Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (November 13-19)

Audio Timeline:

0:35 - Feel good stories

* 6 marathons in 6 days, the nation's only team comprised entirely of deaf and hard of hearing players has made the NCAA tournament, and more.

3:05 - Business of Athletes

* Odell Beckham Jr. is suing Nike over $20M in damages.

* Virgil van Dijk is the newest investor in the wearable tech company Whoop.

* Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield are partnering to sell cannabis treats manufactured under Tyson’s newly formed brand house Carma Holdings.

* Nike has signed its first Esport athlete, Jian “Uzi” Zihao.

6:00 - Name, Image, and Likeness

* Syracuse booster Adam Weitsman plans to offer $1 million annually to one five-star football player and one five-star basketball player.

* Athlete Advantage just launched The 15 Club, Kentucky’s new NIL collective.

* Wichita State announces first-ever female-focused NIL athlete collective. 

* Michigan's Hunter Dickinson is writing the letter S on his hand during games this season to draw attention to their attempt to advocate for a new business model in college sports.

09:20 - Future of Sports

* Nike is launching Swoosh, a Web 3.0-enabled platform that will allow people to design and own virtual creations.

* Pro Volleyball Federation launched this past week, and the indoor women’s volleyball league will take the court in February 2024.

* Sportradar has launched Sportradar Virtual Stadium, an AI and machine learning social engagement solution for sportsbook operators.

Interesting Stat

Lebron James could make over $50 million if Liverpool FC is successfully sold.

He also owns a stake in the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins, and AC Milan.

Athletes are building business empires at a scale we’ve never seen before.

Short Passage of The Week:

This week I will…

* Run my own race.

* Treat people with kindness.

* Focus on today, not tomorrow.

* Be intentional with my self-talk.

* Practice self-discipline as an act of self-love.

By The Daily Coach

Sports Startup of The Week

I research, talk with, and see so many cool sports startups every day. It only feels right to start shining light on some of the ones I deem as interesting.

For the 1st edition, I’ll be touching on the European-based HomeFans.

HomeFans is creating a marketplace for fan-led sports experiences. (think of Airbnb for sports events). 

So for example…

If you want to go see a soccer game in London, you can book an experience on their platform.

You get matched up with a host that will show you the ropes and give you an awesome experience you wouldn’t have had otherwise.

I think it’s an intriguing model that makes attending an event more memorable and allows hosts to earn some extra side money.

Network effects could certainly kick in.

Tweet(s)

The World Cup is kicking off today.

Here’s a quick snippet of the business behind it:

Business Jargon

Return on ad spend (ROAS) is a marketing metric measuring the revenue earned for every dollar spent on advertising.

For example, if you spend $1,000 on ads, and your revenue is $2,000, you calculate ROAS by dividing $2,000 by $1,000.

This gives you a ratio of 2:1 or 200%.

The more effective your campaign, the larger your ROAS and the more revenue you have earned for each advertising dollar spent.

Quote

“Compete with yourself and root for everybody else.” — Candice Millard</