Former Pro-Footballer Uses Athletic Training to Help Cannabis Businesses Grow
*By: Madison Alworth*
Matthew Nordgren followed in the pro football footsteps of his father, and now in retirement, he's drawn inspiration from his father's experience to launch a career in the cannabis business.
"The people who played with him at that time are suffering from all sorts of illnesses and pains, you name it," Nordgren said in an interview with Cheddar. "So it started to also become a passion in my family to try to help people my dad's age to try to deal with sleep and pain and all the things they are going through. A lot of personal reasons to be in it."
Nordgren's father George spent time in the NFL as a running back for the Dallas Cowboys. As Matthew explains it, the 70-year-old and his aging football friends are feeling the repercussions of playing a physically demanding sport for much of their career. And the younger Nordgren saw an opportunity there.
Himself a former player for the Philadelphia Eagles, he went on to a career in private equity and now is the founder and CEO of Arcadian Fund and Arcadian Capital Management, a venture capital firm in Los Angeles specializing in ancillary cannabis businesses. Among the company's investments is the publication "High Times," which is set [to go public](https://hightimes.com/news/high-times-pots-most-established-brand-going-public/) later this year. He said these kinds of secondary businesses sit better with the company's clients.
"Because we had a lot of assets that were highly regulated, highly publicized, our investor base and our current portfolio were assets that really didn't have a lot of comfort in the plant-touching side of the business. So we knew right away that 'High Times' and our background sort of led us to the ancillary side."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/matthew-nordgren-on-his-break-into-the-cannabis-industry)
LeBron James will serve his first-ever NBA suspension tonight against the New York Knicks after getting into an on-court squabble with Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart. Stewart will also serve a two-game suspension for escalating the fight.
Jill and Carlo are a bit delayed today on account of Carlo's internet not working. Better late than never, they discuss what we know about the suspect in the Christmas parade crash, closing arguments in the Arbery killing trial, and more.
Special Olympics and WWE are announcing a three-year partnership extension of their global partnership to help create inclusion through sports. Mary Davis, CEO of Special Olympics and WWE superstar and Special Olympics Global Ambassador, Drew McIntyre join Cheddar News to talk about the announcement.
NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and his daughter/business partner Jaqui Rice Gold joined Cheddar's "Between Bells" to talk about their energy drink G.O.A.T. Fuel. The pair talked about launching the brand during the height of the pandemic and what makes it different from competing brands. "The thing that separates us from the other energy drinks is we have cordyceps mushrooms in the drink," he said. "You're not going to have the jitters or anything like that." The duo also discussed the Los Angeles Lakers making it the official energy drink of its organization and what that means for the growth of the brand.
Jill and Carlo cover the developing story out of suburban Milwaukee, where a speeding SUV careened through a Christmas parade. Looters get more brazen in San Francisco, the missing Chinese tennis star resurfaces, and more.
Alternative asset, sports cards-focused platform Alt recently raised $75 million in a Series B round. Alt's platform lets users research, trade, and securely store sports cards and other high-value assets. Right now, the company has more than $70 million worth of cards in its vault. The company is also hoping to get into other assets, including NFTs. Alt CEO Leore Avidar joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Ameeth Sankaran, CEO of the emmy-winning media company Religion of Sports, joined Cheddar to talk about the "Man in the Arena: Tom Brady" docuseries that premiered on ESPN+ earlier this week. Sankaran noted Brady and former NFL star Michael Strahan as co-founders and discussed the origin of the company and its goal to tell stories about sports figures beyond their roles on the court or field.
A former live-in-chef for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown has claimed the NFL star lied about his COVID vaccination status and obtained a fake proof of vaccination card. Brown and the Bucs have since come out denying the claims.
Jill and Carlo are back to cover the latest in the Rittenhouse trial, new information on the origins of Covid, return-to-office and more.
JOIN US FOR THE YOUTUBE WATCH PARTY @ 9aET: http://www.youtube.com/cheddarnow
Ben Stinar, NBA reporter for Fastbreak on FanNation, joins Cheddar Bets to provide some one-month-in overreactions and underreactions to some of the NBA betting lines.
Sponsored by BetMGM
