Raphael Stevens

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    in Business

    Streaming deals are key to future of NFL viewership, fandom

    The NFL’s recent slew of media rights deals with streaming services showcases the league’s push to broaden its fanbase and audience, speakers at CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan event said Tuesday.
    The NFL has streamed games on Amazon’s Prime Video, Google’s YouTube TV and NBCUniversal’s Peacock.
    Next up, streaming giant Netflix will air NFL games on Christmas Day, the league’s first media rights deal that “is truly global,” said Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution.

    Running back John Kelly Jr. #33 of the Baltimore Ravens carries the ball during the second quarter of an NFL preseason football game against the Green Bay Packers, at Lambeau Field on August 24, 2024 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
    Todd Rosenberg | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

    The National Football League’s bet on streaming is paying off — and helping to broaden its fanbase in the U.S. and globally.
    Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution, said at CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan sports business event on Tuesday that the league’s recent slew of exclusive streaming deals with media companies showcases its push to grow its audience.

    When the NFL signed an 11-year, $111 billion media rights deal in 2021, streaming was already part of the mix. “Thursday Night Football” found its exclusive home on Amazon’s Prime Video under that deal, while other legacy media broadcast partners got the green light to begin streaming games on their services.
    And that was just the beginning. The following year, the NFL’s “Sunday Ticket” package that allows viewers to see out-of-market games went to Google’s YouTube TV. Comcast’s NBCUniversal started streaming “Sunday Night Football” games on Peacock alongside its regular broadcast, and it later landed an exclusive Wild Card game that would only show on its streaming service. Streaming giant Netflix then secured a deal to air games on Christmas Day, beginning this year.
    “I think these latest steps are the latest in a journey that goes back probably 15 years ago, where we had a meeting with Steve Jobs and a small group of us,” Schroeder said, referring to when the former Apple CEO showed the group an early iteration of the iPhone and described how it would affect consumers. “That led us, in part, to retain the rights for live games on mobile phones.”
    Schroeder said that was the first of various steps the NFL took to get its current day, in which much of its media rights strategy is focused on streaming.
    The NFL Wild Card game that aired exclusively on Peacock earlier this year was a sign the strategy is paying off. It is considered the most-streamed live event in history with 27.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

    “I think for us that was maybe the most transformative moment in the last few years that we could put a Wild Card game, one of the truly highest valuable, highest viewed games of the year [on Peacock],” Schroeder said.
    The expansion into streaming has carried over into this season. Last week, the NFL’s first-ever game in Brazil was available exclusively on Peacock, averaging 14 million viewers.
    “I give the NFL a lot of credit putting the white lab coat on with us and experimenting,” said NBC Sports President Rick Cordella at the Game Plan event.
    He noted that Peacock’s sports strategy started with its launch in 2020 with English Premier League games, along with other sports like the NFL, and will keep growing in the 2025-26 season with NBA games.
    Similarly, Lori Conkling, YouTube global head of TV, film and sports partnerships, said during the Tuesday session that the data the company has across its various platforms shows high sports viewership and underscores why “Sunday Ticket” made sense as an offering.
    The majority of the NFL’s media rights deals are sewn up with traditional broadcast partners. Live sports broadcasts have maintained a large audience on traditional TV, even as consumers flee the cable bundle for streaming services. The majority of viewership still comes from traditional TV, according to ratings data.
    Schroeder said Tuesday that the NFL’s strategy exists in both the traditional TV and streaming worlds. Still, the league has said it wants to grow its fanbase and move in the same direction as the consumer, which is toward streaming. The league has also been trying to expand beyond its U.S. footprint, and playing games overseas is just part of the equation.
    “The Netflix deal will maybe be the first of its kind that is truly global,” Schroeder said. “And for us, I think there’s expectations that our global audience alone is going to rival what a window would do in the states.”
    Netflix will stream NFL games for the next three years, with two games being streamed this year on the platform, and at least one matchup in both 2025 and 2026.
    Disclosure: Comcast’s NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC. More

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    Federal Reserve unveils toned-down banking regulations in victory for Wall Street

    A top Federal Reserve official on Tuesday unveiled changes to a proposed set of U.S. banking regulations that roughly cuts in half the extra capital that the largest institutions will need.
    Introduced in July 2023, the regulatory overhaul known as the Basel Endgame would have boosted capital requirements for the world’s largest banks by roughly 19%.
    Instead, officials at the Fed, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have agreed to resubmit the massive proposal with a more modest 9% increase to big bank capital, according to prepared remarks from Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr.

