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Boardroom is a sports, media and entertainment brand co-founded by Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman and focused on the intersection of sports and entertainment. Boardroom’s flagship media arm features premium video/audio, editorial, daily and weekly newsletters, showcasing how athletes, executives, musicians and creators are moving the business world forward. Boardroom’s ecosystem encompasses B2B events and experiences (such as its renowned NBA and WNBA All-Star events) as well as ticketed conferences such as Game Plan in partnership with CNBC. Our advisory arm serves to consult and connect athletes, brands and executives with our broader network and initiatives.

Recent film and TV projects also under the Boardroom umbrella include the Academy Award-winning Two Distant Strangers (Netflix), the critically acclaimed scripted series SWAGGER (Apple TV+) and Emmy-nominated documentary NYC Point Gods (Showtime).

Boardroom’s sister company, Boardroom Sports Holdings, features investments in emerging sports teams and leagues, including the Major League Pickleball team, the Brooklyn Aces, NWSL champions Gotham FC, and MLS’ Philadelphia Union.

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February 21, 2025
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Ray-Ban announced Friday that A$AP Rocky has been named the eyewear brand’s first-ever creative director. According to the company, the rapper will extend beyond collection curation to “store design, campaign direction and more.” A$AP Rocky’s inaugural project, the Blacked Out Collection, launches in April and will see the father of two handle everything from flexing his design chops to directing promotional campaigns.

ESPN and MLB have “mutually agreed to terminate their agreement after the 2025 season,” per a memo from league commissioner Rob Manfred obtained by The Athletic. Manfred says MLB arrived at this decision because they’ve grown frustrated with ESPN’s lack of baseball coverage outside of its live broadcast. The collaboration was previously contracted through the 2028 season. 

Dawn Staley shared Friday that her first book is arriving this spring. Called Uncommon Favor: Basketball, North Philly, My Mother and the Life Lessons I Learned from All Three, the memoir chronicles the South Carolina women’s basketball coach’s upbringing in North Philadelphia, playing basketball at the University of Virginia, and her myriad successes on and off the court. 

With a valuation of $1.25 billion, LAFC sits atop of Forbes’ most valuable MLS clubs. In second and third place are Inter Miami CF ($1.2 billion) and reigning MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy ($1 billion), respectively.

Live Nation’s 2024 report reveals the entertainment company saw a total revenue of $23.1 billion, operating income of $825 million, and adjusted operating income of $2.15 billion. Concert profits totaled $19 billion, marking a 2% uptick as 151 million people attended over 50,000 Live Nation events.

Calling it a “great honor,” Lady Gaga announced Friday that she will play a free show, set to take place at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on May 3. The outdoor venue holds one million fans, and the event will mark her first concert in the country since 2012.

Forty-nine years after it was imposed by owner George Steinbrenner, the New York Yankees confirmed Friday they have dropped their ban on beards. In a statement, current owner Hal Steinbrenner called the ban “outdated” and “somewhat unreasonable.” Moving forward, players and uniformed personnel are permitted to have well-groomed beards.

Energy drink brand Celsius is acquiring rival company Alani Nu in a deal worth $1.8 billion in both cash and stock. Celsius reported fourth-quarter earnings of $332.2 million, a 4% slump year over year. 

“Bold and disruptive. Unpredictable and dangerous,” is what Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson captioned his post on Instagram announcing his upcoming appearance on Friday night’s edition of WWE Smackdown. The wrestler-turned-actor’s last appearance on WWE programming was on Jan. 7 during the NXT New Year’s Evil television special.

For the first time ever, Amazon has exceeded Walmart in profits. Walmart tallied $180.5 billion in sales during the most recent quarter while Amazon recorded $187.8 billion. However, current forecasts project that Walmart will earn $708.7 billion in the 2025 fiscal year, while Amazon’s revenue is expected to reach $700.8 billion.

Vinciane Ngomsi

Vinciane Ngomsi is a Staff Writer at Boardroom. She began her career in sports journalism with bylines at SB Nation, USA Today, and most recently Yahoo. She received a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Truman State University, and when she's not watching old clips of Serena Williams' best matches, she is likely perfecting her signature chocolate chip cookie recipe or preparing a traditional Cameroonian meal.