a couple of bullish calls from Wall Street analysts heading into earnings, including an upgrade by Credit Suisse to outperform from neutral.
Ford’s largest American rival, General Motors, reported third-quarter earnings Wednesday morning that beat Wall Street’s estimates. Despite the beats, GM’s stock declined by more than 5% during intraday trading due to the automaker lowering free cash flow guidance for the year and not meeting some investor expectations for the remainder of the year.
Separately, Farley on Wednesday said Ford would delay an over-the-air rollout of its BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system from this year until the first quarter of next year. He said the delay is to simplify the technology, which is viewed as a new recurring revenue opportunity and a way for Ford to catch up with other systems from competitors such as GM and Tesla.

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