The Profluence Pod 🌐

(00:35) Business of Athletes

Mike Trout and Tiger Woods team up for a golf course, a women's basketball coach makes an investment, and Steph Curry is going to be rich rich.

(04:35) NIL/College Sports

Mattress Mack's $75,000 deal for FAU basketball players and what league will shut down if the NCAA dissolves into athletes as employees.

(06:50) Business of Sports

A $100M women's fund and more innovative sports leagues pop up.

Prior to founding Altius Sports Partners, Casey Schwab was the VP of business & legal affairs at the NFLPA, where he helped lead the NIL program for all NFL players.

Altius Sports Partners is a unique advisory company in college sports led by business leaders providing solutions for NIL and all other major changes impacting college athletics.

We cover a handful of fascinating topics including paying college athletes, where NIL is headed, and Altius’ role in placing general managers at Universities. 

Chapters:

(01:10) NIL's impact on professional sports

(06:25) Origin story of Altius Sports Partners

(12:05) Evolution of NIL collectives

(14:50) Shifting gaps of competition within NIL

(18:30) General managers and “athlete departments”

(24:00) Full vision for college sports

(26:15) Market size of NIL compared to the NFL

(31:25) Companies needed in NIL

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Casey Schwab links:

Website: https://altiussportspartners.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/caseydschwab

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cdschwab/

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Andrew Petcash links:

🏠 Website: https://profluence.com

✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.com

🎙 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrewpetcash

🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash

🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewpetcash

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewpetcash

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3q5jhAuCVT2FZCkLW5xBiQ/

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Thanks for listening!

Founded in 2016, TOCA Football has raised over $50M in venture capital and built an impressive conglomerate in the soccer/football space. 

Prior to founding TOCA Football, Eddie Lewis was a professional soccer player for 14 years and played 82 games for the United States men’s national team. 

We touch on several interesting topics today including the 2026 World Cup’s impact on American soccer and TOCA’s plans to become the TopGolf for soccer with its newest initiative. 

Chapters:

(01:15) European vs. American Soccer

(06:20) Impact of the 2026 World Cup on US Soccer

(12:00) Journey from pro athlete to entrepreneur

(14:25) NIL’s effect on sports

(17:40) Web3, AI, and TopGolf for soccer at TOCA

(23:30) Learnings from raising $50M and entrepreneurship

(27:00) Value of athlete investors and Harry Kane

(29:15) Trends to watch in sports

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Eddie Lewis links:

Website: https://www.tocafootball.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewiseddie/

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Andrew Petcash links:

🏠 Website: https://profluence.com

✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.com

🎙 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrewpetcash

🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash

🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewpetcash

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewpetcash

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3q5jhAuCVT2FZCkLW5xBiQ/

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Thanks for listening!

(01:10) Business of Athletes

NFL QBs invest in women's sports and TMRW sports get more money from big-time athletes.

(3:45) NIL/College Sports

Strange NIL deal at Texas A&M + Charles Barkley sounds off on politicians about NIL.

(7:00) Business of Sports

More youth sports x entertainment companies raising big Series A rounds.

Prior to raising over $3M to build out Marketpryce, CEO Jason Bergman was a sports agent and also worked in the athlete marketing sector. 

Marketpryce is a branding solution that mixes products with services to assist athletes, brands, and universities in the NIL era. 

NIL is taking off and Jason Bergman + Marketpryce is trying to be a front-runner in the race. With over 8,000 partnerships they’re on their way. 

Chapters:

(01:30) What are you seeing in year two of NIL?

(07:40) Transition in the business model

(11:25) Why Jason jumped into the founder seat

(14:50) NIL’s impact on youth sports

(17:15) Differences in team vs individual brand deals

(19:45) First-of-the-first female NIL deal

(24:00) What makes a successful NIL campaign? 

(28:40) How Jason Bergman as a founder keeps learning?

(30:50) Innovation coming to NIL we should watch for

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Jason Bergman links:

Website: https://www.marketpryce.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bergmantweets

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-bergman/

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Andrew Petcash links:

🏠 Website: https://profluence.com

✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.com

🎙 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrewpetcash

🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash

🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewpetcash

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewpetcash

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3q5jhAuCVT2FZCkLW5xBiQ/

.

Thanks for listening!

In 2021, Ben Reynolds and Spalk raised a $3M Series A round which included several notable athlete investors and was headed by Greg Norman’s venture arm. 

Spalk has developed a unique commentary software that allows you to listen to alternative sportscasters with options in over 50 different languages. 

