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.
2. Patricof Co.
Provide top-tier professional athletes with opportunities in late-stage private companies and real estate.
It’s less of a membership and more about leveraging top-tier athletes in later-stage deals; they also use the power of athletes to raise additional third-party capital.
- Example investments: IMG Academy, SpaceX, Kodiak, RealTruck, Virgin Voyages
3. APEX Capital
A Portugal-based sports, media, and entertainment group that joined forces with several notable European athletes.
They’ve moved like many others in the space:
- raise money on the holding company
- charge athletes a membership
- syndicate deals
- raise a fund
Example investments: TMRW Sports, Spalk, Xset, Venezia FC, RealFevr
4. Sequel
A new European group focused on education within the platform and providing deal flow through their mobile app.
They are mainly focused on doing deals outside of sports, led by top-tier VCs.
- Example investments: Wikifarmer, Fitwise, Slingshot AI
5. Athletic Ventures
A syndicate of former and current pro athletes (mostly in Australia) looking to partner with high-growth tech and consumer companies.
Like many of the other groups, they are now seeking to raise a venture fund and expand beyond their syndicate.
- Example investments: Eucalyptus, Foodbomb, Smartabase, ZeroCo, Pet Circle
6. Plus Capital
Venture firm for athletes, artists, and entertainers.
A mix of advisory and their own investments.
- Example investments: Uber, 100Theives, Beyond Meat, Salesforce, Tonal, Instacart, MoonPay
7. Teampact Ventures
A French-based community of athletes and leaders focused mainly on health and sustainability innovations.
- Example investments: SquareMind, Murfy, Growl, Beyond Aero, Kobi
8. Off Court Ventures
A majority Black-owned, investment platform providing access to a community of global professional athletes by investing in early-stage Seed to Series B businesses.
- Example investments: Arena, Happy Dad, Unrivaled, Super Coffee, Olipop
9. Dugout Ventures
A group comprised of current and former MLB Players investing in consumer-focused companies.
They are currently focusing on one deal at a time, acting more like a private equity firm.
- Example investments: Marucci, Performance Kitchen, Evoshield
10. Next Play Capital
Minority-owned investment platform focused on investing in top-tier venture funds and venture-backed companies.
They also conduct a range of educational sessions for athletes and offer a comprehensive programming session.
- Example investments: Carta, StubHub, Tonal, Chime, ByteDance (TikTok)
11. The Player’s Impact (TPI)
TPI has been around since 2017, serving as a networking and deal flow source for professional athletes.
They were acquired by a family office last year and continue to run syndicates for deals involving later-stage companies.
- Example investments: DraftKings, Cameo, TopGolf, Triller
12. The Post
A newer model that aims to serve everyone who has at least been a college athlete.
They raised venture capital money, which I personally find fascinating. Less about them raising, but more about the VCs backing them.
One interesting aspect of The Post is that it has a physical location in NYC, where members can use it as a co-working space when in the city.
13. Athlete’s Touch
Less about investing, more about networking.
Built for former athletes transitioning into business, it offers events, job connections, and mentorship.
Think of it like an “alumni group” for athletes, but with most of the members being former college athletes (not famous pros).
14. Other Groups Include
BTG Network, High Impact Athletes, Laureus, ProPlayers VC Club, Athletico Ventures, and The Players Fund.
Some of these are slightly differentiated from the groups above.
How do these groups make money?
Revenue models vary…most combine a few of the following:
- Membership fees
- Carry and syndicate fees
- Sponsorships and athlete-driven events
- Traditional venture fund models (2/20)
Almost every group plays in one or more of these 4 pillars:
- Education
- Networking
- Investing
- Philanthropy
No one has fully nailed all four…
If a group ever does, it could dominate, but also face serious conflicts of interest.
The Bottom Line
The internet has provided more leverage to athletes than ever before.
With just one Instagram post or TikTok video, they can help influence millions of people.
This has made them hot commodities for influencer marketing, but also for community/investment groups.
Bringing that down to college, for the first time in history, we’re seeing athletes far wealthier than their professors, counselors, teammates, opponents, and coaches.
All of this is why I’m a firm believer in a few things:
- There’s never been a better time to be in sports
- There’s never been a better time to be an athlete
The lingering question…
How will these athlete communities develop over time?
- Will they disrupt the agency model?
- Will they become large PE firms?
- Will they become the new form of education?
- Will they be consolidated or absorbed?
Going Forward
The athlete community space is interesting as its tentacles reach throughout sports.
Some athletes do it themselves with their own team, others pay to join a group and have others do it for them.
There’s a lot of money surrounding athletes right now, and numerous groups are vying to capture a piece of it.
If you’re building in sports, here’s what to consider:
- Do your homework…some of these communities could be perfect partners.
- Understand how each invests (fund? syndicate? 3rd party?)
- Be cautious with sensitive info…many of these groups have multiple stakeholders with different incentives.
The rise of athlete communities focused on education, networking, investing, and/or philanthropy is a fascinating trend.
I’m really interested to see how it develops over the next decade!
Maybe one day…The Profluence Community will add programming for athletes.
