*By Bridgette Webb*
The four major sports leagues in the U.S. have the ability to bring in serious cash. And that's created opportunity for Nick Fullerton, CEO of SportsETFs, a fund dedicated to the business.
"We are trying to capture the growth of the sports leagues, which has been growing faster than the overall economy," Fullerton said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar.
The ETF, which trades under the ticker FANZ, invests in companies that have deals with the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL.
Fullerton said the proof is in these partners, which enter into "multi-year, multi-million dollar agreements" with the leagues.
"\[We\] found that these companies who choose to spend their marketing budgets with sports leagues tend to grow faster than their competitors," he said.
The fund includes some of the most dominant names in sports sponsorship, among them Coca-Cola, Gatorade-owner Pepsi, as well others that may surprise you, like Amazon. The e-commerce giant struck a deal with the [NFL](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/26/amazon-streaming-thursday-night-football-in-2018-2019.html) to stream Thursday Night Football games for the next two seasons.
Fullerton said the recent [Supreme Court](https://cheddar.com/videos/draftkings-ceo-were-going-all-in-on-legalized-sports-betting) decision opening the door for legal sports betting may also be a serious factor as casinos look to partner with top leagues ー in July, the NBA announced that it had tapped [MGM](http://www.nba.com/article/2018/07/31/mgm-resorts-international-becomes-official-gaming-partner-nba-official-release) to be its official gaming partner.
It's a union that Fullerton said will be a boon for many partners of major league sports.
"The casual fan is probably going to be more apt to stay engaged with their screen and device to see when they make a casual bet," he said. "We feel that more partnerships will come into play."
For full interview [click here](https://cms.cheddar.com/videos/VmlkZW8tMjI4MjI=).
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Tesla shareholders voted to keep Elon Musk on as chairman of the electric carmaker. At the annual shareholder meeting, Musk said the company is on track to deliver 5,000 Model 3 vehicles per week by the end of this month. Tesla will also open a new gigafactory in Shanghai, its first outside of the U.S.
And we talk to WNBA legend and Olympic gold medalist Lisa Leslie. She stars in the new film 'Uncle Drew' alongside Kyrie Irving, Chris Webber, Shaq, and other comedy and basketball greats. Leslie also weighs in on the NFL kneeling controversy.
Denying people the right to express their opinions doesn't represent America's democratic values, says Lisa Leslie. Trump "focuses so much on trying to be the dictator of our country," Leslie tells Cheddar.
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The media exec points out that people will pay for sports content before they even pay for dinner. Discovery inked a $2 billion deal Monday to broadcast golf tournaments internationally, across platforms.
Facebook is under fire again for its privacy practices after reports that it gave device makers like Apple, Amazon, and Samsung access to user data. The New York Times claims that over the past 10 years, the social media site struck deals with at least 60 companies for user information. This latest report is just another setback for Facebook as it tries to repair its reputation following the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
Apple's developer conference, or WWDC, kicks off today in San Jose, California. This year, the tech giant is focusing on software developments rather than new hardware. Cheddar's Hope King reports live from the conference about what we can expect ahead of the keynote speech.
The 2018 World Cup is just days away. We're joined by Tab Ramos, soccer legend, head coach for the U.S. Men's National U-20 team, and World Cup analyst for Telemundo Deportes, to talk about the big event.
Tab Ramos, soccer legend, head coach for the U.S. Men's National U-20 team, and World Cup analyst for Telemundo Deportes, previews the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The NFL's decision to ban players from taking a knee during the anthem propagates the narrative that the athletes belong at the bottom of a hierarchy and are just supposed to "do as we say," says ex-Giant Victor Cruz. "I think you'll still see some kind of protest," he tells Cheddar.
The skateboarding legend, who became the first person to land a '900' trick back in 1999, has successfully turned his sporting career into a business empire. It all boils down to perseverance and taking risks, he tells Cheddar's Jon Steinberg.
The social media network's live video platform will help grow its monthly active users, especially as consumers rapidly ditch cable for on-demand content, says Motley Fool analyst Jason Moser.
Frank Zaccanelli, a former owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, says the NFL's decision to adopt a new policy on the national anthem without consulting the NFL Players Association was, "one of the dumbest things I've ever heard."
