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Sports LicensingA New Approach to Athlete-Driven
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Founded in 1994, NFL Players Inc. launched as the first-of-its-kind, for-profit licensing and marketing arm of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA). This business model allows NFL players to share in a revenue pool that supplemented their salaries and funds the work the union does.
The NFLPA secured its core licensing foundation through long-term exclusive agreements with partners in key licensing categories. Panini is the exclusive trading card partner, EA SPORTS is the exclusive gaming partner and Fanatics is the exclusive licensee in apparel and hardlines categories.
NFL Players Inc. has generated consecutive years of record revenue growth, is one of the 40 largest global licensing programs and has earned multiple industry awards along the way. By 2015, NFL Players Inc. surpassed $150 million in revenue, with plans to grow beyond $200 million in 2020.
Launched in 2015, Athlete Content and Entertainment (ACE Media) is the content subsidiary of the NFLPA. ACE Media delivers original sports-lifestyle content across all genres and platforms. In 2016, OneTeam Collective launched as the first athlete-driven business accelerator. OneTeam Collective accelerates growth for companies seeking to align with the sports industry.