Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (Jan 23-29)

Business of Athletes: Firefly Recovery has raised $1M from a group of athlete investors including Olympic Volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings, and NFL players Shaq Thompson + Darren Waller. Lebron James’ investment in pickleball drew over 4 billion eyeballs. Former NBA star Carlos Boozer has partnered with The Campins Company to offer best-in-class real estate services to athletes, entertainers, and high-net-worth individuals. Arizona Cardinals linebacker, real estate investor, entrepreneur, and now author, Devon Kennard, announced the release of his book: It All Adds Up. Business of Sports (03:50) Dragon Seats the leading manufacturer and provider of patented heated and cooling sports benches, is proud to announce its acquisition of Athletic Recovery Zone, a Florida-based manufacturer and provider of state-of-the-art air conditioning and heating sports bench technology. Sapphire Sport, the sports investment arm of VC firm Sapphire Ventures focused on fitness, gaming, streaming and new media, has raised a second, oversubscribed $181 million fund with investments Obbi Golf, a software that supports the management of golf clubs, announced a $1.54 million investment as the company turns one year old. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and Amazon Web Services have launched SportsX, a new research and development program focused on advancing innovation in sports as it relates to team performance and fan experiences. The NFLPA has participated in a $40 million financing round raised by Miach Orthopaedics, a medical technology company whose BEAR implant can heal ACL tears as an alternative to reconstructive surgery. Oya Femtech Apparel, a black women-owned femtech apparel brand has a solution for this and has raised $1.3M in an oversubscribed pre-seed round.The Sixers Innovation Lab led the round, Twitter is planning to run content sponsorship deals with more than three dozen news outlets, media companies, and sports leagues in the first half of this year