Pro sports is big business, and the huge money paid for athletes ($230m for Kyler Murray), teams ($4.65b for the Broncos) and content ($100b+ for 11 years of NFL rights) makes for great headlines.

Yes, but: Much less talked about is the foundation upon which the sports industry is built: advertising money.

State of play: There's nothing new about ads or sponsorships. What's new is how prolific sports organizations have become at selling them, and how quickly the pace has started to pick up recently.

• "More and more teams are owned by businesspeople who look at their team as a business versus just a trophy," says Michael Schreiber, founder and CEO of Playfly Sports.
• "When you do that, you see a lot of blank spaces that can be sold," added Schreiber, whose company helps teams sell everything from stadium naming rights to TV graphics.

Let's use baseball to illustrate all of the ways your attention is being monetized...

1. In the venue: "When I went to Orioles games as a kid at Memorial Stadium, there were no ads on the outfield fence — that was a minor league thing. Now, they're everywhere," says Schreiber.

• Billboards: The only place in the outfield that can't have ads is directly behind the pitcher (to prevent distracting the batter). Everywhere else is fair game — even foul poles — and teams are taking full advantage.
• Stadiums: Naming rights deals have exploded in recent decades, with insurance, financial services and telecom companies particularly active. Just eight MLB ballparks are currently unsponsored.
• Sections: Sponsors have their names on entire areas of the ballpark, from entrances (like Chicago's Budweiser Gate) to clubs (like the Audi Yankees Club) and hospitality zones (like San Diego's Toyota Beach).

2. On the field: What was once jarring — like a Nike swoosh atop the Yankees pinstripes — is now the norm, as sponsors encroach further and further onto the field of play.

• Uniforms: MLB will introduce jersey and helmet patches next season, and the Padres ($10 million per year with Motorola) and Red Sox ($17 million per year with MassMutual) already have deals. Umpires wear patches promoting FTX, a crypto exchange.
• On-field ads: MLB allowed on-field advertisements (think: painted on the grass in foul territory) during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and it's safe to assume they'll be part of the playbook moving forward.

3. On the broadcast: The most frequent camera angle for baseball games is directly behind the pitcher. Naturally, anything in that frame is valuable — and technology has unlocked new revenue opportunities.

• Digital billboards: Most of the ads you see behind the batter's box are digital, so they change throughout the game and advertisers buy rotations (20 seconds, full inning, etc). "There used to be one green screen behind the batter," says Schreiber. "Now there are like five."
• Virtual on-field: Some networks are selling virtual ads on the back of the mound that are overlayed on the broadcast and in clear view every pitch (like this T-Mobile logo). But beware: Technology can be buggy.
• Sponsored content: Broadcasts are full of sponsored segments, whether it's a call to the bullpen ("reliever résumé brought to you by Indeed!") or a betting snapshot ("live odds via FanDuel!").

Armand "Mondo" Duplantis cleared 6.21 meters (20 feet, 4.5 inches) to break his own pole vault world record for the fifth time on Sunday night. Let's relive the moment...

Watch the highlight.

Mariano Rivera's legacy is ever-present during baseball's annual trip to Cooperstown. But the Hall's lone unanimous selection isn't finished contributing to the game just yet, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.

Driving the news: Rivera and fellow Hall of Famer Barry Larkin are helping launch the United International Baseball League to bring their beloved sport to India, Pakistan and the Middle East.

• That region is home to 2 billion people, 900 million of whom are cricket fans — a ready-made audience the UIBL hopes to attract to another stick-and-ball sport.
• The UIBL will launch in February 2023 with a four-team, two-week "Showcase" in Dubai, the league announced Monday.

What they're saying: Rivera sees this as a business opportunity, but his commitment to the UIBL stems as much from sharing baseball as growing it. That's in keeping with his long-standing humanitarian streak.

• "This part of the world, they have players. We just haven't found them yet," Rivera tells Axios. "I want to bring baseball to all the people waiting for us to teach them."
• "I was introduced to the game at an early age — 6 years old, maybe even earlier," added MLB's all-time saves leader. "This is a game that I love and will continue to love until the day that I die."

The backdrop: This is the latest example of baseball and cricket criss-crossing the globe. MLB plays games in London and other international cities, and Major League Cricket launches stateside next summer.

P.S. … We had to ask Rivera about the Yankees, who are eyeing their second division title since he retired in 2013. He had just one thing to say: "Bring the championship back home."

🏟 Soldier Field pitch: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is trying to keep the Bears from moving to suburban Arlington Heights. The latest proposal: a dome for Soldier Field.

🥇 12.12 seconds: Nigeria's Tobi Amusan obliterated the women's 100m hurdle world record on Sunday and was so fast that four-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson questioned the clock's accuracy.

🏈 Arch replaced: Future Texas Longhorn Arch Manning is no longer the No. 1 prospect in his class, per ESPN's updating rankings. Overtaking him is SoCal QB Malachi Nelson, who's committed to USC.

The Tour de France Femmes is underway, marking the first official women's Tour de France stage race since 1989, Jeff writes.

The big picture: The history of the women's Tour de France, both official and unsanctioned, is longer than you might realize.

