Let’s skip the small talk,
LINEUP
1. Freeeeee 📈
2. Wanna be a Baller? ⛹
3. NIL by Casey Toohill 🏟️
4. Company of the week: Leaft Foods 🍃
MARKETPLACE
🚨Free Sample Request is Live 🚨
Like Domino’s Pizza we always deliver…
Look, any product or good with a physical element is going to want to be tried first before partnership decisions are made.
Now our community can request free samples from any brands that offer them with a press of a button. Send your address, they share the tracking link, and you’re off to races.
To founders out there, especially in the CPG space; have free product ready to try, you never know what it will do for you!
EQUITY
Ballers investing in Ballers
The venture firm Sharp Alpha Advisors, which backed SlamBall, has received $150 million from an unnamed “large institutional partner” to invest in consumer-facing companies over the next 24 months.
This $20 million round, co-led by Sharp Alpha and featuring athlete cap table participation is focused on expanding athlete-ownership into consumer-facing businesses. The Philadelphia flagship just opened last month.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
The Business Side of NIL Is Just Getting Started
Simply bringing up NIL is a quick way to spark controversy. It feels like I can’t go a day without hearing someone bring up an NIL gripe or seeing a post about a HS QB signing a multimillion dollar deal. Thankfully, I am not here to discuss the ethics or the issues. I want to focus on the businesses born out of the NIL moment.
Since NIL rules changed in 2021, the market has exploded — from $917 million in 2021–22 to an expected $1.67 billion in 2024–25. The opportunity has never been better. Alongside this growth, I’ve noticed a dramatic rise in NIL-related startups. Today, I want to highlight three early winners, the common traits they share, and where I think the future of NIL startups is headed.
Three NIL Winners Doing It Right
Opendorse, INFLCR, and Campus Ink have each carved out dominant positions in deals, content, and commerce, respectively. Despite operating in different lanes, they share three key traits that explain their staying power:
1. Extreme Adoption
Each platform is deeply embedded at the institutional level and integrated into the workflows of hundreds of universities. These companies moved fast and have made themselves essential to athletic departments.
2. They Handle the Boring Stuff
Compliance tracking, tax reporting, education modules are all built in. They remove friction for both admins and athletes. These tools make NIL seamless, especially for athletes who just want to focus on their sport, not spreadsheets.
3. They Run Real Businesses
These aren’t hype machines built on one-off brand deals or social posts. All three companies have built repeatable revenue models with real contracts, SaaS income, and long-term customer relationships.
What I’m Watching Going Forward
As NIL expands into high schools, the stakes and the risks are even higher. These are younger kids, inexperienced families, and resource-strapped schools. The need for plug-and-play compliance, education, and protection is massive. All the same growing pains we saw at the college level are coming to high school.
Long-Term Partnerships and Equity-Based Deals
At Athletes & Assets, we’re bullish on models where athletes and companies share upside. Equity-based NIL deals are still rare, but the aligned incentives and long-term brand value are hard to ignore. It’s early, but I’d love to see more companies experiment here.
Final Thoughts
Yes, the NIL space can feel crowded, but that just means the next generation of winners will have to solve different problems or go deeper.
Competing in the NIL market can seem overwhelming at a glance. It’ll be won by those who stand out in a crowded market and move beyond the traditional NIL playbook. That means finding new pain points, hyper focus and bold bets.
COMPANY OF THE WEEK
LEAFT FOODS
Leaft Foods makes protein from green leaves. Their Rubisco protein outperforms whey, absorbs faster, and is 97% lower in emissions. Used by elite athletes, Leaft Blade is a frozen protein shot designed for clean fuel before and during workouts.
The Leaft team has raised $15M Series A from Khosla Ventures, Steven Adams, Ngāi Tahu & others. They serve B2B customers, in 2025 launched their consumer product in NZ, and recently expanded to the U.S.—pioneering leaf protein for a more sustainable future.
At this moment in time, Leaft is open to the right athlete investor and/or advisor(s) to help amplify the brand!
If you want to meet Darci to chat about Leaft, click here.
Athletes and Assets, Inc. accepts no liability for the content of this blog, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. Please invest responsibly and consult a financial advisor before making any investment related decisions.
