🔊 A-Rod Is Building The Shopify Of Sports (And Just Got $23M To Try)

📰 TOP STORY
Arod’s Startup Jump Raises $23 Million

This week, it was announced that Jump, a ticketing and fan experience platform founded in 2021 by e-commerce billionaire Marc Lore, MLB legend Alex Rodriguez, and entrepreneur Jordy Leiser, announced $23 million in Series A funding.

Alexis Ohanian’s venture firm, Seven Seven Six, led the round with Courtside Ventures, Will Ventures, and Forerunner also participating.

The capital will primarily go towards existing expenses and technology improvements.

The round pushes the company’s total funding to $58 million and values it at over $100 million.

Why Does This Matter?

First, here’s the play:

Jump is a one-stop shop for sports organizations handling ticketing, merch, and concession sales while charging teams a licensing fee and taking 1–5% of every transaction.

The mission? 

To boost team revenue while making life easier (and more fun) for fans.

So far, they’ve signed teams such as:

• North Carolina Courage

• Carolina FC

• Minnesota Timberwolves

• Minnesota Lynx

Not exactly random, as ARod and Marc Lore own the Timberwolves and Lynx, while Steve Malik (also a Jump investor) owns the Courage and FC.

Though the real game-changer is this…

Jump’s “dynamic ticketing” lets fans upgrade seats in real-time.

So, if someone leaves mid-game, those seats go back into a reverse auction.

Fans who are already in the arena get alerts, prices drop, and they can move from nosebleeds to courtside without selling a kidney.

The results?

Teams are replacing Ticketmaster and similar vendors, cutting costs by six figures, and increasing both multi-game package sales and single-game return buyers.

Jump isn’t just improving the fan experience.

They’re rewriting the rulebook.

💰 MERGERS & MONEY MOVES 
Sports Prediction Startup Raises Series A

• Novig Raises $18M. Novig, a leading peer-to-peer sports prediction app, announced the close of an $18 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Forerunner, with participation from existing investors Y Combinator, NFX, Perceptive Ventures, and Gaingels. With the new capital, Novig plans to expand coverage to additional sports and deepen its presence in existing markets. The company will also launch new features, including leaderboards, group contests, and head-to-head trading (more here).

• Batbox Raises $3M. Batbox, an interactive baseball entertainment company, has raised $3 million from EMERGING, a growth capital fund at the forefront of the tech-driven transformation in the restaurant and entertainment sector. This brings its total funding to more than $10 million. The new capital will enable Batbox to secure key patents and software rights and roll out a new software platform and licensing program. Batbax also raised $7.3 million in a Series A last year, led by EMERGING and MG Partners (more here).

• Sports Impact Technologies Raises €650K. Sports Impact Technologies, a Dublin-based sports tech start-up, recently raised a €650,000 Pre-Seed round. The round was led by private investors with the support of Enterprise Ireland High-Potential Start-Up (HPSU). The funding will support the rollout of their behind-the-ear sports wearable that detects head impacts in real-time to enhance player safety and eliminate undetected concussions (more here).

• Tom Dundon Acquires Portland Trail Blazers. Tom Dundon, owner of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, reportedly has reached an agreement to buy the Portland Trail Blazers from Paul Allen's Estate. Dundon declined to provide the terms of the proposed sale, but the supposed price was $4.25 billion. Dundon agreed to purchase a controlling stake in the Carolina Hurricanes in 2017, and he’s the majority owner of the Pro Pickleball Association and Major League Pickleball (more here).

• Nevco Sports Acquires Scorebird. Nevco Sports, a manufacturer of electronic scoreboards, has acquired Scorebird, a platform that enables organizations to automate the display of live scores directly from their scoreboards. Nevco said the Scorebird acquisition continues Nevco’s evolution from a traditional scoreboard manufacturer to one that offers an end-to-end ecosystem connecting physical scoreboards with digital engagement platforms. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed (more here).

 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS
Arsenal FC Signs New Crypto Partner

• Arsenal FC & Bitpanda Form Partnership. Bitpanda and Arsenal have officially confirmed a multi-year partnership, naming Europe’s leading crypto platform as the club’s Official Crypto Trading Partner. Arsenal’s home turf, the Emirates Stadium, will feature Bitpanda branding starting with Arsenal’s first home match against Leeds United on August 23rd. Bitpanda users will also enjoy VIP match access, invites to exclusive events, and opportunities to meet Arsenal legends (more here).