A native of New Zealand, it was fun to talk with Ben about turning a side project into a full-time business, scaling globally, and a bunch of other insightful topics around entrepreneurship, the future of sports, and Spalk. 

Chapters:

(01:00) Global expansion of sports (and Netflix’s impact)

(03:15) Where the idea for Spalk stemmed from 

(06:25) Scaling a company globally 

(13:40) Differences in sports leagues around the world

(15:45) Artificial Intelligence’s influence 

(22:00) Challenges + learnings of building a company 

(24:00) Importance of athlete investors

(28:45) Spalk’s ultimate vision + sports trends to watch

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Ben Reynolds links:

Website: https://www.spalk.tv/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/benreynoldsnz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benreynoldsnz/

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Andrew Petcash links:

🏠 Website: https://profluence.com

✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.com

🎙 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrewpetcash

🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash

🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewpetcash

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewpetcash

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3q5jhAuCVT2FZCkLW5xBiQ/

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Thanks for listening!

(02:00) Name, Image, and Likeness

- Cavinder Twins talk about NIL, walk-ons sign a huge deal, and more around the first college venture firm

(06:55) Business of Athletes

- Aaron Rodger's nets a 100% return, women's soccer players, and more on athletes off the field

(10:30) Sports Business

- $50M Atlanta Hawks venture firm, AI video camera firm signs huge deal with China, and an innovative partnership the Orlando Magic just netted

Opendorse is one of the largest companies in the NIL space and it all began with former Nebraska linebacker Blake Lawrence attempting to help just 1 athlete.

Today, Opendorse has over 100,000 athletes, 3,000 marketers, and 2,000 sports organizations. They have a lot of solutions under management, but at their core, they are a NIL deals platform for athletes, agents, and brands.

Blake Lawrence founded and sold Hurrdat Social Media agency before launching Opendorse alongside his co-founder, Adi Kunalic.

Opendorse has nearly 100 employees today and raised $40M in venture capital to help lead the charge across name, image, and likeness.

Chapters:

(01:25) NCAA’s first NIL infractions

(04:10) Increase in brand deals around March Madness

(08:30) Opendorse one decade later

(10:40) Data and the changing agency model

(14:10) NIL’s market size + potential

(20:50) Blake’s journey from athlete to entrepreneur

(25:40) Sports market breakdown + trends to watch

(29:55) General managers in NIL (& future of collectives)

(34:20) Opendorse’s current initiatives

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Blake Lawrence links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Blake_Lawrence

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakealawrence/

Website: https://opendorse.com/

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Andrew Petcash links:

🏠 Website: https://profluence.com

✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.com

🎙 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrewpetcash

🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash

🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewpetcash

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewpetcash

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3q5jhAuCVT2FZCkLW5xBiQ/

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Thanks for listening!

With sports leagues changing and athletes embracing ownership, Paris Wallace saw the perfect opportunity to create the National Cycling League (NCL).

Prior to creating the NCL, Paris Wallace founded and sold two companies:

The National Cycling League (NCL) is the first majority-minority and female professional sports league.

The NCL is aiming to build the professional sports league of the future – one that embraces technology, diverse ownership, gender equity, sustainability, and community investment.

Chapters:

(01:20) Founding and exiting two companies

(05:40) Why is now the time to build in sports

(08:05) Starting a league compared to a company

(10:20) Individual sports vs team sports

(12:15) Athlete investors in the NCL

(16:25) Generating eyeballs in a new league

(22:00) Building fandom and recruiting athletes

(24:10) Future of the NCL and sports

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Paris Wallace links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/paris_wallace

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pariswallace/

Website: https://nclracing.com/

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Andrew Petcash links:

🏠 Website: https://profluence.com

✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.com

🎙 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrewpetcash

🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash

🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewpetcash

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewpetcash

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3q5jhAuCVT2FZCkLW5xBiQ/

.

Thanks for listening!

Audio Timeline:

(0:45) - Business of Athletes

* Lionel Messi's new investment, Lebron James inks a lifetime equity deal, Lamar Jackson's contract saga, and more. 

(7:00) - Name, Image, and Likeness

* Notre Dame football player, former Brown basketball players suing Ivy League, and Livvy Dunne + Dabo Sweeney controversy

(13:50) - Sports Business

* $150M towards women's tennis, new accelerators investing in sports tech, $3.7M for a sock analytics startup, and other interesting investments. 

Thanks for listening!