Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (October 9-15)

<p><strong>Audio Timeline:</strong></p><p>0:00 - <strong>Feel good stories</strong></p><p>* Amazing story from the Ironman World Championships, Cooper Kupp giving back in a major way, and Patriots owner Robert Kraft donating millions. </p><p>2:25 - Business of Athletes</p><p>* <strong>World Champion Fantasy</strong>, an online fantasy esports platform, announced <strong>JuJu Smith-Schuster</strong> is now an equity owner in the company.</p><p>* <strong>UBS</strong> announced the second season of "Front Office", a reality TV show that follows superstar athletes-turned-investors. </p><p>* <strong>TBE Enterprises</strong> announced on Tuesday that it's creating a $1 million winner-take-all 7 vs. 7 competition soccer event in 2023. <strong>Chris Paul</strong> is an investor. </p><p>* <strong>Tom Brady</strong> and <strong>Kim Clijsters</strong> will be buying an MLP Pickleball team. </p><p>* <strong>Patrick Willis</strong>, a former NFL great, announced the launch of <strong>Universe 52</strong>, a members-only NFT community where fans can interact with him and unlock access to exclusive perks.</p><p>* Former Super Bowl champion <strong>Ryan Nece</strong> announced that <strong>Next Play Capital</strong> raised $200 million for its third fund. </p><p>8:10 - <strong>Name, Image, and Likeness</strong></p><p>* It pays to be the son of a famous athlete (two legacy names sign massive NIL deals)</p><p>* Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim has some strong words about NIL. </p><p>12:05 - Future of Sports</p><p>* NFT-based athlete investment platform <strong>FANtium</strong> announced a pre-seed round of $2 million. Fans can invest in an athlete's seasonal earnings, as well as in the career earnings of up-and-coming younger prospects.</p><p>* The <strong>BIG EAST</strong> Conference will release NFT tickets to attendees covering its 2022 Basketball Media Day. Fans attending <strong>MLB </strong>postseason games can receive commemorative <strong>NFT tickets</strong> that update 24 hours before the event.</p><p>* <strong>Puttshack</strong>, co-founded by the creators of Topgolf, just received $150 million in growth capital funding led by <strong>BlackRock</strong>. In 2023, they expect to expand to Dallas, Denver, Houston, Nashville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Scottsdale.</p><p>* The <strong>MLB</strong> became the first major sports league in the US to enter an official contract with a <strong>CBD</strong> company.</p><p>Interesting Stat</p><p>This is wild…</p><p>Injuries across Europe's five major leagues rose by 20% last season and cost clubs $527 million, the first time this figure has eclipsed the half-a-billion mark.  🤯</p><p><em>*Injury cost is calculated by multiplying the daily cost of a player by the number of days they were unavailable. </em></p><p>Players under the age of 21 were especially affected, with their number of injuries rising tenfold in the last four years.</p><p>Yet, the increase in injury concerns isn't specific to soccer...</p><p>The NFLPA claims artificial turf leads to a 28% higher rate of non-contact injuries as compared to when playing on natural grass.</p><p>Short Passage of The Week:</p><p>Ask questions that are so big that only your life can answer them. One of the biggest lessons in life is being able to distinguish between the stories other people have created about you and the truth you come to know about yourself...</p><p>You begin to reject the scripts that other people wrote for you when you recognize that those words and actions do not align with your vision for your life. <em>― Dr. Thema Bryant, Homecoming </em></p><p>Recommended Media</p><p>If you haven’t watched the Redeem Team yet…tonight is the night. </p><p>Unbelievable documentary.</p><p>Tweet(s)</p><p>Kim Kardashian has created $1B companies. </p><p>Lebron James is creating a billion-dollar empire. </p><p>Mr. Beast got offered $1B for his YouTube channel (and turned it down). </p><p>Take a look at the power of athletes, entertainers, and creators. 👇</p><