🔊 Will This Emerging League Collapse Or Comeback?

📰 TOP STORY
Grand Slam Track Faces Big Money Problems

It’s been just over a month since Grand Slam Track wrapped up its debut season.

This past week, league founder and Olympic legend Michael Johnson appeared on Front Office Sports Today to address some of the league’s early challenges, even after securing $30 million in financial commitments from investors and strategic partners.

Like many startup leagues, Grand Slam Track has faced its share of growing pains:

• Missed payments to athletes

• A lead investor backing out

• A canceled LA event

• Outstanding payments to track venues

Still, Johnson remains committed to the league’s vision, quoting:

“We’ve been working very hard over the last couple of months to make sure we can get everyone taken care of and making sure we actually can get to next season and continue on the mission to elevate this sport.”

Season 2, as of now, is still to be determined.

Why Does This Matter?

Startup sports leagues are all the rage right now.

Why?

Well, for many reasons, but mainly because there’s real demand and a massive opportunity to serve overlooked communities and untapped niches.

Take track and field.

Despite its Olympic roots, it’s historically struggled to capture sustained mainstream attention or attract consistent investment.

That’s exactly what Grand Slam Track is trying to change, for both fans and athletes, right now.

They’ve got a strong mission and a compelling product.

But here’s the truth: the concept alone isn’t enough.

The financials must be even stronger.

And this is where most startup leagues go wrong.

None of this is to bash Grand Slam Track. What they’re trying to build requires courage, focus, and a lot of willpower.

It’s a cautionary tale for all new leagues.

In the past decade, more than 50 new leagues have launched, many of which you’ve probably never heard of, let alone watched.

We’re living in the golden era of sports, but not every opportunity is as promising as it looks.

Here are a few thoughts I have on the future of emerging leagues:

➀ Most will fail due to poor financial planning, lack of engagement, or general irrelevance.

➁ The winners will own a niche with a clear identity and a focused target audience.

➂ Success doesn’t have to mean billions. Sustainable, mid-size leagues can still deliver big wins for athletes, fans, and investors.

➃ Youth and women’s sports are prime growth markets and fertile ground for innovation.

➄ Creativity, scrappiness, and fan obsession are key. The leagues that survive will always prioritize the people in the stands (and on the streams).

💰 MERGERS & MONEY MOVES 
Collectibles Marketplace Raises Series A Round

• Courtyard Raises $30M. Courtyard, a New York City-based collectibles marketplace, secured $30 million in Series A funding from Forerunner Ventures. Existing investors, including NEA and Y Combinator, also participated. Founded in 2021 by Nicolas le Jeune and Paulin Andurand, Courtyard operates a digital vending machine for mystery packs. Customers can purchase unknown Pokémon, sports cards, or comic books. The company plans to expand through hiring, marketing, and product category expansion (more here).

• Hudle Raises $2.5M. Hudle, a Delhi, India-based sports community platform, raised $2.5 million in Series A funding. Sky Impact Capital led the round. Physis Capital, Atrium Venture, Mahesh Bhupathi, Gaurav Kapur, Blue Tokai, and Nitro Commerce founders also participated. The company intends to use the funds to enhance its product development, including frictionless booking, match discovery, and performance tracking features to improve the player experience with a specific focus on pickleball and padel (more here).

• Sahha.ai Raises $1.2M. Sahha.ai, an AI and mental health tech startup, announced the close of a $1.2 million funding round. This brings their total funding to $4 million. The round saw follow-on participation from leading investors, including Supermoon Capital, Aura Ventures, and Antler, as well as new investors such as Gandel Invest, Func Ventures, and Cutri Family Office. The funding will accelerate the company’s commercialization efforts as demand grows for developer-friendly APIs that capture, analyze, and activate data from wearables, smartphones, and lifestyle sources (more here).

• Harburg Group Acquires Al Kholood Club. The Harburg Group, an American-based investment firm led by Ben Harburg, has officially completed the 100% acquisition of Al Kholood Club, of the Saudi Pro League, as part of the groundbreaking privatisation initiative of Saudi Vision 2030." The Harburg Group currently owns a 6.5% stake in Cadiz, a club in Spain's second division. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed (more here).

