On Wednesday, Netflix announced that the 16-time Nathan’s champion will participate in a one-on-one hot dog eating battle with rival Takeru Kobayashi.

The event – promoted as “CHESTNUT VS. KOBAYASHI: UNFINISHED BEEF” – will air live on the streaming platform on Labor Day, Sept. 2.

“Through all of my years in competitive eating, Kobayashi stands out as my fiercest rival,”  Chestnut said in a statement. “Competing against him pushed me to be so much better. I know that fans have waited a long time for another chapter of our rivalry, and I can’t wait for our massive showdown live on Netflix! It’s time to give the people what they want!”

Chestnut was barred from participating in this year’s July 4 competition after he agreed to endorse the plant-based food company Impossible Foods, a decision that made national headlines. 

“We are devastated to learn that Joey Chestnut has chosen to represent a rival brand that sells plant-based hot dogs rather than competing in the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest,” the organizing body of the July 4 event, Major League Eating, said in a statement posted Tuesday on X/Twitter.

Chestnut responded on the same social-media platform, saying he does not have an obligation to Major League Eating or Nathan’s. 

“I do not have a contract with MLE or Nathan’s and they are looking to change the rules from past years as it relates to other partners I can work with. This is apparently the basis on which I’m being banned,” he said in a tweet.

Impossible Foods said in a statement to the Bay Area News Group on Tuesday, “We love Joey and support him in any contest he chooses. It’s OK to experiment with a new dog. Meat eaters shouldn’t have to be exclusive to just one wiener.”

It is unclear if Chestnut and Kobayashi will eat plant-based or traditional hot dogs. It also is not known whether the Labor Day showdown was already agreed upon before Chestnut was banned from the July 4 stage.

A spokesperson for Impossible Foods did not immediately respond on Wednesday to a request for clarification.

Chestnut, a San Jose State graduate, is listed at the No. 1 competitor in the Major League Eating rankings. 

Kobayashi dominated the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in the early 2000s, winning the title six straight times from 2001-2006. In his first championship win in 2001, he ate a then-record of 50 hot dogs — shattering the then-record held by fellow Japanese competitor Kazutoyo Arai, who ate 25 ⅛.

A rivalry simmering for 15 years.

CHESTNUT VS. KOBAYASHI: UNFINISHED BEEF — the ultimate hot dog eating competition — will air LIVE on Netflix, Monday, September 2. pic.twitter.com/MeVQP1lQuS

— Netflix (@netflix) June 12, 2024

Kobayashi edged Chestnut in the Japanese star’s final two Nathan’s victories, but his run as the king of the hot dog eating contest was halted in 2007 when Chestnut devoured 66 wieners and buns in 10 minutes, sparking a historic run as champion.

Chestnut won 16 of 17 Nathan’s competitions starting with his triumph in 2007 and broke his own record of most hot dogs eaten when he gobbled 76 in 2021. 

Kobayashi was never the same after losing to Chestnut, and was similarly barred from the Nathan’s competition due to a contract dispute in 2010. 

The Japanese competitor is looking to finally beat his American rival after losing to Chestnut three straight times from 2007-2009.

“Retiring for me will only happen after I take him down one last time,” Kobayashi said in a statement. “This rivalry has been brewing for a long time. Competing against Joey live on Netflix means fans all over the world can watch me knock him out.”

September’s hot dog eating competition is the latest example of Netflix’s push to live stream.

Last month, the Los Gatos-based company aired in real time “The Roast of Tom Brady” and is the streaming partner for the rescheduled boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, which is set to take place in November. 

Netflix has also struck a deal with the NFL to broadcast two NFL games on Christmas – the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans.

Tom Brady is sharing his true feelings about his Netflix roast earlier this month, admitting that some of the jokes shared during the event had a negative impact on his kids.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion joined The Pivot Podcast for an hour-long interview released Tuesday, during which he spoke with hosts Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder about his life and career post-football.

Toward the end of the conversation, former Jaguars running back Fred Taylor asked Brady what his biggest takeaway was after going through with the roast.

“I loved when the jokes were about me, I thought they were so fun,” Brady said, before adding, “I didn’t like the way it affected my kids.”

