🔊 Pro Football League Launches Sports Tech Division

📰 TOP STORY
UFL Launches Sports Tech Program

• Over the past few years, several sports teams and leagues have launched innovation labs and/or accelerators. This week, the UFL added to that list with the launch of FAST (Football Advancement through Sports Technology), a sports tech innovation program designed to advance the game of football. According to UFL Vice President of Football Technology Brad Campbell, the ultimate goal is to “shrink product development cycles and test, gate and launch innovations and services that have the ability to take the game to a new level."

A brief breakdown of the program:

FAST will work with established and emerging sports media and technology companies to test and launch innovations and services that will improve the sport. The program will provide its tech partners with access to over 600 players and coaches for testing and development. The division will also give its tech partners executive guidance, football-specific expertise, operational support, and experimentation. The program will focus on three key emerging areas for the 2025 season by teaming up with the following companies:

• Immersive Player POV Camera: Mindfly 

• Computer Vision and Contextual Tracking: SkillCorner 

• Sensor-Based Ball Tracking: Sportable

Why does this matter?

Programs like this are great for sports organizations to implement new solutions and innovations but are also beneficial for early and growth stage startups to test their product at scale. One of the challenges in building a sports tech company is getting into the right rooms. The industry tends to have a lot of bureaucracy and hierarchy, especially when getting in front of teams. With a program such as this or any other accelerator or innovation lab, you cut through the noise. If your product solves a real pain point and teams and leagues see value in it, this is where you can prove it outright and get expert feedback with high potential to break into other teams and leagues.

💰 MERGERS & MONEY MOVES 
Monarch Collective Ups The World’s Largest Women’s Sports Fund

• Monarch Collective Raises $250M. Monarch Collective announced that its fund investing in women's sports has raised another $100M to reach a total of $250M. Melinda French Gates's Pivotal Ventures is one of the key LPs that injected that $100M into the fund, alongside individuals from Hello Sunshine, EY, the Rockefeller Foundation, and more. Kara Nortman and Jasmine Robinson are behind the fund, which has invested in three NWSL clubs: Angel City Football Club, BOS Nation FC, and the San Diego Wave. The firm expects to make two to three more investments this year, potentially outside of soccer for the first time (more here).

• Out2Win Raises $1.3M. Out2Win, a leading AI-powered athlete marketing intelligence platform, announced the close of a $1.3M seed funding round. The round was led by prominent angel investors, which include Barbara Jones, Patrick Zubrow, Daniel Lovitz, Michael Gibbons, Michael Schulson, Matt Littman, and John Brody. The investment will accelerate Out2Win’s growth, fueling its mission to help brands, agencies, and universities build data-driven athlete partnerships (more here).

• Hudl Acquires FastModel. Hudl, the world’s leading provider of cloud-based video technology for the sports industry, has completed the acquisition of FastModel Sports. FastModel provides basketball and ice hockey coaches with best-in-class game preparation analysis software and recruiting tools. This addition further equips teams with advanced capabilities to streamline workflows, engage players, and make data-informed decisions (more here).

• Playfly Acquires Paragon Marketing. Playfly Sports, the leading revenue maximizer in the sports industry, announced the acquisition of Paragon Marketing Group, an independent sports marketing agency that specializes in brand consulting, event creation, content development, and television broadcasting. Paragon Marketing Group manages over 500 partnerships annually and represents major brands such as Gatorade, Pepsi, Chipotle, Highmark Health, uniball, UCHealth, PNC Bank, PPG, Pittsburgh Paints Co., Giant Eagle, and Novelis (more here).

• Varsity Brands Secures Investment From Patricof Co. Varsity Brands has announced a strategic investment from Patricof Co (P/Co), a private investment platform specializing in partnerships with elite professional athletes. Over 45 pro athletes participated, including NCAA gymnast Livvy Dunne, WNBA star Cameron Brink, Olympic gold medalist and NBA champion Derrick White, standout guard Azzi Fudd, two-time Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton, and four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Justin Jefferson (more here).

• IQMIND Acquires ProSports Technologies. IQMIND, a leader in cutting-edge neurotechnology and sports performance innovation, announced the acquisition of ProSports Technologies, a company partially owned by NFLPA that specializes in motion-based analytics to advance player tracking and safety technology. This strategic acquisition positions IQMIND at the forefront of player health, real-time diagnostics, and game-changing advancements in sports technology (more here).

