Weekly Roundup: Business of Athletes, Sports, & NIL (January 1-15th)

(0:40) - Feel good stories Florida State offensive lineman Dillan Gibbons has raised over $500,000 through NIL for his charity "Big Man, Big Heart." Damar Hamlin’s charity hits $8.8M in donations. (2:10) - Business of Athletes Michael Phelps, Odell Beckham Jr, Jeremy Lin, & more invest in Major League Pickleball (MLP). Alex Rodriguez has exercised his option alongside Marc Lore to buy a second 20% stake in the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx. Blake Griffin, Joe Burrow, Khris Middleton, Kemba Walker, Anders Lee, and 20+ pro athletes are buying $5M in Iowa farmland. Patrick Mahomes has acquired an ownership stake in the women’s soccer team, Kansas City Current. WNBA star Lisa Leslie has joined the ownership team at Jelenew, a women’s cycling brand. (5:45) - Name, Image, and Likeness Tiger Woods's son, Charlie Woods, will not be eligible for NIL money under Florida law should he attend high school there (currently in 8th grade). NIL Collectives, such as at Michigan, are raising funds to help pay athletes to return to their schools. NC State cornerback, Shyheim Battle, became the first athlete to ever sign an equity deal with Obsesh, an all-in-one athlete engagement platform. Florida’s $13 million NIL deal with 5-star football recruit Jaden Rashada may head to the courtroom. (09:35) - Future of Sports 32 Equity, the NFL’s venture fund, invested in upstart apparel and footwear brand NOBULL. The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has completed a $30 million Series B funding round led by Divergent Investments. Runna, a coaching app for runners, has raised $2.3M in funding. East Asia Super League (EASL) has secured US$40 million in its Series C fundraising round. Clive Mayhew has invested $1.2 million to launch Play Today, a web3 golf company. Teamworks, a sports management SaaS, has acquired 4 new companies: Smartabase, Retain, Grafted, and NextPlay.