The 46-year-old didn’t elaborate on which jokes he felt were problematic, but there were several quips made during the event surrounding his divorce from ex-wife Gisele Bündchen.

“It’s the hardest part … like the bittersweet aspect of when you do something that you think is one way and then all the sudden you realize I wouldn’t do that again because of the way that it affected actually the people that I care about the most in the world,” Brady continued.

In the wake of “The Roast of Tom Brady,” a source told People Magazine that Bündchen was “deeply disappointed” in what she felt were “irresponsible” jokes made during the event.

Jeff Ross, an executive producer of the roast and one of the comedians who performed, later confirmed that the football legend was mostly unaware of what was going to be said.

“I kept him in the dark on a lot of the surprises, and he didn’t hear anybody’s jokes,” Ross said on The Rich Eisen Show the day after the roast.

Brady added that he may have been “naïve” about what was going to happen on-air, and said it was a good lesson for him as a parent.

And it’s another touchdown for Travis Kelce’s television career as the Super Bowl champ joins the cast of Ryan Murphy’s “Grotesquerie” in his first major acting role.

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 34, will act alongside Niecy Nash-Betts, Courtney B. Vance and Lesley Manville in the FX horror show. Deadline was the first to report the casting.

Kelce on Tuesday night shared Nash-Betts’ video from the set. In it, the “Claws” alum, 54, says, “Guys, guess who I’m working with on ‘Grotesquerie,’” then pans to the laughing NFL star.

“Steppin’ into new territory with Niecy!” says Kelce.

The role isn’t the first foray into acting for the “New Heights” podcast co-host. He previously checked that off his career bucket list with a cameo in 2020’s “Moonbase 8,” followed by a hosting gig at “Saturday Night Live” early last year.

Though he’s now in a globetrotting love story with Taylor Swift, Kelce also previously starred in the short-lived reality dating series, “Catching Kelce.”

The news comes on the heels of Kelce being tapped to host “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?” — Amazon Prime Video’s spinoff of “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?”

“Grotesquerie” is one of nine upcoming projects from Emmy winner and master executive producer Murphy, 58. The brain behind “Glee” and “American Horror Story” is also currently working on the series “American Sports Story,” a miniseries based on “A Chorus Line” and another limited series about German starlet Marlene Dietrich.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and his wife Jenna were courtside at Maples Pavilion Sunday to watch the No. 2 ranked Stanford women’s basketball team take on Iowa State – sporting Stanford opponent’s Cardinal red and gold colors.

Vibes are HIGH with QB1 in the house

pic.twitter.com/5vn3yhwlVb

— Cyclone Basketball (@CycloneWBB) March 25, 2024

The Purdys’ cheered on their alma mater, where they met as students. Newlyweds, the couple recently tied the knot in Des Moines on March 9.

Stanford defeated the Cyclones 87-81 in OT in thrilling fashion. But at one point the Iowa State band tried to rally the team chanting, “Pass it to Purdy! Pass it to Purdy,” pointing to the 49ers star.

Brock Purdy has arrived for tonight’s 9:00 p.m. tip against Stanford.

Cyclones trying to make a sweet sixteen for the 7th time.

( – @TommyBirch) pic.twitter.com/E0z8rrPQAW

— 𝙄𝙤𝙬𝙖 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 (@IowaStateNation) March 25, 2024

Another celeb at the game who was clearing rooting for the Cardinal was Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State and former Stanford Provost.

Case in point: Elected officials in Walnut Creek have spent 15 years contemplating the best way to tackle a $77 million project to upgrade the Clarke Swim Center, an aging but busy aquatic and community center that was built at Heather Farm Park in the early 1970s.

The current plan is to redesign the space to feature one family-friendly recreation pool, a 50-meter lap pool and renovated space on the surrounding pool deck — a concept Walnut Creek staffers started making headway on back in 2019.

However, after more than six hours of testimony and discussion Tuesday focused on proposed designs, the Walnut Creek City Council requested a little more time to consider the competing uses before diving head first into a final vote.

RELATED: Santa Clara searching for temporary solutions after it shuttered the International Swim Center over safety concerns

Specifically, they’re trying to balance the needs of the city’s diverse aquatic organizations — many of which have produced dozens of national champions and Olympians, notably in synchronized swimming — while still providing enough access to the tens of thousands of swimmers that enjoy a more casual dip in the pool.

