College Athletes Getting Paid Directly

PLUS The Social Network For Collectors, New Team MMA League, NIL-Driven Women’s Basketball Tournament

December 16, 2024

Welcome to Office Chair Sports! Your home for everything Sports & Biz! Today, we’re covering top news about:

  • The Social Network For Collectors

  • PrizePicks Expands To Georgia

  • New Team MMA League

  • College Athletes Getting Paid Directly

  • NIL-Driven Women’s Basketball Tournament

Invest with the art investment platform with 23 profitable exits.

How has the art investing platform Masterworks been able to realize an individual profit for investors with each of its 23 exits to date?

Here’s an example: an exited Banksy was offered to investors at $1.039 million and internally appraised at the same value after acquisition. As Banksy’s market took off, Masterworks received an offer of $1.5 million from a private collector, resulting in 32% net annualized return for investors in the offering.

Every artwork performs differently — but with 3 illustrative sales (that were held for 1+ year), Masterworks investors realized net annualized returns of 17.6%, 17.8%, and 21.5%.

Masterworks takes care of the heavy lifting: from buying the paintings, to storing them, to selling them for you (no art experience required).

Past performance not indicative of future returns. Investing Involves Risk. See Important Disclosures at masterworks.com/cd.

The Social Network For Collectors

Some cool parts of Mantel:

  • "Mantelpiece" digital display cases for showing off collectibles

  • Gamification elements like streaks, polls, and badges

  • New "Groups" feature for niche interests (web-only for now)

  • Market reports and industry influencer insights

Unlike other collecting apps that focus on sales, Mantel emphasizes community and sharing. While trading will be allowed (with Stripe integration coming in 2025), there are no plans for an in-app marketplace to compete with eBay or CardsHQ.

The platform is backed by notable investors including Courtside Ventures, Steve Aoki's Aoki Labs, and WNBA star Candace Parker. The app is currently free, with potential monetization through ads and premium group access planned.

PrizePicks Expands To Georgia

This is a pretty big breakthrough considering Georgia's complex relationship with sports betting legislation.

While numerous states have legalized sports betting since a 2018 Supreme Court ruling, Georgia's attempts have repeatedly stalled. The latest bill, which would have put sports betting on the ballot this fall, passed the Senate but failed in the House. The debate largely centers on how to distribute potential revenue between rural healthcare, college scholarships, and pre-K programs.

Governor Kemp has maintained neutrality on legalization while emphasizing protection of the state's HOPE scholarship program. PrizePicks CEO Mike Ybarra carefully distinguished his company's "skill-based" fantasy sports from traditional sports betting, highlighting their focus on maintaining good relations with state leadership.

New Team MMA League

Can MMA be a team sport?

Unlike MMA’s traditional individual fighter model, newcomer MMA promotion GFL plans to operate more like traditional sports leagues with team ownership and fighter drafts. This fighter-centric approach aims to differentiate itself from the UFC, which has faced criticism over fighter pay and contract structures.

The announcement positions the GFL as potentially the most significant rival to the UFC's dominance in recent years, though history shows the challenges of competing with the industry leader. The success of this new format could mark a significant shift in how MMA organizations operate.

The GFL launches early next year, so we’ll see how this plays out.

College Athletes Getting Paid Directly

House Bill 660, backed by Ohio State and other major schools, would allow direct NIL compensation from universities to athletes. The bill comes in response to a recent NCAA lawsuit settlement that permits schools to create athlete payment pools up to $21.5 million.

University of Dayton AD Neil Sullivan has already announced they'll prioritize basketball payments, as it's their main revenue sport. However, this new financial obligation could strain resources currently used to support non-revenue sports.

NIL-Driven Women’s Basketball Tournament

Las Vegas is about to host what might be the biggest early-season women's basketball tournament we've ever seen.

The newly announced Players Era Women's Championship is bringing together four powerhouse programs in 2025: South Carolina, UCLA, Duke, and Texas. And here's the kicker – each team gets $1 million in NIL opportunities just for showing up.

The tournament follows the successful men's Players Era Festival at MGM Grand, and they're not cutting any corners for the women's version. It'll run during Thanksgiving week with a round-robin format, meaning every team plays each other. The winner? Whoever comes out with the best record (with some tiebreakers in place just in case).

It's a big step for women's basketball, matching the men's tournament dollar for dollar in NIL opportunities and bringing together some of the sport's biggest brands for what should be an electric early-season showcase.

Internships 🙋

1. Intern, IslesU (Summer 2025), (New York Islanders) - IslesU provides an integrated experience in the sports and entertainment industry while working with some of the best in the business. We have created a meaningful internship program for current and postgrad students looking to take their first steps into our growing world. Working with your mentor, team leaders, and Islanders executives, you will gain tremendous insight from industry leaders.

2. UTP Sports Business Internship - This internship is an excellent opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to learn every aspect of a successful vendor booth, from marketing and product presentation to sales and logistics.

3. Ticket Sales/Marketing Internship, (Toronto Blue Jays) - As a member of the Toronto Blue Jays Florida Operations and the Dunedin Blue Jays Minor League Baseball Club, interns will have the opportunity to gain exposure to a wide range of box office operational and marketing activities in a professional sports environment.

4. Equipment Operations Intern 2025, (Cleveland Browns) - Promote the highest standard of quality for football equipment and the continued improvement of football equipment, to ensure athlete safety and maximize performance.

5. Performance Psychology Intern, (Chicago Blackhawks) - The goal of the summer internship is to provide high-impact professional experience for someone striving to deliver mental health/mental performance services in professional athletics.

Job Board 💰

1. Videographer and Editor, (Utah Jazz) - Smith Entertainment Group is looking to hire an experienced Videographer/Editor for our broadcasts. The ideal candidate will have 2+ years of experience shooting and editing in the world of sports. We are looking for an experienced storyteller who knows how to shoot for broadcast.

2. Public Relations Coordinator (Sacramento Kings) - The Sacramento Kings Business Communications team drives the storytelling and media strategy for the organization's corporate initiatives, community impact programs, and entertainment ventures - handling all communications outside of basketball and team operations.

3. Sales Associate, (Philadelphia 76ers) - Widely regarded as one of the top ticket sales programs in the sports business, the Philadelphia 76ers Sales Associate role provides entry-level sports business executives with the opportunity to learn the business side of professional sports from the top leaders in the sports industry.

4. New Business Representative, (Pittsburgh Penguins) - The Pittsburgh Penguins are looking for a consistent, high-producing New Business Representative. This role will proactively pursue new ticket revenue by developing and maintaining season ticket and partial plan accounts.

5. Coordinator of International Scouting & Latin American Operations, (Chicago White Sox) - The Chicago White Sox are seeking an International Scouting & Latin American Operations Coordinator to support the International Scouting department in a variety of ways, both administratively and logistically.

Thanks for reading - see you soon!