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 covered a relatively technical topic in the expected accuracy for the NFL’s new first-down calling system that leverages computer vision. While I’m confident that the system will perform much more quickly and accurately than a group of people running on the field with chains spread 10 yards apart, some major limitations remain that will take time to work through before the tech is used to actually spot the ball. If you like these more technical-focused articles, definitely reach out to let me know!
The Math Behind the NFL's Decision to Call First Downs with Computer Vision
If you’ve watched televised tennis, baseball, or even soccer in the last few years and a close call has just been made by a referee or umpire, a familiar sight has likely graced your screen: an animated recreation of the most recent play appears and the virtual camera zooms in on the critical location being measured: a tennis ball just in or out, a play…
I also covered one of my favorite topics in sports: curses. The President’s Trophy Curse has plagued NHL teams for over a decade now, and while its effects are statistically unlikely, they aren’t completely impossible. Everyone loves a good sports curse, and if you’re like me, this article might send you down a rabbit hole into some great ones.
Recess #12: Double, Double Toil and Trouble; First Place Earn and Playoff Stumble!
On May 4th, a disturbance must have rippled through the force, since my younger sister messaged me out of the blue: “You should write about the President’s Trophy curse.” She was right, of course. At the time, the Winnipeg Jets— who had earned the trophy in 2025 by achieving the best regular season record (i.e. recorded the most points)— were on the bri…
Over the next couple weeks we’ll be diving into the world of entry fees for different types of running races. I recently signed up for a variety of trail running races, and the fees for the events vary wildly— in many cases more broadly I think races are becoming too expensive and likely include too many add-ons that don’t actually contribute to the experience. We’ll also take a look at a topic I’ve thought about a lot recently: normalizing salary caps based on state income tax rates. States with high income tax burdens have a major disadvantage recruiting players compared to those with no income tax, and I’d like to actually quantify this problem.
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.
NBA Launchpad alumnus Somnee has raised $10M to commercialize its proprietary sleep tracking technology. It will be interesting to see if Somnee will follow the path of other wellness sensor companies and end up being acquired by Apple, WHOOP, or another major existing player in the space.
PE Fund Elevate and the Texas Permanent School Fund will create a $500M investment fund targeting collegiate sports commercial and infrastructure opportunities. PE funds constantly attract investment from pension funds and other entities looking to diversify beyond public markets, but it’s fascinating to see such a headfirst dive into the world of NIL immediately after college athlete payments become legal.
Low-cost computer vision match tracking company ReSpo Vision has secured $4.8M in funding. Their goal is to reduce the cost of athlete-tracking technology in soccer so it can be used more broadly beyond just the confines of professional sports— it’s a great goal!
The MLB has invested a reported $10M and established a partnership with the new softball league Athletes Unlimited. College Softball has been slowly but surely rising in national popularity, and I think it has a real chance to blow up at a professional level. Softball’s unique elements and its fast pace of play make it far more fun to watch than baseball (IMO).
Catapult Sports has acquired weight room activity tracking company Perch for a reported $28M. This news article hits close to home as the company’s founders launched from MIT and started to gain initial traction while I was still on campus. I’m super excited to watch them continue to grow!
AI Vision scouting and recruitment company KhiladiPro has $1M in a funding round. Perhaps one day they’ll be in an overseas battle against some of the North American giants in the industry like Hudl, who continues moving deeper into athlete-tracking tech with an acquisition of Titan Sports!
New Releases
New sports products and major features that are hitting the market.
Fastbreak AI has launched a new AI-based scheduling product specifically for youth sports leagues. Momentum continues to build slowly for youth sports as a market for major investment and product development.
Salomon is launching new Courtney Dauwalter (the GOAT) inspired trail running clothing and it looks awesome. If you’re a woman in the market for some relaxed-fit running shirts and shorts, make sure to jump in on these limited-time products!
Peloton has launched their own marketplace ("Repowered") to get a cut of used equipment sales which is good and bad for them? I am a bit concerned about the potential longevity of Peloton, but moves like this likely help them shore up their short-term cash flows if it ends up functioning like the refurbished Apple Store.
Nike announced the Cryoshot soccer cleat-inspired lifestyle shoe at the Champion's League Final. I’m slowly starting to get sucked into the world of lifestyle sneakers again with Jordans and On’s Roger shoe lines, and it’s definitely making for an itchy wallet.
Some News
Select news stories from across the sports and design world.
Colleges and universities can officially begin paying athletes directly, following a $2.8B settlement. I really don’t know what happens to college sports now, but I definitely think that we’re on track to completely divorce individual leagues from the NCAA over time. It will be a crazy decade to come!
The MLB seems intent on implementing automated ball/strike calling starting in 2026. Home plate umpires will still exist and actually announce the decisions, but as with the the chain gang in the NFL, they may soon disappear altogether.
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are now co-owners of an Australian SailGP team. SailGP has seemingly exploded onto the investment scene recently, though I am a bit concerned it may get lost in the technical racing sport sauce and not achieve the grand success everyone hopes.
The NHL and Sony are extending their partnership for multiple years, all but locking the league into their match-tracking ecosystem. Sony’s Hawk-Eye system continues to emerge as the dominant match-tracking system across all types of leagues and sports, but I still think the barriers to entry are quite low for this type of product from a technical perspective.
The Chicago Fire intend to build a $650M stadium with 22,000 seats with completely private funds. In stark contrast, the Missouri Senate barely approved a tax inventive package to try to keep the Chiefs and Royals in-state. I would love a deep dive on why a stadium built for a less popular team and sport can self-sustain while the MLB and NFL stadiums need taxpayer dollars to succeed.
ESPN published an article about Kalshi's sports betting product and its potential to upend regulatory laws. Kalshi has, to-date, effectively argued in court that they are a financial exchange, not a sports gambling platform, and if they continue to be successful, the implications could be massive for both bettors and state governments, namely in regards to how taxes from sports gambling are captured moving forward (if at all).
Grab Bag
Interesting or useful sports innovation and product design resources, ranging from books and websites to individual graphics.
Veritasium teamed up with Tom Brady for an extremely interesting deep dive on football spirals and trajectory. They have some follow up videos centered around football material that I’m very excited to watch in the coming weeks!