    A top Federal Reserve official on Tuesday unveiled changes to a proposed set of U.S. banking regulations that roughly cuts in half the extra capital that the largest institutions will be forced to hold.
    Introduced in July 2023, the regulatory overhaul known as the Basel Endgame would have boosted capital requirements for the world’s largest banks by roughly 19%.

    Instead, officials at the Fed, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have agreed to resubmit the massive proposal with a more modest 9% increase to big bank capital, according to prepared remarks from Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr.
    The change comes after banks, business groups, lawmakers and others weighed in on the possible impact of the original proposal, Barr told an audience at the Brookings Institution.
    “This process has led us to conclude that broad and material changes to the proposals are warranted,” Barr said in the remarks. “There are benefits and costs to increasing capital requirements. The changes we intend to make will bring these two important objectives into better balance.”
    The original proposal, a long-in-the-works response to the 2008 global financial crisis, sought to boost safety and tighten oversight of risky activities including lending and trading. But by raising the capital that banks are required to hold as a cushion against losses, the plan could’ve also made loans more expensive or harder to obtain, pushing more activity to nonbank providers, according to trade organizations.
    The earlier version brought howls of protest from industry executives including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who helped lead the industry’s efforts to push back against the demands. Now, it looks like those efforts have paid off.

    But big banks aren’t the only ones to benefit. Regional banks with between $100 billion and $250 billion in assets are excluded from the latest proposal, except for a requirement that they recognize unrealized gains and losses on securities in their regulatory capital.
    That part will likely boost capital requirements by 3% to 4% over time, Barr said. It’s an apparent response to the failures last year of midsized banks caused by deposit runs tied to unrealized losses on bonds and loans amid sharply higher interest rates.

    Mortgages, retail loans

    Key parts of the proposal that apply to big banks bring several measures of risk more in line with international standards, while the original draft was more onerous for things such as mortgages and retail loans, Barr said.
    It also cuts the risk weighting for tax credit equity funding structures, often used to finance green energy projects; tempers a surcharge proposed for firms with a history of operational failures; and recognizes the relatively lower-risk nature of investment management operations.
    Barr said he will push to resubmit the proposed Basel Endgame regulations, as well as a separate set of capital surcharge rules for the biggest global institutions, which starts anew a public review process that has already taken longer than a year.
    That means it won’t be finalized until well after the November election, which creates the risk that if Republican candidate Donald Trump wins, the rules could be further weakened or never implemented, a situation that some regulators and lawmakers hoped to avoid.
    It’s unclear if the changes appease the industry and their constituents; banks and their trade groups have threatened to litigate to prevent the original draft’s implementation.
    “The journey to improve capital requirements since the Global Financial Crisis has been a long one, and Basel III Endgame is an important element of this effort,” Barr said. “The broad and material changes to both proposals that I’ve outlined today would better balance the benefits and costs of capital.”
    Reaction to Barr’s proposal was swift and predictable; Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called it a gift to Wall Street.
    “The revised bank capital standards are a Wall Street giveaway, increasing the risk of a future financial crisis and keeping taxpayers on the hook for bailouts,” Warren said in an emailed statement. “After years of needless delay, rather than bolster the security of the financial system, the Fed caved to the lobbying of big bank executives.”
    The American Bankers Association, a trade group, said it welcomed Barr’s announcement but stopped short of giving its approval to the latest version of the regulation.
    “We will carefully review this new proposal with our members, recognizing that America’s banks are already well-capitalized and … any increase in capital requirements will still carry a cost for the economy and must be appropriately tailored,” said ABA President Rob Nichols.

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    New Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol outlines priorities to end coffee chain’s slump

    New Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol explained four priorities for the U.S. business.
    Starbucks is hoping Niccol can turn around the coffee chain’s slumping sales, just like he did at Chipotle.
    Niccol plans to focus on the U.S. business initially before he turns to challenges in international markets.

