ON Running, a company backed by the highest-paid athlete in the world, is planning to go public this fall at a $5 billion valuation, per Bloomberg.

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer invested an undisclosed amount in the brand in 2019 after 20 years with Nike. He topped Forbes’ richest athletes list last year with $106.3 million in annual earnings.

“I wanted to make a mark to show ON how much I believe in the company and that I am planning for the long term with them,” Federer told Swiss outlet NZZ am Sonntag in 2019.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner released his first shoe with ON in 2020.

• Federer competes in THE ROGER Pro, a pair not yet available for purchase.
• He also has a 10-year, $300 million deal with Japanese apparel brand Uniqlo.

Founded in 2010, ON Running products are available in 50 countries and use a patented technology, Cloudtec, as a main selling point. Its valuation hit $2 billion in its last funding round.

ON announced a subscription service for shoes made from recyclable materials earlier this month and opened a global flagship store in New York City late last year.

Vanessa Bryant announced the launch of Mambacita, a clothing line with a release date dear to her heart. 

The collection honors the memory of her late daughter Gianna and goes live on May 1 — what would’ve been Gigi’s 15th birthday. Bryant posted a preview of the new line modeled by her and her daughters Natalia and Capri on Instagram.

All of the proceeds will go to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation.  

The Mambacita apparel launch comes after Vanessa Bryant and Kobe’s estate failed to reach an agreement on a new contract with Nike, ending an 18-year relationship with the company. 

The split with Nike was no surprise:

• Bryant’s estate filed 13 trademarks since May 2020 for shoe and clothing brands.
• Kobe and his estate were unhappy with the limited availability of his Nike products.
• Venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar said that he met with Kobe in 2019 to discuss starting his own shoe company called “‘Mamba.”

However, Vanessa has confirmed there are still two final Nike releases on the way.

Arguably no sports league is better at marketing than the NFL. 

Here’s proof: With the Rocket Mortgage Draft House, the Los Angeles Rams are showing how to create and monetize an asset out of thin air.

When the Rams go on the clock at Friday’s NFL Draft, there’ll be as much buzz about their Malibu war room as the players they’re picking. Los Angeles didn’t have a first-round pick. 

Yes, they had to pay for the 9,000 square-foot villa, but the unique idea has attracted sponsors like Rocket Mortgage and Postmates. Movie star Rebel Wilson starred in a funny promotional video that’s been viewed nearly 2 million times.

LA’s Draft House was the brainchild of Lexi vonderLieth, the Rams’ vice president of partnership marketing. During last year’s “virtual” draft she noticed the buzz around Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury’s palatial pad. 

The Rams scouted houses all over L.A. before settling on Malibu. Rocket Mortgage has activated its own $12,000 sweepstakes around the house. 

And the idea’s catching on. The Philadelphia Eagles sold naming rights to their draft room to LifeBrand this week. Franchises inside and outside the NFL are asking the Rams how to sell similar locations to sponsors. 

“It’s been great for us on the partnership side,” said vonderLeith. “We feel like we’ve gotten this asset everybody’s really excited about.”