Coaches of Walnut Creek’s youth swim clubs such as the Aquabears want enough lanes to host meets and avoid cuts to their already wait-listed teams, and older members of the “masters” swim club are concerned they’ll be entirely pushed out of the workouts that keep them fit; some suggested swapping the current design for one with an “all-deep” pool, even longer lanes and a floating barrier that could separate the space for different uses.

Additionally, members of the Aquanuts synchronized swimming team need enough room to throw their “flyer” partners in the air without worrying they’ll crash into other lanes or even the pool deck.

Accommodating all of those perspectives is a challenge, and residents were quick to add that doesn’t even include local water polo teams, SCUBA training sessions and water aerobics classes that might want time in the water.

“We’re trying to be team players, and we’re trying to be flexible, although it’s hard not to be sad knowing we’re one of the best teams in the country,” said Kim Probst, the Aquanuts’ head coach and a 2008 Olympian. “We’re creative, we’ll find a way — I just don’t know if it’ll be anything as big and as grand as what we’re used to, and that’s how we bring kids in and keep the club running.”

Shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday, the Walnut Creek City Council directed staff to review training schedules to mitigate conflicts. Councilors are expected to reconvene and move forward with a plan in the coming weeks.

Councilmember Kevin Wilk said the city’s main job is ultimately to balance the needs of a successful yet niche population of elite swimmers, alongside opportunities for Walnut Creek’s larger community of young children, families and casual swimmers who currently frequent Heather Farm Park’s aquatic and community centers.

“This may be the largest project we’ve had in Walnut Creek during our lifetimes — certainly the most costly project the city’s ever undertaken,” Wilk said Tuesday. “Unlimited checks can’t be written, so we have to do as much as we can, but we still have to have an eye on the budget that goes with it.”

While scores of Walnut Creek residents debated the details of the plan, others were concerned that this much time and money was never intended to be dedicated to the pool and community center.

City Manager Dan Buckshi agreed, saying that Measure O — a half-cent sales tax sanctioned by voters in November 2022 — was largely advertised as a pot of money for the city to address public safety, crime prevention and homelessness in Walnut Creek, in addition to upgrading the pools.

He said only 17% of residents ranked improvements to Heather Farm Park’s amenities as a priority, compared to the 50%-75% of voters who supported the first three issues as their top concerns to fund. A handful of residents said they never expected Measure O funds to go toward splash pads or other recreational amenities.

But even if city officials do end up asking planners to go back to the drawing board, Buckshi warned that many of the suggested modifications to the plan could require upwards of $4 million to $6 million added to the current $77 million budget.

And the economic impact of hosting events at Heather Farm Park would not easily cover that differential.

In order to make up even $5 million, Buckshi said guests attending swim events would have to order 3.25 million meals that racked up at least $100. Even if 5,000 visitors booked a single $200 hotel stay each year, he said it would take 59 years to recoup those funds.

“I don’t think there’s a miracle here that we’re going to find in the schedule to solve everything,” Buckshi said. “But we will work to understand what the different assumptions are about why there’s this disconnect.”

City staff are tentatively set to return to the Walnut Creek City Council on March 19 to review options and services at the new facility.

— Swift is slated to play her final Eras Tour show in Tokyo on Feb. 10, the day before the Super Bowl.

— The show will most likely end around midnight the day of the game on Feb. 11, but Japan is also 17 hours ahead of Las Vegas.

— The flight time from Tokyo to Las Vegas is about 13 hours, putting Swift potentially in Las Vegas Saturday night in plenty of time before kickoff at Allegiant Stadium Sunday at 3 p.m. PT.

Swift’s presence at Chiefs games this season has both delighted and upset fans, and it’s becoming apparent the music phenom is not crazy about the attention TV networks give her during the game. Most recently during the AFC Championship game between the Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens, Swift appears to give the cameras an icy stare when they shoot to her in the second quarter of the game.

Taylor Swift on-camera during a Grammys promo says, “Go away, please” pic.twitter.com/XpEw6zBq0N

— Ken Fang — Very Asian (@fangsbites) January 28, 2024

Fan or foe of the Swift cameos, are you ready for it?