 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS
Five Iron Is Bringing Golf To The Middle East

• Five Iron Golf & Golf Saudi Announce Partnership. Five Iron Golf, the global leader in golf and immersive golf experiences, announces a strategic partnership with Golf Saudi to launch multiple Five Iron Golf locations throughout Saudi Arabia. The first venue is expected to open in Riyadh in 2026 and will be designed as one of Five Iron’s flagship indoor golf locations worldwide. Five Iron Golf confirms that its first location in Saudi Arabia will open on the ground level of the PIF Tower, Riyadh’s tallest and most iconic building (more here).

• Airwallex & Arsenal Announce Partnership. Arsenal and Airwallex have announced a multi-year partnership that will see the global payments platform become the club’s Official Finance Software Partner. Airwallex will also be the club’s Presenting Partner for the Men’s pre-season tour across Asia, with their services being used across the tour. The two will work together to improve Arsenal’s payment gateway services and in other areas. Airwallex also retains the right to use Arsenal’s Men’s and Women’s first team branding and deliver exclusive and engaging content for supporters during games at Emirates Stadium (more here).

• Detroit Lions & 1. FC Köln Announce Partnership. The Lions and 1. FC Köln, a historic soccer club based in Cologne, Germany, have announced a strategic partnership that aims to expand interest in both sports in the US and Germany. This is the Lions' first partnership with a team from outside the US. The partnership will include fan events, watch parties, clinics, and collaborative social media content between the two teams. It will also include what the Lions call "cross-team access," which includes facility usage for both teams in Detroit and Cologne. (more here).

🔊 ATHLETES & OTHER NEWS
Seattle Seahawks Legend Joins Storm Ownership Group

• Bobby Wagner Joins Seattle Storm Ownership Group. Washington Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner has joined the ownership group of the Seattle Storm. Wagner spent 11 years with the Seattle Seahawks and is now the first active NFL player to have a stake in a WNBA team. Other Seattle co-owners include Hall of Fame guard Sue Bird and former Microsoft executive Lisa Brummel. The Storm was last valued at $330 million by Forbes. His investment in the team was not disclosed (more here).

• Eli Manning Invests In Sports Equipment Company. Eli Manning, the former New York Giants quarterback, announced this week that he has invested in sports protective equipment maker XTech. Manning, who wore XTech shoulder pads during his playing days, said he took a stake in the company because he believes in the product and wants to make sure that youth athletes have the same high-level safety equipment that NFL players have. He did not announce the size of his investment, but he’s one of the top five investors in the company (more here).

• Tipt Ventures Is Reimagining The Sports Economy By Centering Women. Fielding Jamieson and Ami Galani have teamed up again to launch Tipt Ventures, which is an investment platform grounded in the belief that women will be a driving force in the transformation of sports. Tipt invests in companies addressing the significant gaps in a sports economy that has historically underserved women in five key focus areas: media & content, athlete & fan experiences, data & analytics, performance science, and collegiate & pre-collegiate (or youth) sports (more here).

• Jets Unveil New Locker Room & Team Facilities. The New York Jets unveiled their brand-new, tech-enabled locker room and team facilities this past week. The state-of-the-art locker room includes 92 customized lockers (weighing 1,000lbs apiece) at their year-round practice facility. Each locker features a video screen that players can use to review plays, watch highlights, or receive messages. The Jets are the first pro or NCAA team with lockers that feature a fully automated video display, according to the team. It also comes with a custom seat, a USB port, cool storage compartments, and three fans (more here).

• Apollo Global & Ares Management Look To Launch New Sports Funds. Mega private equity funds, Apollo and Ares Management, announced they are working on new funds that would open the exclusive world of sports investing to individual investors. Ares’ top chief, Michael Aroughet, reportedly said financial advisors had specifically requested the new strategies for their clients. It’s the latest move to democratize investments in sports, while opening up a whole new segment of lucrative customers to alternative asset managers (more here).

🎙️ PODCAST INTERVIEWS
Competitive Entertainment Trends With Lloyd Danzig, Managing Partner Of Sharp Alpha Advisors

This week’s guest on the Vetted Sports podcast is Lloyd Danzig.

Lloyd Danzig is the Managing Partner of Sharp Alpha Advisors, a venture capital firm specializing in sports betting, gaming, and competitive entertainment.

Lloyd has invested in several companies, including Poorhouse, Triumph, C15 Studio, SlamBall, Jackpot, Almost Friday Media, GridRival, Kero Sports, and Ballera.

In this episode, we discuss:
‣ What he looks for when evaluating competitive entertainment startups
‣ Challenges with raising from LPs in today's economy
‣ Under the radar markets or opportunities within betting and gaming

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