FEATURED STORY
Athletes Are Now Walking Hedge Funds
Photo Creds: Travis Kelce and JANA Partners take 9% activist stake in Six Flags turnaround plan.
A decade ago, athlete investing meant a sneaker deal or a seed check into a brand they loved. Now, the best athlete-investors are starting to look more like CIOs: activist stakes in consumer turnarounds, precious-metals sleeves to hedge the market, and even NCAA stars stepping into professional team ownership before their first pro contract.
Just in the past few weeks:
Patricof & Co. launched P/Co Metals, a precious metals fund for athletes to invest in amidst a roaring surge in the sector.
Travis Kelce, with JANA Partners, took a 9% activist investor stake in a turnaround deal to save Six Flags.
JuJu Watkins, a USC women’s basketball star, leveraged NIL earnings to invest in the Boston Legacy NWSL franchise – even before her own first pro contract.
The perfect storm of athlete’s distribution power, smart infrastructure around them, and timely market opportunities are literally turning some athletes into walking hedge funds.
Let’s dig in.
Athlete Compensating Is Ballooning
Amongst the big four U.S. leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL), total player salaries exceeded $21B+ last year. This is a 74% increase since a decade ago. Amongst just the top 10 highest-paid, elite athletes took home $1.38B in 2024, up +24% from the year prior.
With headline contract deals now hitting $300M-$700M (ex: Shohei Ohtani’s $700M MLB deal, and Jaylen Brown’s $304M NBA extension), athletes are now positioned, and properly moving like sophisticated investors. Many are earning $20-50M+ annually, creating war chests for diversified portfolios.
But high pay doesn’t equal safety. Athlete finances have historically been volatile: short on-field earning windows, lump sum bonus structures, and average high-spend have led to substantial post career stress. Financial risk remains real; an NBER study found ~16% of NFL players file for bankruptcy within 12 years of retirement.
With record salaries making headlines each year, we thought it’d be interesting to analyze the evolution of their wealth accumulation & preservation.
What began as forward-thinking athletes trading their name, image, and likeness for endorsements and occasional equity has now transformed into multi-strategy investment platforms powered by larger-than-life personal brands. Here’s how athlete investing has evolved – and where it’s headed.
The Evolution of Athlete Investing: From Endorsement Fees to Multi-Strategy Hedging
Players → Portfolio Managers
As eye-catching as it is to see compensation balloon to highs every year, the more interesting story is the new infrastructure being built around athletes to preserve & grow their capital.
As we speak, macro tailwinds are allowing athletes to diversify their portfolios in unique ways that extend beyond the traditional early-stage equity investments we see in the headlines.
P/Co’s Precious Metals Fund for Athletes: The precious metals market is trading near all-time highs after a blockbuster year, with gold up +60% YTD, silver hitting +85% YTD, and platinum/palladium rebounding 60-70% with the auto & green-tech demand.
This stems from a perfect vortex: persistent 2-3% inflation, U.S.-China trade tensions, aggressive central bank gold buying, Fed rate cuts weakening the dollar, and explosive industrial use.
For high-net-worth athletes managing $20M-$100M+, this presents an entry into an inflation-beating asset class.
Travis Kelce’s Activism Capital & Personal Brand to Save Six Flags: Through his LP stake in the firm, Travis Kelce & JANA Partners disclosed a 9% activist stake (~$200M) for a turnaround push in Six Flags Entertainment.
The theme-park operator shares have fallen ~ -47% YTD amid post-merger integration failures, weak attendance, and outdated guest experiences.
Kelce, a lifelong Six Flags fan, is bringing along his 150M+ social reach, podcast platform, and authentic enthusiasm to revive the company. The stock jumped 18% on announcement alone.
For other athletes, this is a playbook: leverage personal brand and fan followings to unlock value in consumer-facing, distressed public companies.
The 20-Year-Old Who Invested in a Pro Team While Still In College: JuJu Watkins, a USC women’s basketball phenom, just became the first active NCAA athlete to directly acquire a minority stake in a professional sports franchise.
The reigning Naismith Player of the Year, used her NIL earnings as seed capital for one of the highest growth assets in sports - the new NWSL Boston Legacy FC team – alongside Caleb Williams, Aly Raisman, and a powerhouse group of investors.
The silver-lining is this NIL boom is creating new pools of capital for younger athletes to invest from. Rising stars are building enough influence and capital to build pre-pro empires in appreciating assets that outpace traditional investments.
