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Morning. It’s Friday, and what better way to prepare for the weekend than with a new edition of The Sports Road. You know the drill… Sports, tech, jokes, and cringes. Enjoy!
Here's what we got for ya today:
- A Big Partnership
- The Future of Sports Science
- Game Changing Developments
- This Will Change Football
Most valuable public market sports teams
Let's get into it!
It's Your Time…
As the use of technology in sport rises, fans are getting more and more involved.
With big-time tech companies acting as mediators between us and our favourite teams, now more than ever, it feels like an increasingly good time to be a Sports fan.
Well, it’s getting even better.
Yep, in a partnership struck between AI firm Tempus Ex Machina and digital signing specialist Virtual Tables, fan personalisation and engagement is at the forefront of the vision's aims.
“We are thrilled to add Tempus Ex content to our exclusive platform offering, taking us a huge step forward in our overall mission of bringing unique fan experiences to audiences around the world… Fans will not only be able to participate in a unique event to meet their favourite athlete, but they will also have access to personalised content. This is a key component in connecting fans through experiences they have never had access to before.”
That’s right, in looking to maximise what fans can squeeze out of their favourite teams, Virtual Tables have taken on Ex Machina’s Fusion-feed technology in order to examine each facet of a game automatically.
Generating custom highlight clips, the AI-powered technology will help provide fans with personalised content that can be autographed and given to fans.
Having both already partnered with the XFL Football League, Williams F1 Team, Chelsea, The San Francisco 49ers, and more, it’s fair to assume that both companies know exactly how to navigate this deal.
So in that case – if it helps the fans – here’s to more!
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Times Are Changing
Let’s be honest. In sport, whether you like it or not, there are simply A LOT of factors that are out of our control.
Annoyingly, these have MAJOR effects on performance. Perhaps none more than injury…
Just ask Arsenal fans.
Since an injury to star defender William Saliba, recent form just hasn’t been the same…
Well, what if we told you that the whole landscape of how we deal with injury could be changing.
In an investment round raising $3 million, Charlottesville-based company Springbok Analytics is changing the game.
This is what we know so far:
- Planning to transform 2D MRI data into full 3D muscle replications, experts can gain an even better understanding of injuries
- A Springbok scan can take less than 15 minutes
- The technology is already trusted by performance specialists in the MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL
Having already been selected to participate in the NBA’s launchpad program, it looks like Springbok will stay in the sports scene for a long long time.
“This investment allows us to further develop our technology to help improve precision health across human performance, longevity and life sciences. We are focused on building out our 3D muscle analysis capabilities to become the standard of care for injury management, performance and clinical research, a mission that this investor group fully supports.”
We Need to Talk About: A Salary Cap
If done responsibly, betting really can be a fun way to interact with your favourite sports and have a bit of fun with your mates.
In an effort to become one of the biggest in the game, this company has taken those matters right into their own hands…
Allowing sports fans to bet amongst their mates, Wagr gives people an opportunity to earn big rewards AND bragging rights.
Having already raised $16 million throughout the years, this week saw a BIG shift in the future of the company…
Being bought out by giant Yahoo, the company will be able to develop into one of the biggest Fantasy sport/betting firms in the scene.
This is what we know so far:
- The buyout will allow an increase in fan engagement
- Wagr will be granted access into using resources not available to them before
- Wagr’s platform will be fully integrated into the Yahoo system
“While we know our fantasy leagues increase fan engagement and give people something to root for, the real value is in keeping friend groups together through competition and camaraderie around the sports they love.”
We Need to Talk About: A Salary Cap
If this happens, Football could be changing FOREVER…
Stating this week that he believes a salary cap should be implemented into European Football, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin is NOT messing about.
"In the future we have to seriously think about a salary cap… If the budgets go sky-high then our competitive balance is a problem. It's not about the owners, it's about the value of the competition, because if five clubs will always win then it doesn't make sense any more. But it has to be a collective agreement - every league and UEFA. Because if we do it and the other leagues don't, then it doesn't make sense. I hope it can be made as soon as possible.
To be honest, in a lot of ways, this makes a lot of sense. With current wages reaching crazy amounts, the disparity between the ‘big’ teams and others is getting bigger and bigger.
With the Premier League basically doubling the second highest leagues wage structure in Europe's top five, there is a real danger that we’re witnessing the creation of a Super League already!
While sounding good in theory, player backlash will be BIG…
“Players need to be treated as the most important stakeholders and central to these conversations… When players read that 'everyone agrees' with capping their wages, I think they will rightly be angry. Without proper engagement or consultation, players are continually being asked to play more and more games. New competitions are being created and existing tournaments expanded. These all generate more money within football.”
Who knows what will happen, but hopefully it can be implemented properly.
Not to be that guy… but if it’ll be governed anywhere similar to FFP, just sack it off 😅
Quick bites
- Big result: Man City take over in title race
- NFL: Take a look at draft predictions here!
- F1 is Back: This is what you need to know
Meme of the day
All I wanted was a conversation man
— Jack (@SpursIad)
Apr 26, 2023
😂 😂
Quote of the day
"Our destiny is in our hands"
Photo of the day
Not a good look...
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