Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (September 4-10)

<p></p><p><strong>Audio Timeline:</strong></p><p>0:30 - <strong>Feel good stories</strong></p><p>* $16M raised by pro quarterbacks, $3M for mental health services, and Planet Fitness’ initiative for teenagers. </p><p>2:45 - Business of Athletes</p><p>* <strong>Shaquille O’Neal</strong> is contemplating an investment in the <strong>NBL</strong> (Australia). He would join current NBA players Thaddeus Young and Khris Middleton. </p><p>* <strong>Nicklas Bendtner</strong>, a former soccer star for Arsenal F.C., recently launched his own esports company known as Prosapia Esport ApS.</p><p>* <strong>Luka Doncic</strong> is having some trademark trouble with the USPTO as his“LUKA DONCIC” failed to register due to similar trademarks not being owned by him.</p><p>* <strong>LeBron James</strong>, <strong>Kevin Love</strong>, and <strong>Tobias Harris</strong> are investing in <strong>Neutral Foods</strong>, a carbon-free nutrition company, alongside Mark Cuban and Bill Gates. </p><p>* Las Vegas Raiders QB <strong>Derek Carr</strong> has joined <strong>Oofos</strong>, an active recovery footwear brand, as an investor and ambassador. </p><p>* Tennis great <strong>Billie Jean King</strong> is helping to launch <strong>Trailblazer Venture Studio</strong>, a new accelerator supporting women-run businesses in sports and media. </p><p>9:30 - <strong>Name, Image, and Likeness</strong></p><p>* Heach Coach Dabo Swinney has re-signed with Clemson for over $100M</p><p>* Purdue and Grambling State University offer school-wide NIL opportunities to enable all athletes in getting paid. </p><p>* An NFT-run basketball tournament helping high school basketball players get paid and also educated on web3. </p><p>14:20 - Future of Sports</p><p>* <strong>Venturerock</strong> launched a $75M sports tech venture investment company (VIC). Athlete investors include former Dutch soccer player <strong>Mark van Bommel</strong> and former New York Jets cornerback <strong>Bryson Keeton</strong>. </p><p>* <strong>Science in Sport</strong>, a premium performance nutrition brand, has secured $3.5M in additional funding. </p><p>* <strong>Sorare</strong> is teaming up with the NBA to serve as the official NFT fantasy partner and will debut a new fantasy offering for the 2022-23 season. </p><p>* The sports NFT market size is at $2.6B in 2022 and is forecasted to reach $41.6B by 2032. </p><p>* The <strong>Saudi National Development Fund</strong> (NDF) is adopting a program to finance the gaming and e-sports sector with $80M.</p><p>* <strong>New York Knicks</strong> named the most valuable NBA team by Forbes Magazine at $5.8B. </p><p>Interesting Stat</p><p>Here’s a map showing where most college football players come from:</p><p>To no surprise…</p><p>Southern California, Texas, and Florida are the hotbeds. </p><p>Perhaps a breakdown for a later date as this stuff fascinates me. </p><p>Short Passage of The Week:</p><p>Two things you get every day:</p><p>A chance, and a choice. </p><p>It is our responsibility to make the most of them today! </p><p>* Less phone, more reading.</p><p>* Less facts, more intuition.</p><p>* Less consuming, more creating.</p><p>* Less commotion, more solitude.</p><p>* Less talking, more listening.</p><p>* Less controlling, more sharing.</p><p>* Less judgment, more empathy.</p><p>How will we spend our 86,400 seconds today?</p><p><em>Passage by Clint Hurdle</em></p><p>Recommended Media</p><p>I enjoyed this piece by CJ Gustafson who is the founder and editor of Mostly Metrics.</p><p>It’s a free weekly newsletter about startup metrics and business models.</p><p>While I did a good bit of finance at Boston University, much of it slips out the backdoor. Always nice to stay sharp on the financial side of things.</p><p>I’m a firm believer in knowing a little bit about a lot of things. A “generalist” is a term that you might have heard thrown around before. </p><p>Tweet(s)</p><p>With school starting back up I thought this was an interesting thread for parents:<