Sports movies can serve as a backdrop for all kinds of storytelling about what it means to navigate through life. But mid-budget movies have all but disappeared from theaters, taking sports movies with them. When was the last time you saw a great sports comedy or drama that was new? Once a hardy genre, sports movies are something of an endangered species at the moment.

With that in mind, Tribune film critic Nina Metz and sports writer Shakeia Taylor look back at four titles from decades past: “Slap Shot,” “A League of Their Own,” “White Men Can’t Jump” and “Bend it Like Beckham.” All are rentable or available on a streaming platform.

Note: Next month Taylor will take part in the panel discussion “Leveling the Playing Field: Women in Baseball,” hosted by the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York, to talk about how women of color are stepping up to the plate across baseball.

‘Slap Shot’ (1977)

Paul Newman plays an aging player-coach of a struggling minor league hockey team.

Nina Metz: Set in a small Pennsylvania steel town, the movie is as grimy as they come, both in look (perpetually overcast skies) and sensibility (plenty of the dialogue will make you wince). Things are not going well for Newman’s disillusioned, over-the-hill Reggie Dunlop, which is evident when he takes the ice and a heckler shouts: “Dunlop, you stink!” The mill is closing and 10,000 people will be out of work, which means the team is on its last legs, too. Might as well go out with a bang — and a brawl. The three bespectacled Hanson brothers, wrapping their knuckles in tin foil underneath their gloves, are ready to rumble.

This was Newman’s third time working with director George Roy Hill (after “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “The Sting”) and it’s such a distillation of 70s-era cynicism. This isn’t a rousing story of beating the odds, but one with a jaundiced outlook on life. True, they win the championship in the end, but it’s the way they win that’s so absurd. Screenwriter Nancy Dowd based the script on her brother’s minor league hockey experiences and the cast is populated with real players, which gives the movie a shambling, insider quality.

It’s too long by 30 minutes, but the soundtrack is tops and Newman is somehow both clown and ringmaster — and watchable as ever. A snapshot in time, it’s surreal to watch players take the ice sans helmets. That used to be standard, but I clutched my metaphorical pearls for those guys and their noggins.

Shakeia, you hadn’t seen the movie before now. Did you have any preconceptions or did you go in cold?

Shakeia Taylor: I went into the movie cold. I’d only ever seen hockey friends talking about it as I scrolled social media. Conversations about it never piqued my interest so I never sought the movie out until we decided to do this. I knew nothing of Paul Newman except that his face is on a salad dressing bottle. When the movie started, I did a quick Google search and saw it described as “grimy,” and having now seen it, I’d have to disagree. I didn’t think it was grimy at all and I didn’t really think the violence was anything to write home about. It’s entirely possible that is just the result of me being born in a different time and having seen so many movies that were far worse in that regard. It felt satirical, though I couldn’t tell if that was intentional or not, and based off things I read after watching the movie there seems to be some disagreement about whether that was the point. It’s listed as a “sports comedy” which might be a stretch as I found it more sad than humorous.

Metz: Newman was 52 when he made the movie, which seems … old for a hockey player? But maybe not? As someone who covers sports, what was your feeling in terms of how the movie captured the vibe of a minor league team grinding it out?

Taylor: While it seems like it captures semipro hockey of its era, I don’t think it is the same today. The tattered bus and less-than-ideal travel accommodations are very much something one hears about as it pertains to minor league travel. Teams still experience economic uncertainty and players aren’t compensated enough. Playing in the minor leagues of any sport is challenging even today. While the socio-economic impact is the obvious thing in “Slap Shot” and still lingers today, I think as sports have become more formal and a lot of the grittier action has gone away.

And there have been “old” hockey players! Gordie Howe played for the Hartford Whalers at the age of 52. If I’m not mistaken he remains the oldest player of all-time in the sport. One of the funniest things about sports to me is how someone can be 35 and commentators will speak about them as if they’ve got one foot in the grave. There’s a popular Twitter meme that says, “Here comes the oldest player in the league. He’s 32. A miracle.” That’s exactly how it seems. With the advances we’ve made in science and medicine, athletes take much better care of their bodies but they don’t play as long as Newman’s character and Howe.

