FULL TRANSCRIPT
Slava (00:00)
In this episode of Smart Humans, we talk with Marques Colston, who is managing partner of The Champion Fund. We talk about his experience on the gridiron, how that helps him be a foundational element to then becoming a strong investor in sports. We discuss the changing landscape of sports, everything from lacrosse to the big four to college sports and soccer. How is it now you are able to, as an independent retail investor,
able to get into the world of sports and invest now. Everything from Ipswich, Fathead, and more. And of course he gives us his predictions for the market. And for three years out, his picks.
Slava (01:04)
Hello and welcome to the latest episode of Smart Humans. I am super excited for today's guest. We have Marques Colston, who is managing partner at Champion Capital. Marques, welcome.
Marques Colston (01:14)
I appreciate you having me.
Slava (01:16)
Absolutely. So you have a really unique background, but I'll let you go through it. What we always like to know is how did people even get into this world of alternative investments? How did you even start? How did you get into this? So take us back as far as you like, whether it's when were you born as a kid, high school, college, or career, how did it turn out that you become, you know, in this world?
Marques Colston (01:37)
Yeah, it for me it's a it's a very interesting journey that is now kind of coming full circle with sports. so I I've been an athlete you know, since I can remember.
And was one of the fortunate few that was able to turn my passion for sports and my love for sports into a career. And, you know, the ability to kind of go through the college ranks back in the day, I guess we can call it now, the pre-NIL era, and then get an opportunity to play in the NFL and be there for 10 years. my entry point into alternative investments really started, you know, as an as an NFL player. you know, the ability to at 23 years.
Old to be able to earn more money than I had ever kind of imagined, even as a rookie on a league minimum deal, it was a whole new world for me to try and navigate without a ton of financial background, without a ton of exposure to anything in finance. so for me, those first couple years were, you know, trying to just trying to get my feet wet.
in the investment world through my financial advisor in the public markets. And then, you know, those opportunities started to surface, you know, because when you're somebody that's a visible, a visible person or kind of a notable name, the private investments have a way of finding you. so my exposure really early in the game was to early stage startups, really at that intersection of sports and tech. And
That that's kind of what got my feet wet in the in the space and ~ I've been in it ever since and have loved, you know, kind of learning and evolving through it.
Slava (03:05)
Amazing. So just to contextualize it, what years were you in the NFL?
Marques Colston (03:09)
I got drafted in two thousand and six and I played through two thousand and fifteen.
Slava (03:15)
Nice. And you weren't just some sort of scrub. I mean, I know you probably don't like ah you know, tooting your own horn, but can you just give us like just a few highlights in terms of some of the numbers from your career?
Marques Colston (03:27)
Yeah, I mean, I again just fortunate and blessed to stay on the field long enough to produce at a high level. started my rookie year as a day one starter, was the runner up to rookie of year. and throughout my 10 years, I think I ended up with a little over 700 receptions, close to 10,000 yards receiving, 72 touchdowns. So that kind of ranks me top 50, 55 all time.
Slava (03:51)
I mean, that's amazing. I'm a huge sports fan myself. So the kid in me absolutely loves having this conversation with the athlete, but we're not really talking to only the athlete. We're talking to obviously Marques Colson, the managing partner at Champion Capital. So we'll leave it there in regards to sports. But what matters to me is so you're a rookie, you're making some money. Do you remember when you make your first investment on your own, meaning as your decision as opposed to just green lighting?
Some investment into some public markets fund or something that a manager did for you.
Marques Colston (04:22)
Yeah, I would say even my first couple, I I'll call them angel investments were as part of a syndicate, right? So the diligence was already kind of done and it was, you know, peers had already invested and you just kind of invested alongside folks. the first real investment that the diligence was all on my shoulders, the operation was all on my shoulders, was actually in sports. It was a it was in a lower level indoor football team. this had to be
Slava (04:48)
Sorry, are you are you
in the NFL still?