The Future: Will Athlete Capital Be Used For Special Situations Investing?
As athlete compensation continues to rise year-over-year, players & the people around them becoming financially smarter, and younger generations accumulating wealth at unprecedented rates, what will the future of their investing look like?
We believe the next evolution of athlete capital may be special situations investing - deals that are short-dated, highly structured, and creatively financed. Think revenue-backed loans for venue upgrades, or working-capital bridges tied to attendance performance for emerging teams & leagues in dire need of cash. To take it a step even further, is there also a future where athlete capital is pooled for non-sports special situation financing – like emergency funding to keep local airports afloat amidst a government shutdown or help prevent shutdowns all together?
While the latter is unlikely in the near term, the trend is that athlete capital continues to expand in domains we’d never expect. Athletes of the past posed for endorsements so the athletes of today can allocate like active portfolio managers.
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LEAGUES & TEAMS
Photo Creds: Apollo Sports Capital acquires Atlético de Madrid, following announcement of an €800M upgrade to Metropolitano Stadium.
Apollo’s sports investment arm, Apollo Sports Capital, acquires a 55% stake in Atlético de Madrid at a reported €2.2B ($2.55B) valuation (Nov. 10th)
Marks 2nd-highest club valuation from a controlling sale, trailing Chelsea’s $3.16B
Follows club’s announcement to build an €800M ($928M) mixed-use sports and entertainment development near its Metropolitano Stadium
Joins Miguel Ángel Gil Marin, Enrique Cerezo, Quantum Pacific Group, and Ares Management [Sportico]
Atlanta granted the newest NWSL franchise for a record $165M expansion fee (Nov. 9th)
Expected debut post-2026; team could operate near Atlanta United’s training base
NWSL fee surpasses Denver’s $110M; franchise to be owned by the Falcons’ Arthur Blank via AMB Sports & Entertainment [TheAthletic]
Qatar-based JTA International Investment Holding is in ‘advanced talks’ to acquire LaLiga club Getafe (Nov. 5th)
Talks include stadium naming rights, retaining Angel Torres as club president, and main team shirt sponsorship; move would mark JTA’s first European football investment [MARCA]
Juventus shareholders overwhelmingly approved a new capital increase of up to €110M ($119M) (Nov. 7th)
95.41% of shareholders voted in favor; BOD to approve to determine specific amount and issuance details soon
Tether’s proposal for subscription rights was rejected by 91.7% of votes [CalcioeFinanza]
ALK Capital, owner of Burnley and Espanyol FC, receives $200M from recently launched $1.2B Checketts Sports Capital (Nov. 4th)
Marks its first investment since launch, via Cynosure | Checketts Sports Capital Fund I
Funds to fuel on-field performance and commercial growth across UK and Spain markets [SportsPro]
Moelis & Co. tapped by MLS’s Seattle Sounders to raise ‘strategic capital’ via minority sale (Oct. 30th)
Club is seeking its first major outside investment since joining MLS in 2009
Aims to fund real estate expansion, including a potential new stadium at Longacres; club is valued at $825M, per Sportico [Sportico]
Prospector Baseball Group, a ‘tech-driven sports platform building a modern MiLB collective’, acquires the ALPB’s Lancaster Stormers (Oct. 30th)
Founded by ex-Nets CEO and KB partners’ John Abbamondi and investor Ben Boyer
Prospect could potentially target up to 15 teams, independent and affiliated, with the intent to cut costs and boost efficiency [SBJ]
JuJu Watkins invests in NWSL’s Boston Legacy FC, becoming the first college athlete to invest in a pro women’s team (Nov. 6th)
Follows the group’s $53M expansion fee and $100M+ stadium loan
USC star joins backers like Aly Raisman, Caleb Williams, and Brad Stevens [SBJ]
Sensational League, a new 7v7 women’s ‘sportainment’ soccer league, was announced, launching in 2026 (Nov. 3rd)
Aims to scale globally; targeting the Nordics in 2026, UK and US expansions planned
The Saga Sports Group-owned league is backed by Moonbug founder René Rechtman and led by Bettina Kuperman and Majken Gilmartin [Sensational]
Global sports IP developer, League Sports Co., launches a team-based squash league, World Premier Squash (Nov. 6th)
WPS built on an ‘innovation-first’ model under LSC’s FSP Games umbrella
Features international franchises, gender balance, and new scoring formats; received endorsement from World Squash and the Professional Squash Association (PSA) [WorldSquash]
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STARTUPS & VENTURE CAPITAL
Photo Creds: The Snow League raises another $15M in funding.
