Trailblazing Sports Group

“The collective gets to decide the worth of an activity, the worth of an individual, what kids could get paid,” UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close said. “We go into this year where we have unprecedented growth across the board in women’s sports, then we have collectives who take us back 50 years for women in sports.” “Men are not being asked to create content or capture content or even really have a relationship with brands,” said Jade-Li English, an agent at Klutch Sports Group who represents eight women’s college basketball players, including Southern California’s JuJu Watkins and South Carolina’s Tessa Johnson. “They have that luxury.” Last Friday I found myself at a UCLA Law conference with the esteemed Seth Steinberg who had asked me to be on a panel about NIL, the fragile state of collegiate sports with new NIL regulation and lawsuits, and how this is impacting women's sports. And so tonight's #trailblazingtuesday is all about what I knew, what I learned, and what we all need to do to right size the opportunity for collegiate female athletes. First the facts: As the Washington Post's recent deep dive into NIL compensation reveals the financial playing field remains far from level: ??At 12 schools providing NIL data, men outearned women $92M to $19M ??Women athletes often must build substantial social media followings to secure deals, while men receive higher sums for token appearances ??Only 4 women's basketball players received payments of $30K+, compared to 39 men's players ?? Most collegiate sports collectives appear to be male-led, with 52 of 56 major conference collectives headed by men Second, the questions I have on NIL and the NCAA lawsuit settlements that the panel and I raised to the smart UCLA law students: ??At a time when the women's championship game is outperforming men's in viewership, how can WE change outdated assumptions about NIL market value for collegiate athletes? ?? How do the NCAA and universities ensure that female athletes continue to have access to equal athletic opportunities under Title IX, when these organizations owe over $2.8B of damages to D1 past and current athletes? Leaving the panel it felt like we all had more questions than answers as to what the state of collegiate athletics will look like over the next 10 years, but if anything Friday reenergized me to pitch more brands about supporting female collegiate athletes and women's programs. Stay tuned on new partners and opportunities from Trailblazing Sports Group in this space and shout out to those trailblazers who have been doing the work for years to change the game in this space ??Joe Carney ZIYNX & Olivia Hancock ByUs Media ??

Tonight's #trailblazingtuesday is all about celebrating. Celebrating the new WNBA Portland team. Celebrating the Women's Sports Foundation's 50 years of impact. Celebrating all my friends who were honored as @ SBJ Game Changers this past week. AND celebrating that Trailblazing Sports Group is turning 3 this October. So much to celebrate in the world of women's sports, and so Trailblazing Sports Group, along Sports Innovation Lab's The Women's Sports Club, our WSC Powered By Partners, and our event partners are turning the Women's Sports Club into CLUB WOMEN'S SPORTS for one night only during Advertising Week. We will be joined by our Trailblazing Marketplace partners at X featuring Margaret (Midge) Purce and Alexis Ohanian Sr. discussing their new NWSL series everyone will be watching this month: The Offseason FC ????https://lnkd.in/gRUamHcM DM me to discuss partnership opportunities! If your a supporter of women's sports and are committed to increasing marketing, media, and sponsorship investment in storytelling, athletes, media companies, teams, and leagues, your invited! See the link ?? for more details & let's celebrate! ?? https://lnkd.in/gWAyGEiu

Tonight's #trailblazingtuesday is a throwback to last week when I joined the legendary LA ballers Los Angeles Sparks Cam Brink, University of Southern California's JuJu Watkins, National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) commissioner and visionary, Jessica Berman, and the incredibly talented Julia Boorstin at the CNBC x Boardroom Game Plan conference. We spoke about the value of the women's sports fan, the business case for brands to invest more in sponsorship and women's sports media, and how female athletes are changing the game and are creating an "athlete era". Shout out to our Trailblazing Sports Group partners OneTeam Partners who are out front leading the athlete era on behalf of female athletes and player associations! Angela Ruggiero, you were missed on the panel, and we all appreciate the Women's Sports Club and the Sports Innovation Lab Fan Project & the ROI of Women's Sports reports that guide us all in this work we are doing. Check out the highlights from the inspiring day in the link below - it was one of those rare conferences where every panel was a must see! Kudos to the teams who pulled it off and thank you Alexa Pozniak for making the day so easy and enjoyable. With over 30 sponsorship and media women's sports opportunities to invest in - Trailblazing Sports Group is ready to help your brand/agency invest in the fastest growing space in sports! ???????? https://lnkd.in/g4RSrRHD

What drives modern-day sports fans? The Female Quotient was thrilled to cover Game Plan, CNBC and Boardroom’s high-powered event with industry leaders, visionaries, and influencers to explore the intersection of business, sports, music, and entertainment. As Colie Edison, WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association), shared, "We’re seeing a confluence of positive momentum. We have generational talents and their followings that translates into viewership at the professional level. We’re elevating it from “women’s sports” to fans of sports who are tuning in to the WNBA. And we’re just getting started — the sky is the limit." Say it louder for the people in the back ?? Sara Gotfredson, Trailblazing Sports Group