Marques Colston (04:50)
I'm still I'm still playing in NFL. So this this was
Slava (04:52)
Nice.
Marques Colston (04:52)
two thousand twelve ish. So this was this was right around my fifth or sixth year, somewhere in that in that area.
so I invested in a in a club in my hometown in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. And my goal at the time was to invest in it kind of as this community outreach vehicle. more of a passive stake, just wanted to kind of learn the other side of the business. And I kind of sat through in that passive state for year one, and I just kept continued to see things that I would do differently if I had the opportunity. And, you know, with it being my name on it, I obviously I was I was kind of
headliner with it being in my hometown, there was just a level of integrity that I wanted it to operate with that I didn't quite see at the moment. So year two, I ended up buying my partner out, taking full ownership of the club, and then taking over all of the operations. Again, still as a current NFL player. And that was the first time that I really truly invested Capital and then had to make it work.
so that was just for me, it just a really interesting moment in time, being a player on the field during the fall, flying back home and selling sponsorships, selling you know, game tickets and running game operations. So it was just a 360-degree experience of kind of being the being the product on one side and then also building a product on the other side, which kind of helped to shorten the learning curve, but
You know, as first-time entrepreneur, first time CEO, you know, just trying to mash all of those things together at one time. was definitely drinking through the fire hose, but you know, it turned out to be a really foundational experience to my business resume.
Slava (06:32)
Incredible.
So and that was a soccer team in Harrisburg, is that right?
Marques Colston (06:36)
it was football, indoor football. Yep.
Slava (06:37)
in indoor football, got it. So
what happens to that indoor football team? Do you still own it or do you sell it or what happens?
Marques Colston (06:43)
So I ran it for three years. after going into the fourth year, I made the decision to pull the plug on it financially. it wasn't my best financial investment. but from there it gave me an opportunity to get into the arena football league, which indoor football at a at a higher level. got an opportunity to work with some other ownership groups that own some of the bigger sports properties, the monumental sports groups of the world.
the Hearst Media Groups of the World with a team up in Albany. we were with the Gilbert family with a team in Cleveland at the time. So it gave me an opportunity to kind of upgrade the experience around other business owners, around other mature business owners. and it was kind of an ownership position that was kind of had some big baked-in mentorship as well. So it was a really, good transition for me.
Slava (07:32)
Amazing. So it seems like being able to learn at such low stakes, meaning having your own indoor team in Harrisburg, probably was foundational, as you say, to seeing the right decisions, how to make them and the investments of today. Connect the dots for me from twenty fifteen, you know, you're moving on from the Harrisburg team to today. Well, really, you know, a little a few minutes ago when you start this fund.
What happens in between? How do you go? What are the steps to go from that indoor football team to starting that fund?
Marques Colston (08:04)
So for me, in interestingly enough, indoor football was kind of my last direct opportunity within sports. So when I left the arena football league in 2019, I had transitioned kind of completely into the corporate world. I was doing consulting work, was doing executive coaching work with execs at Nike Jordan Bolthouse Farms. I was doing a lot of corporate coaching.
And then eventually in 2020, I'm kind of made the shift into financial services. went and got my series seven, series sixty-six, became a financial advisor, working with athletes and entertainers. And those two different stops gave me really, keen insights into sports from a different perspective. from the corporate side, you
You're obviously always continuing to try to build the business through a leadership lens. so being able to work with executives in corporate America kind of gave me a different layer and a different experience. and then working in the financial services sector, it just gave me an opportunity to see it from the investor side. so those two experiences and two cycles outside of sports.
really led me back into sports in a way that I was able to just add more layers to the perspective, more layers to the way that I evaluate and look at companies, kind of the way I position the opportunities within the marketplace. And when I did decide to enter back into sports about two years ago and start to kind of ideate around this fund, I was able to kind of re-enter the space with a different level of perspective.
