The Athlete Community Race (and it's wide reaching impact)
$7.6m Series A funding by Pro Athlete Community warrants a deeper look into this fascinating space where 17+ companies are competing.
Modern-day star athletes are armed with capital, clout, and expertise.
Which is why…
A new wave of early-stage companies is forming communities/platforms around athletes.
Look at Steph Curry…he acts as much like a businessman as an athlete:
Investing in startups
Running his own ventures
Giving back through philanthropy
It’s now about creating communities of like-minded athletes, with the thesis that a “team” is stronger than an individual.
So who’s doing it?
Surprisingly, quite a few groups (17+ and growing).
Let’s Dive In 👇
The Athlete Communities
The most common form has always been a collective or group…
And the goal is to decrease the knowledge gap by educating athletes with understandable content around business/money.
And this makes sense for two reasons:
Humans are tribal in nature
Athletes understand the “team” concept
Why this chart matters regarding athlete communities:
These figures highlight the mounting stakes for athletes. With such massive contracts and cap pools, educating them on capital deployment, wealth preservation, and ownership is essential.
Athlete communities are stepping in to bridge the gap, not just through paying for education, but by offering networked investment opportunities and group buying power.
Athlete communities/platforms are spreading like wildfire (and have gained most of their steam over the last few years).
Let’s get into the who, what, and how of the 17+ groups.
1. Pro Athlete Community (PAC)
They are the current platform dominating the news cycle after raising a $7.6 million Series A round led by GSV Ventures.
Membership comprises 650 current and former professional athletes across more than ten professional sports and leagues, including approximately 10% of currently active NFL players.
This makes sense as the NFL provides players with a budget for “continued education” each year.
PAC is conveniently priced near that number.