Total funding: $5 million from investors including Roger Ehrenberg’s Eberg Capital, Howard Lindzon’s Social Leverage, and former NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, per the company.
What it does: Commonwealth is a platform where people can buy into an athlete’s career and get a cut of their earnings. It’s facilitated offerings for racehorses, including 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Country Grammar, winner of the 2022 G1 Dubai World Cup, and it expanded into golf and tennis last year.
In athlete offerings, the athlete agrees to share a percentage of their annual income with investors over a set period of time in exchange for the money raised, which can be used on training and other professional expenses.
The platform, which the company said is fully SEC compliant, acts similarly to an underwriter in that it arranges the offerings and handles the post-offering investor relations.
Why it’s on the list: Commonwealth is bringing the fractional model that enables ownership in assets like NFTs to sports.
“Commonwealth bridges the gap between fans wanting to support athletes they care about and athletes requiring money for training and development,” investor Ehrenberg told BI.
One of its unique selling points is that it offers a taste of being a sports owner. Racehorse owners connect in WhatsApp groups and some investors in Mage, for example, celebrated in the Winner’s Circle at the Kentucky Derby.
“From a financial standpoint, it sure allows you to get exposure to this asset class that you can’t get any other way. But the other thing is the community,” Ehrenberg said.
The company, founded in 2019 by CEO Brian Doxtator and head of racing Chase Chamberlin, aims to expand next into working with athletes from more sports, as well as teams and potentially leagues, Doxtator said.