Sapphire Sport, the SM&E-focused venture capital arm of Sapphire Ventures, spins out and rebrands as 359 Capital (Nov. 10th)
Amid the group's $181M deployment of its second fund; focused on Series A-B companies with checks ranging from $2M–$10M
Notable startups backed by Sapphire Sport include Beehiiv, Overtime, Tonal, Perplexity, and Betty Labs [TechCrunch]
The Snow League, Shaun White’s new snowboarding and freeskiing league, raises $15M in funding (Nov. 12th)
Fund will support TSL’s global push, targeting content and monetization; adds to prior $15M round in January 2025
Investment backed by 359 Capital (FKA Sapphire Sport) and Left Lane; other investors include Bitkraft, Ares, Bolt Ventures, and WISE Ventures, among others [SBJ]
Fastbreak AI, a scheduling and ops SaaS company for sport leagues and operators, raises $40M in Series A funding, partners with pro women’s American football league WNFC (Nov. 7th,10th)
Will build out WNFC’s 2026 schedule, becoming the first league to use its full ops suite
Funds will fuel product development for pro markets and increase investment in youth and amateur tech; powers the NBA, NHL, Serie A, MLS, and 55+ leagues worldwide
Investment led by Greycroft and GTMfund; other investors include the NBA, NHL, and TMRW Sports [FastbreakAI]
Pixellot, an automated sports video provider, raises $35M in funding (Nov. 12th)
New five-year deal with PlayOn Sports introduces ‘AI as a Service’ and revenue-sharing model; follows Pixellot’s $161M Series D led by PSG Equity
PSG Equity added $15M; $20M structured as venture debt [SBJ]
International Dance League (IDL), a professional league turning dance into a global sport, raises $7M in Seed funding (Nov. 3rd)
Funds to enhance IDL’s core tech and event production infrastructure; aims to turn dance into a structured global sport with franchise-like pro teams
Investment led by Elysian Park Ventures; other investors include KB Partners and APEX Capital [IDL]
The Icon League, a Toni Kroos-founded five-a-side soccer competition, raises €15M ($16.2M) in Series A funding (Nov. 3rd)
Expanding across Europe, team rosters, and league ops; franchises have reportedly raised seven-figure sums with some reporting six-figure profits
Investment led by HV Capital; former partner David Fischer named CEO, will oversee league growth [FinSMEs]
Viewture, a UK-based capital solutions company for YouTube creators, raises ‘mid-seven-figures’ in Series A funding (Nov. 3rd)
Viewture to front cash to creators for future ad revenue rights; company now has access to deploy up to $300M for capital solutions over the next two years
Investment led by Bolt Ventures; other investors include HNWI via Wealth Club [SBJ]
NextSense, a neurotech startup developing EEG-powered ‘Smartbuds’ wearables for sleep, raises $16M in Series A funding (Nov. 11th)
Aims to scale restorative rest tech and explore partnerships with universities and pharmaceutical companies; eventually expand beyond sleep tech
Investment led by Ascension Ventures; other investors include Satori Neuro and Corundrum Neuroscience Fund [Athletech]
Bevel, an all-in-one health and wellness startup consolidating biomarker data and wearables insights, raises $10M in Series A funding (Oct. 31st)
Funding to expand Bevel Intelligence, services, and partnerships
Investment led by General Catalyst; other investors include South Park Commons [Athletech]
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M&A
Photo Creds: Exos acquires Infinite Athlete and its subsidiary Biocore.
