Audio Timeline:
(1:30) - Business of Athletes
#1 Draft Pick Victor Wembanyama has become an investor and brand partner of the fitness drink, Barcode.
NBA player OG Anunoby has become a part-owner of the London Lions, a British basketball team.
Former French National Team Captain Patrice Evra is joining the soccer company, Goalpher, as a co-founder.
Russell Westbrook, Andre Iguodala, TJ McConnell, Larry Nance, Justin Thomas, and Jordan Spieth are investing in the English soccer club, Leeds United.
UFC champion, Francis Ngannou, has invested in Ghana-based Jar to Go which aims to tackle food and waste issues.
Dwyane Wade is joining the ownership group of the WNBA team Chicago Sky.
Retired NFL star Rob Gronkowski has invested in pickleball company Crush Yard.
Cristiano Ronaldo invested in Chrono24, a luxury watch marketplace.
(10:40) - College Sports/NIL
Livvy Dunne is starting a fund to help more women’s athletes at LSU.
University of Texas reports show that student-athletes earned at least $15.5 million over the last two years.
Senator Rand Paul had a weird statement comparing college athletes to rap stars but ultimately said politics and sports shouldn’t cross.
7 NIL Collectives have come together to form The Collective Association (TCA).
(14:00) - Sports Business
Better Collective has acquired sports media and agency group Playmaker HQ for a total consideration of up to $54M.
The Raine Group has raised a $760M sports, media, and gaming fund.
Aktivate has raised $3.7M in new funding for its sports management platform.
Major League Pickleball (MLP) announced a new CEO and COO, who have also said that teams are now valued at $10M.
Roc Nation Sports announced its expansion into South America through the acquisition of São Paulo-based agency TFM.
Digital content management platform Greenfly has acquired Miro AI in a multimillion-dollar transaction to disrupt sports content.
Interesting Stats
The NCAA has an interesting database tool you should check out:
https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/12/13/ncaa-demographics-database.aspx
Short Passage of The Week
They aren't your values if you only live them when it's easy. It's not the standard if you only live it every now and then.
Be who you say you are.
It's not about being perfect, it's about being consistent.
Commitment > Convenience
"There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in something, you do it only when it's convenient. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results." ― Ken Blanchard
Source: Kevin DeShazo via The Winning Difference
Media
I thought the Joe Rogan and Ice Cube podcast was fascinating as Cube talks about how his basketball league, The Big 3, is dealing with politics from the NBA.
Business Jargon
Saw this on Twitter…makes you think:
Some of the top comments of why people believe this happened:
We ended the gold standard and created an endless cycle of inflation.
The short version: when a 2 income family became the norm, the economy changed to meet it.
Check out these charts of 1971 vs Today — they’re fascinating.
Quote
“Stay true to yourself. An original is worth more than a copy.” — Suzy Kassem
Thanks for tuning in today!
Peace,
-AP
Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (July 1-15)