Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (Jan 23-29)

<h4>Business of Athletes:</h4> <ul> <li><strong>Firefly Recovery</strong> has raised $1M from a group of athlete investors including Olympic Volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings, and NFL players Shaq Thompson + Darren Waller.</li> <li><strong>Lebron James’</strong> investment in pickleball drew over 4 billion eyeballs.</li> <li>Former NBA star<strong> Carlos Boozer</strong> has partnered with <strong>The Campins Company</strong> to offer best-in-class real estate services to athletes, entertainers, and high-net-worth individuals.</li> <li>Arizona Cardinals linebacker, real estate investor, entrepreneur, and now author, <strong>Devon Kennard</strong>, announced the release of his book: It All Adds Up.</li> </ul> <h4>Business of Sports (03:50)</h4> <ul> <li><strong>Dragon Seats</strong> the leading manufacturer and provider of patented heated and cooling sports benches, is proud to announce its acquisition of Athletic Recovery Zone, a Florida-based manufacturer and provider of state-of-the-art air conditioning and heating sports bench technology.</li> <li><strong>Sapphire Sport</strong>, the sports investment arm of VC firm Sapphire Ventures focused on fitness, gaming, streaming and new media, has raised a second, oversubscribed $181 million fund with investments</li> <li><strong>Obbi Golf</strong>, a software that supports the management of golf clubs, announced a $1.54 million investment as the company turns one year old.</li> <li><strong>Maple Leaf Sports &amp; Entertainment</strong> and <strong>Amazon Web Services</strong> have launched <strong>SportsX</strong>, a new research and development program focused on advancing innovation in sports as it relates to team performance and fan experiences.</li> <li>The <strong>NFLPA</strong> has participated in a $40 million financing round raised by <strong>Miach Orthopaedics</strong>, a medical technology company whose BEAR implant can heal ACL tears as an alternative to reconstructive surgery.</li> <li><strong>Oya Femtech Apparel</strong>, a black women-owned femtech apparel brand has a solution for this and has raised $1.3M in an oversubscribed pre-seed round.The Sixers Innovation Lab led the round,</li> <li><strong>Twitter</strong> is planning to run content sponsorship deals with more than three dozen news outlets, media companies, and sports leagues in the first half of this year</li> </ul>