DraftKings Partners With Metabilia for NFTs of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Ronald Acuña Jr. and More MLB Stars
By Andrew Cohen
DraftKings will release NFTs of MLB stars such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Ronald Acuña Jr. through its new partnership with digital collectibles startup Metabilia. The collection will be available exclusively on the DraftKings Marketplace starting May 4 and will also include NFTs of young stars Fernando Tatis Jr., Joe Musgrove, Shane Bieber and Wander Franco.
DraftKings is branding the digital collectibles as “Membership NFTs,” and some tokens will be associated with game-used memorabilia and career achievements. Metabilia joins the Tom Brady co-founded startup Autograph as NFT suppliers for the DraftKings Marketplace where fans can buy, sell and trade tokens of athletes.
Metabilia’s image-based MLB NFT collection on DraftKings will debut in black, green and platinum editions of varying scarcity. The NFLPA also has plans to debut NFTs on the DraftKings Marketplace next season.
Strength Training Startup Speede Fitness Raises $2.5 Million in Oversubscribed Seed Round
By Andrew Cohen
Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields and Denver Broncos Pro-Bowl safety Justin Simmons are among the newly announced equity holders in AI-powered strength training machine Speede Fitness. Speede has raised $2.5 million in its oversubscribed seed round.
The company’s Speede Challenger cable machine allows for push and pull exercises while workout data is tracked on its built-in display screen. The machine can generate up to 2,000 pounds of resistance, and its concept is similar to the LeBron James and Serena Williams-backed Tonal device that uses an electromagnetic motor to create force. Tonal’s artificial intelligence can automatically adjust weight based on a user’s strength during a workout.
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Bears tight end Cole Kmet and cornerback Jaylon Johnson, UFC fighter Michael Chandler and Charlotte Hornets NBA center Mason Plumlee also own equity in Speede Fitness. Sports marketing entrepreneur David Meltzer is also an equity holder.
The Speede Challenger is currently available for pre-order is expected to launch this summer with a $39 per month monthly subscription. Another similar AI-enabled strength training machine developer is OxeFit, whose investors include Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, former NFL stars Jason Witten and Dez Bryant and renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews.
Bears QB Justin Fields, Broncos Safety Justin Simmons Among the Athletes Buying Equity in Speede Fitness
By Andrew Cohen
Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields and Denver Broncos Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons are among the newly announced equity holders in AI-powered strength training machine Speede Fitness. Speede has raised $2.5 million in its oversubscribed seed round.
The company’s Speede Challenger cable machine allows for push and pull exercises while workout data is tracked on its built-in display screen. The machine can generate up to 2,000 pounds of resistance, and its concept is similar to the LeBron James and Serena Williams-backed Tonal device that uses an electromagnetic motor to create force. Tonal’s artificial intelligence can automatically adjust weight based on a user’s strength during a workout.
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Bears tight end Cole Kmet and cornerback Jaylon Johnson, UFC fighter Michael Chandler and Charlotte Hornets NBA center Mason Plumlee also own equity in Speede Fitness. Sports marketing entrepreneur David Meltzer is also an equity holder.
The Speede Challenger is currently available for pre-order and is expected to launch this summer with a $39 per month monthly subscription. Another similar AI-enabled strength training machine developer is OxeFit, whose investors include Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, former NFL stars Jason Witten and Dez Bryant and renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews.
McLaren Inks Multi-Year Sponsor Deal with Cryptocurrency Exchange OKX, Branding to Appear at Miami Grand Prix
By Andrew Cohen
British Formula One team McLaren Racing has signed a multi-year sponsorship with Malta-based cryptocurrency exchange OKX. The deal makes OKX the official primary partner of McLaren’s F1 team and sees OKX become the first crypto company signed as the largest partner of an F1 team, according to a press release.