    Brian Niccol, incoming CEO of Starbucks.
    Anjali Sundaram | CNBC

    New Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol will focus on improving the chain’s U.S. business in his early days on the job before he moves to fix its issues abroad, according to an open letter published on Tuesday.
    “… In some places — especially in the U.S. — we aren’t always delivering,” Niccol wrote in the open letter addressed to customers, employees and stakeholders. “It can feel transactional, menus can feel overwhelming, product is inconsistent, the wait too long or the handoff too hectic. These moments are opportunities for us to do better.”

    Niccol, who calls himself a longtime Starbucks customer, outlined four areas for improvement: the barista experience, morning service, its cafes and the company’s branding.
    “This is our plan for the U.S., and where I need to focus my time initially,” Niccol wrote in the letter.
    To tackle those challenges, Starbucks will invest in tech to improve baristas’ working conditions and allow them to craft drinks more quickly, make the company’s supply chain more efficient and upgrade its app and mobile ordering.
    Later, Niccol plans to address its international business, such as in China, its second-largest market. Starbucks’ business in China has struggled to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic, and increased competition has led the coffee chain to lean more on discounts and promotions to win back customers.
    “In China, we need to understand the potential path to capture growth and capitalize on our strengths in this dynamic market,” Niccol said.

    He also said the company will try to curb what he called “misconceptions” about its brand in the Middle East. Many U.S. brands, including Starbucks and McDonald’s, have faced boycotts tied to backlash against U.S. support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
    But for Niccol’s first 100 days, he plans to spend time in the chain’s cafes and offices and meet with key suppliers in the U.S.
    “Today, I’m making a commitment: We’re getting back to Starbucks,” said Niccol.
    The coffee giant named Niccol as chief executive in August, in conjunction with the company’s ouster of then-CEO Laxman Narasimhan. The leadership shake-up followed several quarters of slumping sales for Starbucks as demand for its drinks declined, particularly in the U.S. and China.
    Niccol’s official first day was Monday. He joined Starbucks from Chipotle Mexican Grill, where he spent six years as chief executive, turning it from a burrito chain in crisis into a consistent favorite of both diners and Wall Street. Now, he is tasked with executing a turnaround for Starbucks.
    Read the full letter below:

    An open letter for all partners, customers and stakeholders
    As I step into my first week as ceo, I do so not only as a leader, but as a long-time customer. Over the past few weeks, I’ve spent time in our stores, speaking with partners and customers, and talking with teams across operations, store design, marketing and product development.
    In each conversation, two truths emerged: First, Starbucks is a beloved brand with wonderful people. We are woven into the fabric of people’s lives and the communities we serve. Second, there’s a shared sense that we have drifted from our core. We have an opportunity to make the store experience better for our partners and, in turn, for our customers.
    Starbucks was founded on a love for high quality coffee — handcrafted by our outstanding green apron partners and enjoyed with intention. Coffee is our heart. We own and operate Hacienda Alsacia, our coffee farm on the slopes of Costa Rica’s Volcano Poás, which serves as the heart of our research and innovation efforts. From our network of Farmer Support Centers, Starbucks agronomists share research, education and best practices with local farmers. We invest in the finest quality beans. Our skilled team of roasters carefully prepare these beans in five Starbucks roasting facilities across the U.S., in Amsterdam to serve EMEA markets, in Kunshan for China, and in Karnataka, India, for that growing market. We also operate Starbucks Reserve Roasteries in Milan, Shanghai, Tokyo, New York City, Chicago and Seattle, where we roast small batch Reserve coffees. We design the best equipment for our stores and invest in training for our baristas to ensure every cup reflects our commitment to excellence. Each cup is more than a drink; it’s a handcrafted moment, made with care.
    Our stores have always been more than a place to get a drink. They’ve been a gathering space, a community center where conversations are sparked, friendships form, and everyone is greeted by a welcoming barista. A visit to Starbucks is about connection and joy, and of course great coffee.
    Many of our customers still experience this magic every day, but in some places — especially in the U.S. — we aren’t always delivering. It can feel transactional, menus can feel overwhelming, product is inconsistent, the wait too long or the handoff too hectic. These moments are opportunities for us to do better. 
    Today, I’m making a commitment: We’re getting back to Starbucks. We’re refocusing on what has always set Starbucks apart — a welcoming coffeehouse where people gather, and where we serve the finest coffee, handcrafted by our skilled baristas. This is our enduring identity. We will innovate from here.
    We’ll focus initially on four key areas that we know will have the biggest impact: 

