Audio Timeline:
1:15 - Feel good stories
$25,000 investment on behalf of LPGA
2:10 - Business of Athletes & Sports
Caleb Williams (USC QB) becomes the first college athlete to ever publicly invest in a company, Futuremood, a sunglass company
Tiger Woods was apparently offered $700-800M from LIV Golf and he turned it down
NWSL’s main sponsor Voyager Digital, went bankrupt possibly impacting the ability of the women soccer players to get paid down the line
Professional cyclist Tom Pidcock’s Link My Ride, a community biking app, has received funding from the Dutch Sport Tech Fund
Former NFL player Vernon Davis joins the ownership group of the Brisbane Bullets in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL).
other athletes who are part owners in the NBL include Khris Middleton, Thaddeus Young, Kevin Martin, and Marvin Williams
SportsBox AI, a 3D performance golf app, has closed a $5.5M seed round led by Elysian Park that included investments from LPGA golfer Michelle Wie and 76ers co-owner David Blitzer
DICK'S Sporting Goods has launched School of Sport, an interactive experience on the Roblox platform (a metaverse play)
The PGA Tour announced increased cash prizes next year of $15-25M
OneOf’s, an NFT marketplace, raised $8M with plans to expand into sports. They currently have deals with Wayne Gretsky and Duke Men’s Basketball.
The Professional Kickboxing Association has received a $1M investment from former Sacramento Kings and Pittsburgh Pirates minority owner Jimmy Anderson
Huupe, an interactive basketball backboard, has closed its seed round led by Paradigm Sports with athlete investments from Trevor Booker and Thaddeus Young
13:25 - Name, Image, and Likeness
The Pac-12 athlete monetization move that could change sports forever
Agency charging college athletes 0% commission
US Senators getting involved with NIL
Interesting Stat
This is wild:
The sports technology market has been picking up steam over the last few years and doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon.
Keep in mind….
This research graph is just for the United States, there is a ton of sports innovations stemming from all over the world.
A market to keep an eye on — India.
Short Passage of The Week
Confidence without competence = Telling yourself that you are highly skilled, but you haven’t paid the price to be—this is common.
Competence without confidence = You are highly skilled, but you still doubt yourself— this is normal.
Build competence, and let confidence follow.
Passage by Justin Su'a, Head of Mental Performance, Tampa Bay Rays
Recommended Media
Athletes today have a sense of entitlement due to all the social media popularity they achieve before so-called “making it”.
Damian Lillard hits the nail on the head👇
By the way, things are only going to escalate as high school/college athletes will now not only have huge social media followings but also bank accounts.
We need more role models like Dame.
It’s much better to be a pro athlete in a state like Texas where there is no state income tax, than in one like California which has a high state income tax.
But taxation isn’t always that straightforward.
For athletes in individual sports (e.g. golf and tennis), performance-based income is typically sourced from the state where the event occurs.
For athletes in team sports (e.g. NFL, MLB, NBA, etc), their team-paid compensation is typically apportioned amongst the states based on the ratio of days in the state to days everywhere.
The days include not only games, but also practices, team meetings, and travel days.
That is why NFL players prefer when the Super Bowl is in a state with no income tax as their $1M bonuses are taxed $30,000 to $70,000 less.
Quote
“We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are” - Max Dupree
Thanks for tuning in — go get a little bit closer to achieving your goals today.
Peace,
-AP
Extra Credit
I had a little fun on Twitter last week posting my 10 favorite sports movies:
SouthPaw
Invictus
Moneyball
The Blind Side
White Men Can’t Jump
Greatest Game Ever Played
We Are Marshall
Miracle on Ice
The Express
Friday Night Lights
People were all over me in the comments…but picking 10 is harder than you think
Of course I love Rudy, Coach Carter, and Rocky but I would choose these ten over them.
Here’s the thread if you’re interested:
Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (August 1-6)