OKX will also serve as the primary partner of McLaren’s Shadow esports team that debuted in 2017. During the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, OKX branding will appear on McLaren’s MCL36 F1 cars, as well as on the race suits and helmets of drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo. OKX branding will also appear on the kits for both the McLaren F1 and Shadow esports teams.
In March, English Premier League club Manchester City became the first sports team to partner with OKX. The company says that the total trading volume of crypto assets and collectibles on its platform increased by more than 700% in 2021.
Cisco and The APGA Tour Partner to Bolster Diversity and Inclusion in Golf
By Andrew Cohen
Computer networking firm Cisco has partnered with the APGA Tour to support diversity and inclusion in golf, including the launch of the new four-event APGA Junior Series for youth boy and girl golfers from diverse backgrounds. APGA pro golfers Kevin Hall, Aaron Beverly and Olajuwon Ajanaku also joined Cisco as new brand ambassadors, as well as Michigan State University golfer Troy Taylor II.
The APGA Tour’s Aug. 11-13 event at Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey will now be called the Cisco Invitational at Baltusrol. Cisco will also continue to serve as the presenting sponsor of the Billy Horschel APGA Invitational, which begins tomorrow at TPC Sawgrass with the largest purse in APGA Tour history. Cisco will offer development sessions, mentoring opportunities and networking events with business and golf industry leaders to participating golfers at both events.
Hall, Beverly, Ajanaku and Taylor II join Cisco’s golf ambassador roster that includes fellow APGA player Kamaiu Johnson, the PGA Tour’s Viktor Hovland, Brendon Todd, Keith Mitchell, Chez Reavie and Maverick McNealy, and the LPGA Tour’s Nelly Korda, Jessica Korda and Danielle Kang. Taylor II, a senior at MSU who made the Academic All-Big Ten last year, will wear Cisco’s logo during non-collegiate amateur events as part of his NIL deal with Cisco.
Cisco and the APGA have also created the Adrian Stills Award to give to the APGA player who best represents character and sportsmanship. Stills is the APGA Tour’s co-founder and was one of the last African American golfers to reach the PGA Tour through its former Qualifying School format.
Italian Soccer League Serie A Takes First Step into The Metaverse with Livestream Match Broadcast
By Andrew Cohen
Top Italian soccer league Serie A livestreamed Sunday’s match between AC Milan and ACF Fiorentina inside the “Serie A room in The Nemesis metaverse.” The stream was exclusively available to fans in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) area and was part of Serie A’s collaboration with blockchain software company ConsenSys and virtual worlds platform The Nemesis.
Serie A referred to the broadcast as its “first step into the metaverse.” Fans had to make an account with the Consensys-owned cryptocurrency wallet app MetaMask to access NFTs that acted as a user’s “ticket” into the match broadcast on The Nemesis. The online room on The Nemesis lets fans watch the game while interacting with each other’s digital avatars, play games related to Serie A and view augmented live stats from the match.
“The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) represent a strategic area for us due to the dominant presence of Generation Z and the particular receptivity to new developments,” Lega Serie A CEO Luigi De Siervo said in a statement. “A modern league has to put technology at the service of entertainment, in this case in a virtual stadium, in a function that is a little closer to a video game.”
Fans were also able to dress their avatars with a digital T-shirts branded with Serie A’s Keep Racism Out logo. AC Milan won Sunday‘s match, 1-0, over Fiorentina at San Siro Stadium in Milan, outside of the metaverse.
PGA Tour Gets Equity Stake in AR Startup Quintar in Expanded Deal
By Andrew Cohen
The PGA Tour has acquired a minority equity stake in augmented reality startup Quintar as part of its new expanded partnership with the company. Quintar will serve as the official mobile augmented reality developer for the PGA Tour over the next three seasons through 2024, the Tour announced today.
Quintar first began working on the PGA Tour AR mobile app during the 2020 FedEx Cup Playoffs. Fans on-site at tournaments can open the app and point their iPhone toward select holes to have their screen display ShotLink data such as apex height and ball speed, as well as graphics of tee-shot trails, distances to the pin and 3D models of the greens.
