Leigh Steinberg
Does the name Leigh Steinberg sound familiar? What about Jerry McGuire? The man who’s widely credited as being the inspiration for that character has reemerged into the public spotlight. Leigh Steinberg made his name representing some of the biggest names in sports, including 8 no.1 picks in the NFL draft. He’s landed one of the top prospects in this year’s draft, Paxton Lynch, a quarterback from the University of Memphis. But he’s making news (and money) in a different way now.
Steinberg has partnered with a California based private equity firm Alpha Strategies to start a $50 million venture capital arm focused on sports and entertainment-related investments. Alpha Stategies oversees over $1.5 billion across private equity, hedge funds, real estate, and venture capital. Alpha Strategies executives Andreas Saucedo and James Wynee will join Steinberg on the team.
Saucedo has a background as an alternative investments specialist making stops at Man Investments, Meridian Capital Partners, UBS, and Merrill Lynch. Wynne is a consultant specializing in media, tech, and sports and has advised Disney, Fox, and the NFL among others. The fund will cover a broad spectrum ranging from television pilots to stadium financing, food and beverage, and sports safety products. It will seek to leverage Steinberg’s extensive relationships into profitable returns for investors. Steinberg and his team will be looking for promising start ups with the potential for major growth. His fund is far from the only player operating in this market though.
Steinberg is just the latest in a line of sports powerhouses to get active in venture capital. Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert recently launched a $35 million venture capital find focused on technology and media companies operating in the sports space. In 2015 the Los Angeles Dodgers launched an accelerator program to find promising start ups. Basketball stars including Steve Nash, and Carmelo Anthony have also made forays into the venture space.
With such star power involved there’s no doubt the market for sports related venture capital will continue to heat up.
