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How Athletes Get Into the Top VC Funds | Ryan Nece, Next Legacy

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Sep 3, 2026

Guest

Ryan Nece

Ryan Nece, a former NFL linebacker, Super Bowl champion, and leader of $4 billion Next Legacy, explores the surprising ties between elite athletes, founders, and investors. He discusses how athletes can enter venture capital, avoid bad investments, and build real judgment. The conversation covers power-law returns, emerging managers, philanthropy, mental toughness, an 0-16 season, and lessons from Jerry Rice, Warren Sapp, and family.

01:38:40

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ANECDOTE

Ryan Nece Learned Venture In Coffee Shops

Ryan Nece learned venture by accompanying his father to Silicon Valley meetings and taking notes in coffee shops.
Ronnie Lott’s athlete-backed fund exposed Ryan to technology investing before athletes commonly had access to venture capital.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

From Super Bowl Champion To 0-16

Ryan Nece won a Super Bowl as a rookie alongside four Hall of Famers, then later went 0-16 with Detroit.
Those extremes gave him perspective on elite standards, failure, and life after professional sports.

insights

INSIGHT

Thoughtfulness Separates The Elite

Ryan Nece sees thoughtfulness as the shared trait among elite athletes, founders, and investors.
The best constantly notice details, identify weaknesses, and deliberately iterate toward excellence in totality.

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Athletes Enter Venture Through Proximity

00:46 • 7min

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Thoughtfulness Separates Elite Performers

Athletes Need Discernment, Not Just A Guy

10:30 • 10min

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Fast-Flips and Lifestyle Deals Create Risk

20:18 • 2min

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Athletes Bring Distribution and Resilience

Venture Returns Follow a Sporting Power Law

29:43 • 5min

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Breaking Into Venture Without Connections

34:22 • 4min

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Next Legacy Connects Capital and Culture

37:56 • 3min

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Giving Away Profits Creates Purpose

40:44 • 3min

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Firm Building Requires Operational Discipline

Institutionalizing the Fundraising Pitch

48:19 • 5min

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The Emerging-Manager Barbell

53:02 • 6min

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Networks Create Edge in an AI World

58:37 • 2min

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The Rule of Three Builds LP Confidence

01:00:43 • 5min

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Pick the Overlooked Person First

01:06:03 • 6min

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Lessons From an 0-16 Season

01:12:26 • 5min

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Mental Toughness Means Staying in Motion

01:17:00 • 5min

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Broadcasting Demands Adaptability and Context

01:21:31 • 6min

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Elite Players Process Chaos Quickly

01:27:10 • 4min

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Jerry Rice Turned Work Ethic Into Dominance

01:31:09 • 4min

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Lincoln and a Grandfather’s Operating Principles

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Three Feet from Gold

Turn Your Obstacles into Opportunities!

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Greg Reid

This book tells the story of a young entrepreneur who, through encounters with influential leaders, learns to persevere and find success. It emphasizes the importance of combining passion, talent, and the right associations to achieve goals. The title is inspired by the story of R.U. Darby, who gave up on his gold mine just three feet from a major discovery, highlighting the need for perseverance.

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Team of Rivals

The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

Doris Kearns Goodwin

This book is a multiple biography centered on Abraham Lincoln's mastery of men and how it shaped the most significant presidency in the nation's history. It explores how Lincoln, despite being a one-term congressman and prairie lawyer, rose to become president by incorporating his rivals—William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Edward Bates—into his cabinet. The book details Lincoln's extraordinary ability to understand and empathize with others, which enabled him to create an unusual but effective cabinet. It also delves into the challenges Lincoln faced, including incompetent generals, hostile congressmen, and the internal dynamics of his cabinet, highlighting his political genius and managerial skills.

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• Mentioned in 121 episodes

Give and Take

A Revolutionary Approach to Success

Adam Grant

In 'Give and Take', Adam Grant examines the surprising forces that shape success, highlighting the differences between givers, matchers, and takers. Givers contribute to others without expecting anything in return, matchers aim to trade evenly, and takers strive to get as much as possible from others. Grant uses cutting-edge evidence and captivating stories to show how these styles impact success across various industries. The book emphasizes the benefits and challenges of adopting a giver mentality and provides practical advice on how to build successful relationships and achieve extraordinary results.

Ryan Nece runs Next Legacy, a $4 billion fund of funds that connects athletes and philanthropists with the top venture capital firms in the world.

Ryan is the only player in NFL history to win a Super Bowl as a rookie and go 0-16 in his final season. His dad, Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, started one of the first athlete-backed venture funds with Joe Montana in the late '90s.

Ryan rebuilt that playbook a generation later, so almost nobody is better positioned to explain the similarities between pro athletes and the top founders / investors, how athletes actually break into Silicon Valley, the biggest mistakes they usually make, .

Thanks to this episodes sponsors!

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Timestamps:

(0:00) How a football family broke into Silicon Valley

(4:33) A Super Bowl rookie year with four Hall of Famers

(8:09) What separates the top 0.1% of athletes?

(12:18) The mistake of having "a guy"

(18:41) Vetting who to trust

(20:18) The dumbest investments athletes make

(22:45) How athletes can help founders

(29:44) VC Power Law is just like sports

(34:24) How to break in without connections

(38:05) Building Next Legacy to $4B AUM

(40:44) Why they give away all the profits

(43:20) Early firm building mistakes

(48:19) Learning to pitch institutional LP's

(53:03) The emerging-manager barbell

(55:45) “Your starting five tells me who you are”

(57:47) The other AI: Authentic Interaction

(59:55) Getting LP attention with the rule of three

(1:03:40) Working the whisper network

(1:06:03) Pick the kid who gets picked last

(1:12:26) The Lions 0-16 season

(1:14:43) The “Next Play” mindset

(1:19:28) Mental toughness

(1:21:32) What it’s like commentating an NFL game

(1:27:14) Getting cussed out by Warren Sapp

(1:31:13) His favorite athlete: Jerry Rice

(1:35:15) Abe Lincoln and his grandfather's restaurants

Referenced

Next Legacy: https://www.nextlegacy.com/

Give and Take: https://www.amazon.com/Give-Take-Helping-Others-Success/dp/0143124986

Three Feet From from Gold: https://www.amazon.com/Three-Feet-Gold-Obstacles-Opportunities/dp/1402784791

Team of Rivals: https://www.amazon.com/Team-Rivals-Political-Abraham-Lincoln/dp/0743270754

Follow Ryan

Twitter: https://x.com/ryannece

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-nece-abb07b8

Follow Turner

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TurnerNovak

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/turnernovak

Subscribe to my newsletter to get every episode + the transcript in your inbox every week: https://www.thespl.it/

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