According to the MLS and Fanatics, Inter Miami CF star Lionel Messi is the top-selling MLS player jersey of 2024, sitting at No. 1 just ahead of teammate Luis Suárez. Led by the duo, Inter Miami boasts the most players in the top 25 with five. Messi’s jersey influence is growing across the country, with Adidas unveiling that Florida understandably leads the nation in highest per capita sales of Messi’s Miami kit, followed by Washington, DC, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York.

In a move that makes the Italian sports brand the first to co-own a pickleball team, LOTTO and the Brooklyn Aces have formed a strategic partnership, the team announced on Tuesday. LOTTO joins an ownership group that includes Kevin Durant, Rich Kleiman, and Michael B. Jordan. As part of the partnership, the brand will be integrated into the Aces logo and on player uniforms as the team’s official apparel sponsor.

Apple kicked off its much-anticipated annual WWDC event on Monday, and in addition to announcing new operating systems across the board, the Big Tech company also confirmed its partnership with OpenAI and the integration of ChatGPT 4o into iOS, macOS, and iPadOS. This means that the popular mobile assistant Siri will be able to turn to the AI system when it is unable to perform a task. ChatGPT will be made available for free in iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia later this year without an account.

Subscribe to Boardroom’s Tech Talk for more key takeaways from Apple’s WWDC event from Michelai Graham. 

Rick Ross is auctioning off roughly 800 items, including 300 pairs of shoes, hundreds of items from his designer wardrobe, and numerous art pieces, in a two-day auction presented by Julien’s Auctions. Titled Push It to the Limit — Luxury & Lifestyle, a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Boss Up Grant Program with The Creative Collective NYC. Rick Ross will host the auction live online from Los Angeles on June 25-26.

The BIG3 is hitting the streets. In a partnership with Surgeon and Sneaker Con, the Ice Cube-led league will be going on the BIG3 Street Tour, bringing four events to Sneaker Con venues across the nation. Each event will be an 8- to 12-team tournament, with the winning team entering a Championship Bracket that will see all the respective winners of each event battle it out for $50,000 in a tournament ahead of the 2025 BIG3 Championship Game. The next BIG3 Street Tour at Sneaker Con event will take place in Dallas, Texas.

Boardroom’s Ian Stonebrook spoke with Ice Cube to learn more about his plan to expand the BIG3 business on a global scale. 

Adidas is making a concerted effort to help grow the sport of soccer in the US. The Three Stripes put $15 million into both product and financial contributions to non-profit partners to help expand access to the sport for underserved communities. The company has also set aside nearly $9 million in planned investment through 2026 for when the United States, Mexico, and Canada host the FIFA World Cup. Early data suggests that the efforts have been impactful as the Adidas brand continues to see significant interest growth in North America, including a 40% increase in visits to the company’s kids’ soccer site.