Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (September 23-30)

<p><strong>Audio Timeline:</strong></p><p>1:25 - <strong>Feel good stories</strong></p><p>* College athletes give back to the community thanks to their NIL money. </p><p>3:05 - Business of Athletes</p><p>* <strong>Lebron James</strong>, <strong>Kevin Love</strong>, and <strong>Draymond Green</strong> are the newest investors in pickleball through <strong>Major League Pickleball’s</strong> 16-team expansion.</p><p>* <strong>Chris Paul</strong>, <strong>Vernon Davis</strong>, and <strong>Jimmer Fredette</strong> are investing in <strong>Scout’s </strong>$2.6M seed round. The company helps users put together “investing starting packages”. </p><p>* <strong>Kevin Durant</strong> and <strong>Billie Jean King</strong> are the newest investors in <strong>League One Volleyball</strong>, a new women's pro league, which has raised a $16.75 million Series A round. </p><p>* <strong>Eli Manning</strong> (through his PE Firm Brand Velocity Group) has acquired uniform company <strong>SCORE</strong>. Carmelo Anthony, Nolan Arenado, DK Metcalf, and Klay Thompson are fellow athlete investors. </p><p>* <strong>Abby Wambach</strong> is distancing herself from concussion company <strong>Odyssey Health</strong> as Brett Favre is reportedly its biggest investor. </p><p>* <strong>Travis Kelce</strong> is investing in <strong>ZenWTR</strong>, other athlete investors include Aaron Rodgers, Richard Seymour, surfer Kelly Slater, and Tristan Thompson.</p><p>10:45 - <strong>Name, Image, and Likeness</strong></p><p>* <strong>South Carolina women’s basketball</strong> players are set to receive $25,000 during this upcoming season thanks to a team-wide NIL deal. </p><p>* 5-star football recruit <strong>David Stone</strong> put out on Twitter that he can’t “be bought” during his recruiting process.</p><p>13:35 - Future of Sports</p><p>* <strong>InGame Sports</strong>, an Egyptian gaming and sports technology startup has secured over $1M in a pre-seed round spearheaded by Opener.</p><p>* <strong>Athletes Unlimited</strong> announced a $30M funding round to continue building out their women’s first athletic leagues.  Four-time Olympian Angela Ruggiero, Philadelphia 76ers owner David Blitzer, and Kevin Durant's 35V are investors. </p><p>* <strong>Karate Combat</strong>, a prominent full-contact martial arts league, announced the decision to form a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to transition its governance to fans and athletes.</p><p>* <strong>The American Cornhole League (ACL)</strong> is one of the fastest-growing sports leagues in the world (challenging even pickleball). They have announced a strategic multi-year partnership with Legends agency. </p><p>* <strong>SIQ Basketball</strong> raised an additional $3M from 16 new investors. They make the world’s first smart basketball and are used by Overtime Elite. </p><p>Interesting Stat</p><p>This is wild:</p><p>High school sports in the United States with the most participants (and YoY change).</p><p>Participation is down among the 10 most popular boys and girls high school sports compared to the last full pre-pandemic school year.</p><p>Boys golf and girls volleyball are the only increases. </p><p>This chart doesn’t include Esports — but that is definitely growing as well. </p><p>Short Passage of The Week:</p><p>We rob ourselves of joy because of the storylines we create around our painful challenges in life, be they physical, financial, mental, emotional, or spiritual. </p><p>As we walk through the growth experiences of life's discomfort, we realize joy is right there in the midst of it all. </p><p><em>Passage by The Daily Coach</em></p><p>Recommended Media</p><p>Thanks to the 50+ people who have sent emails regarding business ideas in pickleball after my post on Friday. </p><p>It has garnered a ton of buzz and I am currently sorting through them to see if there are any opportunities that can benefit us all. </p><p>Tweet(s)</p><p>Figuring out what to message “busy” people is tough. This is a good br