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Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (December 4-10)

(0:30) - Feel good stories Dick’s Sporting Goods $150M in donations, Manny Pacquiao donated 100% of fight proceeds to charity, and the Boston Celtics gifting $155,000. (1:50) - Business of Athletes Nike is cutting ties with Kyrie Irving, he

<h4>(0:30) - <strong>Feel good stories</strong></h4> <ul> <li>Dick’s Sporting Goods $150M in donations, Manny Pacquiao donated 100% of fight proceeds to charity, and the Boston Celtics gifting $155,000.</li> </ul> <h4>(1:50) - Business of Athletes</h4> <ul> <li><strong>Nike</strong> is cutting ties with <strong>Kyrie Irving</strong>, he reportedly earned $8-12 million/year with the contract.</li> <li><strong>Ray Lewis, Emmanuel Acho, Baron Davis</strong>, and other athletes have invested in the $15M Series B round of <strong>MOON ULTRA,</strong> a consumer electronics company.</li> <li><strong>MLB teams</strong> have spent over $1 billion in player contracts so far this offseason.</li> <li><strong>Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe</strong> revealed “A Touch More”, the company will create scripted and unscripted programming.</li> <li><strong>Derek Jeter’s</strong> online card trading company, <strong>Arena Club</strong>, has raised $10M in Series A funding.</li> <li><strong>Serena Williams</strong> has launched <strong>Will Perform</strong>, a topical wellness company for athletes.</li> </ul> <h4>(6:10) - <strong>Name, Image, and Likeness</strong></h4> <ul> <li><strong>Opendorse</strong>, announced that it closed a $20 million fundraising round, including an investment from former NFL player <strong>Will Compton</strong>.</li> <li><strong>Texas A&amp;M’s esports team</strong> recently revealed the school is negotiating with College Station to lease a new facility at Post Oak Mall.</li> <li><strong>On3</strong>, a college sports media company, announced the launch of the On3 Athlete Network where athletes can now sign into their profiles.</li> <li><strong>Prospex</strong>, an NFT trading platform for athletes and fans in NIL is now live in the market.</li> </ul> <h4>(10:00) - Future of Sports</h4> <ul> <li><strong>Fanatics</strong> announced that it raised $700 million at a $31 billion valuation.</li> <li><strong>GameOn Technology</strong>, a conversational chat platform, closed a $35 million Series B funding round.</li> <li><strong>Zenkai Sports</strong>, a natural and sustainable performance apparel brand, closed a $1M funding round to fuel growth and product development.</li> <li><strong>KissCam, LLC</strong> received a U.S. patent for its “KissCam® Contest,” revolutionizing the traditional kiss cam live segment at sports games.</li> </ul>

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