• It began with 1955's one-off stage-race, returned with a Tour-backed run from 1984-89 and continued from 1990-2009 as a series of unsanctioned races of varying distance.
• From 2014-21, the Tour held official one-day races called La Course, though some riders decried their sloppy execution.

The spark: In July 2020, cycling app Zwift put on a virtual Tour de France amid the real race's pandemic postponement. When the company noticed that viewership was split equally for the men's and women's races, it began the conversation that led to this year's historic event.

Details: The eight-stage, 642-mile race began Sunday at the Champs Élysées after the men's race concluded. It ends this Sunday in the Vosges mountains of eastern France.

• 144 cyclists are competing in 24 teams of six.
• A $256,000 purse, including $51,000 for the winner, is up for grabs thanks to Zwift, which signed a four-year deal as the title sponsor.

What they're saying: "I think certainly if there had been a women's Tour de France, I would have started cycling a lot earlier," 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Lily Williams of the U.S. told WashPost.

• Even two years ago, the sport still had a DIY feel, but "all of a sudden, I'm making a full salary," Williams told SI.
• "I can finish my race and go into our own personal team camper and take a shower. The whole sport has just grown leaps and bounds."

Where it stands: Marianne Vos, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist from the Netherlands, won Stage 2 on Monday to take the overall lead.

🎥 Watch: Highlights from Stage 1 and Stage 2 (YouTube)

Weston McKennie, who grew up near Dallas and started in FC Dallas' system, plays his first pro game in his hometown tonight as Juventus takes on Barcelona at the Cotton Bowl (8:30pm ET, FS2), Jeff writes.

The big picture: McKennie, 23, is one of the faces of a new generation of American stars who play in Europe's top leagues and mostly return home for national team duty and friendlies like this one.

• Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri recently called him "the best American" in Europe, a subtle shot at Chelsea's Christian Pulisic.
• Flashback: McKennie scored an awesome goal for Juventus against Barça in the 2020 Champions League.

How he got here: McKennie moved around a lot as a kid, including a three-year stint in Germany (2004-07) while his father was stationed at Ramstein Air Base.

• After seven years with FC Dallas (2009-16), he returned to Germany, signing with FC Schalke of the Bundesliga.
• McKennie joined Juventus in 2020 and figures to be a key player for the USMNT in the upcoming World Cup.

The backdrop: Tonight's match is one of the last European friendlies in the U.S. this summer. The tour ends Saturday when the Red Bulls host Barcelona and Juventus plays Real Madrid at the Rose Bowl.

Do you live in Dallas? Our Axios Dallas newsletter has more coverage of this match and all the other news you need. Sign up here (or find your city here).

13 NFL teams have unveiled alternate helmets for this season, with four rocking throwbacks*. Naturally, we had to rank them:

1. Patriots* … Top marks for Pat.
2. Falcons* … Deion Sanders vibes.
3. Bengals … Love the white.
4. Cowboys* … So fresh, so clean.
5. Giants* … Timeless.
6. Panthers … Black and blue works.
7. Jets … Green mask is nice.
8. Eagles … We want Kelly green.
9. Cardinals … Meh.
10. Commanders … Weirdly placed logo.
11. Texans … Maybe too much red.
12. Bears … Definitely too much orange.
13. Saints … Not into the tiny fleurs-de-lis.

The Mets and Yankees meet for the first time this season tonight in Queens (7:10pm ET, TBS), with both first-place clubs looking somewhat vulnerable and in need of a pick-me-up sweep.

• Mets: They've lost three of four and are barely clinging to their division lead over the Braves, which has dwindled from over 10 games to just two.
• Yankees: The division still feels secure (12.5 games up), but losing eight of their last 13 can't feel good. At least Aaron Judge is staying hot (4 HR, 11 RBI in his last four games).

More to watch:

• ⚽️ Women's Euro semis: Sweden vs. England (3pm, ESPN2) … Host England are still looking for their first Euro title.
• 🚲 Tour de France Femmes: Stage 3 (8:15am, Peacock) ... Cyclists are in the champagne capital of the world, traveling from Reims to Épernay.
• ⚽️ Friendly: Barcelona vs. Juventus (8:30pm, FS2) … Two of the most prestigious clubs in the world face off at the Cotton Bowl.
• 🏀 The Basketball Tournament: Four games (6-9pm, ESPN2/ESPN3) ... Playing for spots in the Sweet 16.

Question: Who are the only two pitchers to win multiple World Series, win multiple Cy Young Awards, and throw multiple no-hitters?

• Hint: NL West.
• Submitted by: Kyle B. (Chicago)

Answer at the bottom.

The great Joe Posnanski blogged about newly enshrined Hall of Famer Buck O'Neil, "the most optimistic man we'll ever know."

I've never solved the mystery of how Buck O'Neil did it, how he vanquished his bitterness and kept his faith in people and saw the good in the world.

I supposed that trying to figure that out is like trying to unravel the mystery of how Shakespeare wrote Othello, King Lear and Macbeth in quick succession ... or how Barry Sanders found open field amid a mass of tacklers.

It's all but impossible to comprehend genius. And Buck was a genius — a genius at optimism and hope and his faith in humanity.

Keep reading.