    Empowering our baristas to take care of our customers: We’ll make sure our baristas have the tools and time to craft great drinks every time, delivered personally to each customer. For our partners, we’ll build on our tradition of leadership in retail by making Starbucks the best place to work, with career opportunities and a clear path to growth.
    Get the morning right, every morning: People start their day with us, and we need to meet their expectations. This means delivering outstanding drinks and food, on time, every time.
    Reestablishing Starbucks as the community coffeehouse: We’re committed to elevating the in-store experience — ensuring our spaces reflect the sights, smells and sounds that define Starbucks. Our stores will be inviting places to linger, with comfortable seating, thoughtful design and a clear distinction between “to-go” and “for-here” service.
    Telling our story: It’s time for us to tell our story again — reminding people of our unmatched coffee expertise, our role in communities and the special experience that only Starbucks can provide. We won’t let others define who we are.

    To support this vision for our U.S. business, we’re making investments in technology that enhance the partner and customer experience, improve our supply chain and evolve our app and mobile ordering platform. 
    This is our plan for the U.S., and where I need to focus my time initially. But Starbucks is a global company. We operate in 87 markets around the world, where thousands of talented green apron partners share their love of coffee with customers every day. I know I have much to learn from these outstanding teams and I look forward to getting on the road and spending time with them. In China, we need to understand the potential path to capture growth and capitalize on our strengths in this dynamic market. Internationally, we see enormous potential for growth, especially in regions like the Middle East, where we’ll work to dispel misconceptions about our brand, and in Asia Pacific, Europe and Latin America, where the love for Starbucks is strong. 
    My focus for the first 100 days is clear. I’ll spend time in our stores and at our Support Centers, meeting with key partners and suppliers, and working with our team to drive these critical first steps. Together, we will get back to what makes Starbucks, Starbucks. 
    On we go, 
    Brian  More

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    in Finance

    JPMorgan Chase shares drop 5% after bank tempers guidance on interest income and expenses

    JPMorgan Chase shares fell 5% on Tuesday after the bank’s president told analysts that expectations for net interest income and expenses in 2025 were too optimistic.
    The current estimate for 2025 of about $90 billion “is not very reasonable” because the Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates, JPMorgan President Daniel Pinto said at a financial conference.
    When it comes to expenses, the analyst estimate for next year of roughly $94 billion “is also a bit too optimistic” because of lingering inflation and new investments, Pinto said.
    The move was the New York-based bank’s worst drop since June 2020, according to FactSet.

    Daniel Pinto, president and chief operating officer of JPMorgan Chase, speaks during the Semafor 2024 World Economy Summit in Washington, DC, on April 18, 2024.
    Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

    JPMorgan Chase shares fell 5% on Tuesday after the bank’s president told analysts that expectations for net interest income and expenses in 2025 were too optimistic.
    While the bank expects to be in the “ballpark” of the 2024 target for NII of about $91.5 billion, the current estimate for next year of about $90 billion “is not very reasonable” because the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, JPMorgan President Daniel Pinto said at a financial conference.

    “I think that that number will be lower,” Pinto said. He declined to give a specific figure.
    Shares of the New York-based bank dropped more than 7% earlier in the session for the worst decline since June 2020, according to FactSet.
    JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, has been a winner among lenders in recent years, benefiting from better-than-expected growth in NII as the bank gathered more deposits and made more loans than expected. But skittish investors are now concerned about the outlook for a bellwether banking stock, along with broader concerns about slowing U.S. economic growth.
    NII, one of the main ways banks make money, is the difference in the cost of a bank’s deposits and what it earns by lending money or investing it in securities. When interest rates decline, new loans made by the bank and new bonds it purchases will yield less.
    Falling rates can help banks in the sense that customers will slow the rotation out of checking accounts and into higher-yielding instruments like CDs or money market funds. But they also make new assets lower yielding, which complicates the picture.

    “Clearly, as rates go lower, you have less pressure on repricing of deposits,” Pinto said. “But as you know, we are quite asset sensitive.”
    When it comes to expenses, the analyst estimate for next year of roughly $94 billion “is also a bit too optimistic” because of lingering inflation and new investments the firm is making, Pinto said.
    “There are a bunch of components that tell us that probably the number on expenses will be a bit higher than what is expected at the moment,” Pinto said.
    When it comes to trading, JPMorgan said it expects third-quarter revenue to be flat to up about 2% from a year ago, while investment banking fees are headed for a 15% jump.
    The trading slowdown tracks with Goldman Sachs, which said Monday that trading revenue for the quarter was headed for a 10% drop because of a tough year-over-year comparison and difficult trading conditions in August.

