Matthew Berry’s media startup Fantasy Life has raised $2 million in funding from investors that include Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, and LRMR Ventures, the family office of LeBron James and Maverick Carter.
Musician John Legend also invested in Fantasy Life’s funding round, according to Axios, as did Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Chargers running back Austin Ekeler, sports agent Casey Wasserman, Bruin Capital CEO George Pyne, former YoutTube CEO Chad Hurley, Miami Marlins minority owner Roger Ehrenbger, and All Elite Wrestling CEO Tony Kahn, whose father owns the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.
Berry was a longtime fantasy football analyst for ESPN before he left the network in 2022 to join NBC Sports as a fantasy and betting analyst. Fantasy Life’s website and newsletter cover fantasy sports and sports betting with rankings, analysis, and other draft tools.
“One of the primary reasons I came to NBC Sports was their promise to allow me to continue to operate Fantasy Life, and they’ve been incredible from the start,” Berry told Axios.
Fantasy Life’s newsletter has more than 350,000 email subscribers, and its website tracks more than 2 million unique visitors per month. The company has 13 full-time staffers and makes most of its money through selling ads and sponsorships.
The investment from Burrow, Allen, Chase, and Ekeler in Fantasy Life follows a tumultuous offseason for the NFL in which nine players were suspended for placing bets that violated the league’s policy on gambling.
