It started as a bait-and-tackle shop.
Now?
DICK’S Sporting Goods is quietly becoming one of the most influential companies in sports…and most people have no idea.
- youth sports investments
- venture arm in DSG Ventures
- 4+ acquisitions over the last ~decade
- a full playbook to verticalize sports (this is MASSIVE)
Let’s break it down ????
From Bait Shop to Billion-Dollar Brand
Dick’s Sporting Goods was founded in 1948 by 18-year-old Dick Stack in Binghamton, New York, with a $300 investment from his grandma.
23 years later, DICK’S opened store #2 in 1971.
In 1977, Dick Stack brought on his son, Ed Stack, and the company hasn’t looked back since:
- Expanded rapidly in the 90s/2000s as the go-to suburban sports store
- Now operates 850+ stores and did $13B+ in revenue last year
- Publicly traded ($DKS) is up 660% in the last five years
But here’s the twist:
They’re not content being “just a retailer” anymore.
A Full-Stack Sports Company
This didn’t happen overnight.
DICK’S has been stacking verticals for 20+ years — both organically and through acquisition.
Acquisitions That Built the Base:
- 2004: Acquired Galyan’s Trading Company, expanding footprint and categories
- 2007: Bought Golf Galaxy (65 stores) → Became the largest specialty golf retailer in the U.S.
- 2007: Acquired Chick’s Sporting Goods to plant roots in California
- 2016: Purchased Sports Authority’s intellectual property and customer files after its bankruptcy → digital expansion and competitor neutralization
Strategic Vertical Moves:
- Launched DSG, their own in-house athletic brand in 2019 → better margins and more control over product
- Opened new retail concepts like House of Sport and Field & Stream → blending experiential shopping with specialty categories
- Renewed and expanded a $50M commitment to fund youth sports programs through their Sports Matter initiative
It’s a clear pattern:
Own the product. Own the infrastructure. Own the athlete lifecycle.
And they’re doubling down on Youth Sports.
DICK’S Sporting Goods in Youth Sports
Their recent moves tell the story:
1. GameChanger App
- Acquired in 2016
- Used by 550,000+ teams (and growing)
- Now the #1 scorekeeping and live-streaming app for youth sports
Plays a key role in DICK’S building relationships before kids ever walk into a store.
2. DSG Ventures
- The company’s $50m investment arm launched in 2022
- Focus: Companies that help DICK’S “meet athletes wherever they play”
- The portfolio includes tech, media, and logistics startups tied to sports participation and engagement
Think of it like this…they’ll fund it if it helps them sell more products or own more of the ecosystem.
3. Investment in Unrivaled Sports $120m round
- Aims to unify fragmented travel leagues across sports
- Backed by pro team owners Josh Harris & David Blitzer.
DICK’S gets access to the infrastructure of youth sports — not just the gear.
Let’s go deeper on this one.
Unrivaled Sports Adds $120M from DICK’S
Investors are waking up to the potential of youth sports, especially if you can modernize the infrastructure and integrate tech.
And DICK’S Sporting Goods just made a massive bet on its future.
Unrivaled Sports just secured a $120M investment led by DSG Ventures, with other notable investors joining the round.
What is Unrivaled Sports Building?
Unrivaled Sports is quietly brewing an empire in youth sports.
Their strategy?
Roll up some of the most iconic operators & facilities in the game – Ripken Baseball, Cooperstown All-Star Village, and Under the Lights Flag Football.
In just one year, they’ve stitched together a network spanning 30 states, hosting over 600K+ young athletes annually.
This is a deeply strategic move – with DICK’S aiming to plug its sporting goods infrastructure & tech platform (GameChanger) directly into Unrivaled’s powerful ecosystem and turn it into a merchandising & engagement engine of its own.
Why DICK’S Invested
This strategic move from DICK’S is letting the brand & products evolve from shelf to on the field.
Unrivaled is its front-end plug-in for increased distribution of youth sporting goods, equipment, and more.
1. Plug-in-Play: With Unrivaled’s national scale, DICK’S can plug directly into the source – owning the retail layer for its 600K+ youth athlete ecosystem, from uniforms to equipment to sideline gear. Unrivaled is to DICK’S what broadband was to TV. It’s faster, cleaner, and way more efficient – DICK’S now has a direct line into the heart of youth sports.
2. “Mom & Dad, Let’s go to DICK’S!”: With “Powered by DICK’S” stamped on every baseball tournament, flag football game, and weekend practice, the brand is embedding itself deep into its core customer base: families. That kind of repeated exposure builds serious brand stickiness – so when it’s time for a family to surprise their kid with a new baseball bat, DICK’S is the first place they’ll think to go.
3. Data Mining Flywheel: Unrivaled is actively looking to integrate GameChanger – a DICK’S-owned tech platform for sports team management, streaming, and analytics – into its ecosystem. This move gives DICK’S access to a treasure chest of data: youth sports trends, team purchasing behavior, equipment preferences, and family engagement habits. With GameChanger in play, Unrivaled transforms into a real-time insight engine, powering DICK’S retail strategy from end to end.
DICK’S is flipping the script — they’re not just selling cleats anymore…
They’re embedding themselves into the entire lifecycle of an athlete (from youth leagues to livestreams to locker room gear).
This gives them:
- Distribution advantages (early relationship with athletes)
- Deal leverage (to partner with or acquire emerging platforms)
- Data flywheels (tracking fan engagement via apps, not just transactions)
- Future M&A opportunities (in media, training, youth infrastructure)
The Takeaway for Founders & Investors
The line between “retailer” and “sports platform” is blurring.
- Founders building in youth sports, sports tech, team management, or even content → DICK’S could be your exit.
- Investors → Pay attention to big incumbents like DICK’S, who are buying their way into relevance and locking up key infrastructure.
This isn’t a sporting goods company anymore.
It’s a sports ecosystem in motion.
Fun times ahead!
