Moves and Mergers Roundup for Sept. 5, 2025

Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships, products and purchases across the sports business industry.

PERSONNEL

Portland Fire Announces Executive Team Additions

The Portland Fire have announced the appointment of Kimberly Veale as senior vice president, marketing & communications, while Kyle Burns has joined as vice president, ticket sales and service. Veale, who brings 15 years of experience in the WNBA and NBA, joins the Fire after leading marketing and communications for one of the league’s most recent expansion franchises, the Golden State Valkyries. Burns brings 12 years of professional ticketing experience to the Fire, where he will oversee ticket sales and service strategy with a focus on fan experience and revenue growth. Burns joins the Fire from BSE Global.

CSI Sports Announces John Skipper to Its Board

CSI Sports, a multimedia sports and entertainment company led by co-founders and co-CEOs Richard and Craig Miele, has announced that sports television executive John Skipper has joined its board of directors. CSI Sports also added HBO Sports executive Mark Taffet, veteran reality television producer Brian Robinson of American Idol Productions and veteran sports communications leader Chris DeBlasio from Showtime Networks to its leadership team. Skipper will serve as senior executive advisor to the Miele brothers, while Taffet has been named head of global live events, Robinson senior supervising producer of reality programming, and DeBlasio head of global communications. Skipper is the former president of ESPN.

Boston Legacy Appoints Jennifer van Dijk as Team President

Boston Legacy Football Club has announced the appointment of Jennifer van Dijk as team president as the club prepares to kick off its inaugural season at Gillette Stadium in 2026. Van Dijk will oversee all business operations and help shape the club’s long-term strategic vision. She joins the club after spending the last two years as the CEO of Superplastic, a character-driven animation company. Prior to joining Superplastic, van Dijk spent more than 20 years in major sports partnerships and digital innovation at IMG, Wasserman and the NBA.

Diamond Baseball Holdings Promotes Shepherd to Chief Strategy Officer

Diamond Baseball Holdings has promoted Henry Shepherd to chief strategy officer. Shepherd, who has contributed to the company’s acquisition phase and government and community relations efforts, will now also lead DBH’s evolving long-term growth strategy for ballparks.

NFL MVP Josh Allen Tapped as Therabody’s First Performance Advisor

Therabody has announced that NFL quarterback Josh Allen, an early Therabody investor, has joined the company as a Therabody athlete as well as its first performance advisor. He’ll also lead Therabody’s new campaign, including two national commercial spots.

PARTNERSHIPS

Red Bulls, Levy Announce Multiyear Partnership at Sports Illustrated Stadium

The New York Red Bulls have announced a partnership with Levy to bring a new food, beverage and retail experience to Sports Illustrated Stadium. Commencing with the 2026 season, Levy will oversee concessions and premium dining throughout the stadium, and will curate a customized collection of exclusive team gear at the stadium’s team shops. This will include new signature menu concepts, expanded partnerships with local restaurants, purveyors and breweries, and self-service technology.

Accenture Named Official Sponsor of the 2025 NFL International Games

The NFL has named Accenture an Official Sponsor of the 2025 NFL International Games, which will be played in São Paulo, Brazil; Dublin, Ireland; London, U.K.; Berlin, Germany; and Madrid, Spain. This announcement builds upon Accenture’s existing role as the Official Business and Technology Consulting Sponsor of the NFL. At the center of this effort is the NFL’s International Player Pathway (IPP) program, which identifies and develops elite athletes from around the world with the potential to play in the league. Accenture is working with the NFL’s International Football Development Team to develop the program.

WSL Football Appoints IMG to Grow International Media Rights

WSL Football has appointed global sports marketing agency IMG as its exclusive international media rights representative for its Women’s Super League and WSL2 tournaments in a new multiyear partnership. IMG is working with WSL Football to drive further international growth by strengthening broadcaster relationships in existing markets and expanding into new territories. For the 2025-26 season, WSL Football and IMG have deals secured with channels in Australia (Stan Sport), Norway (VG), Spain (Movistar), MENA (Dubai TV) and Italy (SkyItalia). 

Capitals Announce Coupang as Home and Third Jersey Patch Partner

The Washington Capitals and Coupang, an American technology company, have announced a multiyear partnership that places the Coupang logo on Capitals home and third jerseys worn for games played at Capital One Arena beginning with the 2025-26 NHL preseason. Coupang will have its logo featuring its wordmark and a rocket worn on the upper right chest area of the jerseys. Coupang’s partnership includes several signage and advertising elements across the Capitals, Wizards and Mystics brands. Coupang will also receive entitlement to Capitals social media features and serve as the presenting partner of Politics Aside on Monumental Sports Network, as well as the presenting partner of Capitals Mic’d Up.

PLL, U.S. Bank Stage Oculus Takeover Ahead of Championship

The Premier Lacrosse League and U.S. Bank will stage an activation at New York City’s Oculus on Sept. 9 as part of the multiyear partnership announced earlier this year. Under the deal, U.S. Bank serves as the Official Banking and Wealth Management Partner of the PLL and Women’s Lacrosse League, and title sponsor of the PLL Championship on Sept. 14 at Sports Illustrated Stadium. The Oculus takeover will feature a turf field, athlete appearances and a $10,000 donation to FDNY and NYPD charities.

New York Jets, FlyHouse Launch Multiyear Partnership 

The New York Jets have announced a multi-year partnership with FlyHouse, making them the Official and Exclusive Private Aviation provider of the team. The sponsorship is FlyHouse’s first with a professional sports team. FlyHouse will provide private travel for the team’s executives, commercial partners, players and staff throughout the season.

Jets, Parmigiano Reggiano Announce Multiyear Partnership

The New York Jets and Parmigiano Reggiano have kicked off a multiyear strategic partnership for the 2025 NFL season, marking the Italian cheese consortium’s first sponsorship with a U.S. professional sports team. MetLife Stadium will add “authentic culinary integrations” from the company. With the partnership, the cheese producer hopes to grow brand recognition overseas and connect with American consumers. To integrate Parmigiano Reggiano into the Jets’ game day experience, the two brands have revealed new activations at MetLife Stadium, ranging from concessions to features on the stadium’s videoboard during home games.

Perfect Game Partners with BatWraps

Perfect Game, the youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, has announced a new partnership with BatWraps, which makes custom-designed bat wraps for baseball players. BatWraps, which is owned by Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts, becomes the Official Bat Wrap Partner of Perfect Game. Betts joined the company in 2024. Working closely with Perfect Game’s Tournament Operations team, BatWraps engineered its wraps to meet all bat-use requirements.

Unisom Teams With Julian Edelman on Fantasy Football Promotion

Unisom, the night-time sleep aid,  is partnering with three-time Super Bowl champion Julian Edelman to help fans make fantasy football picks. Sleeper Pickz presented by Unisom will be a social media content series where Edelman gives draft advice by releasing his top, and under-the-radar, fantasy football picks he predicts are poised to perform this season.

PRODUCTS

Riyadh Season’s Six Kings Slam to Air Globally on Netflix 

Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, has announced Netflix as the official global broadcaster for this year’s Six Kings Slam at Riyadh Season. The second edition of the tournament, featuring six of men’s tennis’ leading players, is set to take place between Oct. 15 and 18 and will stream live and exclusively on Netflix. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner attempts to defend his Six Kings Slam title at ANB Arena, in an event with Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Jack Draper and Taylor Fritz. IMG, part of TKO Group Holdings Inc., will produce the host broadcast and content.

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