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

(0:30) - Feel good stories

• Dick’s Sporting Goods $150M in donations, Manny Pacquiao donated 100% of fight proceeds to charity, and the Boston Celtics gifting $155,000.

(1:50) - Business of Athletes

• Nike is cutting ties with Kyrie Irving, he reportedly earned $8-12 million/year with the contract.
• Ray Lewis, Emmanuel Acho, Baron Davis, and other athletes have invested in the $15M Series B round of MOON ULTRA, a consumer electronics company.
• MLB teams have spent over $1 billion in player contracts so far this offseason.
• Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe revealed “A Touch More”, the company will create scripted and unscripted programming.
• Derek Jeter’s online card trading company, Arena Club, has raised $10M in Series A funding.
• Serena Williams has launched Will Perform, a topical wellness company for athletes.

(6:10) - Name, Image, and Likeness

• Opendorse, announced that it closed a $20 million fundraising round, including an investment from former NFL player Will Compton.
• Texas A&M’s esports team recently revealed the school is negotiating with College Station to lease a new facility at Post Oak Mall.
• On3, a college sports media company, announced the launch of the On3 Athlete Network where athletes can now sign into their profiles.
• Prospex, an NFT trading platform for athletes and fans in NIL is now live in the market.

(10:00) - Future of Sports

• Fanatics announced that it raised $700 million at a $31 billion valuation.
• GameOn Technology, a conversational chat platform, closed a $35 million Series B funding round.
• Zenkai Sports, a natural and sustainable performance apparel brand, closed a $1M funding round to fuel growth and product development.
• KissCam, LLC received a U.S. patent for its “KissCam® Contest,” revolutionizing the traditional kiss cam live segment at sports games.