Geek Locker
Welcome back to the Geek Locker Roundup— your bi-weekly collection of the latest sports innovation news, product releases, and design resources!
Last week, I recapped some of my own experience and opinions about what was by far the most successful mid-season event for a major sports league in recent years: the NHL Four Nations tournament. I got to see the action both from my living room and in person, and had an absolute blast watching the whole tournament. I was left with the impression that the NHL absolutely seized their moment, but I think most of what they achieved is unlikely to be replicated by any other major sports leagues soon, or even the NHL at that!
The NHL (mostly) Nailed It. What Now?
Long ago, the four nations lived in harmony. Then everything changed when the NHL signed the Four Nations contract… or at least a modern North American ice hockey war started brewing.
I also shared way more information than will ever be necessary to understand about the sport of Bocce. I’ll die on the hill that Bocce has a chance to become far more ubiquitous than it is today, and it was fun (for me at least) to dive into its origins and equipment!
Recess #5: The Power of the Sun the Palm Of Your Hand
There’s no more emblematic late winter activity than wondering what life will be like once it’s warm again (and all the ice melts away in Boston). This winter, I’ve found myself hankering for a few games of Bocce in the park, potentially sparked by our suggestion that it could be “the next Pickleball.” Of course, my desire to actually get out and play s…
Next week we’ll be covering one major emerging topic in the world of sports business, the growing reach of capital into youth sports. We’ll also cover one slightly less impactful topic depending on who you are. We’ll take a look at the suite of virtual cycling and running apps through the lens of what makes video games successful. If I’ve got time, we might answer the age old question everyone asks: how many porta-potties do you need at a major marathon or other race event? The answer may surprise you…
As always, I appreciate your engagement and please share with others who might be interested in reading about sports innovation. On to the news!
Company Cable
Updates about major sports tech company transactions.
Pickleheads, a pickleball court finding app, has raised $2.5M to expand its business. The fundraising included a major local grassroots campaign in Atlanta that yielded over 65 individual investors. The team is now looking to hire and expand very quickly with the injection of captial!
DAZN has finalized a $1B investment from Saudi Arabia and the two have formed a joint venture. DAZN is in the midst of a financing spree right now as it looks to expand its global footprint. I think it’s only a matter of time until it becomes a dominant player in the US.
Helley Hansen is reportedly finalizing terms to be sold for $900M to Kontoor Brands from the Canadian Tire Corporation. First off, who knew that Canadian Tire owned HH? Second, HH must be in a tough spot at the moment to sell for this amount while rival Arc’teryx is doing over $1.5 Billion in annual sales.
CollX, a trading card startup backed by Eagles GM Howie Roseman has raised $10M in a Series A funding round. This might be one of the more timely announcements I’ve had with the news dropping less than one week after publishing the article about the booming collectible market!
Comcast has launched its fifth cohort of incubated startup companies. Incredibly, these ten were selected from over 1,600 applicants, which is a mind-boggling figure— I would love to get access to their list of applicants. Most of the selected companies are predominantly focused on the media and fan engagement pipeline, and come from all over the world.
NBA player Tristan Thompson has helped launch an AI-based basketball analytics company. TracyAI’s goal is to bring “locker room” insights— in-depth analytics and nuanced insights that coaches and players leverage to the masses through broadcasts and fan engagement platforms. I’m a bit skeptical that most fans beyond the most avid sports gamblers will leverage or enjoy this deluge of data, but I could easily be wrong.
AI-powered digital twin platform make Prorizon has raised ~$500k in pre-seed funding. Prorizon is looking to quantify and monitor athlete mental and physical load through advanced analytics and data collection means. Their focus turns now towards college athletics, which tells you something about the potential gold rush ongoing there!
New Releases
New sports products and major features that are hitting the market.
New York Mets fans have a new streaming service provider option with SNY. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard someone say “man, I wish I had to use more individual streaming services to watch may favorite sports and shows.” Yet, here we are, announcing the launch of a new one seemingly every Gl Roundup.
NIL Marketing platform MOGL is launching a new AI feature that matches NCAA athletes with brands. College sports are crazy right now.
Franklin Sports is teaming up with NERF to launch a new set of sports products. The brands are starting by launching a new lineup of soft footballs, but the possibilities for collaboration are endless. Maybe the pair can bring knee hockey back to its former glory.
Some News
Select news stories from across the sports and design world.
The owners of the San Francisco 49ers are planning to sell a minority stake in the team and purchase one in Rangers FC. This might be my own perception, but I feel like the sheen of being an NFL owner is starting to slowly erode away with the dilution of the principal stakeholders…
Speculation is starting to mount over who will step in to fill ESPN's role as the MLB's broadcast partner. It’s going to be a major gap to fill, especially as the MLB has started to gain more popularity internationally in recent years, especially in eastern Asia.
FIFA has launched an innovation challenge to help boost its growing esports business FIFAe. We’re starting to see somewhat of a mini resurgence in the world of esports more broadly, and even Hearthstone is set to make its return as an esports in 2025!
Just four weeks ahead of the season opener, all the UFL's quarterbacks are on strike. I’ve mentioned this in previous articles, but I’m skeptical that the consumer market can support more than two major football leagues (the NFL and Canadian Arena Football League). The base salary for a UFL player is $55k/year, and it seems like the limited budget is already starting to be stretched a couple seasons in.
Powerade has been named the official drink partner of the MLS and US Soccer. Powerade generates only ~1/4 the annual revenue of its main rival Gatorade, so this is probably a pretty big win for the company, especially with the perception that the league may continue its growth momentum.
Player and ball-tracking company Sportable is launching an office in the US in Indiana. Indiana has done an incredible job of setting up incentives and infrastructure for sports startups and sports tech companies, and it’s cool to see their efforts pay off! For better or worse, we got biotech companies in Massachusetts instead...
Grab Bag
Interesting or useful sports innovation and product design resources, ranging from books and websites to individual graphics.
The Seattle Times published a behind-the-scenes look at how the Kraken deal with their smelly hockey gear. It’s worth a quick review for any parents or partners of hockey players!
Amazon shared a somewhat behind-the-curtain look at its AWS setup for the NFL combine. Scouts and coaches can quickly review the entire set of performance stats on the platform, and perhaps most fun, they also produce an overall player rating, similar to Madden!