Additional investors include Boston Seed Capital, Tom Brady’s media company Shadow Lion, NBA All-Star Kevin Love, former Bleacher Report CEO Brian Grey, co-founder of Bleacher Report Dave Nemetz, and Morning Brew co-founder Austin Reif. We’ll see how many schools and collectives eventually jump on board with this approach, but the ones that have so far […]
Additional investors include Boston Seed Capital, Tom Brady’s media company Shadow Lion, NBA All-Star Kevin Love, former Bleacher Report CEO Brian Grey, co-founder of Bleacher Report Dave Nemetz, and Morning Brew co-founder Austin Reif.
We’ll see how many schools and collectives eventually jump on board with this approach, but the ones that have so far are certainly going into it in a big way. Dan Furman, the president of Louisville collective 502 Circle, told Feldman they expect to have 150 athletes on NIL contracts next year, and almost all of them will be contributing to the Louisville “Floyd Street Media” brand that collective has in partnership with The College Sports Company.
And Breneman and Grieve told Sportico’s Jacob Feldman this week they see the concept becoming even more important for schools as plans to share revenue with athletes expand.
…We’re excited about this recent round of funding and the impact it will have on the future of our company,” said Porter Grieve, CEO and Founder of College Sports Co. “We believe our strategy and business model will continue to transform the college sports industry, providing athletes and universities with new opportunities to excel in the dynamic NIL space. With this investment, we’ll continue to grow our existing networks, expand to new schools, and bring greater value to our university and collective partners.”
…“We think that right now, schools need to be thinking like entertainment companies,” College Sports Co. CEO and founder Porter Grieve said. “If you want to compete with the big dogs in college sports, you need to be attracting every possible fan you can.”
The College Sports Company received million in new funding late last week to expand that model to other schools. And, beyond just the funding number, it’s notable to see some major names in both sports and sports content involved in this round.
Breneman, also known for his own media work (he calls games for CBS, co-hosts the College Football Power Hour podcast for Yahoo, and hosts his own Next Up With Adam Breneman podcast), spoke to AA on the company this fall. At the time, he said the key concept of this company is the way content created under this model can provide financial rewards for both the athletes and the schools involved.
Adam Breneman, Co-Founder and Chief Media Officer of College Sports Co., added: “I’ve experienced firsthand the potential that lies in athlete-driven media. We’re empowering athletes to build their own brands while simultaneously creating new, sustainable revenue streams for universities and collectives. This funding will allow us to continue revolutionizing college sports media, and we couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead.”
“Having supported the growth of companies like Bleacher Report, we see the same transformative potential in College Sports Co. Their innovative business model is reshaping how universities and NIL collectives drive revenue.”
With this funding round, it’s interesting to see the belief in this from not just prominent athletes, but also from big figures with content backgrounds such as Reif, Grey, and Nemetz. The latter two are particularly notable for their Bleacher Report work, and there are some similarities here to some things B/R has done over the years, from ambitious scope, increased content from those not already in the content ecosystem, and direct partnerships with athletes. And Crosslink Capital, the company that led this funding round, was involved in raising funds for B/R, as their principal Tobias Nilson-Roos noted in the The College Sports Company release:
The College Sports Company operates athlete-driven media networks in partnership with NCAA athletic departments and/or associated collectives, using NIL deals to get athletes on board and then sharing revenue with the school or collective. It’s worked with Penn State, Oklahoma, Louisville and South Carolina for some time, and just added BYU.
[Sportico]
“Content and media is going to drive the commercialization of college sports for the foreseeable future,” said College Sports Co. co-founder Adam Breneman, who played tight end at Penn State from 2013 to 2015 and coached for three seasons at Arizona State. “It’s gonna be all about … what schools can become media companies to drive real revenue.”
“Schools and collectives have direct access to athletes and can help ensure that the content we produce aligns with their goals. Additionally, by collaborating with them instead of operating fully independently, they can accelerate some of the process by helping us tap their existing fan base–while providing them with a share of the value created by the NIL-driven media network.”
There have been numerous heavy hitters in sports investing in various kinds of content-focused businesses recently, but the latest move around The College Sports Company stands out.
The College Sports Company (College Sports Co.), a college sports media and production company that builds athlete-driven media networks for the top athletic departments and NIL collectives in the country, today announced a successful million fundraise led by Crosslink Capital.
