FOS PM: JuJu Launches Gaming Org

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is launching his own gaming organization, which calls itself the world’s first athlete-led gaming entertainment and lifestyle company. 

Known as Team Diverge, the organization has signed “several rising content creators across several titles,” and says that it will also recruit athletes, musicians and celebrities who will help drive its broader content and events strategy. It plans to launch its own gaming house in the spring of 2021, and will look to have its talent there during the NFL offseason.

This is not Smith-Schuster’s first foray into the gaming and streaming industry. The 23-year-old was an honorary member of FaZe Clan, creating content and merchandise with the gaming organization as well as briefly living in its Los Angeles content house.

Glossier, the trendy skincare and makeup brand with a digital-first marketing approach, has a new partnership with the WNBA to become the league’s first “beauty partner.”

The company dropped two new products — an exfoliating bar and “dry-touch oil mist” for its “Body Hero” line on Oct. 15, along with a promo video featuring eight WNBA players as “body heroes.” Those include Sue Bird, Seimone Augustus, Lexie Brown, Kalani Brown, Amanda Zahui B., Natalie Achonwa, Stefanie Dolson and Gabby Williams. 

The video features audio of players talking about beauty standards for athletes and having self confidence; the players shot the footage themselves while living in the WNBA’s Bradenton, Fla. bubble for the 2020 season.

Recovery tech company Hyperice has yet another deal, this time a multi-year partnership with MLB that will also include a future investment by the league.

Hyperice’s products are now available in the dugout and bullpen for players’ use during games. In addition to the league’s investment, San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatís Jr. is joining the company as an investor and ambassador — the first MLB player to do so. 

The new partnership comes after Hyperice’s recent deals with the NBA, UFC, NWHL, and the English Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur. After a funding round of about $48 million that included investments from a slew of professional athletes announced on Oct. 8, Hyperice is valued at around $700 million.