Geek Locker Roundup #37
May 16th, 2025
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 took some to vent about the monopolization of the Boston Marathon technical expo and the negative effect its had on the overall pre-race gear atmosphere. I also covered the rise of the modern Jumbotron and tried to dissect how in-arena entertainment and information all became consolidated into a screen. More and more I find myself drawn to more tangible, tactile experiences not rooted in digital entertainment when it relates to live, in-person events, and I wonder how many others feel similarly and how that may clash with the current trend of just making arena/stadium screens more central and imposing. It’s quite an interesting product design quandary to ponder!
Modern Stadium Screens for Modern Times?
Few experiences can replicate the feeling of being featured on the Jumbotron in an arena at a sporting event. I think it’s only happened to me a couple times throughout multiple dozen games I’ve seen in person and I’ve loved it every time. In a worst case scenario someone staring at their phone doesn’t notice they are on screen straight away only to jus…
Recess #10: A Falling Tide Sinks All Ships
Last year, I wrote about the somewhat underwhelming experience of the official Boston Marathon Expo (hosted by Adidas), counter-balanced only by a very positive experience at the Marathon Sports “Brand House” pop-up on Newbury Street. This year, I traveled over the Mass. Ave bridge into Boston’s Back Bay on marathon weekend once again with a renewed sen…
Next week, I’ll be daring to ask the question “Who is the Nintendo of the outdoor gear world?” Having not yet researched and written the article yet, I honestly have no idea what company I’ll end up selecting for this honor! I’ll also dig into the NFL’s decision to use visual ball-tracking to call 1st downs in the upcoming season. This article will likely be part-physics lesson and part sports philosophy discussion, so hopefully it’s a compelling one!
I mentioned it last Roundup as well, but geeklocker.com now hosts a daily sports tech news update from which this roundup is created if anyone is looking to get a more consistent drip feed of sports tech goings-on.
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.
Dick's Sporting Goods will reportedly acquire Foot Locker for $2.3B. I will be fascinated to see how they incorporate the brand into their own— will they stay Foot Locker or become a new “version” of a Dick’s that focuses just on shoes like Golf Galaxy? Dick's has also invested $120M in youth sports infrastructure startup Unrivaled Sports. The company seems to be on an absolute acquisition, expansion, and investment tear to start 2025 even though the company’s stock is down nearly 50% since the start of the year.
3G Capital will acquire Skechers for over $9B and take the company private at $63 per share! Although this might sound like earth-shattering news, Skechers is the 7th largest individual footwear company on the planet by market cap. The acquisition price tag is on the order of companies like Under Armor and Puma combined, and ~1/2 the cost of Swiss shoe company On, who has grown a ton in the last 10 years.
Kero Gaming has received an additional $3M in funding to accelerate their "micro-betting" infrastructure deployment. With every passing headline, I get more and more nervous that the sports betting bubble is going to pop, either due to decreased demand or regulation…
LIV Golf has taken on an additional $674M in funding throughout 2025, as the PIF's injection nears $5B in total. Someday I need someone smarter than I am to explain the economics of professional golf. How is the professional scene financially viable as a whole? I truly don’t understand.
Sports nutrition company Science in Sport has been acquired by Einstein Bidco LTD. The sports nutrition market is slowly being consumed by the private equity (PE) world, and I absolutely believe there will be some widespread consolidation in the years to come. There are almost certainly too many small-scale stove piped brands to be sustainable in the long run.
New Releases
New sports products and major features that are hitting the market.
Kick-started at-home boxing company Growl has opened pre-orders for its first gamified AI-based punching bag trainer. Growl raised nearly $300k on Kickstarter to help launch their product, and I’m excited to see reviews of the product when it launches in ~4 weeks!
MLS fans can now watch matches in the EA FC mobile app to earn in-game rewards and engage teams. I don’t think I have much to add to this press release— it’s mainly only relevant if you’re a big EA FC fan already!
WHOOP has launched WHOOP 5.0 with a brand new set of hardware and software features (that are quite expensive). WHOOP has faced some backlash about the initial pricing scheme, but initial reviews of the launch are generally positive. It’s also easy to spot the influence of recent AI analysis and longevity trends, as the new sensor suite leans heavily into quantifying your rate of aging and relative health. I am still very nervous the subscription business model will become ubiquitous, but it’s a great new launch!
Ralph Lauren has teamed up with Boston-based Parlor Skis to sell a graphic-heavy $2,000 pair of skis. Unfortunately they aren’t for skiing, just for decoration, which is a shame, but being an art piece might help justify their price…
Adidas' World Cup soccer ball has leaked before the 2026 event, and it looks pretty sweet... I’ll never forget playing with a Jabulani from the 2010 World Cup in high school, and I do wish we’d normalize more out-there ball designs and characteristics. It was so crazy to shoot with it and have no idea where it would go if it was knuckling.
Some News
Select news stories from across the sports and design world.
ESPN may reportedly consolidate its streaming into one platform simply called ESPN. I really hope that this happens (and quickly). ESPN’s online offerings and they way they are internally stove-piped by digital and cable-based network ties can be extremely confusing to navigate. ESPN also keeps assembling popular personalities by re-signing Rich Eisen away from Roku TV, so it will be interesting to see how they build out their modern digital media platform as well with two of the current bests in Eisen and Pat McAfee.
The new Utah-based NHL team finally has an official name: The Utah Mammoth (not to be confused with the Colorado Mammoth lacrosse team). I’m actually pretty excited about this name and am curious to see how insane their mascot ends up looking. We need more megafauna teams!
In a double-whammy of golf investment news, Michelle Wie has invested in Togethxr to increase investment and coverage in women's sports, and Rory McIlroy has teamed up with TPG to lead a new sports-centric PE Fund, TPG Sports Strategy.
In what would otherwise not be news for this newsletter, Celtics star Jayson Tatum tore and had surgery for a ruptured achilles tendon earlier this week in New York. Pundits are arguing that it will end the Celtic’s playoff run and potentially disrupt the entirety of next season and more to come as well. The C’s recently sold for a reported $6.1B, so for the new ownership group this is a massive blow for short/medium-term franchise outlook. We may have to pray for another draft lottery miracle next year!
Grab Bag
The Grab Bag is empty this week, but will be back with a vengeance!