The AR features will expand to signature holes at 10 PGA Tour events this year—including the Wells Fargo Championship, the AT&T Byron Nelson, the Memorial Tournament, the Travelers Championship, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the BMW Championship, the TOUR Championship and the Presidents Cup. PGA Tour betting partner DraftKings will sponsor Quintar’s augmented reality experiences.
In November, Quintar partnered with SharpLink Gaming to begin development of an AR-focused sports betting platform for fans both in-venue and at home. Quintar’s investors include SeventySix Capital and Quintar CEO Sankar Jayaram is the former chief technology officer and chief product officer at Intel Sports.
LA Galaxy Partner With SportsDynamics for Game Analysis
By Andrew Cohen
MLS club LA Galaxy has signed a multi-year partnership with soccer analytics startup SportsDynamics to study their opponents and own on-field performance. LA is the second MLS team to partner with SportsDynamics, joining DC United.
The Galaxy has used SportsDynamics’ GaTa software since the start of the 2022 season, which ingests data from player-tracking systems and lets users search for metrics based on individual players and specific on-field locations. “The data that SportsDynamics will provide to us links directly into video and allows us to identify specific moments from games for further analysis,” Galaxy assistant coach and video analyst Sam Green said in a statement.
MLS signed a deal with Second Spectrum in 2020 to add the company’s optical tracking cameras into all venues to track player and ball movement data. Paris-based SportsDynamics also has partnerships with French sports broadcaster La Chaîne L’Équipe and German Bundesliga club Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
AI Camera Startup Veo to Sponsor Premier League Star Kevin De Bruyne’s KDB Cup
By Andrew Cohen
AI-powered sports camera company Veo has become the title sponsor of the KDB Cup, the youth soccer tournament created by Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne. Veo’s cameras automatically follow player and ball movement and will record all KDB Cup matches for coaches to analyze players.
This year’s KDB Cup will be held May 28-29 in De Bruyne’s hometown of Drongen, Belgium. The world’s best under-15 academy teams will play in the tournament, including those from EPL clubs Manchester City and Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid from Spain, Germany’s Borussia Dortmund, Dutch club Ajax, French clubs PSG and Lille and several from Belgium’s top league. Match highlights captured by the AI cameras will be shared to Veo’s social media.
Roc Nation helped negotiate the deal for De Bruyne—who first organized the KDB Cup in 2016, though it has not been held in two years due to the pandemic. Veo’s title sponsorship deal is for the next two editions of the tournament. Copenhagen-based Veo raised $24 million last year, and its clients include teams in MLS, the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1. Veo’s cameras can also be used in rugby, basketball, football, lacrosse, volleyball, handball and hockey.
Next-Gen Formula E Car Unveiled in Monaco: ‘The World’s Most Efficient Racing Car’
By Joe Lemire
Formula E unveiled its next gen car on Thursday evening in Monaco, showcasing its most powerful and sustainable racing vehicle yet. Racing organizers describe its Gen3 machine as “the world’s most efficient racing car.”
The Gen3 car will debut in Formula E’s ninth season, which will begin at the end of 2022; its public launch was timed before the weekend’s Monaco E-Prix.
Among the key features:
- A higher top speed: 200 mph
- Better power efficiency: 40% of energy is derived from regenerative braking
- A second powertrain added to the front: more than doubling the Gen2 car’s 250kW of power up to 600kW
- Greater use of recycled and recyclable materials: batteries, tires and carbon fiber
- Primacy of software engineering as a new area for motorsport innovation: performance upgrades can be updated into the car’s operating system
Formula E is the only international sport to be certified as carbon-neutral since its inception. Seven automobile manufacturers are signed on to participate with Gen3 in season nine: DS Automobiles, Jaguar, Mahindra Racing, Maserati, NIO 333, Nissan and Porsche.
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