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    SEC charges Keurig Dr Pepper over claims about K-Cups’ recyclability

    The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Keurig Dr Pepper over claims about the recyclability of its K-Cups.
    The agency said the beverage giant failed to disclose that two of the biggest U.S. recyclers said they wouldn’t accept the pods for recycling.
    Keurig has agreed to pay a $1.5 million civil penalty without admitting or denying the agency’s findings.

    A green tea pod inside a Keurig brand coffee maker, Dec. 17, 2022.
    Gado | Archive Photos | Getty Images

    The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Keurig Dr Pepper over what the agency said are inaccurate claims by the company about the recyclability of its disposable K-Cup pods, the agency said Tuesday.
    Keurig has agreed to pay a $1.5 million civil penalty without admitting or denying the agency’s findings.

    As consumers have become more conscious of their carbon footprints, questions about K-Cups’ environmental impact have dogged Keurig for more than a decade. The pods’ inventor told the Atlantic that he feels bad “sometimes” about creating K-Cups because of the waste they generate. A 2018 lawsuit over recycling claims led to a $10 million class-action settlement. By the end of 2020, K-Cups became fully recyclable, according to the company.
    But before the company reached that milestone, it was already telling investors that the pods could be recycled.
    Keurig said in its annual reports for fiscal 2019 and 2020 that testing with recycling facilities found that K-Cups could be effectively recycled. However, the SEC said the company failed to disclose that two of the largest U.S. recyclers told Keurig that they didn’t intend to accept the disposable coffee pods for recycling and had expressed “significant concerns” about the financial viability of recycling K-Cups collected curbside.
    The company’s claims could have swayed some consumers, boosting sales of both K-Cups and its brewers. Research conducted earlier by a Keurig subsidiary found that environmental concerns were a key factor that some shoppers considered when buying a Keurig coffee machine, according to the SEC.
    In Keurig’s fiscal second quarter, sales of K-Cup pods and the company’s brewing systems accounted for nearly a quarter of the company’s revenue, according to a company filing.

    In a statement, a company spokesperson said, “We are pleased to have reached an agreement that fully resolves this matter.”
    “Our K-Cup pods are made from recyclable polypropylene plastic (also known as #5 plastic), which is widely accepted in curbside recycling systems across North America,” the spokesperson said. “We continue to encourage consumers to check with their local recycling program to verify acceptance of pods, as they are not recycled in many communities. We remain committed to a better, more standardized recycling system for all packaging materials through KDP actions, collaboration and smart policy solutions.” More

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    in Finance

    It’s not always ‘a sexy thing’ to be a millionaire, former NFL linebacker Brandon Copeland says. Here’s why

    YOUR GUIDE TO NAVIGATING YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE

    Brandon Copeland played in the National Football League as a linebacker for 10 seasons, with six teams.
    Copeland, 33, has co-taught a financial literacy course at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School since 2019.
    He wrote a new book, “Your Money Playbook,” that aims to condition consumers to win the money game.

    Brandon Copeland
    Copeland Media

    Brandon Copeland is a former NFL linebacker turned coach. But the type of coaching he gravitates to isn’t in the realm of sports — it’s in personal finance.
    The 33-year-old — who played for six teams across 10 seasons in the National Football League before retiring last year — started co-teaching a financial literacy course to undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, his alma mater, in 2019 while playing for the New York Jets.

    The course, nicknamed “Life 101,” was inspired by his own experiences with money, according to “Professor Cope,” who is also a member of the CNBC Global Financial Wellness Advisory Board and co-founder of Athletes.org, the players’ association for college athletes.

    More from Your Money:

    Here’s a look at more stories on how to manage, grow and protect your money for the years ahead.

