The top three highest-paid female athletes do dual duty as the world’s best tennis players. Naomi Osaka ($53.2M), Serena Williams ($35.3M), and Emma Raducanu ($26.2M) went 1-2-3 in this year’s Sportico rankings of the highest-paid women in sports. Freestyle skier Eileen Gu ($23.1M) and gymnast Simone Biles ($9M) round out the top five. For each of these women, the vast majority of their annual earnings comes from endorsements. Osaka, for example, has a deep portfolio of brand partnerships that includes Nike, Louis Vuitton, Victoria’s Secret, Sweetgreen, and many more.

Wakanda forever. After weeks of speculation, Rihanna confirmed via Twitter that she will have new music coming this Friday for the first time since 2016’s ANTI. The tweet simply read: “lift me up // 10.28.22.” The song is part of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack and the social media message contained the “R” from the film’s movie poster. The news comes as sources report that Rihanna is now the world’s richest musician, after Adidas parted ways with Kanye West, delivering a $400 million hit to his wealth. 

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton is launching a film and TV production company Dawn Apollo Films with two projects on its slate — an untitled Formula One racing film and a feature documentary on his own journey. The film will document all the barriers he’s broken, both on and off the track. Hamilton indicated that the move was a logical one for him as his racing career may be approaching its end. “I’ve always been into movies. I watch a lot. I find it a real escape. There are a lot of movies I find inspiring and I’ve always dreamed of one day doing something in this space,” Hamilton told Deadline.

The Spotify Q3 report is in, and the streaming service is bringing in record-setting numbers of users. Between July and September, Spotify added 75 million new users and 23 million new subscribers. The company’s CEO Daniel Ek revealed the strong numbers on the quarterly earnings call. However, the stock dipped 7% in trading as the report also showed that earnings just barely beat projections. Spotify faces potential competition as TikTok seeks to expand its presence in music.  

Patrick Mahomes is leading the NFL in passing and touchdowns as he heads into Week 8. As he leads the Chiefs to the top of the AFC West, Mahomes is banking on himself. The QB announced on Thursday that he has a new partnership with American State Bank that makes him the second-largest shareholder. Mahomes opened his first-ever account with the institution when he was just 16 years old. ASB is also the title sponsor of Texas Tech’s Ring of Honor weekend. During the Chiefs’ bye week, Mahomes will take his place in the Ring of Honor Hall of Fame.

Read more from Boardroom’s Shlomo Sprung.

Sportradar and FanDuel will continue their partnership through 2031 — Sportradar will supply FanDuel with data, while FanDuel becomes the first operator to buy official NBA data from Sportradar. The two will collaborate to enhance the sports betting experience through innovative products and offerings. “The pace of acceptance for betting in the US is incredibly fast and dynamic… innovation is helping to push and transform the industry,” said Eduard Blonk, Sportradar’s CCO. 

Let’s hope NASCAR drivers have four-wheel drive. With the 2023 season unofficially kicking off on March 4-5 in Finland, NASCAR will hold two all-star, nonpoint events where NASCAR drivers will race on ice in the new NASCAR Arctic Ice Race. Safe to say it’s the first time they’ve ever attempted this, but viewers are in for a treat. 

John Cena’s acting résumé continues to grow. The charming former wrestler is teaming up with Idris Elba in the upcoming action comedy Heads of State. The film will be fronted by Nobody director Ilya Naishuller. The movie is described as “Air Force One meets Midnight Run,” and will be featured on Prime Video.