Geena Davis and Lori Petty star as sisters and baseball players in the early 1940s who join the Rockford Peaches, a team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

Metz: Shakeia, I know you have some thoughts about this one …

Taylor: I am not a fan. I generally don’t say much about it because a lot of people absolutely love “A League of Their Own” and I would prefer not to argue about it. Watching it for this conversation wasn’t my first viewing, but it wasn’t fun. I will say, though, this movie is how I first learned of Mamie “Peanut” Johnson. Johnson was the first woman to pitch in the Negro leagues and she was denied a tryout for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League because she was Black. In the film, there is a scene where Dottie (Davis’ character) waits for a young Black woman to throw the ball back to her — that was a nod to Mamie. That one scene made me look up who she was supposed to be. I’ve always felt as if the movie romanticized a league that was, at its core, racist, but it also impacted the trajectory of my career. It led to me doing a lot of studying of the Negro leagues once I got older.

I understand why so many people love it. It’s nice to see women in sports films and it’s nice to see women depicted as strong, vulnerable and a host of other human qualities. But that one thing made me dislike the movie forever. It’s not director Penny Marshall’s fault that history is what it is, but that doesn’t make it less bothersome for me personally.

Metz: The recent Amazon TV adaptation attempted to right some of the film’s omissions you talk about, by creating a parallel storyline for a character played by Chanté Adams — and no surprise, her portions of the show are the most interesting!

Tonally and visually, the movie version of “A League of Our Own” is on another planet from something like “Slap Shot.” It’s probably the corniest of the four titles we’re looking at. Before I sat down for a re-watch, not much had stayed in my memory beyond the broad strokes: The sisterly rivalry, the tryout scene shot at Wrigley Field, Tom Hanks as the cynical boozer of a manager who yells “There’s no crying in baseball!”

The movie’s depiction of World War II-era America always felt set off by air-quotes, which isn’t a bad thing so much as par for the course for a big studio project. It’s earnest but light. The jokes are broad, but by the end, the film is aggressively pulling at your heartstrings with Madonna (who also stars) singing “This Used to Be My Playground” over the closing credits. And it memorializes what was, up until its release in theaters, a largely forgotten part of (white) sports history.

‘White Men Can’t Jump’ (1992)

Two street basketball hustlers in Los Angeles, played by Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, team up to score some cash.

Metz: When it comes to shaggy dog sports movies of the late 20th century, few did it better than Ron Shelton. As a writer and director, he understood the appeal of semi-ridiculous, semi-charming men past their prime looking for one last shot at greatness — or at least a half-baked redemption. Sandwiched between the soulful minor league romance of “Bull Durham” and dusty pro golfing dreams of “Tin Cup,” Shelton turned to the antic pickup games of Los Angeles for this odd-couple buddy film starring Harrelson and Snipes as a pair who team up to hustle any takers. Add in the effervescent presence of Rosie Perez and her “Jeopardy!” ambitions. It’s sexy!

Harrelson plays a decent guy who is his own worst enemy. Snipes plays a fast-talking, street savvy type who isn’t above conning his own partner. I like that the movie doesn’t have a classically happy ending.

A remake starring Jack Harlow and Sinqua Walls came out earlier this year and, frankly, the less said about that, the better.

Taylor: First I have to say, “White Men Can’t Jump” is one of the greatest sneaker movies of all-time. As someone who spends a lot of her time in sneakers — err, gym shoes, this is Chicago — I couldn’t help but take in the many pairs of now-classic kicks in the basketball scenes. Snipes’ character’s style of dress was perfect for the era and some of it would work today.

OK, now I can get to the movie itself.

I enjoyed this movie. It had been a very long time since I’d seen it and it was a fun watch. It doesn’t take itself seriously but watching with adult eyes and experiences, I couldn’t help but think about Harrelson’s character’s obvious gambling addiction. That’s what that was, right? His inability to get and keep money because the allure of possibly doubling or tripling it was too much for him to ignore. Perez threatening to leave him over it didn’t really seem to affect his decision-making until she left. I’d imagine something like that would be relevant today with the way sports gambling has made its way into mainstream sports in a major way. It’s in everything now.

