UFC Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Epstein Breaks Down UFC’s DraftKings Sponsorship Deal

March 5, 2021March 5, 2021 Alan Snel Dana White, Lawrence Epstein

LVSportsBiz.com talked with UFC Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Epstein to break down the Las Vegas-based MMA promotion’s $350 million, five-year with DraftKings, UFC’s new official sportsbook and fantasy sponsor.

Epstein also mentioned some great moments in UFC sponsorship history, while explaining how the timing of this sportsbook deal worked out well.

Golden Knights President Dana White was wearing a DraftKings shirt Friday, while a graphic already had the DraftKings/UFC combo on it.

Here’s our Friday conversation with Epstein.

PSA

Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.

July 5, 2021

LVSPORTSBIZ.COM, launched June 2017: We are a digital magazine providing market-leading news, intelligence, enterprise and breaking info on Las Vegas’ sports/stadium industry. Our stories are quoted nationally and we set the sportsbiz news agenda in Las Vegas. Publisher Alan Snel has reported on the business of sports and stadiums in Denver, South Florida, Seattle and Tampa besides Las Vegas and is considered a national authority on the topic.

ADVERTISEMENT: Please shop at Jay’s Market at 190 East Flamingo at the Koval Lane intersection east of the Strip. Jay’s Market is the official presenting sponsor of LVSportBiz.com’s stories.

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To contact LVSportsBiz.com Publisher Alan Snel or buy his book, Bicycle Man: Life of Journeys, email him at asnel@LVSportsBiz.com

LVSportsBiz number for 2024: $1,178,161,041. That’s the amount of debt Las Vegas (actually, Clark County) owes for its public share of building the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium.