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A major college sports property is entering the transfer portal.
Yahoo Sports is selling Rivals to the On3 ownership group led by serial entrepreneur Shannon Terry, representatives of both sides confirmed exclusively to Front Office Sports. Yahoo Sports will be taking a stake in the aggregate ownership group in the transaction, the reps added.
It is a full-circle moment for Terry, who was a co-founder of Rivals and involved in the process of selling it to Yahoo for about $100 million in 2007. Terry founded the On3 network in 2021. (He was also the founder of 247, which sold to CBS in 2015.)
Terms of the deal—including how much Rivals and the On3 ownership group are valued at, and what percentage Yahoo now owns of the parent company—were not disclosed. Yahoo Sports will have a seat on the parent company’s board, and leverage its large scale for content distribution and subscription growth.
“Rivals is an icon in college sports and recruiting media,” Terry said in a statement. “We’re excited to build on the momentum behind Rivals, which has a longstanding legacy as the most recognized brand and author of the recruiting industry. We look forward to taking Rivals to new heights with significant new investment focused on recruiting, high school sports, and passionate college fan communities.”
“We’re thrilled to be working with the Yahoo Sports team again,” he continued. “From the start, it was clear both parties saw tremendous value in a partnership. Yahoo Sports has world-class distribution, a strong editorial platform, and an expansive content network that will play an integral role in the continued growth of On3 and Rivals.”
Both Rivals and On3 have a combination of free and premium subscription content, and subscribers of each network will gain access to the other. The sites have clear synergies as On3 covers college athletics at-large where Rivals has long been a behemoth in recruiting rankings and coverage.
“Rivals has a proud legacy, a vast network, and has stood among the most respected names in college sports coverage for over two decades,” Yahoo Sports president Ryan Spoon said. “It’s long been a cornerstone of our sports ecosystem, and together with On3, we are creating a powerful, future-forward platform that elevates athletes, energizes fans, and drives innovation across the sports industry.”
The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of June.
