🔊 $7M Investment Fuels Fantasy Life’s Major Tech Pivot

📰 TOP STORY
Matthew Berry’s Fantasy Life Raises $7M From Several Notable Investors

Fantasy Life, a fantasy sports and gaming company spanning media and tech, founded by Matthew Berry, raised $7 million in Seed funding.

The round was led by LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s LRMR Ventures and SC Holdings, led by Jason Stein.

Other investors included:

• Eberg Capital LLC

• Bolt Ventures

• Gerry Cardinale

• Jeff Shell

• Chad Hurley

• Wasserman Ventures

• Tony Khan

• SUM Ventures

• John Legend

• Larry Fitzgerald Jr

• Donald Mustard

Why Does This Matter?

Matthew Berry is a long-time sports columnist who is dubbed the “Godfather of Fantasy Sports.”

He launched Fantasy Life as a daily email newsletter in 2020, which is named after his 2013 best-selling book.

The newsletter originally launched as a promotional effort for Fantasy Life's merchandise store. Since then, it has evolved into a sizable multi-media business, with over 500,000 email subscribers and millions of unique visitors per month.

Over the past few years, they’ve monetized how most media companies traditionally monetize, which is through selling ads and sponsorships.

With this new round of funding, they’re shifting to something bigger, which is becoming a scalable tech platform.

This capital fuels the foundation for a new fantasy ecosystem featuring improved technology, expanded tools, new offerings specifically around the Guillotine Leagues acquisition, and a mobile-first experience.

Here’s why this is a smart pivot:

1. They have built-in distribution and trust

2. They can diversify their business model and build a bigger moat

3. They have backing from some of the top tech investors and athletes

As technology no longer becomes a moat, I believe this is a playbook many companies will adopt.

First, build trust, an audience, and distribution. Find a problem you can solve for them. Then build technology and a solution around that problem.

💰 MERGERS & MONEY MOVES 
NYC-Based Padel Club Operator Raises Series B Round

• Padel Haus Raises $7M. Padel Haus, a NYC-born padel club operator, has raised a $7 million Series B round at a $33 million valuation led by David Blitzer’s Bolt Ventures and Epic Padel. This brings its total funding to $18 million as it aims to triple its US footprint this year. Additional investors included Vanquish Equity, Mario Gabelli, alongside athletes from the NFL, MLS, and NHL. Several existing angel investors and family offices also reinvested in the round. The company expects to operate 40 courts by year’s end and is aiming to reach 120 courts and more than 20 wholly owned locations by 2027 (more here).

• Movetru Raises €1.4M. Movetru, a sports tech startup aiming to ‘redefine movement analysis and injury prevention,’ has successfully closed its Pre-Seed funding round of €1.4 million (around $1.6 million). The round was led by UK-based venture capital firm Two Magnolias and supported by an international group of investors across the UK, Ireland, and the US. Movetru says its flagship wearable and AI-powered app-based solution provides real-time biomechanical insights to help athletes and coaches make better, faster decisions about performance and injury risk (more here).

• Theo Health Raises £1.2M. Theo Health, a Scottish sports startup founded by Jodie Sinclair in 2020, that specializes in smart clothing that provides lab-grade data in real-time, has raised £1.2 million. The company has also teamed up with golfer Xander Schauffele to grow its smart clothing platform. He joins the start-up as both an investor and one of the founding ‘Alpha Athletes’ in Theo’s elite testing program, which aims to support athletes with injury prevention and recovery (more here).

 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS
Detroit Pistons Form Fan Engagement Partnership

• Detroit Pistons & Uptop Form Partnership. The Detroit Pistons announced the launch of their new fan engagement program, Pistons Rewards, in partnership with the fan rewards platform, Uptop. Pistons Rewards allows fans to earn “Pistons points” from transactions like grocery stores, restaurants, and more. Once fans have earned points, they can be redeemed for exclusive team prizes, such as VIP experiences, tickets, merchandise, and memorabilia. The Pistons Rewards program will officially launch in October in conjunction with the team’s first home game (more here).

• Fanatics & Chelsea Football Club Expand Partnership. Chelsea FC announced a long-term extension and expansion of its partnership with Fanatics, a digital sports platform and global leader in licensed sports merchandise. This new expansion of the partnership will deliver an enhanced online shopping experience for Chelsea fans, featuring upgraded site capabilities, exclusive content, and a wider range of products. Fanatics will also continue to operate Chelsea’s eCommerce operations and will obtain further design and manufacturing rights to develop new fan apparel (more here).

• Arizona Diamondbacks & OneCourt Form Partnership. Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation has partnered with OneCourt to launch tactile sports broadcasts at Chase Field, becoming the first MLB team to adopt the accessibility-focused technology. The initiative enables blind and low-vision fans to experience live baseball through vibrations and audio cues, translating real-time gameplay into a format that can be felt through a specialised device. The Diamondbacks Foundation will also work with local nonprofits supporting the blind and low-vision community, providing free tickets and access to the devices (more here).

