Ryan Reynolds is one of the greatest storytellers of our generation, and he found the perfect canvas: Sports. Let me explain... Ryan Reynolds and fellow actor Rob McElhenney purchased Wrexham AFC for $2.5 million. Wrexham was in the 5th division of the English football pyramid and had almost no chance of getting promoted to the Premier League. But Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney didn't care. They immediately launched "Welcome to Wrexham," a documentary-style TV show on FX modeled after Netflix's F1 series Drive to Survive. And it was a huge success. Wrexham made more money off *one season* of that show (~$3.2 million) than the total valuation it was purchased for just months earlier ($2.5 million). Streaming Financials (*estimates) ~$400k per hour of content x 8-part series = ~$3.2m in revenue And the results were even more significant on the backend. Wrexham has since been promoted, and their social media accounts have EXPLODED in popularity. Twitter: 45,000 to 532,000 Instagram: 27,000 to 975,000 TikTok: 0 to 1,400,000 And Wrexham has turned this increased attention into tangible revenue. Wrexham has signed kit sponsorship deals with several companies: • TikTok • Expedia • Vistaprint • Aviation American Gin • United Airlines And the number of season ticket holders has tripled: 2019: 2,609 2021: 5,892 2022: 6,820 So the local community is also buying in. And with Wrexham AFC's valuation dramatically increasing simply through the power of community, storytelling, and marketing, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhennery are doubling down on sports. The two actors have teamed up with Otro Capital, RedBird Capital, Michael B. Jordan, and others to buy a 24% stake in the Alpine Formula 1 team. Alpine F1 Deal Overview • 24% stake purchased • $218 million invested The deal values Alpine's F1 team at $900 million. But more importantly... It provides Ryan Reynolds and his co-investors a unique opportunity to increase enterprise value by driving meaningful revenue to the Alpine Formula 1 team. And some star power certainly won't hurt, either. Ps. Follow me @JoePompliano for more sports business breakdowns!