Exos, a science-backed elite performance training firm, acquires biomechanics analytics and video company Infinite Athlete and its NFL-affiliated safety partner Biocore (Oct. 30th)
Combines Exos’ training scale with Infinite Athlete’s FusionFeed tech and Biocore’s safety analytics; Infinite Athlete clients include the NFL, TGL, and Chelsea FC
Investment backed by Madrone Capital Partners and BDT & MSD Partners [SBJ]
Sky Group in ‘preliminary’ talks to acquire ITV’s media arm for £1.6B ($2.1B) (Nov. 7th)
Deal excludes ITV Studios; includes flagship ITV network, digital channels, and ITVX; merger would create the UK’s biggest commercial TV and streaming ad business [SportsPro]
Sportradar, a sports tech and betting data provider, acquires IMG ARENA and its betting rights portfolio from Endeavor and OB Global (Nov. 3rd)
Acquisition added 70+ rightsholders and 67K+ data and streaming events
Deal to bring $225M total consideration to Sportradar, with $122M in cash prepayments to rightsholders and $103M payable to Sportradar over two years [Sportradar]
Ari Emanuel’s MARI acquires IMG’s Arts & Entertainment and Action Sports portfolios (Nov. 3rd)
Adding Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, Taste Festivals, US Open of Surfing, and the Nike Melbourne Marathon events, among others
Goldman Sachs and LionTree tapped as financial advisors [Variety]
Shadow Lion, Tom Brady’s content studio, receives backing from Fox Sports to co-develop original sports and culture programming (Oct. 30th)
Shadow to co-produce a UMich football docuseries and Fanatics Flag Football Classic in Saudi Arabia; Brady to executive produce and appear on camera
Expands Fox-Brady link beyond broadcasting; move mirrors athlete-led studios like Peyton Manning’s Omaha Prod., Lebron’s SpringHill, and Curry's Unanimous Media [SportsPro]
MADE Hoops, a grassroots youth basketball event operator, raised a strategic funding round backed by Lebron and Kevin Durant (Nov. 12th)
Funds to build NY training center, MADE for All nonprofit, and media initiatives
Investment led by SC Holdings and LRMR Ventures; LeBron James’ LRMR, Durant’s 35V, and Paolo Banchero also invested
Follows news of a joint investment vehicle between SC and LRMR; SC expected to be ‘very active’ in youth sports [SBJ]
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STRATEGIC VENTURES
Photo Creds: CVC’s Global Sports Group partners with Jay Z’s Roc Nation to roll out its athlete advisory board.
CVC’s ~$10.38B ‘Global Sport Group’, seeks new acquisitions, partners with Roc Nation to roll out its athlete advisory board (Nov. 3rd)
Stakes in LaLiga, Ligue 1, and the WTA; aims to expand into more top-tier leagues and long-term ventures, potentially offering CVC investors equity stakes in GSG
PrizePicks, Polymarket join forces to integrate event contracts to the PrizePicks app (Nov. 12th)
Move follows Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) ~$2B investment announcement and acquisition of CFTC-licensed exchange and clearinghouse QCEX [PrizePicks]
Patricof Co, an athlete-focused investment firm, launches ‘P/Co Metals’ alongside GBI, enabling athlete investments in precious metals (Nov. 5th)
Launched with wealth-manager focused firm GBI; Patricof aims for 20-30% client participation amid record gold prices and inflation hedging [SBJ]
NHL targets growth across Europe with a new permanent Zürich corporate hub (Nov. 10th)
Swiss office to focus on media, sponsorship, international ops, and fan engagement
Supports expansion tied to the upcoming 2025 Global Series, 2026 Olympics, and 2028 World Cup of Hockey events [SportsPro]
ATP, Spotify team up to produce original content through 2026 (Nov. 7th)
Spotify to distribute ATP-created tennis video programming; partnership kicks off with BTS ATP Finals doc debuting in December
Builds on ATP’s digital strategy, following deals with Overtime, TikTok, and new rebrand [ATP]
Project B, a new 5v5 international basketball league, signs WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike as the women’s division’s first player (Nov. 5th)
Players to receive both salary and league equity, exceeding WNBA compensation
League to debut in Europe and Asia in Nov. 2026 with global streaming plans [SBJ]
ProphetX, a US-based sports betting sweepstakes platform, applies to become a federally regulated prediction market exchange (Nov. 10th)
ProphetX seeks CFTC oversight amid state-level crackdowns on sweepstakes apps to shift firm from gambling regulation to financial exchange classification
Aims to leverage institutional liquidity and sports-only focus for a competitive edge [Sportico]
Whisper, a global S&E production company, partners with RunGP to support its new mass-format elite running league on F1 tracks (Nov. 11th)
RunGP to merge motorsport and running on iconic racetracks worldwide
Endorsed by Mo Farah, RunGP will debut as the first pro team-based running league; inaugural event was held in Qatar, with the inaugural film on DAZN [Whisper.tv]
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JOB BOARD
Here are some cool roles we found and personally curated this week - enjoy!