• Snapchat & RWS Global Form Partnership. Snapchat and RWS Global, the world's leader in live moments across sports and entertainment, announced a partnership to enhance fan engagement at sporting events globally. The relationship will formally bring together Snap's augmented reality lenses with RWS Global's revolutionary and proprietary sport presentation software, PV4, a centralized video and graphics playback system integrating video, graphics, text, and third-party game data to deliver a seamless, best-in-class fan experience (more here).

• AIM Sports Group & BASE Sports Group Form Partnership. BASE Sports Group, a sponsorship sales agency dedicated to youth and community sports, has announced a new partnership with AIM Sports Group, a leading sports enterprise focused on enhancing youth sports through innovative leagues, sport facility management, national events, media, and technology. BASE will help connect brands through AIM's portfolio of events, media, tech, and facilities to youth sports communities (more here).

• Agassi Sports Entertainment & IBM Form Partnership. Agassi Sports Entertainment Corp and IBM announced a partnership to develop AI solutions aimed at enhancing the digital experience for racquet sports players and fans. The collaboration will focus on creating AI technology, to be branded as "Agassi Intelligence," designed to analyze player performance and provide actionable recommendations for players of all skill levels. The companies plan to develop digital solutions focused on training, performance tracking, and fan engagement across racquet sports, including pickleball and padel (more here).

🔊 ATHLETES & OTHER NEWS
Top Basketball Prospect Lands Mega NIL Deal

• AJ Dybansta Lands Eight-Figure Deal With Fanatics. BYU basketball freshman star AJ Dybantsa has signed a lucrative NIL deal with Fanatics and Fanatics Collectibles. Fanatics notes that it’s one of Fanatics’ most significant NIL deals to date. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, though Sportico reports that it’s an eight-figure endorsement. The deal is centered around trading cards, memorabilia, game-used jerseys, and Dybantsa’s inclusion in Fanatics marketing brand campaigns. Dybantsa was the No. 1 recruit in the country in the 2025 class (more here).

• Spindrift Brings On Several Athlete Investors. Spindrift, a sparkling water and soda company bought by private equity firm Gryphon Investors this year, has brought on several investors from the sports world, including NBA star Kevin Durant, Pittsburgh Steelers wideout DK Metcalf, UConn star guard Azzi Fudd, Boston Celtics guard Derrick White, influencer and former LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne and FC Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes. The investment was made through Patricof Co., a firm that partners with professional athletes seeking out the best investment opportunities (more here).

• Cosm Announces Fifth Venue In Cleveland. Cosm announced this week it will bring its fifth location to Cleveland in a partnership with Rock Entertainment Group and real estate developer Bedrock. Located adjacent to Rocket Arena, the venue will help anchor Bedrock's new Gateway District development, Rock Block. Cleveland's Cosm will be roughly 10 feet larger in diameter than Dallas and LA's venues, with a 98-foot diameter, 12K+ LED dome that will highlight "unique characteristics that reflect Cleveland’s vibrant community” (more here).

• CNBC’s Most Valuable Sports Empires 2025. As team values continue to rise, sports empires are thriving. CNBC’s official sports empire valuations determined that the world’s 20 most valuable sports ownership groups are worth a combined $225 billion. According to sports bankers and executives interviewed by CNBC, these sports empires function much like software companies that manage highly valuable intellectual property. Sports empires can vary from one another in the kinds of teams they buy, the types of other businesses they own, and the geographical areas where their teams are located (more here).

• IPL's Worth Soars To $18.5 Billion. The Indian Premier League (IPL), India's as well as the world’s most valuable cricket league, has just seen its business value rise to a massive $18.5 billion, according to a recent report by global investment bank Houlihan Lokey. The brand value of the IPL alone is now $3.9 billion, which marks a 13.8% increase from last year. That means just the IPL name and logo are worth billions, even without counting stadiums, team properties, or match-day revenue (more here).

🎙️ PODCAST INTERVIEWS
The Future Of Family Offices In Sports & Entertainment With Issac Richard III

This week’s guest on the Vetted Sports podcast is Issac Richard III.

Issac Richard III is the Founder & CEO of Mavros Capital. Mavros is a multi-family office and private investment firm built to serve the distinct needs of single-family offices, entrepreneurs, operators, investors, and businesses.

Their clients include some of the most influential and accomplished individuals and institutions across technology, finance, media, and sports & entertainment.

In this episode, we discuss:
‣ Why athletes need their own family office structure
‣ What he learned working with some of the top NBA owners
‣ The valuations of pro sports teams and thoughts on the future growth

Check out the full episode here: Apple | Spotify | YouTube