How to Invest in Sports Leagues ... If You're Not a Billionaire
*By Bridgette Webb*
The four major sports leagues in the U.S. have the ability to bring in serious cash. And that's created opportunity for Nick Fullerton, CEO of SportsETFs, a fund dedicated to the business.
"We are trying to capture the growth of the sports leagues, which has been growing faster than the overall economy," Fullerton said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar.
The ETF, which trades under the ticker FANZ, invests in companies that have deals with the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL.
Fullerton said the proof is in these partners, which enter into "multi-year, multi-million dollar agreements" with the leagues.
"\[We\] found that these companies who choose to spend their marketing budgets with sports leagues tend to grow faster than their competitors," he said.
The fund includes some of the most dominant names in sports sponsorship, among them Coca-Cola, Gatorade-owner Pepsi, as well others that may surprise you, like Amazon. The e-commerce giant struck a deal with the [NFL](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/26/amazon-streaming-thursday-night-football-in-2018-2019.html) to stream Thursday Night Football games for the next two seasons.
Fullerton said the recent [Supreme Court](https://cheddar.com/videos/draftkings-ceo-were-going-all-in-on-legalized-sports-betting) decision opening the door for legal sports betting may also be a serious factor as casinos look to partner with top leagues ー in July, the NBA announced that it had tapped [MGM](http://www.nba.com/article/2018/07/31/mgm-resorts-international-becomes-official-gaming-partner-nba-official-release) to be its official gaming partner.
It's a union that Fullerton said will be a boon for many partners of major league sports.
"The casual fan is probably going to be more apt to stay engaged with their screen and device to see when they make a casual bet," he said. "We feel that more partnerships will come into play."
For full interview [click here](https://cms.cheddar.com/videos/VmlkZW8tMjI4MjI=).
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The final Grand Slam tennis tournament of 2021 will be lacking some of its biggest stars including Venus and Serena Williams, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal. However, with legendary names missing from the court, it could provide an opportunity for future superstars to shine. Jon Wertheim, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated, joined Cheddar to discuss the fallout from the cancellations. "This is tennis' version of the NBA after [Michael] Jordan," he said. "Some Kobe [Bryant] or some LeBron [James] will come along, and we'll have new champions to cheer for."
Cheddar Bets, sponsored by BetMGM, is a first-of-its-kind look at the intersection of sports betting and financial markets with insider intel from BetMGM's oddsmakers.