Metz: You’d think! And yet nothing about the remake feels relevant or worth your time. Have I mentioned how pointless that movie is?

Taylor: An underrated aspect of the original film, to me, were the women. They are secondary characters to the men, yet when they appear they command your attention.

‘Bend it Like Beckham’ (2002)

The daughter of Indian immigrants in London, a teenager played by Parminder Nagra goes against her family’s wishes and joins an amateur football (soccer) team. The film was also Keira Knightley’s breakout role.

Metz: Wait, I did not remember that Archie Panjabi (the Emmy winner from “The Good Wife”) played the wedding-obsessed older sister! I always liked the way the movie portrays the first generation experience. Nagra’s teenager loves her family and (mostly) respects the traditions they’re trying to maintain, but damn it, she wants to play football and she’s good. But it’s also a story of mothers as antagonists in their daughters’ lives, while their fathers are the more understanding parents. Men are never an impediment in the story, which feels less like a choice for specific characters than part of the movie’s overall theme and I’m not sure what to make of it. The flirtation with her coach? Yikes.

Directed by Gurinder Chadha (who is also co-writer), the British film almost saw its title changed to “Move it Like Mia” for its U.S. release — the theory being that Mia Hamm was a more recognizable name to American audiences than David Beckham.

Taylor: Zzzzzz… I had to fight the urge to turn it off, to sleep, to do literally anything else. I pressed on because I was looking forward to talking to you. But! I love football. I think it’s one of the most fascinating sports on the planet. Red card! Yellow card! You get a card! There was a lot of flopping on the pitch in this.

I’d never seen “Bend it Like Beckham” before and I cringed a lot. The wedding obsession, the “things girls should and should not do”, the moms! I thought the dads being the more sympathetic parent was kind of boring. I feel like a lot of young women’s dads are the ones to give in and the movie didn’t stray from that. A high school senior falling in love with her coach was truly something. Did you notice the club scene where there were no cellphones? That would not happen today!

David Beckham is absolutely, for better or worse, depending on your perspective, a more recognizable name. Women in sports don’t always carry the same name recognition as men, something I think is slowly changing thankfully. I’d never known that fact about the considered name change, but Hamm retired a year or so after this premiered.

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic. nmetz@chicagotribune.com

Shakeia Taylor is a Tribune sports writer and deputy senior content editor. staylor@chicagotribune.com

Not to my trusty spreadsheet.

Back in July, this “unicorn” athlete who oddly excels at pitching and hitting – then with the Angels – was headed toward free agency after the season ended. Speculation swirled about the heft of his future payday. I could not resist the mathematical opportunity.

My guess (before he injured his elbow in August): a $701 million contract over 10 years, perhaps the most generous estimate one could find.

Last week, we learned the Dodgers and Ohtani agreed to a record-smashing $700 million deal – though most of it will be deferred and paid in the decade after his 10-year playing commitment ends.

My science was relatively simple, as I wrote five months ago: “All the spreadsheet did is take what teams are currently paying top stars and extrapolate those salaries to account for this peerless, two-way phenom.”

Let’s say there were doubters. The Washington Post claimed such lofty estimates seemed “extraordinarily high for a player who recently turned 29, an age that historically has been the start of a player’s on-field decline.”

Perhaps, they missed my conclusion: “Team owners are billionaires for a reason. They understand quality. They like expensive toys. But they also don’t like to overpay. Yet it only takes one to make Shohei Ohtani an extremely wealthy man.”

Self-platitudes aside, several economic lessons live within Ohtani’s dealmaking.

California still has sizzle

Sure, the Golden State might not be for everyone. And yes, it takes a pretty fat paycheck to comfortably afford to live here.

Still, Ohtani‘s decision to stay is a reaffirmation that California offers huge potential to people or companies who want to reach a massive audience with a cosmopolitan composition and significant wealth.

His move up the 5 Freeway won’t cure any California ills. But, at a minimum, Ohtani won’t be added to the list of business assets that exited the Golden State.

Star power remains

This is an age in which “influencers” make big bucks on social media, and there’s a horde of entertainment streamed through various networks.

That disparate universe of content helps explain why a handful of truly larger-than-life personalities land commensurate compensation. Say, Tom Cruise or Taylor Swift.

