Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (January 1-15th)

(0:40) - Feel good stories

• Florida State offensive lineman Dillan Gibbons has raised over $500,000 through NIL for his charity "Big Man, Big Heart."
• Damar Hamlin’s charity hits $8.8M in donations.

(2:10) - Business of Athletes

• Michael Phelps, Odell Beckham Jr, Jeremy Lin, & more invest in Major League Pickleball (MLP).
• Alex Rodriguez has exercised his option alongside Marc Lore to buy a second 20% stake in the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx.
• Blake Griffin, Joe Burrow, Khris Middleton, Kemba Walker, Anders Lee, and 20+ pro athletes are buying $5M in Iowa farmland.
• Patrick Mahomes has acquired an ownership stake in the women’s soccer team, Kansas City Current.
• WNBA star Lisa Leslie has joined the ownership team at Jelenew, a women’s cycling brand.

(5:45) - Name, Image, and Likeness

• Tiger Woods's son, Charlie Woods, will not be eligible for NIL money under Florida law should he attend high school there (currently in 8th grade).
• NIL Collectives, such as at Michigan, are raising funds to help pay athletes to return to their schools.
• NC State cornerback, Shyheim Battle, became the first athlete to ever sign an equity deal with Obsesh, an all-in-one athlete engagement platform.
• Florida’s $13 million NIL deal with 5-star football recruit Jaden Rashada may head to the courtroom.

(09:35) - Future of Sports

• 32 Equity, the NFL’s venture fund, invested in upstart apparel and footwear brand NOBULL.
• The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has completed a $30 million Series B funding round led by Divergent Investments.
• Runna, a coaching app for runners, has raised $2.3M in funding.
• East Asia Super League (EASL) has secured US$40 million in its Series C fundraising round.
• Clive Mayhew has invested $1.2 million to launch Play Today, a web3 golf company.
• Teamworks, a sports management SaaS, has acquired 4 new companies: Smartabase, Retain, Grafted, and NextPlay.