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

Audio Timeline:0:30 - Feel good stories* $16M raised by pro quarterbacks, $3M for mental health services, and Planet Fitness’ initiative for teenagers. 2:45 - Business of Athletes* Shaquille O’Neal is contemplating an investment in the NBL (Australia). He would join current NBA players Thaddeus Young and Khris Middleton. * Nicklas Bendtner, a former soccer star for Arsenal F.C., recently launched his own esports company known as Prosapia Esport ApS.* Luka Doncic is having some trademark trouble with the USPTO as his“LUKA DONCIC” failed to register due to similar trademarks not being owned by him.* LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Tobias Harris are investing in Neutral Foods, a carbon-free nutrition company, alongside Mark Cuban and Bill Gates. * Las Vegas Raiders QB Derek Carr has joined Oofos, an active recovery footwear brand, as an investor and ambassador. * Tennis great Billie Jean King is helping to launch Trailblazer Venture Studio, a new accelerator supporting women-run businesses in sports and media. 9:30 - Name, Image, and Likeness* Heach Coach Dabo Swinney has re-signed with Clemson for over $100M* Purdue and Grambling State University offer school-wide NIL opportunities to enable all athletes in getting paid. * An NFT-run basketball tournament helping high school basketball players get paid and also educated on web3. 14:20 - Future of Sports* Venturerock launched a $75M sports tech venture investment company (VIC). Athlete investors include former Dutch soccer player Mark van Bommel and former New York Jets cornerback Bryson Keeton. * Science in Sport, a premium performance nutrition brand, has secured $3.5M in additional funding. * Sorare is teaming up with the NBA to serve as the official NFT fantasy partner and will debut a new fantasy offering for the 2022-23 season. * The sports NFT market size is at $2.6B in 2022 and is forecasted to reach $41.6B by 2032. * The Saudi National Development Fund (NDF) is adopting a program to finance the gaming and e-sports sector with $80M.* New York Knicks named the most valuable NBA team by Forbes Magazine at $5.8B. Interesting StatHere’s a map showing where most college football players come from:To no surprise…Southern California, Texas, and Florida are the hotbeds. Perhaps a breakdown for a later date as this stuff fascinates me. Short Passage of The Week:Two things you get every day:A chance, and a choice. It is our responsibility to make the most of them today! * Less phone, more reading.* Less facts, more intuition.* Less consuming, more creating.* Less commotion, more solitude.* Less talking, more listening.* Less controlling, more sharing.* Less judgment, more empathy.How will we spend our 86,400 seconds today?Passage by Clint HurdleRecommended MediaI enjoyed this piece by CJ Gustafson who is the founder and editor of Mostly Metrics.It’s a free weekly newsletter about startup metrics and business models.While I did a good bit of finance at Boston University, much of it slips out the backdoor. Always nice to stay sharp on the financial side of things.I’m a firm believer in knowing a little bit about a lot of things. A “generalist” is a term that you might have heard thrown around before. Tweet(s)With school starting back up I thought this was an interesting thread for parents:<