Golf legends Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are venturing into the technology and entertainment space, launching a new venture called TMRW Sports that they say will develop “progressive approaches to sports, media and entertainment.”
The duo are partnering with veteran sports media manager Mike McCarley in the venture, who considers former NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol an investor.
“Since I retired I’ve refused any real work except giving advice to many friends, but this is the right idea at the right time with one of the few people I would do this with,” Ebersol said in a statement. a statement. “Mike and I have stayed close and know him, his impeccable track record in business and, most importantly, witness to the way he approaches relationships – I would bet on anything he creates. So when he told me about his vision for what he was building with Tiger and Rory, I couldn’t wait to find a way to get involved.”
McCarley most recently served as president of NBC Sports golf and global strategy, overseeing the company’s golf portfolio, including Golf Channel. before that, he was senior VP at NBC Sports.
What exactly TMRW Sports will be developing remains a bit quiet, though McCarley said in a statement the company has “several interesting projects in development.”
Woods added in a statement that he hoped the company would “build a brighter future for the next generation of sports fans” and “use technology to approach the sports we love in a new way.”
McIlroy added that he believes the company can “determine the way media and technology improve the sports experience.”
“In a world where technology gives us so many choices to use our time, we want to make sports more accessible to as many people as possible,” he added.
Additional investors and partners in TMRW Sports, as well as its projects, will be announced later.
Athletes are increasingly looking beyond the fields, tracks, rinks and courses in their professional careers.
NFL legend Tom Brady is a partner of both a sports-focused content company (Religion of Sports) and an entertainment studio called 199 Productions. LeBron James owns The SpringHill Company (which recently raised money at a valuation of $725 million), while tennis star Noami Osaka is launching her own media and entertainment company Hana Kuma, with the support of SpringHill.