    Now, the Orlando resident has written a new book, “Your Money Playbook,” that reads as a football coach’s blueprint to winning the financial “game.” It touches on topics like budgeting, paying down debt, saving, estate planning and starting a side hustle. (Just don’t call it a “side hustle,” as he explains in the book.)
    CNBC reached Copeland by phone to discuss his journey into financial education, why becoming a millionaire “is not a sexy thing” and how it helps to think in terms of Chipotle burritos.
    This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

    ‘Put the money to work for you’

    Greg Iacurci: What got you interested in teaching personal finance and financial literacy?

    Brandon Copeland: Feeling unprepared for some of the major financial decisions in life. We go to school for all these years and we [learn] about the tangent of a 45-degree angle, but we don’t talk about appliances and how to buy them, or how to make sure you protect yourself when you’re renting your first apartment and what renters insurance is.
    I always thought it was crazy that I had to make it to the Baltimore Ravens to learn what a 401(k) was. That was 2013, my rookie year. I learned what a 401(k) was when the NFL Players Association came and told us about the benefits you get for contributing.

    Fast forward to December 2016: My wife and I, we bought our first house, in New Jersey. When we bought that house I was in Detroit playing for the Lions. My wife was at the closing table and she called me and [asked], “Hey, does everything look right on this?” They e-mailed me the closing documents; it was 100 pages and I had no idea what I was looking at. I could see the purchase price was the price that we agreed to, but then I saw all these other titles and warranty deeds and this and that. And I’m like, “I have no idea if I’m getting screwed right now.” One of my biggest fears being an NFL player has always been, somebody’s taking advantage of me.
    GI: What do you think is the most important takeaway from your book?
    BC: The power of growth. That was the big discovery for me as I started to make money. I had no idea that existed as a kid. I always tell people, you either put the money to work for you or you go to work the rest of your life for money.
    There’s a lot of folks who are afraid of the [stock] market. And I’m like, well, everyone’s an investor. If you have a dollar to your name, you’re an investor. If you take your money, you put it under your mattress, you do nothing with it, you put it in a safe in the house: That’s an investment decision. That’s a 0% return. If you take your money, you put it in a regular checking account, that’s a 0.01% return. You put it into a high-yield savings account, it’s a 4% to 5% return. The stock market, you put it in an index fund, the S&P 500, that may be an average 9% to 10% return.
    All of those are investment decisions, you just have to choose wisely. [People] can put their money to work for them and get out of the “rat race” at some point.

    ‘That’s a lot of Chipotle burritos’

    GI: For someone who is just starting out — let’s say they have been hesitant to invest their money in the market — how would you suggest they get started?
    BC: I think the first thing you’ve got to do is download the [financial news] apps — the CNBCs of the world, the MarketWatch, Yahoo Finance, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg — and turn on the notifications. Those notifications are starting to explain to you what is moving the market and why, and you’re starting to learn the language of money. Whether you choose to invest money or not, you’re at least starting to get comfortable with, “Oh, the market’s down today. Well, why?” I think that’s important to start to develop your stomach.
    The other thing is, start to look at where [your] money is: What account your money is sitting in and how much is in those accounts. By doing that, you’re starting to look at your money from a 30,000-foot view. You can start to determine, “I have X amount of dollars over here in my traditional checking account. Maybe I can take some of that money and put it over into a high-yield savings account that is now giving me 4% interest on it annually. And by getting 4% interest on it annually, maybe that’s generating me $500 a year that I otherwise wouldn’t have had.” Now you’re starting to put yourself in the game of money. What is the limited amount of effort I can do and still be generating money on my behalf?
    As a kid, if somebody said, “Hey, man, I’ll give you $500 to do nothing, to press two buttons,” you’d be like, “Sign me up!” I always break that down as, that’s a lot of Chipotle burritos, that’s a lot of dinners, that’s a lot of time with my family at the water park. By doing that, it makes it more of a priority for me to hurry up and make that investment decision.

    Brandon Copeland
    Copeland Media

    GI: One of the first things that you encourage people to do in the book is say aloud to themselves, “I can be wealthy.” Why?
    BC: In football, your money or your job can be taken away from you overnight or through an injury. A lot of times, as I was making money, I was always just kind of looking around the corner. Even to this day, I still think about it as if somebody can rip the rug out from under my feet. So I’m still sometimes in survival mode. I think that although you can be making money, there are still ways where you can have anxiety around money, your lifestyle and when you spend money — all those things.
    Starting to have positive affirmations — “I deserve to be rich. I deserve to have money. I deserve to not be stressed about keeping the lights on. I can be wealthy. I can do this” — sometimes you’ve got to coach yourself on that. Because where else do you go get that positive affirmation that you can do it?
    Doing those things over time not only reinforce positive connotations about yourself, but they also genuinely have a real effect on your mental wellness. It is really, really hard to walk out of the house and be a super productive human being in society when you don’t know if the doors will be locked or changed the next time you get there.  