• PFL, LiveLike & Futureverse Form Partnership. The Professional Fighters League (PFL) announced the launch of a next-generation fan loyalty experience, PFL Rewards, powered by Futureverse, a leader in AI, blockchain, and immersive fan experiences, and LikeLive, an audience engagement platform. Fans can earn points for everyday interactions, such as downloading the PFL app, streaming live fights, submitting predictions, or watching highlights, and redeem them for exclusive rewards, including merchandise, event tickets, and VIP access (more here).

• Cincinnati Athletics, WMT, Ticketmaster & LAVA Form Partnership. The University of Cincinnati athletic department has partnered with WMT Digital, Ticketmaster, and LAVA, a real-time engagement platform used by over 50 professional sports teams, to create a new mobile app that unifies the fan experiences through ticketing, content, and in-venue engagement. The university said in a news release that the app will be able to respond to fan behavior, delivering personalized offers, exclusive content, and engagement-based rewards (more here).

🔊 ATHLETES & OTHER NEWS
Burnley FC Launches Sports Tech Innovation Hub

• Burnley FC Launches Innovation Hub. Burnley Football Club has launched the Burnley FC Innovation Hub, a new accelerator program created to help the next generation of sports tech start-ups turn bold ideas into real-world impact. The Innovation Hub offers early-stage companies the opportunity to pilot their products within Burnley FC’s elite Premier League environment. For six months, selected start-ups will work directly with club staff to test their solutions in live settings, receive feedback, and generate the traction needed to take their businesses to the next level (more here).

• Chris Paul Made Over $400 Million In The NBA. Now, He’s Got A Game Plan For Retirement. NBA point guard Chris Paul is on the brink of retiring from the game and diving into his next move. As he prepares for a final season in the league, the 12-time all-star just formed The Chris Paul Collective to house all of his businesses and investments, including a piece of the most valuable women’s soccer team and several Black-owned startups. Forbes sits down with him to discuss his new venture and future (more here).

• Fanatics Launches Loyalty Program. Fanatics is launching a new loyalty program that rewards sports fans for purchasing merchandise and apparel, trading cards, and placing sports bets. The program, called Fanatics ONE, will offer members points for purchases across the company’s various businesses, which now include its sports merchandise business, collectibles, and trading cards, as well as casino and sportsbook operations. Members will also gain access to free shipping and giveaways and can redeem their points for apparel, merchandise, exclusive experiences, and game tickets (more here).

• Insurance Firm Gallagher Is Helping Pro Athletes Prepare For Life After Sports. Insurance giant Gallagher is recruiting pro athletes as summer interns to help them gain work experience. The company’s Partnership Intern Program, launched in 2024 with NFL players, now includes eight members of the NWSL’s Chicago Stars. Over six weeks, athletes gain hands-on business experience, mentorship, and exposure to insurance brokerage, sales, and corporate culture, designed to fit around demanding sports schedules. Some athlete interns have gone on to work for Gallagher post-retirement, including a pro rugby player who’s now a top salesperson in Europe (more here).

• Aaron Rodgers-Backed Startup Aims To Be IMDb For Pro Athletes. NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers is backing AthleteAgent.com, a startup that hopes to make athletes more accessible to companies, charities, and sponsors. The platform launched this past week as a rebrand of the former Online Sports Database. The site is designed to help with access to athletes, offering a more streamlined way for organizations to connect with them, and is led by Sean O’Brien and Ryan Rottman (more here).

🎙️ PODCAST INTERVIEWS
The Evolution Of Gaming & Esports With Eric Minnick, General Partner At Versus Ventures

This week’s guest on the Vetted Sports podcast is Eric Minnick.

Eric Minnick is the Founder and General Partner of Versus Ventures, a passion-driven, technical VC fund investing in Gaming, SportsTech, and FinTech.

He also has a BS in Computer Science from Stanford University, where he was a student-athlete, and an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

In this episode, we discuss:
‣ The inception story of Versus Ventures
‣ What he looks for in sports tech and gaming companies
‣ Insights on the future of the gaming industry and the challenges the space is facing

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