Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (January 1-15th)

<h4>(0:40) - <strong>Feel good stories</strong></h4> <ul> <li><strong>Florida State</strong> offensive lineman <strong>Dillan Gibbons</strong> has raised over $500,000 through NIL for his charity "Big Man, Big Heart."</li> <li><strong>Damar Hamlin’s</strong> charity hits $8.8M in donations.</li> </ul> <h4>(2:10) - Business of Athletes</h4> <ul> <li><strong>Michael Phelps, Odell Beckham Jr, Jeremy Lin</strong>, &amp; more invest in Major League Pickleball (<strong>MLP</strong>).</li> <li><strong>Alex Rodriguez</strong> has exercised his option alongside Marc Lore to buy a second 20% stake in the <strong>Minnesota Timberwolves</strong> and Lynx.</li> <li><strong>Blake Griffin, Joe Burrow, Khris Middleton, Kemba Walker, Anders Lee</strong>, and 20+ pro athletes are buying $5M in Iowa farmland.</li> <li><strong>Patrick Mahomes</strong> has acquired an ownership stake in the women’s soccer team, <strong>Kansas City Current</strong>.</li> <li>WNBA star <strong>Lisa Leslie</strong> has joined the ownership team at <strong>Jelenew</strong>, a women’s cycling brand.</li> </ul> <h4>(5:45) - <strong>Name, Image, and Likeness</strong></h4> <ul> <li>Tiger Woods's son, <strong>Charlie Woods</strong>, will not be eligible for NIL money under Florida law should he attend high school there (currently in 8th grade).</li> <li><strong>NIL Collectives</strong>, such as at Michigan, are raising funds to help pay athletes to return to their schools.</li> <li>NC State cornerback, <strong>Shyheim Battle</strong>, became the first athlete to ever sign an equity deal with <strong>Obsesh</strong>, an all-in-one athlete engagement platform.</li> <li><strong>Florida’s</strong> $13 million NIL deal with 5-star football recruit <strong>Jaden Rashada</strong> may head to the courtroom.</li> </ul> <h4>(09:35) - Future of Sports</h4> <ul> <li><strong>32 Equity</strong>, the NFL’s venture fund, invested in upstart apparel and footwear brand <strong>NOBULL</strong>.</li> <li>The <strong>Professional Triathletes Organisation</strong> (PTO) has completed a $30 million Series B funding round led by Divergent Investments.</li> <li><strong>Runna</strong>, a coaching app for runners, has raised $2.3M in funding.</li> <li><strong>East Asia Super League</strong> (EASL) has secured US$40 million in its Series C fundraising round.</li> <li><strong>Clive Mayhew</strong> has invested $1.2 million to launch <strong>Play Today,</strong> a web3 golf company.</li> <li><strong>Teamworks</strong>, a sports management SaaS, has acquired 4 new companies: <strong>Smartabase, Retain, Grafted, and NextPlay</strong>.</li> </ul>