    Why being a millionaire ‘is not a sexy thing’

    GI: You write in the book that the journey of financial empowerment will require people to confront their “inner money myths.” What’s the most common myth around money that you hear?
    BC: For lot of communities that I serve it’s, put your money in the bank.
    GI: You mean keeping it in cash and not investing it?
    BC: Exactly. I think it’s a myth because you put your money in the bank, and the bank goes out and invests your money: They invest it in other people’s projects, other people’s homes, and then get a rate of return on your money. Not to say banks are bad and saving is bad, [but] you’ve got to figure out at some point when can I get to the point where I can put my money to work for me?
    I think that some of the myths are about whether wealth is for you or not. A lot of millionaires, it’s not a sexy thing. A lot of times you feel like you’ve got to go and create the next Instagram or Snapchat or TikTok in order to ever be wealthy, when really you’ve just got to make simple, consistent, disciplined decisions. That is the toughest thing in the world, to have delayed gratification or to subject yourself to delayed gratification.
    I think a lot of times, we don’t prepare for the situation we will be in one day or could be in one day.
    GI: How do you balance today versus tomorrow?
    BC: I went to a school a couple weeks ago and [asked] the athletes there write out what they want their life to look like five years after graduation. By doing that and saying, “Hey, I want this with my life. I want it to look like this, and I want vacations to be like this,” now you can always look at what you’re actually doing and determine whether your current actions [are working toward] your future, the future things that you want for yourself.
    I think a lot of us never spend the time write out what we actually want or to visualize what we actually want with life. And so you end up going to school, you go to college, and you’re there just to get a good job and make money, but you don’t really map out what that job is and what you like to do versus what you don’t like to do. You end up being just a pinball in life.

    I literally put people in my life to help hold me accountable. The best way I’d say to balance between delayed gratification and enjoying where you are today is having those accountability buddies who can tell you straight up, “Hey, you’re slacking,” or “Hey, you’re doing a good job.” But you can also map out against your own goals and wants for yourself, and [ask], are my actions actually adding up to this? 
    GI: You write in the book that carrying high-interest debt, like credit card debt, and simultaneously investing is like putting the heat on high during the winter in Green Bay, Wisconsin, while also keeping the windows wide open. Can you explain?
    BC: Sometimes folks are putting money in the market to try to get 6%, 9%, 10%, 12%, whatever, when they may be making the minimum payment on their credit card or no payment at all, which would be even worse, and they’re paying 18% [as an interest rate].
    You are automatically locking in a losing scenario for yourself that you’re not going to be able to outpace. More

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    Southwest Chair Kelly to step down next year as activist Elliott pushes for changes at airline

    Southwest’s chairman Gary Kelly said he will retire in 2025.
    The change comes under pressure from Elliott Investment Management.
    Kelly said the board continues to back CEO Bob Jordan, who also began at Southwest nearly 40 years ago.

    A Southwest Airlines plane takes off from Hollywood Burbank Airport above other Southwest planes on July 25, 2024 in Burbank, California. 
    Mario Tama | Getty Images

    Southwest Airlines said Tuesday that executive chairman and former CEO Gary Kelly will retire next year and announced a board shakeup, moves that come as the carrier faces pressure for changes by activist investor Elliott Investment Management.
    “Now is the time for change. It’s time to shake things up, not just stir them a bit,” Kelly said in a letter to shareholders. “The wisdom comes in knowing what to change and what not to change.”

