Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (October 16-22)

<p><strong>Audio Timeline:</strong></p><p>0:35 - <strong>Feel good stories</strong></p><p>* Giving back with a 50-mile run across the Grand Canyon.</p><p>4:08 - Business of Athletes</p><p>* <strong>Golf+</strong>, a VR golf platform raised a $6 million seed round with athlete investors including <strong>Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Mike Trout, and Rory McIlroy</strong>.</p><p>* <strong>Christiano Ronaldo</strong> was named the most marketable athlete in the world according to <a target="_blank" href="https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/athletes/">SportsPro</a>, with <strong>Serena Williams</strong> in 2nd and <strong>Lewis Hamilton</strong> in 3rd. </p><p>* <strong>Sachin Tendulkar</strong>, one of India's most famous athletes, has become a strategic investor in the digital collectibles platform <strong>Rario</strong>.</p><p>* <strong>Kevin Durant</strong> bought an <strong>MLP </strong>pickleball team.</p><p>* <strong>Damian Lillard</strong> made his first tech investment in <strong>Kicks Crew</strong>, a digital sneaker platform.</p><p>* <strong>Lionel Messi</strong> announced the launch of his new venture firm, <strong>Play Time</strong>, alongside experienced venture capitalist Razmig Hovaghimian.</p><p>7:30 - <strong>Name, Image, and Likeness</strong></p><p>* <strong>Division I</strong> schools can expect to receive further NCAA rules guidance related to name, image, and likeness activity as soon as next week</p><p>* Sad weekend at <strong>San Jose State</strong> due to an unfortunate electric scooter accident. </p><p>* Collegiate sport fan experience platform <strong>Mercury</strong> has raised $7.5 million in a seed round led by Multicoin Capital.</p><p>10:30 - Future of Sports</p><p>* <strong>Will Ventures</strong> raised $150 million for Fund II, they will continue to invest in seed-stage companies in the consumer, health, sports, and entertainment sectors.</p><p>* <strong>Next Play Capital,</strong> started by former Super Bowl champion Ryan Nece, has raised a $200M fund.</p><p>* NFL commissioner <strong>Roger Goodell</strong> made $63.9M for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. Adam Silver (NBA) made $10M, Rob Manfred (MLB) earned $17.5M, and Gary Bettman (NHL) earned ~$10M. </p><p>* <strong>EA Sports</strong> announced that it will be investing $11 million in women's soccer via its Starting XI Fund.</p><p>* The <strong>Clippers</strong> are launching the NBA's first direct-to-consumer streaming service called "ClipperVision," which will feature 74 games and cost $199.99 for the season.</p><p>* <strong>CoachMePlus</strong>, an enterprise-level digital fitness platform that helps coaches work with athletes to achieve their fitness and wellness goals, announced $1 million investment from angel groups. </p><p>Interesting Stat</p><p>This is wild…</p><p>NBA players paid $36M in fines last season (up from $6.9M the previous year). </p><p>That’s over $29,000/game — just including the regular season. </p><p>What’s to blame?</p><p>Well…NBA players make a lot of money (and sometimes the extra publicity from getting thrown out of a game is worth it). Basically a business expense at this point. </p><p>Short Passage of The Week:</p><p>* Hold the door for others and pick up trash that's not yours.</p><p>* Compliment people behind their backs and encourage people when they're down.</p><p>* Include people when they feel left out and hold yourself to a high standard.</p><p>* Share your life with people you love and admit when you are wrong.</p><p>* Celebrate others when they succeed and stand up for people that can't stand up for themselves.</p><p>* Have the courage to say no to things that could jeopardize your future.</p><p>* Realize doing the right things for the right reasons will never go out of style. </p><p>* Be a good person.</p><p><em>Source: Lewis Caralla, Georgia Tech's Strength Coach</em></p><p>Tweet(s)</p><p>Mario Götze is setting a great example for athletes (both on and off the field):</p><p>Business Jargon</p><p>Changing this sec