The 4th Quarter: Latest In Sports Tech This Week, December 13th

$100M Athlete Insurance Tech Startup, Private Equity's First NFL Deal, New Job Board

Dec 13, 2024

Youth Sports Insurance Brokerage Coverage | HUB International

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Athlete Insurance Startup Takes One For The Team:

In wake of all the conversation around health insurance companies this past week, one innovative “InsurTech” startup might be able to save the reputation of the entire industry.

Founded in 2012, Players Health is a fast-growing, tech-enabled platform that provides athlete insurance protections and risk management solutions for youth sports. With their growing success, the company was able to recently raise a $60M Series C round, bringing their total funding to $100M, from major sports business investors like BlueStone Equity.

But what makes them so sought out after in the sports-tech market? The answer lies in addressing a critical issue: ensuring the safety and well-being of young athletes.

The Issue

12M youth athletes between the ages 5 - 22 suffer a sports related injury every year
20.9% of injuries led to medical disqualification for season or career, return to play in-season, or an athlete’s decision to quit their respective sports
Sports-related injuries leads to approximately $33B in health care costs

The crux of the problem often lies in mismanagement, whether intentional or not: 54% of athletes stated that they have played through an injury while less than half of coaches say they have received certification on how to prevent and recognize sports injuries. This dichotomy puts young athlete’s safety and their sports career at serious risk. That’s where Players Health steps in, offering a suite of solutions designed to bridge this critical gap.

The Results

Players Health have already achieved immense success, establishing official partnerships with leading youth sports organizations such as US Youth Soccer, USA Cheers, and USPHL. Here are some awesome stats from their website that can measure their success:

Supported 35 organizations in the U.S. with their athlete safety management platform
Conducted 36K+ background checks to ensure quality personnel for 70+ organizations
Drove 30K+ completions in Abuse Prevention, U.S. Center for SafeSport, and Concussion training

We’re excited to see where Player Health goes with this new funding round!

Sports-Tech Market Activity: Investors & Deals

Venture Capital

Player Health, a sports tech company that provides athlete insurance risk management solutions for sports organizations, raised $60M in Series C funding (Dec. 11th)
- Raised $100M in funding to date, including recent round
- Expanding into large collegiate/pro sports markets and funding strategic M&As
- Investment was led by Bluestone Equity; other investors include Mosaic General Partners, RPM Ventures among others [Sportico]

USTA invests in tech-enabled tennis club operator Court 16 (Dec. 9th)
- Current facilities in Long Island City, Brooklyn, Manhattan Financial District; expecting Philadelphia and Westchester’s Ridge Hill opening 2025
- Marking the 2^ndinvestment by USTA Strategic Investment Committee through USTA Ventures; following PlayReplay investment [Tennis Now]

Beam Foundation launches Beam Ventures, a $150M fund to focus on Abu Dhabi gaming scene (Dec. 11th)
- Launching a venture accelerator program to support early-stage startups within web3, gaming, and AI [GamesBeat]

Moonray, a Web3 sci-fi arena multiplayer game that integrates blockchain tech into its platform, raised $10M to date (Dec. 12th)
- Investment was led by Animoca Brands, Polygon Ventures, and Taisu Ventures, among others [VentureBeat]

M&A and Investments

NFL first private equity investments approved for Bills, Dolphins acquisitions (Dec. 11th)
- Arctos Partners acquired a 10% in the Buffalo Bills ownership group
- Ares Management approved for 10% stake acquisition of Miami Dolphins
- Average franchise values in the NFL estimated at $5.93B; highest among other major U.S. leagues [Sportico]

Emerging Fund raises $100M to invest in “sports-tainment” restaurant and entertainment real estate space (Dec. 11th)
- Fundraising expected to close at a hard cap of $150M, early 2025
- Invests within $50K to $5M range, totaling up to $10M through follow-on rounds
- Investments backed by the fund include F1 Arcade, Puttshack and Batbox [Sportico]

Diamond Baseball Holdings to acquire Mets’ affiliates Syracuse Mets, Brooklyn Cyclones (Dec. 10th)
- Following Soto’s $765M, 15-year contract contract signed with the Mets
- DBH now holds a portfolio of 38 Minor League teams; 13 Triple-A [Sportico]

Levy, a hospitality company that serves sports and entertainment venues acquires stake in Elevate (Dec. 9th)
- Elevate’s clients include NASCAR, PGA Tour, and the U.S. Open
- Current owners include the 49ers, Harris Blitzer (HBSE), and Velocity Capital Management [Sportico]

Saudi PIF reportedly nears minority stake acquisition of PGA Tour’s commercial arm (Dec. 10th)
- According to sources, the PIF acquisition is estimated at 6% stake
- According to a Bloomberg report, the investment implies a $12B valuation for the PGA Tour Enterprises [Sports Illustrated]

EFL approves English club Sheffield United acquisition by US consortium COH Sports (Dec. 6th)
- Group spearheaded by Stephen Rosen; co-founder of Resilience Capital
- Trend of American takeovers in English football: Clubs Ipswich Town and Wrexham promoted since being acquired by U.S. investors [Front Office Sports]

Engage Digital Partners, a UK-based sports marketer, acquired by UK digital media company Brave Bison (Dec. 9th)
- Engage’s clients include Formula 1, ICC and Real Madrid
- Deal worth £11M ($14M); £16m turnover in sports and media division [SportCal]

US-based Ackerley Sports Group’s $75M bid to invest into SA Rugby Union rejected after failure to gain approval (Dec. 7th)
- Bid for 20% of SARU’s commercial rights firm
- Requiring 75% of 13 SARU unions, 7 voted against the acquisition [Sports Illustrated]

Mercury 13, an investment group that targets multi-club ownership in women's football, announced interest in acquiring England-based club (Dec. 10th)
- Currently holds a controlling stake in Italian club FC Como
- Previous majority stake acquisition in fan-owned South club Lewes ‘fell through’
- Former footballer Giorgio Chiellini backed the consortium back in September [Yahoo Finance]

CVC’s €400M ($423M) for ‘Project Snow’ bid rejected by International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) (Dec. 9th)
- FIS claims there’s no need for additional funding; remains well-capitalized
- Deal valued the federation at $2B; 20% in commercial rights shareholding for $423M [Sport Business]

Photo: Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills secure massive investments from PE funds

Strategic Ventures

Eyeball.Club, a video sports tech startup, extends its partnership with English club Brentford FC for global youth talent recruiting (Dec. 9th)
- Eyeball previously raised a Seed round of $5.53M in October [Insider Sport]

Shiftwave, a producer of nervous system regulation devices, partners with NFLPA, OneTeam Partners, and Exos to enhance athlete performance and wellness (Dec. 4th)
- Devices being used in NBA, MLB, NHL, UFC, European football among others [OneTeam]

Manchester City, Puma announce ‘PUMA AI Creator’ to allow fans to design third club kit for ‘26 / ‘27 season (Dec. 9th)
- Winning submission to be worn by club and sold to fans
- December 20th deadline to be voted on by public starting early January
- Leveraging generative AI-powered design platform including text prompts, customization tools, and intuitive sliders [Man City]

Unrivaled, the new 3v3 basketball league, signs LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson in second NIL deal (Dec. 6th)
- Deal includes equity ownership in the league
- Expected to play in the league's second season in 2026 [Front Office Sports]