32 Equity (NFL Ventures)

32 Equity is not a typical venture capital fund. Established in April 2013 when all 32 NFL owners collectively contributed $1 million each, the vehicle represents something rare in sports: aligned capital across competitors. A second capital call in 2019 brought each club's total contribution to $3 million, building a war chest of approximately $96M in initial deployed capital — now grown to roughly $250M as the portfolio has appreciated and the fund has accessed follow-on returns.

Unlike financial-only VCs, 32 Equity writes checks that carry strategic value beyond capital. Portfolio companies gain access to NFL ecosystem assets — 32 club relationships, player partnerships, media rights exposure, and pilot opportunities inside the world's most valuable sports league. This explains why the fund can justify valuations that purely financial investors might question.

The vehicle has generated impressive returns through early bets on companies like Fanatics, where a 2017 investment of approximately $95 million for a 3% stake reportedly doubled in value. That kind of exit anchors the fund's reputation and gives it latitude to make bigger, longer-horizon bets on emerging sports technology categories.

For founders, understanding how 32 Equity thinks about strategic fit — not just financial merit — is essential to getting a meeting. The fund's investment committee evaluates every opportunity through two lenses: can this company benefit the NFL ecosystem, and can the NFL accelerate this company's commercial trajectory? Both questions need clear answers in your pitch.

32 Equity's thesis orbits a single question: can this investment make football better, more accessible, or more profitable? That manifests across four concentric circles of interest. First, companies that enhance the fan experience — from how fans buy tickets and merchandise to how they consume content and engage with each other during games. Second, technologies that improve player performance, health, and safety — the NFL's core product depends on athlete availability. Third, media and streaming infrastructure that helps the league monetize its enormous rights portfolio more effectively. Fourth, back-office and operational technologies that help the league's 32 clubs run more efficiently.

The fund has grown increasingly sophisticated about software. Early investments skewed toward consumer-facing brands and live experience businesses — Fanatics, On Location — but more recent activity shows appetite for B2B SaaS serving sports organizations. Appetize, the point-of-sale and venue management platform, represents a different profile: enterprise software embedded in stadium operations across multiple leagues, not just the NFL.

32 Equity does not invest in sports betting or gambling-adjacent products directly, though they will support companies operating in permitted frameworks where league rules allow. The fund is notably selective about anything that could create regulatory exposure for the NFL or undermine the league's relationship with sports regulators.

The 2025-2026 flag football league investment — approved at $32 million — illustrates a newer strategy: using 32 Equity to grow the game beyond the NFL's traditional footprint. That deal signals the fund may increasingly function as an incubator for league expansion rather than purely a financial vehicle.

Due diligence at 32 Equity involves both commercial and strategic components. The investment team models how NFL club relationships, player access, and media partnerships would accelerate the portfolio candidate's revenue trajectory. Financial returns matter, but the calculus is different from a pure-play VC — strategic value to the ecosystem is weighed heavily.

In late 2025, the NFL's most influential owners and executives began contemplating structural changes to 32 Equity — specifically, whether to bring in an external strategic partner capable of scaling the platform. This conversation reflects how the fund has matured: what began as a $96M capital call among club owners is now a portfolio requiring institutional-grade infrastructure to manage.

The flag football league investment was a landmark decision. Approved by owners in December 2025, the $32 million commitment from 32 Equity seeds a new professional flag football league for men and women — an initiative designed to grow the sport internationally and create a development pathway for younger players. The deal also brings in external investors including Sixth Street and Ariel Investments alongside the NFL's capital.

32 Equity has continued to support existing portfolio companies through capital calls and follow-on rounds. The fund's patience with holding periods reflects its structure — unlike a traditional VC with a 10-year fund life, 32 Equity can hold positions indefinitely as long as the NFL's owner groups remain aligned.

The 2021 Yahoo Sports report noting that Skillz and On Location represented opposite ends of 32 Equity's investment spectrum remains instructive. Skillz, a mobile gaming platform connecting consumers with competitive play, represents the fund's interest in fan engagement technology and new revenue formats. On Location, the premium experiences and travel company, represents the fund's appetite for businesses at the intersection of NFL fandom and hospitality.

Fanatics: 32 Equity's largest and most publicized bet. In 2017, the fund invested approximately $95 million for a 3% stake in the online sports apparel and merchandise giant. By 2021, that stake was reportedly worth double the original investment. Fanatics has since expanded into trading cards, collectibles, and sportsbook technology — making it one of the most strategically important companies in the broader sports ecosystem.

On Location Experiences: A premium event hospitality and travel company that has become the NFL's official tourism and experience partner for major events like the Super Bowl. 32 Equity's investment supports On Location's expansion of experiential packages that combine ticket access, travel, and hospitality — a high-margin business with deep ties to NFL fan culture.

Appetize: The point-of-sale and venue management platform used by stadiums and entertainment venues across professional sports. Acquired by Em pire Partners in 2022 after 32 Equity's holding period, Appetize demonstrated how the fund can identify operational software needs inside the NFL's own venue ecosystem and back the right team to address them.

