FutureSports, the independent index administrator transforming professional and college sports statistics into rules-based, benchmark financial indexes, announced an agreement with Major League Baseball (MLB) to create first-of-their-kind indexes on baseball team performance. Under the agreement, MLB will provide FutureSports with Official League Data that the company will use to create new broad-based CME FutureSports Performance Indexes (FSPI) on each of the 30 MLB clubs.

The agreement paves the way for CME Group to list weekly, monthly and quarterly cash-settled futures contracts, pending regulatory review, based on the CME FSPI MLB benchmarks.

CME FSPI are designed to systematically measure the cumulative performance of teams in prominent sports leagues. The play-by-play benchmark indexes will provide hedging vehicles and investment opportunities.

Rhett Dinsdale, Co-Founder of FutureSports, said: “We’re thrilled to collaborate with MLB to create indexes on America’s beloved sport. The business of baseball has grown significantly over the years, and we aim to provide a new way for the industry participants to hedge their capital exposures.”

FutureSports and CME Group are committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and transparency. CME FSPI are administered using transparent, rules-based methodologies derived from Official League Data, helping ensure that index values are determined objectively and independently. FutureSports and CME Group will work with MLB on integrity matters related to CME FSPI baseball futures contracts, establishing a framework to share information in a manner consistent with applicable law. MLB will have no involvement in the determination, calculation or governance of the indexes, which are the purview of FutureSports.

FutureSports and the National Hockey League (NHL) previously announced the creation of CME FSPI based on hockey team performance, and CME Group intends to launch futures contracts on the indexes on Sept. 28, pending regulatory review.

Source: CME