The CHAMP platform formalizes a decade-long partnership between two investment firms and marks a structural shift in how athlete influence is monetized – moving beyond endorsement fees into direct equity co-ownership of consumer brands.
A new co-investment vehicle placing elite athletes directly into equity positions alongside institutional capital has been launched by L Catterton and Patricof Co. Named CHAMP (Champion Athlete Managing Partner), the platform structures athletes as co-owners in portfolio companies – not as paid spokespeople – supported by a proprietary Athlete Activation framework intended to drive measurable brand growth through athlete involvement.
The distinction is commercial as much as structural. Equity participation creates alignment of financial interest that endorsement contracts cannot replicate, and CHAMP’s model positions that alignment as a value proposition to the consumer brands it targets.
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A roster of 250-plus across major US sports
More than 250 elite athletes have already joined the platform. Among those named in the announcement are Kevin Durant, the NBA (National Basketball Association) basketball player who participates through his family office 35V, and Mike Trout, a three-time Most Valuable Player in Major League Baseball (MLB). The scale of the athlete network appears central to the vehicle’s pitch: CHAMP targets consumer brands with established affinity but limited reach, where a credible and financially committed athlete community could accelerate visibility and consumer engagement.
L Catterton’s $40 billion infrastructure behind the model
The vehicle draws on L Catterton’s global platform – approximately $40 billion (around €37 billion at current rates – production note: confirm EUR conversion at publication date) in equity capital under management, 18 offices across five continents and a team of more than 200 investment and operating professionals. Patricof Co contributes its specialization in athlete relationships and activation.
A decade of shared deals consolidated into a dedicated vehicle
CHAMP formalizes a partnership between the two firms spanning nearly a decade. Previous shared investments include consumer brands such as Cholula Hot Sauce, Kodiak Cakes and RealTruck. The new platform consolidates that relationship into a dedicated co-investment structure with an explicit athlete co-ownership mandate.
What it means for the sporting goods industry
CHAMP’s target universe spans consumer brands broadly rather than sporting goods specifically. Its significance for the industry, however, is tangible. The platform institutionalizes a model that has been reshaping athlete-brand relationships across athletic apparel, footwear and equipment for years – one in which athletes move from the margins of a marketing budget into the ownership structure of a business.
Beyond the headlne
CHAMP is trying to fill a gap where only partially comparable investment vehicles exist. Herein some examples:
Direct structural comparables — institutional capital + athletes as co-owners
Fanatics Holdings is the clearest precedent at scale. Michael Rubin built a sports commerce and licensing platform where elite athletes — including LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal — hold equity stakes rather than endorsement contracts. The model showed that athlete co-ownership in a consumer-facing platform could command a valuation reportedly above $30 billion. CHAMP’s logic is similar, but it applies the structure across a portfolio of brands rather than a single platform company.
Hyperice and Therabody are sporting goods-adjacent examples where athlete investors took equity alongside institutional rounds. LeBron James and others participated as co-owners, not endorsers. Both companies used athlete equity to drive visibility in ways that conventional sponsorship could not replicate — which is precisely the mechanism CHAMP is systematising.
The most-cited single-brand precedent in sporting goods
Roger Federer’s equity stake in On Running is the reference point most editorial audiences recognise. Federer received equity rather than a fee, became a product collaborator, and his financial alignment with the brand was widely credited with accelerating On’s premium positioning internationally. On’s subsequent IPO made the structure legible in financial terms. CHAMP is essentially an attempt to productise that logic across multiple brands simultaneously.
Adjacent models — athlete-led funds and platforms
Andreessen Horowitz’s Cultural Leadership Fund raised capital from athletes and entertainers as LPs, giving them access to tech investments they would not otherwise reach. The direction of travel was the reverse of CHAMP: athletes as capital providers into institutional deals, rather than institutional capital enabling athlete co-ownership in consumer brands.
Courtside Ventures operates as a VC fund with athlete LPs and a sports/media/entertainment focus. Again, it is structurally adjacent but not equivalent: athletes are investors in the fund, not co-owners in individual portfolio companies.
Athletes Unlimited and Unrivaled (Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier’s 3-on-3 basketball league) represent athlete co-ownership applied to sports organisations themselves rather than consumer brands — a different asset class, but the same underlying philosophy of equity over fee.
