Strategic Investment Spans Leading
Institutional Investors, Cultural Icons, Team Owners from Major
Global Sports Leagues, and Business Leaders, Including Arthur M.
Blank and Derek Jeter
TMRW Sports, which is focused on building progressive approaches
in sports, media, and entertainment, has announced the closure of
its Series A investment round. The round was co-led by Dynasty
Equity, which recently closed a strategic minority investment in
Liverpool FC, and Connect Ventures, which co-led the initial
fundraising round for TMRW Sports, and included participation from
other leading institutional investors, sports team owners, cultural
icons, and business leaders. TMRW Sports was founded by Tiger
Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Mike McCarley.
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The overall investment group’s sports business experience spans
NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA TOUR, Premier League, Formula 1, NASCAR,
MLS, NWSL, WNBA, tennis, surfing, and cricket, and includes
cultural icons with a combined reach of more than 1 billion social
media followers. TMRW Sports’ first project is TGL presented by
SoFi, a new team golf league that fuses advanced tech and live
action with six teams of PGA TOUR superstars and will launch in
January in prime time on ESPN and ESPN+.
"TMRW Sports is leading the evolution of sports, starting with
TGL presented by SoFi, which will deliver an innovative product to
millions of global golf fans and the broader sports community. And
that is just the beginning for this great company,” said K. Don
Cornwell, Co-Founder and CEO, Dynasty Equity. “We share TMRW
Sports’ vision and commitment to relentless innovation in sports –
reimagining the playbook for sports media and entertainment and
embracing technology to create experiences that will make sports
more accessible to a broader audience. We're thrilled to partner
with the world-class team that Tiger, Rory, and Mike have
assembled, as well as the PGA TOUR, and look forward to supporting
TMRW Sports as it expands its groundbreaking platform to redefine
how the next generation will watch, play, and consume sports.” As
part of this investment, Cornwell joins the TMRW Sports Board of
Directors as an observer.
“It is remarkable what TMRW Sports and its visionary leadership
have accomplished in the short period of time, from our initial
investment in 2022 to today,” said Connect Ventures’ Michael Blank,
who also serves as a Board Director of TMRW Sports. “We are proud
to extend our partnership with TMRW Sports, to help accelerate the
next phase of its growth plan; fueling expansion into new formats,
leagues, territories, and media properties; and furthering its
ability to drive innovation across the sports and entertainment
ecosystem.”
“As momentum has built for TMRW Sports’ vision to create modern
media approaches to sports, we’re humbled by the enthusiasm within
the investment community to support our efforts,” said Mike
McCarley, founder and CEO, TMRW Sports. “We continue to forge
partnerships with the best-in-class, which includes Dynasty Equity
and Connect Ventures leading this investment round and a diverse
spectrum of expertise and strategic perspectives across our full
roster of investors. The combination of these relationships and
resources will help serve as a springboard for further development
and expansion, including the continued focus and growth of TGL
presented by SoFi and fueling future projects, including new
partnerships with major global sports leagues.”
TMRW SPORTS’ INVESTORS RANGE FROM CULTURAL ICONS TO TITANS OF
BUSINESS:
TMRW Sports was first introduced in August 2022 by
founders Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Mike McCarley. In November
2022, TMRW Sports announced a diverse investment group across
sports, culture, technology, media, and business, ranging from
future members of the team ownership groups for TGL presented by
SoFi, including Arthur M. Blank, David Blitzer, Stephen Curry,
Fenway Sports Group, Alex Morgan, Alexis Ohanian, and Serena
Williams; to an all-star roster of strategic investors, including
Josh Allen, Lewis Hamilton, Andy Murray, Ninja, Chris Paul, Shohei
Ohtani, Tony Romo, and Justin Timberlake. Additional investment
announcements included NBA superstars Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane
Wade, and Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman’s 35V; MLB superstar
Mike Trout; business leaders Michael Rubin and Greg
Maffei; and musical superstars Justin Bieber, DJ Khaled, and
Darius Rucker.
In addition to Woods’ and McIlroy’s combined 805 weeks at World
No. 1, 108 PGA TOUR wins, and 19 Major Championships, TMRW Sports’
investor group has amassed:
116 Formula 1 wins
13 MVP titles across four sports
78 NBA All-Star Games
10 WNBA All-Star Games
40 Emmy Awards
7 F1 World Championships
33 MLB All-Star Games
6 UEFA Champions League titles
27 Olympic medals
6 World Series Championships
26 Grand Slam singles titles
3 Stanley Cups
20 Grammy Awards
3 WNBA Championships
18 NBA Championships
2 FIFA Women’s World Cups
17 NFL Pro Bowls
LEAD INVESTORS:
Dynasty Equity: Co-founded and led by Jonathan M. Nelson
and K. Don Cornwell, Dynasty Equity is a global sports investment
firm focused on strategic investments across the sports ecosystem
in assets that are resilient, compelling, and differentiated.
Dynasty’s founders have deep expertise in sector specific private
equity and long histories in the business of sports, media, and
entertainment. Integral to Dynasty’s investment approach is a deep
commitment to enduring partnerships.
Connect Ventures: An investment partnership between
entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and
global venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA),
Connect Ventures launched in 2020 to accelerate the growth of
early-stage, consumer-focused businesses, and draws on CAA’s
resources, relationships, and expertise spanning the global
entertainment and sports landscape and the deep domain and
company-building expertise of NEA’s world-class technology
practice.
