A starter for North Carolina State University's football team has signed an equity deal with a startup – a move that makes him a stakeholder and brand ambassador as the NIL space heats up.
Shyheim Battle, a redshirt sophomore cornerback, has signed an equity deal with California-based Obsesh.
Tracy Benson, CEO of the Oakland-based company, says it’s the first equity partnership Obsesh has made with an NCAA athlete. Benson, a veteran of firms such as Monster Inc. (maker of Beats by Dre), Best Buy and The Home Depot, is a former college athlete herself. She was an all-conference NCAA volleyball athlete at Western Illinois and followed that up with a career as a professional beach volleyball player.
She describes Obsesh as an athlete-centric technology platform.
“We help athletes become entrepreneurs,” she said. “We don’t help athletes become better football players, but we help them become better business leaders and entrepreneurs – we just make it simple and easy.”
She said that in the age of NIL – the NCAA now allows student athletes to profit off of their Name Image and Likeness – the players find their influence can be as important as their performance on the field. In addition to being athletes, they’re brands. Obsesh gives those players remote coaching and mentoring to help them maximize their commercial value.
In the case of Battle, he’s agreed to a multi-year equity partnership. He gets a stake in the company and Obsesh gets a brand ambassador.
“It’s a great opportunity to start building a business model around him that will stay with him for life,” Benson said.
Benson has some experience with the concept. While working with the Beats headphones brand, she saw the firm team up with NBA superstar Lebron James, who got equity in exchange for his endorsement.
Benson declined to give financial specifics of Battle’s deal, but calls him a “shareholder” who will help bring awareness of the Obsesh platform to athletes, fans and the football community.
The agreement doesn’t lock Battle into anything – meaning that, as his career progresses, he can pursue other opportunities while staying on as a stakeholder.
“[Battle] will make cash in this, he will also be a part of our platform … and can control and set his own market pricing for his products,” she said. “Part of it is in equity and in endorsements – it’s a combined deal.”
In a statement, Battle said he wants to be “personally invested in the company being successful.”
“It’s definitely a motivator just to be in it and be working to help Obsesh get on the radar of as many athletes, fans and supporters as possible,” he said.
Battle, a communications major, started nine games this season and was an honorable mention All-ACC choice last year.
Obsesh is backed by multiple global sports tech funds and innovators including Stadia Ventures, Underdog Ventures, Nations Ventures, and Chad Hurley, YouTube founder and part-owner of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and MLS’ Los Angeles Football Club.
