Profluence Sports by Andrew Petcash
The Petcash Pod 🌐
Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (Feb 20-Mar 5)
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Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (Feb 20-Mar 5)

Giannis Antetokounmpo now owns 2 pro teams, sports tech investing is picking back up, and other interesting developments.
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First things first…

I didn’t do a weekly roundup last week as I was traveling and it backfired (in a good way).

There were a ton of interesting developments worth exploring deeper — which I do in the podcast if you’re interested (everyone who has ever listened says it’s packed with a ton of value).

Audio Timeline:

(2:00) - Business of Athletes

  • Terance Mann has joined Duncan Robinson and former Olympians Josh Dixon and Lauren Gibbs as investors in Slate Milk's $10.5 million Series A.

  • NBA center Rudy Gobert has invested in Trendex, which sells limited edition tokens whose value is tied to the real-world careers of an athlete or performer.

  • Felix Mischker, an upcoming tennis talent from the UK, raised $50,000 from sports fans last week on FANtium, a platform that enables sports fans to invest in athletes.

  • Venus & Serena Williams sisters are teaming up as producers on an upcoming documentary about the 1971 Women's World Cup.

  • immi, an instant ramen brand, has received investments from Naomi Osaka and Apolo Ohno alongside their $10M Series A.

  • Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, and Marcus Mariota will front a new documentary for Netflix and the NFL.

  • NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo and NHL forward Filip Forsberg have joined the ownership group at Nashville SC.

(11:00) - Name, Image, and Likeness

  • Clemson lacrosse player Sofia Chepenik reportedly signed the first-ever lifetime NIL deal with metaverse company Loot Mogul. She also received an equity stake.

  • Five-star basketball prospect Kiyomi McMiller has signed a historic name, image, and likeness deal with Jordan Brand.

  • The NCAA is putting the hammer down on the University of Miami Women’s Basketball team (including a fine I talk about in the podcast).

(14:10) - Sports Business

  • Facility Ally, a sports facility and entertainment management software company, has closed a $700,000 pre-seed funding round led by Slabotsky Family Office.

  • Pickleheads, a pickleball tech platform, has become the first VC-backed tech company focused exclusively on America’s fastest-growing sport.

  • NIL tech company, Icon Source, has closed its Series A funding.

  • Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore’s ticketing venture, Jump, has raised $20 million in funds to take on TicketMaster.

  • Venture capitalist Rudy Cline-Thomas is purchasing a significant stake in the full-service athlete management firm Athletes First.

  • Champions Round, a fantasy league startup, announced that it raised $7 million in new Series A funding including investments from Baron Davis, Melvin Gordon, Tyrann Mathieu, and Zaire Wade.

  • FC Barcelona plans to invest in technology startups through its Barcelona Innovation Hub (BIHUB) initiative.

  • The live event site and venue planning platform OnePlan has raised $6 million in a new funding round led by Elysian Park Ventures and Verance Capital.


Interesting Stat

Usually, I try to make this sports business-oriented…

But in honor of March Madness:

The only men’s basketball coach at the University of Kansas to have a career losing record?

James Naismith | Biography, Rules of Basketball, & Facts | Britannica

James Naismith — the man that invented basketball. 🤯


Short Passage of The Week

People say, "Everything happens for a reason."

That "REASON" is:

To decide what you will do with what you have right now.

Not what you thought you'd have, not what you were promised but didn't get, not what you hope to get one day, but what you have right here, right now.

The more you keep your attention on that, the greater the creations within your life will be.

Make the most of every moment.

Passage by Doe Zantamata


Recommended Media

Instagram is growing at a nice pace.

I post all the podcast clips + other interesting videos there.

If you use IG, I would appreciate a follow as we continue to strengthen the Profluence community.

@readprofluence on Instagram


Tweet(s)

The comments section is a different world…

I left the word “state” out of the first tweet to foster engagement — wild how well it worked.

Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see if more players start to prioritize playing in states with lower income taxes (it can save millions).

Image

Business Jargon

I saw this the other day and it blew my mind…

The median compensation for members of private company boards of directors was $44,850 in 2021, according to a global study by Lodestone Global.

The average total compensation for S&P 500 board directors in 2021 was $312,279, up 1% from 2020, according to a Spencer Stuart analysis of board pay.

I see why Elon Musk isn’t a fan of paying board members a salary (this was one of the first things he tried to remove at Twitter).


Quote

“Every success story is a tale of constant adaption, revision, and change” - Richard Branson

Thanks for tuning in today!

Peace,

-AP

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