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS:
25Madison
RHC Group
Ackerley Sports Group
Scrum Ventures
Cartan Capital
Sega Sammy Holdings
LEAD Sports’ Locker Room Fund
The Players Fund
Metropolitan Capital
TriplePoint Capital
NewBound Ventures
United Talent Agency
Present Ventures
Will Ventures
SPORTS AND FINANCIAL BUSINESS LEADERS:
David Arison – Arison Investments
Pat Battle – Executive Chairman, Diamond Baseball
Holdings
Arthur M. Blank – Owner and Chairman, Atlanta Falcons,
Atlanta United, Atlanta Drive GC, PGA TOUR Superstore; AMB Sports
and Entertainment; Co-Founder, The Home Depot
David Blitzer – Co-Managing Partner and Co-Founder,
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment: Philadelphia 76ers, New
Jersey Devils, Newark’s Prudential Center, and Joe Gibbs Racing;
Owner, Real Salt Lake, Utah Royals; Co-Owner, Jupiter Links Golf
Club; Minority Owner, Cleveland Guardians
Carolyn Tisch Blodgett – On behalf of the Tisch Family
and Next3; CEO and Founder, Next 3; Governor, Gotham FC; Limited
Partner, Los Angeles Golf Club; and Strategic Advisor to the Tisch
Family ownership, New York Giants
Gary Burnison – CEO, Korn Ferry
Greyson Clymer – CIO and Founder, Ninth Avenue
Capital
Gary Cohn – former President & COO, Goldman Sachs
Todd Dagres – Co-Founder and Partner Emeritus, Spark
Capital
Michael Farello & Jon Owsley – Managing
Partners, L. Catterton (investing personally)
Vishal Gandhi – Managing Director, Ares Management
(investing personally)
Robert Greifeld – Managing Partner, Cornerstone
Investment Capital; former Chairman, Virtu Financial; former CEO,
NASDAQ
Michael Hamp, Peter Hamp, Kevin Kelleher, and Colin
McDonough – via Middle West Partners, a privately held
investment partnership focusing on consumer brands, sports, and
media
Anthony Jabbour – CEO, Dun & Bradstreet; Investor,
Bournemouth FC
Derek Jeter – MLB Hall of Famer; Investor and Founder:
The Players’ Tribune, Greatness Wins, and Cap 2 Productions;
philanthropist
Eric Lane – President and COO, Tiger Global
Reggie Love – Senior Advisor, Apollo Global Management;
former Partner, RON Transatlantic EG, and White House Personal
Aide, President Barack Obama
Old Tom Ventures – golf-focused venture group
Kal Somani – Founder and CEO, IntraEdge, Truyo,
Academian; Investor, Rajasthan Royals (IPL)
Jay Stein – President, Sandor Development Company;
Investor, Colorado Rockies, Leeds United, Sounders FC, and Seattle
Reign
Vincent Viola – Owner, Florida Panthers; Founder, Virtu
Financial
Mark Wilf – Owner/President, Minnesota Vikings; Chairman
and Managing Partner, Orlando City SC and Orlando Pride; President,
Garden Homes Development
Robert Wolf – Founder, 32 Advisors; former Chairman &
CEO, UBS Americas
CULTURAL ICONS:
Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills
Jozy Altidore – former U.S. Men’s National Team, MLS, La
Liga
Cal Crutchlow – former MotoGP
Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman’s 35V
Maurice Edu – former U.S. Men’s National Team, Scottish
Premier League, MLS
Ray Evernham – NASCAR Hall of Famer; automotive &
motorsports industry consultant; entrepreneur; philanthropist
Larry Fitzgerald – former Arizona Cardinal
Haley Jones – Atlanta Dream, WNBA
Patrick Mouratoglou – legendary tennis coach of Serena
Williams and Holger Rune; Founder of Mouratoglou Academy and UTS
tennis tour
Ollie Pope – England Cricket Team, Surrey County Cricket
Club
JT Realmuto – Philadelphia Phillies
John Terry – former Chelsea FC captain, 5-time Premier
League champion
Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels; 3x MLB MVP; Founder,
Trout National
About TGL presented by SoFi
TGL presented by SoFi is a new team golf league that
fuses advanced tech and live action with six teams of PGA TOUR
superstars and will launch in January in prime time on ESPN and
ESPN+. SoFi Center will be TGL’s custom-built arena in Palm Beach
Gardens, Fla., on the campus of Palm Beach State College.
Technology is a foundational element of TGL, offering fans a
progressive, shorter format presentation of team golf. The six TGL
teams include Atlanta Drive GC, Boston Common Golf, Jupiter Links
Golf Club, Los Angeles Golf Club, New York Golf Club, and The Bay
Golf Club with each team featuring four players. To learn more
about TGL, its teams, rosters, competitive format, and technology,
visit TGL’s Explainer Page.
About TMRW Sports: (pronounced “tomorrow sports”)
Founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and sports executive Mike
McCarley, TMRW Sports is focused on building progressive approaches
in sports, media, and entertainment that inspire the modern sports
fan to create deeper connections with technology and culture. TMRW
Sports’ first project, TGL presented by SoFi, is a new team
golf league launched in partnership with the PGA TOUR. TMRW Sports
is supported by an all-star roster of athletes, celebrities, and
business leaders from the worlds of sports, media, technology, and
finance who make up a powerful and diverse investor group. TMRW
Sports joins Woods’ TGR Ventures and McIlroy’s Symphony Ventures,
and is led by McCarley, founder and CEO. For more, visit
TMRWSportsGroup.com.
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MEDIA:
TMRW Sports: David Schaefer Head of Business
Communications David.Schaefer@TMRWSportsGroup.com +46
702877637 (mobile and WhatsApp) 407-429-8402 (U.S. mobile)
Dynasty Equity: FGS Global
dynastyequity@fgsglobal.com (212) 687-8080
Connect Ventures: Beth McClinton
Beth.McClinton@caa.com (424) 288-2000