🔊 Tom Brady's Tech Training Takeover

📰 TOP STORY
Tom Brady’s App Autograph Merges With Future

• This week Tom Brady's Autograph app and Future announced a merger to revolutionize fitness and wellness through personalized coaching. The combined entity will expand access to Future's hyper-personalized health coaching by leveraging Autograph's expertise in connecting fans with iconic athletes, to train consumers and athletes globally. A few months ago, Brady alongside co-founders Richard and Dillon Rosenblatt, relaunched the Autograph app (which started as an NFT platform) as a fan platform that organizes all the best content in one place and rewards fans for their everyday fandom. Future, founded by Rishi Mandal, was built to deliver a highly personalized and immersive experience for its members and democratize access to 1-on-1 coaching using AI. But both companies share a mission of connecting consumers to greatness. What’s cool about this collaboration is that now Future, which was already pretty successful, has incredible access to millions of fans, iconic athletes and key strategic partners. On the other hand, Autograph can implement more cutting-edge technology into its offering to provide fans with an overall better experience. This is what a win-win sports tech partnership looks like (more here).

💰 MONEY MOVES 
Pickleball Team Reaches $10M Valuation Following Stake Sell

• Pickleball Team AZ Drive Valued At $10M. A group of investors has purchased a controlling stake in Arizona-based Major League Pickleball (MLP) team AZ Drive in a deal valuing the franchise at more than $10M. The ownership group includes Proton Sports’ Charles Darling and Tim Fyke, former NFL QB Jack Plummer, and financial professional Jeff Tsao Investors. They join the existing Drive ownership group, which includes NFL legend Larry Fitzgerald, Oz Pearlman, Magnus Carlson, and Doug Hirsch (more here).

• Men In Blazers Raises $15M. Men In Blazers, a soccer-focused media company, has raised $15M in a Series A funding round backed by several media, sports, and entertainment executives. The round was led by Marc Lasry’s Avenue Sports Fund, joined by Ryan Reynolds’ and Rob McElhenney’s RR McReynolds, Peter Chernin’s Chernin Group, Brent Montgomery’s Wheelhouse, Ryan Sports Ventures and Bolt Ventures (more here).

• Springbok Analytics Raises $5M. Springbok Analytics, a leader in AI-driven muscle analytics announced the close of an oversubscribed $5M Series A funding round. The round was led by Transition Equity Partners, with participation from the NBA, Cartan Capital, Boston Global, and other strategic investors. This funding supports Springbok's mission to advance muscle health analysis across human performance, life sciences, and longevity. Springbok's AI technology provides unmatched precision, scalability, and actionable insights from rapid MRI scans (more here).

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 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS
German Soccer League Becomes The First On Roblox

• German Football League & Roblox Form Collaborate. The German Football League (DFL) has launched a Bundesliga experience on Roblox, making Germany’s top flight the first European soccer competition to establish a presence on the popular gaming platform. Bundesliga will have a virtual clubhouse on the platform, where users can personalize avatars and interact with content. Activation includes five unique experiences, including a free-kick simulator (more here).

• MLB & CastIron Media Extend Partnership. Cast Iron Media, a technology-driven sports media company announced the completion of a five-year extension of its media rights partnership with MLB. Cast Iron Media has also secured strategic investments from Orkila Capital and David Blitzer's Bolt Ventures as new equity partners. The MLB also joined as an equity partner as part of the expanded relationship. The terms of the transactions are not disclosed (more here).

• NIP Group & Abu Dhabi Investment Office Form Partnership. NIP Group, a leading digital entertainment company announced a multi-year partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office to drive gaming, media, and entertainment growth in Abu Dhabi. Under the five-year agreement, ADIO will support the Company with access to financial and non-financial growth opportunities valued at up to $40M over four years. The NIP Group will establish its global headquarters in Abu Dhabi and will contribute to local employment in the esports and gaming sector (more here).

🔊 ATHLETES & OTHER NEWS
LeBron James’ New Business Venture

• LeBron James Joins Other A-Listers Who Own E1 Series All-Electric Racing Boat Teams. NBA star LeBron James announced this week that his team, Team AlUla, is set to join the fleet for the 2025 E1 season that begins with the E1 Jeddah GP on Saturday. James’ team has been named after the ancient city in Saudi Arabia and will be piloted by Rusty Wyatt and Catie Munnings (more here).

• NBA Player Tristan Thompson Becomes Global Ambassador For Sportsbet.io. NBA player Tristan Thompson has combined his love for sports and crypto by becoming a brand ambassador for the crypto betting platform Sportsbet.io. As part of a two-year deal, Thompson will share his insights and weekly betting tips across various sports for Sportsbet.io, offering fans the chance to engage in exclusive promotions (more here).

• X Games 2025 Will Debut AI Judge. The Winter X Games in Aspen will feature an artificially intelligent judge this ear. During the X Games, an experimental Google Cloud-based AI technology will be used to analyze and judge competitors in the snowboard superpipe events. The AI judge's scoring won't impact the outcome but will be evaluated for actual use in upcoming X Games events. (more here).

• Who Are The Billionaires Flocking To Tiger Woods' New Golf League? With just 1,500 seats in the arena and no tickets for the league's inaugural season available on the secondary market, TGL has drawn an audience of politicians, athletes, influencers, and celebrities to Palm Beach Gardens. Additionally, billionaires, CEOs, and high-profile investors have taken up more than a few seats in the live audience, including many with extensive histories leading professional sports franchises in major metropolitan centers (more here).

• Deloitte Releases 2025 Football Money League Report. Now in its 28th edition, the Deloitte Football Money League profiles the highest revenue-generating football clubs in world football. The 2023/24 season unlocked a new frontier, as Real Madrid became the first football club to record €1B in revenue (more here).

• 3 Reasons Why Businesses Should Invest In Women’s Sports Now. Last year was monumental for women in sports and this momentum doesn’t seem to be slowing any time soon. Still, sustained interest, continued growth, and significant impact in the long term will depend on increased investment. The current environment offers an abundance of opportunities, especially as awareness and demand for women’s sports are expected to increase rapidly in 2025 and beyond (more here).