 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS
DAZN & LIV Golf Announce Broadcast Partnership

• Dazn & Liv Golf Form Partnership. DAZN, one of the world’s leading sports entertainment platforms, has announced a multi-faceted, long-term strategic partnership with LIV Golf, the world’s first global golf league. Through the partnership, DAZN has also secured the exclusive broadcast rights for LIV Golf in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, and Switzerland, strengthening LIV Golf’s global reach alongside the LIV Golf+ service (more here).

• Theta Labs & New Jersey Devils Form Partnership. Theta Labs, the leading provider of decentralized cloud infrastructure for AI, media, and entertainment, launched an AI chatbot called “Bott Stevens” for the New Jersey Devils. Powered by Theta EdgeCloud and named after Devils’ Legend Scott Stevens, the agentic AI chatbot will enhance digital fan experiences, provide fans with real-time information, and be available on the official website of the New Jersey Devils (more here).

• Bet365 & ALT Sports Data Form Partnership. ALT Sports Data, a sports data and analytics company, has announced a collaboration with online gambling company Bet365. Bet365 will leverage ALT Sports Data’s services to provide new wagering opportunities for players while expanding its reach (more here).

• Spectrum & TeamSnap Form Partnership. Spectrum, one of the nation's largest broadband connectivity providers, announced a multi-year agreement to triple its investment in community sports organizations nationwide by partnering with TeamSnap, the leading youth sports management platform. As part of the partnership, Spectrum will sponsor more than 720 youth sports leagues across the country through 2027 (more here).

• Big3, The National Basketball League & GameAbove Sports Form Partnership. Ice Cube's BIG3 League, a 3-on-3 basketball league comprised of former NBA stars, is heading Down Under this year. Per a press statement from Australia's National Basketball League (NBL), the BIG3 is set to host its first "international BIG3 Showcase" in Australia this November via a new partnership with GameAbove Sports and the NBL (more here).

🔊 ATHLETES & OTHER NEWS
Steph Curry Is Making Big Moves Off The Court

• Steph Curry Has Been Named Davidson Assistant GM. Curry becomes the first active player in US major pro sports to take an administrative job with an NCAA team. In his new role, Curry, who played three seasons at Davidson (2006-09), will provide guidance to the men's and women's teams based on his college and professional experience. He'll work with general manager Austin Buntz, a former Under Armour global sports marketing team member (more here).

• Steph Curry Invests In Unrivaled Basketball. Steph Curry is the latest big name to join Unrivaled as an investor, the 3-on-3 basketball league announced this week. Curry's investment was included in Unrivaled's Series A investment round that saw the league secure more than $28M in funding. Curry joins other current and former athletes and coaches such as Alex Morgan, Carmelo Anthony, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Coco Gauff, Michael Phelps, Dawn Staley, and Geno Auriemma. (more here).

• Kevin Durant’s Media Company Launches Membership. Boardroom, the sports media and entertainment brand co-founded by NBA star Kevin Durant and his longtime manager Rich Kleiman, announced Boardroom Members Club, which will combine in-person experiences, unique opportunities and gifts, and a digital platform, to create a compelling value proposition for what Kleiman hopes will be an ambitious set of members (more here).

• Kylian Mbappe Buys Stake SailGP. France and Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe has added to his growing investment portfolio by buying a stake in the France SailGP Team, one of 12 national teams in the global sailing series. Mbappe’s move into the high-speed world of catamaran racing follows his recent investments in German electronics firm Loewe, luxury watch-shopping platform Wristcheck, and French Ligue 2 club Caen (more here).

• Boston Celtics Attract New Bidder. Bill Chisholm has emerged as a bidder for the NBA’s Boston Celtics, according to people with knowledge of the matter. His consortium is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said one of the people, all of whom requested anonymity to discuss confidential information. Chisholm is managing partner and chief investment officer of STG, a private equity firm that makes bets on software and other tech businesses (more here).

• Sports As An Asset Class. It’s no secret that sports are growing as a major asset class, attracting those who have a passion for the industry and who also want to garner a meaningful profit, but how did this transition happen? Bloomberg spoke with IMG alum George Pyne and Sixth Street’s Josh Empson about the history of investing in sports and some investment trends today, as well as Nicole Pullen-Ross of Goldman Sachs about investors’ desire to add sports-related ventures to their portfolios (more here).

• FanDuel Launches First AI Sports Betting Chat Experience. FanDuel launched AceAI, an innovative platform billed as the first generative AI sports betting chat experience in the gambling industry. The goal is to help customers optimize the bet construction process (more here).