Or Shohei Ohtani.

He’s an authentic brand, tied to his athleticism. His unique mastery of both pitching and hitting has not been seen by baseball since the fabled Babe Ruth a century ago.

That buzz added more than a few dollars to his contract value.

Think globally

Ohtani is also a vivid reminder of international appeal.

Business opportunities usually look better when the potential is broader than a single metro area, state or even a country. Ohtani’s revered statue in his native Japan – he’s the local boy who’s conquered America – only boosts his legendary magnetism.

Over the last six baseball seasons, Japanese-language marketing could be seen at Angel games or on the team’s TV broadcasts, Meanwhile, the stadium became a destination stop for Japanese tourists. The same will be true as Ohtani moves to Dodger Stadium.

Perhaps Ohtani’s ascension to superstardom – followed by the passioned response when soccer legend Lionel Messi moved to Miami – will awaken the often-myopic American professional sports industry to its global potential.

Extra credits count

Intangibles matter when valuing an asset with sizzle.

The typical analysis of an athlete is tied to their game performance – wins, losses, home runs, touchdowns, goals, etc.

But it’s not just those numbers that sell tickets and merchandise and get viewers to the television. Yet, athletic connection to an audience is hard to quantify.

Maybe I had an edge in estimating Ohtani’s worth. Attending a few Angel games when he pitched (which he won’t be able to do again until 2025), I was amazed at the shopping bags fans were toting, stuffed full of Ohtani’s No. 17 gear bought at souvenir stands.

It’s like the “synergies” cited in corporate mergers, or the “curb appeal” of a home for sale.

Ohtani isn’t just about his two Most Valuable Player awards in three years. Ringing cash registers helped make him the $700 million man.

Terms matter

Sports contracts are not the only transactions where the devil is in the details.

Any big money deal, from corporate mergers to today’s home purchases, often has hidden quirks that can alter the “true” value.

Ohtani, for example, chose to defer much of his income for a decade. So in today’s dollars, his contract’s “present value” – drawn from geeky math – is probably half the headline number.

Consider a typical home purchase. Who pays for the repairs and similar expenses — the buyer or the seller? Those are dollars that might not show up in the final purchase price.

Or ponder a big corporate deal: Does the stated price include the debts of the acquired company or loans used to finance the purchase?

Thus, the splashy, public price tag isn’t always the most accurate one.

Dollars aren’t destiny

Signing the big contract is the easy part.

History tells us that big-money deals frequently underperform – from the playing fields to corporate boardrooms.

Every sport’s franchise has made its share of woeful signings. Hey, Ohtani’s elbow required a second surgery this summer. Could that limit or end his pitching days?

But sports aren’t alone with overpayments.

Look at the biggest business merger in US history: Early internet provider AOL and entertainment’s Time-Warner teamed up in 2000 for $168 billion. The textbook bad corporate marriage didn’t survive a decade.

Or dare I mention those who chose to buy homes in the bubble of the mid-2000s?

Plus, while Ohtani’s paychecks are likely “guaranteed” – he gets paid regardless of how or if he plays – consider some sports business trivia: How did hockey superstar Mario Lemieux end up as an owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team he played for?

In 1998, the Penguins went bankrupt and the player’s deferred salary made Lemieux the largest creditor. He traded pay for a stake in new ownership.

Now, I’m not saying the Dodgers will go broke signing Ohtani. And, curiously, ownership worked out well for Lemieux.

The NHL Hall of Famer played five seasons as a player/owner and then helped run the team until it was sold two years ago. That deal got him a reported cashout worth more than $200 million.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

Professional wrestler and WWE star Bray Wyatt has died at the age of 36.

The news was announced on social media by Triple H (real name Paul Michael Levesque), the company’s chief content officer.

“Just received a call from WWE Hall of Famer Mike Rotunda who informed us of the tragic news that our WWE family member for life Windham Rotunda — also known as Bray Wyatt — unexpectedly passed earlier today,” Triple H wrote on Thursday evening. “Our thoughts are with his family and we ask that everyone respect their privacy at this time.”

Wyatt’s cause of death was not immediately made known.

