Text | Linyuan
Recently, professional women's sports league network Athletes Unlimited (hereinafter referred to as AU) raised US$30 million (about RMB 210 million) in a new round of financing. Investors include 35 Ventures jointly created by Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman.
This round of financing was led by Schusterman Family Investments, with Jane Gottesman of Earlystone Management, film producer Sharon Harel-Cohen, Philadelphia 76ers owner David Blitzer, Sports Innovation Lab CEO Angela Ruggiero, Salil Seshadri of JS Capital Management LLC and Keith Meister of Corvex Management also participated in the round. Gottesman will also join the AU board of directors.
AU was founded in 2020 and is founded by MLS New York City Chairman Jon Patricof and the second son of billionaire and financial giant George Soros. As a common enterprise, AU not only reimagines the management and operation methods of the league and the team, but also deeply thinks about the ideal operation methods of the company, giving a new paradigm for current sports industry business.
Operational alliance in the form of a common enterprise
In the traditional sports league of North America, management strives to maximize profits and has almost no chance to give athletes a comment.
From the date of its founding, AU strives to become the first professional sports alliance to operate in the form of a public benefit enterprise (PBC), and become the first American professional sports alliance to focus on carbon neutrality . The company's PBC annual report shows that it has achieved achievements in providing childcare benefits, establishing racial equality organizations, and regularly donating to non-profit organizations selected by players.
In a common enterprise, stakeholders regard social benefits as more important than economic returns, and their board of directors will also manage the company with this concept. This type of enterprise includes Patagonia, Kickstarter and Warby Parker (the key to distinguishing this type of enterprise is to see how it is established, which is different from the B-type beneficial enterprises, which need to be certified).
"The requirements for a joint venture are actually very simple." Jonathan Soros, co-founder of AU and CEO of JS Capital, said, "The definition of a joint venture lies in your understanding of it." Soros said his understanding of a "negotiable enterprise" can be expressed in one word, that is, "mission equity", that is, investors will receive "satisfied financial returns, and can also directly support the company's non-financial mission."
The second son of the financial giant George Soros and co-founder of AU (right)
In April 2021, " Harvard Business Review " published Jonathan Soros' article "A New Way to Scale Social Enterprise".
In the article, Soros explained in detail the new equity form created by AU, that is, investors are required to share financial returns in accordance with the terms agreed in advance with the company.
In AU, investors agree to limit the economic returns that investment may receive. The repurchase price is Mission Equity (
Mission Equity), which can be adjusted to maximize coordination between investors, tasks and management.
The purpose of investing in sports companies is both economic returns and non-financial mission value. The AU allocates no less than 50% of the surplus to the female athletes themselves, and the remaining funds are coordinated and allocated by the company's board of directors. The founders, investors, athletes, and independent members representing the fans and the public's interests have decision-making power.
AU also creates separate mission equity for employees, the latter's repurchase price is only determined at the time of departure, which ensures that founding employees can enjoy the corporate growth bonus while reducing employee turnover.
AU
It can be said that as a new professional sports model, AU aims to make female athletes decision makers. Not only are athletes seen as contest participants, but also as a wider sports community connecter.Within this community, AU hosts four sports and five league games each year: two in softball and one in volleyball, basketball and lacrosse. Each of its individual sports has a player executive committee, which allows athletes to have a say in all decisions in the relevant leagues.
AU provides an efficient and powerful network that can produce huge synergies. Athlete-first business strategy, combined with their forward-thinking approach to fans’ participation and innovations around the organization and operation of sports leagues, gives athletes full freedom of choice. “We were involved in almost every decision,” from choosing cleats to turf. A member of the AU Players Executive Committee mentioned that a staff member of the broadcast team even asked the athletes committee which night they would rather play.
Professional women's sports have entered a period of rapid growth, and women have begun to hold management positions off-site. More and more major leagues like NBA have been increasing the proportion of women in management, scouts and even coaches. MLB may soon have female referees as its minor league affiliates have begun hiring them. And, while women may not be able to compete in men’s competitions, there is no reason they cannot serve as referees.
And what is unique about AU is that it keeps investors aligned with other key stakeholders, especially players, for a long time.
