Including:
Kicking Off: Have you ever played Yahoo Fantasy Football?
Enticing, funny or disturbing? Yahoo and Liquid Death show off their new guillotine fantasy football game.
Yahoo is trying to regain its relevance (and market share) and I’m all for it.
An Internet original, Yahoo has taken a backseat to online powers like Google and Meta in the last 10+ years. Now over 30 years old, Yahoo hasn’t made much noise since Marissa Mayer’s CEO tenure in the 2010s, but now seems to be investing heavily in marketing to plot a return to prominence.
As part of this, Yahoo began its “28 Days of Fantasy” campaign to celebrate 28 years of Yahoo Fantasy Football. (Why 28? because Yahoo needs exposure and didn’t want to wait two years for a more logical anniversary celebration.)
While there are now many other fantasy football sites (like ESPN.com, NFL.com, DraftKings and FanDuel), Yahoo’s UI is simple and its fantasy sports options work well as part of a free, easily accessible mainstream tech platform — not one just for sports — and it grew big early. Want the entire office to play fantasy football together? It almost has to be through Yahoo. The same holds true for March Madness brackets. Fantasy football, like Yahoo Finance, is where Yahoo still has a competitive advantage.
The company’s four week-long fantasy campaign begins with a Liquid Death brand partnership for a guillotine fantasy game in which losing avatars are beheaded. An ad spot shows happy actors in guillotines awaiting their fate. Yahoo and Liquid Death are a bit getting medieval and … I’m not sure what to think. Maybe American Eagle is appreciative for any distraction? (Marketing Dive on the marketing, Yahoo on the rules)
Deion Sanders mentions Depend … and then the support starts
Deion Sanders speaks about his cancer diagnosis and treatment at a press conference.
During a press conference, Colorado football coach Deion Sanders shared his unfortunate personal health news that he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer and had his bladder removed in May.
His emotional statements included: “I truly depend on Depend, if you know what I mean. I can’t control my bladder.”
Appropriately, a Coach Prime endorsement for Depend was later announced.
Sanders already has prominent endorsement deals with Nike and Aflac. One of his sons, former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, previously appeared with him in Wendy’s commercials during their time together in Boulder.
The brand added: “Depend is proud to help millions of people live more confidently every day with comfort and protection they can trust – this includes Coach. Wearing Depend isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a badge of resilience. It takes real courage to face health challenges head-on. … Together, we know his voice will empower others to stand tall and help break the stigma that can come with wearing products like Depend.”
That’s where this endorsement can have a significant impact. There’s a stigma and jokes about wearing Depend, but Sanders’ battle cancer and having to wear Depend on the sideline is no laughing matter and may make others feel more comfortable wearing them. (USA Today)
Jalen Hurts keeps his cool and follows his thirst
Jalen Hurts plugs Sprite.
After bringing back its “Obey Your Thirst” tagline, Sprite tapped its first NFL player endorsement with reigning Super Bowl-winning quarterback Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jalen Hurts doesn’t appear in as many ads as Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady or Travis Kelce because his personality is more soft-spoken. Coca-Cola-owned Sprite thought that personality fit the persona of Sprite and its creative reflects that.
NBA stars Anthony Edwards, LeBron James and Grant Hill; and Olympic sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson are among other athletes who have contributed to Sprite ads and the “Obey Your Thirst” theme, which began in the 1990s.
With its revived ad theme, Sprite moved past Pepsi to became the No. 3 best-selling soda in the U.S., behind Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper. (MSN and Marketing Dive)
Athletes Unlimited Softball League sets attendance records
Blaze, an AUSL women’s pro softball team, celebrate.
The new four-team pro women’s softball league made big waves this year with an MLB investment and ability to attract some of the best former NCAA players into the mix. Of its 29 games, 20 were sellouts.
A game in Round Rock, Texas, outside of Austin, had 6,500 in attendance, the largest crowd to watch softball in state history.
The four teams were not city based but the league will move to that format in 2026.
The Talons claimed the season’s championship. (Again, no city connection.)
Look for the league to grow in the coming years. If trends continue, the AUSL may have more promise than the UFL because, like the WNBA with the NBA, the AUSL complements baseball rather than competing.
These numbers may seem relatively small compared with other women’s leagues and sports, but softball’s stock — at both the pro and college levels — seems like it will be on the rise, just like the WNBA.
I’ve found that baseball is a great sport to watch videos of on social because of the rule nuances and presonalities. Softball proves to be similarly perfect for watching on social, which will appeal to younger fans. MLB was wise in May to announce its support of the league, which will drive more baseball enthusiasm to softball and vice versa. (Sports Illustrated)
Stanford taps former Nike CEO as Athletic Director
Stanford University hired former Nike CEO John Donahoe as athletic director rather than tapping an administrator with university athletic department experience. Donahoe is a Stanford MBA alumnus and completed a bachelor’s degree at Dartmouth.
He has a lot of work ahead of him.
The Cardinal’s football program has been a mess recently with four straight 3-9 seasons and in April, the university fired football coach Troy Taylor after ESPN reporter Xuan Tahi detailed his inappropriate treatment of staff members. After his firing, Taylor filed a lawsuit against the network and reporter. Stanford football GM Andrew Luck then hired Frank Reich, his one-time former NFL coach, as interim coach.
Stanford’s men’s basketball team hasn’t fared well either recently and now it has to compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The department must expect Donahoe’s business acumen, which also includes an eBay tenure, to manage conference realignment, NIL opportunities and talent in the transfer portal. (Donahoe, CBS Sports and Taylor, Sports Illustrated)
Former Nike CEO John Donahoe, now Stanford AD
Instant Replays — What and Who We’re Watching
The WNBA coninues to stay popular, averaging 794,000 viewers per game, up 21% from last season’s full season average, even with star Caitlin Clark out with an injury. (Front Office Sports)
Speaking of TV ratings, the first NFL preseason game of 2025, the Hall of Fame Game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions, generated 6.9 million viewers, the most for the Hall of Fame Game since the Steelers and Cowboys played in 2021. This year’s sole preseason game viewership outpaces most postseason games for the NBA, MLB and all of the Stanley Cup games. (Sports Illustrated)
Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher/closer Emmanuel Clase was leading his team in saves, but now his locker is cleared out despite not being traded or released. Clase and teammate Luis Ortiz are both on paid leave during a gambling investigation. For both pitchers, they threw pitches far away from the plate when unusual gambling activity favored that outcome — it’s a betting option. As gambling grows in popularity and access, and the NBA also had to suspend a player indefinitely, it’s both an opportunity to grow fanbases with more interest and a threat to the validity of players’ efforts and outcomes. (Wall Street Journal)
EA Sports CEO Andrew Wilson said during its earnings call, that his company will become “the most valuable sports business in the world.” It’s not even close to many teams in valuation. He wouldn’t elaborate on what he meant. (Game Developer)
The two-day Bristol Motor Speedway MLB game between the Reds and Braves ran out of food the first day. Fans were able to bring food on Sunday. (Jalopnik)
Strava, the fitness and social media app, has had an interesting history as it exploded in popularity during the pandemic. Michael Martin, the new CEO joined the company after tenures running Nike Run Club and stops at both NBCUniversal and Google. (Wall Street Journal)
Upon Further Review
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Hope you enjoyed this second edition of The Replay Booth.
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— Eric Wein