A London-based holding company’s $1.3billion acquisition of betting website Underdog has already produced one key winner: ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
As Underdog has confirmed to Front Office Sports (FOS) in the wake of its sale to IG Group Holdings, the well-known NFL insider was an ‘early-stage investor’ in what has become a sports-focused prediction-market platform.
IG Group paid $1.1 billion up front for the website and a $200 million payout to shareholders. And the deal could prove even more lucrative for early investors due to a reported $815 million in potential future earnings being earmarked for ‘eligible Underdog employees.’
FOS reported that while Schefter’s stake was small, he was among a group of initial investors that raised $10 million for Underdog in 2021. Since then, Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban, NBA great Kevin Durant and NFL quarterback Jared Goff have also invested, according to FOS.
Schefter has not made any subsequent investments in Underdog and it’s unclear what his payout from the IG Group sale will be. His agent has not responded to The Daily Mail’s request for comment.
ESPN does not have a deal with Underdog, but has instead partnered with DraftKings.
A London-based holding company’s $1.3billion acquisition of betting company Underdog has already produced one key winner: Adam Schefter (pictured here in 2022)
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Rex Ryan attend the 2026 Fanatics Super Bowl Party
The latest payday for Schefter comes after the NFL insider inked a long-term extension with ESPN.
As first reported by FOS last month, Schefter reached an agreement on a multi-year extension to remain with the Worldwide Leader into the 2030s. Details of the negotiations have not been revealed. Previously, in 2022, the New York Post reported that Schefter earned around $9 million annually from ESPN.
And that was one of several recent moves for ESPN, which recently acquired the NFL network in an equity deal with the league.
Popular broadcaster Molly McGrath has officially been promoted from ESPN’s college football coverage to the network’s NFL team ahead of the upcoming season. McGrath, who joined ESPN in 2016 and became a mainstay on Saturday college football broadcasts, will take on a major role as the sideline reporter for games aired on NFL Network.
Meanwhile, the network recently cut ties with NFL analysts Ryan Clark and Bart Scott amid widespread layoffs.
