Deal Brief · Week of Jul 20
Tracking the deals shaping the business of culture.
Investments
Nationals prospect Ronny Cruz sells 10% of his future earnings for $1.2M
Cruz partnered with Agentiq to take up to $1.2M upfront against a maximum 10% stake in his future on-field income. Public investors buy shares in his career and receive distributions as he advances through baseball and starts earning.
Coby White joins Ballislife Drink as equity partner
The Charlotte Hornets guard signed on as brand ambassador and equity partner for Ballislife Drink, joining the brand's roster of NBA athlete partners. White grew up watching Ballislife post his own high school highlights.
New ventures
Megan Moroney launches her first fragrance, Calliope, with Scent Beauty
The country star spent a year and a half developing Calliope — heart-shaped bottle included — her entry into the fragrance category, arriving mid–Cloud 9 Tour.
Togethxr and iHeart launch Everyone Watches Women’s Sports
The media company co-founded by Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel, and Sue Bird is launching a weekly podcast with iHeart, hosted by Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles, journalist Ari Chambers, and comedian Sam Jay.
Brand endorsements
Bryce Harper and Under Armour launch the UA Harper 11
The 11th installment of Harper’s signature cleat makes it the longest-running active signature footwear line in MLB. The pair signed a 10-year extension in 2015 — then the largest endorsement deal for a baseball player.
Livvy Dunne and JUNKLESS launch a nationwide NIL contest
Dunne is partnering with the snack brand and The Livvy Fund to award one female college athlete a paid NIL deal. Dunne personally selects the winner, who becomes a JUNKLESS brand ambassador — $4,500 cash, a semester’s supply, and monthly content features through December.
IU becomes Jaeger-LeCoultre’s first Korean global ambassador
The singer and actress joins the Swiss watchmaker as a global ambassador, debuting through its “The Hour Before” interview series.
Guo Hanyu joins Lululemon as brand ambassador
The Chinese tennis player is the first from her country signed by Lululemon to compete across all four Grand Slams. She holds six WTA doubles titles and a career-high doubles ranking of No. 9.
Sourav Ganguly joins InsuranceDekho as brand ambassador
The former India captain fronts a campaign for the insurtech platform aimed at its network of more than 497,000 advisors.
Partnerships
Amy Poehler backs new narrative audio studio Please and Thanks
The studio, launched by former Pineapple Street Studios executives Joel Lovell and Henry Molofsky, debuts with Manifesto! for Audible Originals. Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions has partnered with the studio on an investigative documentary audio series, sold to Universal Studio Group Audio for a 2027 launch.
Media deals
Netflix strikes a deal with celebrity chef Nick DiGiovanni
Netflix will host DiGiovanni’s full back catalog alongside new content from his “Nick DiGiovanni” and “Nick’s Kitchen” channels, streaming day-and-date with YouTube.
Stokes Twins sign a content deal with Netflix
Alan and Alex Stokes are bringing their YouTube archive to Netflix and moving into long-form with a new series set to premiere in 2027.
Colin & Samir partner with Lexus on a four-part YouTube series
The creators are producing four sponsored videos and four ad campaigns with Lexus, developed with Google Creative Works and Portal A. The series follows them driving cross-country in a GX 550 and RZ 550e to reconnect with their creativity after both lost their homes in the 2025 LA fires.
Roles and appointments
Whoop hires former Olympian DJ van Hameren
The wearables company appointed van Hameren — a two-time Olympic track cyclist who spent three decades at Nike — as Chief Marketing Officer, leading global marketing, brand partnerships, and international expansion.
Ronny Cruz selling 10% of his future earnings for $1.2M is a preview of where athlete finance is headed - treating a career like an asset you can raise capital against before it's even proven out. Smart if that money buys him better training and takes the financial pressure off early. Risky if it just becomes easy cash that gets spent instead of reinvested into the career. The same test should apply to every equity decision an athlete makes: does this capital buy leverage, or does it just buy comfort. Coby White taking an equity stake in Ballislife instead of a straight ambassador fee is the better version of the same instinct - upside on something he's building, not upside sold off himself.
Great read. It would be interesting to hear more stories like this from other prospects - those behind-the-scenes sacrifices often tell us more than the stats do.