Underdog Fantasy Sports Lands Real $10 Million Investment From Nas & Kevin Durant

CBx Vibe:I Get Money”  50 Cent

By Tiyana Jordan

  • Nas and Kevin Durant invested in the $10M raise for Underdog Fantasy, the fastest growing fantasy app ever
  • The entire fantasy football industry is worth $7.2B

Dominated by big names like Yahoo, ESPN, DraftKings, and FanDuel, fantasy sports have caught the attention of star powered athletes and hip hop artist entrepreneurs who have wrapped themselves into the business of investing. Legendary lyricist Nas and pro athlete Kevin Durant are two of the notable investors who participated in the $10 million raise for Underdog Fantasy, the fastest growing fantasy app ever. Whether the fantasy sports team is an assembly of imaginary or real players of a professional sport, these notable culture leaders aren’t playing games as they invest big dollars and receive even bigger returns in the fantasy sports business.  

Why This Matters: Once an extremely popular industry for start-ups, fantasy sports went through a stretch where FanDuel and DraftKings were too large and too wealthy to challenge. Specifically, fantasy football is a billion dollar business with an estimated 60 million people in North America playing the sport, and the entire industry is worth $7.2 billion, according to Statista. For Underdog, it has leaned on popular investors and internet influencers to grow its brand and tap further into this multi-billion dollar.  

Underdog has also tapped into the robust investing knowledge from hip hop business mogul Nas who was directly on point when he quoted, “If I Ruled the World…” because his Queensbridge Venture Partners invested early on in companies such as  Lyft (LYFT -2.11%%), Dropbox (DROP -0.92%), Coinbase and Robinhood just to name a few.  

Additionally, Kevin Durant is bringing his power forward investment strategy to Underdog, through his Thirty Five Ventures. The fund he has invested in Coinbase, Postmates, Robinhood, Acorns and JetSmarter, now they’re adding fantasy sports to the portfolio.  

What’s Next: The fantasy sports industry has been forced to adapt due to the inevitable changes brought on by COVID-19, some sports analysts have noted that engagement among fantasy sports fans has increased. This is a positive signifier for investors, because as long as games are being played, and teams are safe, this niche fantasy passion is staying in the game and supported by substantial rounds of funding.

CBx Vibe:I Get Money”  50 Cent

Tiyana Jordan is an author and coworking space business owner in New Orleans, who strategically reads from the bottom to the top (to intake the main points first) and really enjoys business development and branding.

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