    Kelly, who has worked at Southwest for nearly four decades and has been chairman since the carrier’s co-founder, Herb Kelleher, retired in 2008, announced he would step down hours after a meeting with Elliott, which has been calling for leadership changes at the Dallas-based carrier.
    Elliott in June revealed a nearly $2 billion stake in Southwest, seeking to oust leadership, including CEO Bob Jordan, who has also spent nearly four decades at the carrier. The firm said Southwest has had “stunning underperformance” under their leadership.
    On Tuesday, Kelly’s statement said Southwest’s board and leadership “unanimously support Bob Jordan as CEO.”
    Six of Southwest’s board members will retire in November, and the company will appoint four new independent directors “in the near future, including due consideration of up to three of Elliott’s candidates,” Kelly said.
    The activist investor crossed the 10% threshold needed to call a special meeting last week. Elliott did not immediately return a request for comment. Elliott has previously mounted campaigns at companies like AT&T, Salesforce and Texas Instruments, but it had never publicly pushed for change at an airline before.

    Southwest has also brought in outside experts, including Bob Fornaro, former CEO of Spirit Airlines and AirTran, which Southwest acquired.
    The carrier has struggled as it faces an oversupplied domestic U.S. market, higher costs and aircraft delivery delays from Boeing, its sole supplier.
    Southwest for years resisted changes to its simple business model that changed the U.S. airline industry, and earned nearly unbroken decades of profits, which helped it build an investment-grade balance sheet.
    But in July, it announced it would offer extra legroom on its aircraft and do away with its open seating policy, the biggest changes in its more than 50 years of flying. It also plans to over overnight, or “redeye” flights next year.
    Southwest has an investor day scheduled for Sept. 26 in Dallas to expand on these and other initiatives. More

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    Sales of $10 million homes surge in Palm Beach and New York

    New York led the U.S. in the number of homes sold for $10 million or more, with 72, its highest total in two years, according to real estate firm Knight Frank.
    The biggest sale of the quarter was the $150 million deal for Palm Beach’s only private island, which was reportedly purchased by Australian infrastructure investor Michael Dorrell.

    Tarpon Island, a private island in Palm Beach, Florida, sold for $150 million in May 2024.

    A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
    Sales of ultra-luxury homes surged in New York, Miami and Palm Beach, Florida, in the second quarter, even as they fell in much of the rest of the world, according to a new report.

    The number of homes that sold for $10 million or more in the second quarter jumped 44% in Palm Beach, 27% in Miami and 16% in New York, according to a report from real estate firm Knight Frank.
    New York led the U.S. in $10 million-plus sales, with 72, its highest total in two years, according to the report. Miami came in second with 55, followed by Los Angeles with 42 and Palm Beach with 36. Los Angeles saw a 29% decline in $10 million-plus sales, due largely to the new “mansion tax,” which adds a 5.5% charge on homes sold for over $10 million, the report said.
    The biggest sale of the quarter was the $150 million deal in May for Palm Beach’s only private island, reportedly purchased by Australian infrastructure investor Michael Dorrell, according to The Wall Street Journal. In June, a historic 3.2-acre estate in Palm Beach sold for $148 million, while in Manhattan, the penthouse of the Aman New York was sold for $135 million in July.

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    While demand in many top luxury markets is slowing from the 2021 peak, ultra-wealthy buyers continue to pay record prices for rare trophy properties, boosted in large part by rising financial markets, Knight Frank said.
    “Substantial wealth creation has supported the growth in the global super-prime sales market,” said Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank. “The transformation of markets like Dubai, Palm Beach and Miami has more than offset the slowing experienced by some more mature markets.”

    Globally, in the 11 top luxury markets that Knight Frank tracks, sales of $10 million-plus homes fell 4% over last year to $8.5 billion.
    Dubai leads the world in ultra-luxury real estate, with 85 sales in the second quarter, the report said. The city has seen a stratospheric rise, as the ultra-rich from Russia, China, Europe and other areas moved to Dubai for its friendly tax and regulatory regimes. In 2019, Dubai had only 23 sales over $10 million. In the past 12 months, it has had 436 sales — although sales in the most recent quarter fell slightly from last year and the first quarter, Knight Frank said.
    London saw one of the largest declines in the world, with sales of $10 million-plus homes plunging 47% from last year on fears of higher taxes on the U.K. wealthy, according to Knight Frank.
    Although ultra-luxury buyers usually pay cash for their properties, falling interest rates throughout the world are expected to help support sales in the second half, according to the report.
    Last week, 29 contracts were signed in Manhattan for properties priced over $4 million, according to the Olshan Luxury Market report — the strongest post-Labor Day week since at least 2006.
    “With rates moving lower, total transaction volumes are likely to tick higher into 2025,” Bailey said. More