For a long time, there has been inequality in the salary of male and female athletes: before the negotiations on equal pay for equal pay, the salary of US women's football team was 40% less than that of male athletes. In the basketball field, high-paying WNBA players earn about one-fifth of those of low-paying NBA players. It is reported that the salary of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry in 2021 is equivalent to the total salary of more than 350 WNBA players, but the WNBA actually has only about 180 players.
In contrast, the AU league provides basketball players with decent salary, with 44 women's basketball players receiving a total of more than $1 million in revenue, or an average of $20,000 per person.
However, the AU event is not a competitive relationship with the WNBA, AU is a supplement to the league, because they hold games in the off-season and the schedule is also shorter.
In addition, AU regards pregnancy as a "normal part of the career athlete's journey"; women do not have to disclose their pregnancy, and the company will support athletes to arrange themselves.
AU named the team after leading the star
In just two and a half years, AU has achieved incredible success: a large number of corporate partners, good media relations, and more than 250 world-class professional athletes. The main sources of income of
AU are sponsorship fees and media copyrights. AU's partners include Nike, Gatorade , Geico Insurance, Topps Star Card, Caesar, EY and financial services company Aspiration. Aspiration will help AU fulfill its commitment to carbon neutrality.
AU attracts many brand owners
Now, AU’s goal is to expand the audience size and increase the participation of fans. In the coming years, the company hopes to add its sports products, perhaps create a men's league and become the first carbon neutral professional league. Its first priority is to expand the audience, hoping to turn the game into a college series.
In April this year, AU and ESPN signed a multi-year broadcasting rights agreement. From then on, the Disney-owned TV network will broadcast more than 160 AU softball and lacrosse games through its own platforms in 2022 and 2023.
AU members are divided into four levels
Under the epidemic, the rich investing in sports has not diminished
AU founder Jonathan Soros, the personal net worth of about 100 million to 300 million US dollars, and he himself is a sports enthusiast. Regarding career, Jonathan Soros believes that on the one hand, he is seeking to skillfully increase capital through investment, and on the other hand, he is seeking to use funds for public welfare through charity and other means. Soros believes that the development of AU in the first two years of its establishment far exceeded expectations.The financing of
AU also reflects the involuntary tendency of American rich people in the field of sports.
In the top 400 rich list of the United States released by " Forbes ", 50 people hold sports teams, accounting for more than 10%. Last year, there were only 43 sports bosses on the Forbes Top 400 Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Rich Ri
Among the rich sports bosses in the United States, there are 17 NFL bosses, 14 NBA bosses, 12 NHL bosses, and 9 MLB bosses.
Clippers boss Balmer is the richest sports boss. He ranks eighth on the Forbes 400 Rich List with a net worth of about $83 billion. Ballmer suffered a heavy blow last year as the decline in Microsoft stock price, losing $13.5 billion in net assets. But the Clippers are a great investment, currently valued at $3.3 billion, and Ballmer bought the team from Donald Sterling in 2014 for $2 billion.
Among these 50 sports bosses, there are 17 football bosses alone, the richest of which is Walmart heir Rob Walton , with a net worth of $56.7 billion, making him the 17th richest man in the United States. He acquired the Denver Broncos for a record-breaking $4.65 billion in the offseason, which is the most expensive club acquisition deal in history.
Legend Hedge Fund Manager David Tepper is the Carolina Panthers boss. He is also a rich man who has only started investing in sports in recent years. He acquired the team for $2.3 billion in 2018, and now the team is valued at $3.6 billion.
According to Forbes statistics, Memphis Grizzlies owner and Ubiquist CEO O Robert Pera net assets are US$17.6 billion, New York Mets boss Steve Cohen net assets are US$17.5 billion. Robert Pera acquired the Grizzlies for $377 million in 2012, and now the Grizzlies' valuation has reached $1.5 billion.
It is worth mentioning that Jerry Jones owns the most valuable team in the NFL because Dallas Cowboys is valued at $8 billion this year, $1.5 billion more than last year. Unlike the others on the roster, Jones’s wealth comes from the team’s self-producing blood as the Cowboys owner and general manager.
Against the backdrop of the epidemic, the new AU company demonstrates a series of responsible and female athlete-led business practices, which can be expanded to companies and departments in many industries. As the interest of wealthy people in investing in sports continues to rise, the sports industry will accelerate its development, and new technologies and new models continue to emerge.
Note: The pictures used in this article are from the Internet
