Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (October 23-29)

Audio Timeline:

1:40 - Business of Athletes

* Mitchell & Ness, a lifestyle athletic apparel company, announced its roster of investors — LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Chris Paul, Odell Beckham Jr., and Devin Booker.

* Eli Manning’s PE firm, Brand Velocity Group, launched an innovative investment sports-focused vertical, Brand Velocity Group Sports (BVGS).

* NBA player Ben Simmons launched TrainingHub, a platform for amateur coaches in the sports creator economy.

* Patrick Mahomes has become the 2nd largest shareholder in American State Bank after a large investment this past week.

5:35 - Name, Image, and Likeness

* DexCom, a real-time continuous glucose monitoring for people with diabetes, announced the launch of Dexcom U, the first-ever NIL program designed to celebrate college athletes with diabetes.

* The NCAA released "clarifications" of its NIL policy. More info in the podcast.

8:30 - Future of Sports

* MSP Sports Capital announced it has acquired a majority interest in the Disney-owned network’s X Games.

* LIV Golf reportedly spent $784M in its first season.

Interesting Stat

Patrick Mahomes is an absolute legend.

At age 16, he opened his first bank account at American State Bank.

This past week, he became the second-largest shareholder in the company after buying a stake in the Texas-based bank.

One more thing though….

6 years after getting drafted into the MLB — he passed up the opportunity and instead became a minority owner in a baseball team (Kansas City Royals). 

Short Passage of The Week:

The true leader in a group is rarely the person who talks the most.  

* It’s usually the person who listens best. 

* Listening is more than hearing what’s said. It’s noticing and surfacing what isn’t said. 

Inviting dissenting views and amplifying quiet voices are acts of leadership.

Source: Adam Grant, Think Again

Feel-Good Story

There’s a lot of negativity in the world — which is why every Sunday I talk about a feel-good story in the podcast.

Well…

I’m going to put more emphasis on providing these stories as their own segments.

This week’s story is incredible 🙏🏽

Los Angeles athlete Zion Clark showed off his upper body strength by breaking the Guinness World Record for the “highest box jump with the hands” and “most diamond pushups” in three minutes.

Born without legs, he has “no excuses” tattooed across his back.

Here’s the video from Guinness World Records:

Tweet(s)

Usain Bolt the businessman.

Business Jargon

What is an angel investor?

Angels give support to start-ups at the initial moments and when (most) institutional investors are not prepared to back them. They may be families, friends, or former colleagues of the founders.

They usually invest when a company is trying to go from PowerPoint to reality.

💸 Check Size: $10K to $250K

⌛️ Holding Period: 8 to 10 years

💰 Target Return: >75% IRR or +10x

And here’s a fun fact for you…

The term "angel" came from the Broadway theatre when wealthy individuals gave money to help launch theatrical productions.

The term "angel investor" was first used in