Ok, that’s a somewhat misleading title, because Athletes Unlimited is a new business model for sports, and while it’s starting with softball, it’s already moving into Volleyball and will soon move into other sports. But it’s unique model is one that I think holds a lot of promise, and is one which shows how to think about real innovation, and could be a good example or inspiration for people in film/media who also need to rethink business models.

First a disclaimer – Athletes Unlimited’s co-founder is Jon Patricoff, and he and I worked together at Tribeca years ago, but I am not too biased here as we remained friendly but barely stayed in touch and I have no private insight into this business, only what’s online. He moved from film to sports, and this new venture isn’t just a new business model, but also a mix of sports and storytelling, so it will be interesting to watch regardless.

Athletes Unlimited will launch in August outside Chicago, and its first venture will be a new women’s pro softball league that eliminates managers, owners and even the fixed, city-based team format. Instead, all games are played in one city – Rosemont, IL to start – and online, and there are hints of a broadcast deal to come. Each week, four teams are put together for three games, and each team is redrafted – every week – by the MVP’s of the game, which are determined by a scoring system and player votes. The idea is that fans no longer congregate around teams based on cities, but based on the players they love. And women, pro softball players have a lot of followers online (many apparently have super high follower and engagement rates).

Every player is guaranteed a minimum income, and can earn even more based on their performance and engagement. And all players are part owners of the company. Not just for one year, but for the next 19 years – because the early adopters are taking a risk and helping to build the company. In fact, while the League was founded by two white guys (Patricoff with Jonathon Soros), they are apparently capped at 10% and the players are majority co-owners with them, so in theory, the ownership will have great gender equity and possibly diversity built into its structure. They also happened to build a business model that’s perfect for C-19 before it took place, but that definitely informs how to think about this and all business going forward.

There’s a lot more to the initiative, and you can read all about it in Sports Illustrated, or Softball America (and here), or in this recent NYT article, which is where I learned about it. But I’m most interested in the innovations that I think lend great ideas for the film/media sectors. In no particular order: