Not Just A Sports Company: The NBA’s Investment Arm Now ‘Open for Business’

The National Basketball Association has recently formalized its investment arm and is now “open for business” and looking to invest in more startups globally.

David Haber, NBA’s Chief Financial Officer, said that the new NBA Equity division is looking to gain equity stakes in businesses across categories including apparel, fitness, media, merchandising, fantasy sports, fan engagement, and sports betting.

“It made sense for us to be more proactive,” Haber said, adding that the league has structured its efforts, referring to how the league has made a few investments over the last 10 years but has always done it passively, only considering deals from opportunities it stumbles upon. 

The decision to structure their efforts led to the launching of the new program earlier this year, with the company hiring startup accelerator veteran David Lee to run it. Taking a more active role, the Equity division will only look at businesses that can “elevate” the league.

“Our goal is to be a strategic investor, so we have to have it be relevant to the NBA and make the product on the court and off the court elevated,” said Lee.

According to Haber, NBA Equity will be focused mainly on early-stage rounds but will make exemptions if they make sense for the league. The division has so far made investments in New Era headwear, Sportradar data analysis, Sorare fantasy gaming, Zigazoo’s kids’ social network, Nextiles smart fabrics, and event-management firm QuintEvents. 

A person familiar with the matter also told Bloomberg that the league has about 20 companies in its portfolio, with equity stakes building up to nearly $1 billion.


Information for this briefing was found via Bloomberg, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.

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