Born in Brooksville, Fla. on May 23, 1987, Wyatt was a state wrestling champion in high school. He played two seasons of football at College of the Sequoias, in Visalia, Calif., then accepted a football scholarship to Troy University, in Alabama. He left school before graduating to become a professional wrestler.

During his career, he also wrestled as Alex Rotunda, Axl Mulligan, Duke Rotundo, Husky Harris and The Fiend in a number of different promotions.

Wyatt had recently missed several months with an illness but was close to returning to the WWE, according to Wrestling News.

He is survived by his four children, two with ex-wife Samantha Rotunda and two with his fiancée, WWE announcer JoJo Offerman.

Wyatt’s death comes a day after legendary wrestler Terry Funk passed away at 79.

The 2023 Women’s World Cup may be wrapping up in a few weeks, but there’s still plenty of soccer to enjoy in the U.S. throughout the fall.

If you’re looking for cost-effective entertainment, attending a soccer match can be an affordable blast, offering the bright lights, concessions and high-octane moments you’d expect from other major league sporting events, often at a lower cost. That’s the case for both men’s and women’s games — but you could probably guess which ones are cheaper.

Men’s soccer games typically cost more than twice as much as women’s

On the resale markets, men’s soccer tickets are always pricier than women’s tickets. Like, a lot pricier.

First, a primer. The U.S. has two professional soccer leagues: the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the Major League Soccer (MLS), which is the U.S. league for men’s soccer.

To get a broad sense of what fans can expect to spend on MLS or NWSL tickets, consider data from SeatGeek, a ticket resale marketplace that has calculated average ticket costs for teams’ events.

Among tickets listed for resale on SeatGeek, MLS tickets cost an average of $50, while NWSL tickets cost an average of $23. Put another way: On SeatGeek, women’s soccer tickets cost less than half the price for a ticket to a men’s game.

And city to city, the gulfs between ticket costs range dramatically.

The starkest discrepancy is in Houston, where Houston Dash NWSL tickets average $15, and Houston Dynamo MLS tickets average $45 — three times as much.

Tickets to men’s and women’s games are the most closely priced in Washington, DC., with tickets to the Washington Spirit NWSL matches averaging $29, and those of the D.C. United MLS team, at $42, per SeatGeek.

The value of attending a women’s soccer game

So yes, across the board, tickets to NWSL matches are significantly cheaper than tickets to MLS matches — a disappointing byproduct of systemic discrimination in sports, but an excellent reason to put your entertainment dollars toward women’s soccer games.

And chances are, your local women’s team has some of the best professional soccer players on the planet. That’s because NWSL players also make up the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) — you know, arguably the best women’s soccer team in the world.

The U.S. Women’s National Team has won four of the eight FIFA Women’s World Cups that have been held. Meanwhile, the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) hasn’t won any of the 22 FIFA World Cups held since 1930. The women’s team has won four Olympic gold medals, while the men’s team has nabbed one Olympic medal since 1904 — bronze, in 2000.

Americans seem to be catching on to the hype. The NWSL is growing explosively a​s attitudes around women’s sports continue to evolve. Attendance skyrocketed 80% year over year in 2022, and revenue from ticket sales swelled more than 125%, according to CNBC.

Attending a NWSL match means supporting the league — and watching world-class players — for a relatively low cost.

“The rocket fuel behind the growth of any sport league is attendance,” Jessica Berman, commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League, told ESPN in 2022.

Where to watch soccer

Catch a women’s soccer game if you live near one of the 12 U.S. cities with NWSL teams: Cary, North Carolina; Chicago (technically Bridgeview, Illinois); Houston; Kansas City, Kansas; Los Angeles; Louisville, Kentucky; Harrison, New Jersey (in the New York area); Orlando, Florida; Portland, Oregon; San Diego; Seattle and Washington, D.C.

If attending isn’t feasible, you can watch U.S. soccer matches on streaming services like Fubo, a streamer focused on live sports.

The 2023 Women’s World Cup concludes on Aug. 20, and all of its matches will be streamed on the Fox Sports app, through certain cable providers. Alternatively, Fubo, YouTube TV or Sling TV subscriptions may be your best move. For details, read up on how to watch the Women’s World Cup.

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