Featured image credit: TMRW Sports
TMRW Sports, the company founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and sports executive Mike McCarley which is seeking to launch a new tech-focused golf league featuring events at custom-built venues has today (Wednesday) unveiled a heavyweight initial investor group.
The group, which can be viewed in full here, features a roster of icons across sports and entertainment matched with business titans in technology, sports, media, and finance.
The institutional investment is co-led by Connect Ventures, an investment partnership between entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and global venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA); and 25madison Ventures, the seed-stage venture fund of 25madison, an early-stage venture platform backed by Apollo Global Management.
The investment group’s sports experience includes team ownership in every major league and ranges across Formula 1, NFL, NBA, Premier League, MLB, NHL, MLS, tennis, esports, surfing, and golf with a combined social reach of nearly 500 million followers across Twitter and Instagram.
Additional institutional investors include: AMBSE Ventures, Apex Capital, Copper, Excel Sports Management, Fenway Sports Group, Misfits Gaming Group, Newbound Venture Capital, SC Holdings, Seven Seven Six, Symphony Ventures, TGR Ventures.
Headline athletes who have signed up include the likes of Lewis Hamilton (F1), Stephen Curry (NBA), Josh Allen (NFL), Shohei Ohtani (MLB), Serena Williams (tennis) and Sidney Crosby (NHL).
McCarley, founder and CEO of TMRW Sports, said: “Over the past year we’ve assembled a team of investors who will help deliver on the TMRW Sports’ mission to positively impact how sports are experienced in the future. And we’ve been intentional about diversity of expertise, thought and backgrounds as we mobilised this strategic group co-led by Connect Ventures and 25madison Ventures.
“From the very beginning our plan has been to partner with the best-in-class in every way imaginable and Tiger, Rory, and I value the support of this unrivalled team of investors, advisors, and ambassadors who believe in our vision to harness technology to create progressive approaches to sports.
“Their combined broad reach and cultural relevance will expand potential opportunities and fanbases for TMRW projects. Plus, many share a passion for golf that only adds more fuel to TGL, our first project in partnership with the PGA Tour.”
TMRW Sports launched in August with TGL, a competition being billed as a first-of-its-kind experience for golf. TGL will showcase team matches combining advanced technology and live action from a custom-built venue in primetime on Monday nights, complementing the schedule of the PGA Tour, whose events typically run from Thursday to Sunday.
Woods and McIlroy were the first two golfers to commit to competing in TGL, with the inaugural season to begin in January 2024. The league will feature six teams of three PGA Tour players, with the “tech-infused” venue to be enabled by a data-rich, virtual course.
TGL is also set to incorporate a “high-energy” greenside fan experience with every shot live within a two-hour primetime televised match. A total of 15 regular-season Monday-night matches are planned, followed by semi-finals and finals matches.
Steven Price, CEO and co-founder of 25madison, said: “Tiger, Rory, and Mike are all titans of both golf and business. It was a no-brainer to join forces with Connect and this first-rate investor group to support TMRW Sports as they bring their vision to life.
“There is a huge opportunity to elevate how fans engage with the sports they love, and the team at TMRW Sports will do just that.”
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