The Dallas Cowboys may not be the once revered team dominating the NFL, but the five-time Super Bowl champions nonetheless remain a profitable sports franchise. According to Sportico, the Cowboys are valued at $9.2 billion, making them first in the NFL and across all sports leagues worldwide. Of the 25 most valuable sports franchises in the world, 16 come from the NFL, followed by three each in the NBA, MLB, and global soccer. Altogether, the 32 teams that make up the NFL are worth $165 billion, which factors in team-related enterprises and real estate owned by owners. Rounding out the top three NFL teams are the Giants ($7.04 billion) and the Rams ($6.94 billion), while the Bengals boast the lowest valuation at $4 billion.

As the sun nearly sets on the American leg of her Eras World Tour, Taylor Swift has yet another reason to celebrate. The MTV Video Music Award nominations dropped Tuesday, and the “August” singer earned eight nominations, the most of any artist. Among the categories her name is attached to are Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year for her chart-topping hit “Anti-Hero.” Coming in a close second with six nods is SZA and three artists are tied with four each: Diddy, Blackpink, and Shakira.

ESPN took a long-anticipated and enormous leap into the sports betting space when it announced a partnership with Penn Entertainment on Tuesday. In the deal, Penn will change its current sportsbook offerings in 16 legalized states to take on ESPN Bet branding starting this fall. Penn will pay ESPN $1.5 billion over an initial 10-year term, which could be extended an additional 10 years upon mutual agreement. ESPN Bet will take over for DraftKings as the company’s official sportsbook, and Penn Entertainment will receive attribution for odds, promotional services, and other product and content integration across the network’s numerous platforms. Penn Entertainment will sell 100% of Barstool Sports back to its founder, Dave Portnoy, as part of the transaction.

Boardroom’s Shlomo Sprung has a full breakdown of the alliance between ESPN and Penn. 

We’re less than three weeks away from the final Grand Slam of the year, and total prize money and player compensation at this year’s US Open tennis tournament will reach a record $65 million. The U.S. Tennis Association announced the news Tuesday, mentioning that the payout is boosted by increases in the amount of expenses covered. The single’s champion will earn $3 million and the runner-up will collect $1.5 million. On the double’s side, the winners will take home $700,000 per team with the runners-up pocketing $350,000. This year, the competition is also celebrating 50 years of equal prize money. In 1973, the US Open became the first of the four Grand Slams to offer the same purse for men and women competitors.

Chelsea Football Club forward Raheem Sterling and music video director Carly Cussen are launching a new production agency. Titled Playmaker Films, the England international cited his interest in what was going on behind the camera at video shoots as a catalyst for this new venture. As for working with Cussen, Sterling called her “the obvious choice” to team up with. Playmaker Films will concentrate on producing branded content, advertising, and music videos, with an “entertainment first” approach. For one of his first undertakings, Sterling and Clarks Shoes collaborated on a back-to-school campaign. 

Questlove has been an instrumental part of the year-long celebrations of hip-hop‘s 50th anniversary. For his latest project honoring the genre’s influence on pop culture, the Roots drummer is writing a book. Titled Hip Hop Is History, the novel will chronicle his legacy and knowledge of hip-hop. Easily one of music’s finest historians, Questlove credited his reputation of being in the “legacy business” as the motivation behind this endeavor. “I’m doing all this because somewhere out there, in 2031 or 2041, there will be a new Ahmir Thompson, or Ahmira Thompson – maybe my kids when I start having them – and all of my hard work won’t be for naught,” the Philly native said to Variety. A release date for the book has yet to be revealed, though it’s expected to drop in the first quarter of 2024 via AUWA Books, Questlove’s book line.