Hyperice: The athlete recovery and performance technology company. 32 Equity participated in Hyperice's 2020 strategic funding round alongside Main Street Advisors, the NBA's investment arm, and a consortium of superstar athletes including LeBron James and Kevin Durant. The investment reflects 32 Equity's interest in the intersection of athlete health and consumer technology.

Stack Sports: A sports technology platform covering athlete management, league operations, and fan engagement. 32 Equity co-invested with Genstar Capital in 2017, backing a company that has grown to serve thousands of youth and amateur sports organizations alongside professional clients.

STRIVR: The VR training platform used by NFL teams and other sports organizations for immersive practice and technique development. STRIVR represents 32 Equity's interest in emerging technologies that can be deployed both inside NFL club operations and commercialized to broader markets.

Skillz: The mobile esports and competitive gaming platform. Skillz went public via SPAC in 2020, giving 32 Equity a rare exit path and demonstrating the fund's willingness to invest in non-traditional sports technology categories with strong consumer engagement.

The founding team must demonstrate genuine fluency in the sports industry. 32 Equity has seen countless sports tech pitches from founders who understand technology but not the unique dynamics of selling to professional sports leagues — procurement complexity, collective bargaining constraints, the influence of team executives, and the speed at which decisions can move or stall.

Commercial traction matters, but the nature of that traction is evaluated carefully. 32 Equity wants to see evidence that a product works inside sports environments — ideally with NFL clubs or comparable professional organizations — before writing meaningful checks. Pilot agreements with clubs, league-level partnerships, or references from team executives significantly strengthen a pitch.

The market opportunity must be large enough to justify strategic sacrifice. When 32 Equity invests, they typically demand some form of ecosystem access that a purely financial investor would not request — pilot commitments, data-sharing arrangements, or preferential commercial terms. Founders need to be prepared for that negotiation and clear-eyed about whatNFL access is actually worth to their business model.

Competitive positioning is scrutinized for durability. In sports technology, first-mover advantage and proprietary data are the most common moats. Founders should be able to articulate why their position would survive a well-capitalized entrant backed by a competing sports league.

Revenue model clarity is essential. Sports tech companies frequently have complex structures involving enterprise sales cycles, B2B2C distribution, and sponsorship components. 32 Equity's investment team will dig into the mechanics of how revenue actually flows and what the unit economics look like at scale.

Direct cold outreach to 32 Equity is rarely successful. The fund's deal flow is dominated by warm introductions from ecosystem participants — club executives who have seen a product work firsthand, sports technology accelerators and incubators with established NFL relationships, and portfolio company CEOs who can vouch for a founder's quality. If you do not have a credible connection into the NFL ecosystem, building one before pitching should be your priority.

The fund's investment team is small and relationship-driven. Getting in front of the right person requires understanding which club executives and league partners have existing rapport with the 32 Equity investment committee. A reference from a respected team president or owner can shortcut the process significantly.

If cold outreach is your only option, focus your pitch deck on demonstrating product-market fit inside sports environments. Do not lead with market size projections or general sports technology enthusiasm. Show a specific deployment, with quantifiable results, inside a professional sports context.

32 Equity typically moves slowly — the fund's structure allows for longer holding periods and more patient decision-making than a traditional VC. Do not interpret patience as disinterest. If you have a genuine strategic fit, maintaining communication without being pushy is the right approach.

Follow-on investment is a real pathway for portfolio companies that execute well on initial pilots. If your initial round does not result in an investment but you demonstrate strong early traction with an NFL club, re-engaging 12 to 18 months later with a larger round and proof-of-concept data is reasonable.

32 Equity invests at growth stage — they expect portfolio companies to show meaningful revenue traction, clear unit economics, and a credible path to the next financing round or profitability. Early-stage concepts without commercial traction are unlikely to advance in their process, no matter how compelling the technology.

Sports tech companies frequently have extended enterprise sales cycles involving league-level procurement approvals, technology procurement by individual clubs, and B2B2C distribution through team partnerships. Founders should model these cycles accurately and be prepared to explain how their specific revenue architecture works.

A fractional CFO with experience in sports technology or enterprise SaaS can meaningfully strengthen your fundraising narrative. They can help you build financial models that account for the longer sales cycles typical of B2B sports tech and demonstrate how NFL ecosystem access translates into accelerated revenue — a critical projection that 32 Equity will scrutinize closely.

Financial projections should clearly show how NFL partnership creates growth leverage. 32 Equity will push back on any assumption that access to 32 clubs, player partnerships, or media rights automatically converts to revenue — you need a specific, credible mechanism.

Understanding your KPIs — including ARR benchmarks growth trajectory, net revenue retention, customer concentration risk, and gross margin profile — is essential when pitching 32 Equity. The fund has seen enough sports tech deals to know which metrics actually drive value and which are vanity.

Whether you are preparing to pitch 32 Equity or another sports-focused strategic investor, having professional-grade financial projections and data room materials can meaningfully differentiate your approach. Our team has helped sports technology companies structure fundraising narratives that clearly articulate the leverage of strategic sports partnerships.

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