And I think most importantly, an ability to synthesize through different lenses. which I think in an asset class like this that's moving at the speed that it's moving, that synthesis becomes a superpower.
Slava (09:58)
That's awesome. So let's turn the page here into how you like to invest your own money. So the traditional portfolio out there is a 60% public markets, 40% bonds. That's a little bit like you know grandpa's portfolio, 0% alternatives. these days, there's all kinds of alternatives out there. I imagine that you have more than 0% alternatives. If you were going to split your 100% net worth into three buckets, public equities.
bonds and one big bucket of alternatives, how would you split those three buckets for your own investing?
Marques Colston (10:32)
I would say it's probably fifty-fifty at a at a minimum. I would say it's probably split down the
Slava (10:36)
fifty fifty public.
Marques Colston (10:38)
middle. 50 public, fifty private and alternatives.
Slava (10:42)
And zero bonds.
Marques Colston (10:43)
I would I'll throw the bonds in with the in with the public market side of it.
Slava (10:47)
Okay.
Marques Colston (10:47)
and complete fift fifty percent of it is completely alternative because
I just over the years I've been able to see and kind of peel back the layers of the onion on the alternative market and see just kind of the diversification that's available and that's out there.
Slava (11:00)
So inside alternatives, which for you is fifty percent of your whole entire holdings, if we made the alternatives now a hundred percent. So the alternatives is one big bucket, how would you split up the alternatives into its major buckets between like pre IPO venture, crypto, art collectibles, maybe some sports cards, and then like real estate and private credit, more like yield oriented assets. I imagine you're gonna have some sports in there, so feel free to layer that in as a category.
So how would you split up the hundred percent of alternatives into its major buckets for your holdings?
Marques Colston (11:34)
I would that's a really good question. I think there's gotta be a significant slice of it into real assets. for me, like gold, silver, those types of assets and those types of collectible pieces have to have to have a stake in there. real estate just for the asset appreciation.
That has to be a piece in there, a significant piece. I haven't done I haven't delved much into the private credit market. but I could I
Slava (12:05)
Right? That's fine.
Marques Colston (12:06)
can imagine. I can imagine with interest rates being what they are, it's an interesting space to be. and then for me, selfishly being in sports, sports itself kind of has some built-in diversification. so
you know, through sports you get access and exposure to real estate. you get access and exposure to, you know, technology, to service based businesses.
So to me, sports is kind of a growing piece of the portfolio because of what it what it represents. It it's it kind of has all of those different pieces that you're looking for. it has the brand value and the IP value in there. It has, like I said, the real estate pieces of it. so sports is a growing, slice, kind of in the alternative portfolio for me.
Slava (12:49)
So of a hundred percent, what do you think percent sports related investments are for your alternatives?
Marques Colston (12:54)
I would say I'd say it's it probably would grow into about a thirty five or forty percent slice.
Slava (13:00)
Okay, so let's say that's forty percent and then the real assets, gold and silver, and then real estate. What do you think those two are? Are they like twenty each or something?
Marques Colston (13:07)
I'd go twenty, twenty five each.
Slava (13:08)
Got it. And then any crypto or is that a zero?
Marques Colston (13:11)
I throw crypto in as kinda the balance. and then just
Slava (13:14)
You didn't you didn't
say pre IPO venture. So is your pre IPO in sports or like in startups?
Marques Colston (13:18)
Yeah, I would
take pre IPO and sports. Yep. And take in a lot of those tech enabled companies and those venture back companies and try to try to filter them through a sports lens for sure.
Slava (13:28)
Got it. Got it. Okay, great. So maybe like fifty five percent sports and pre IPO, twenty real assets, twenty real estate, and like five percent crypto?
Marques Colston (13:36)
That sound that sounds about right.
Slava (13:37)
Nice. Super interesting. And has that evolved much for you? Like have you added more real assets or have you been adding more sports? Where have you been? How are you different today than you were in twenty fifteen when you left football?
Marques Colston (13:53)
very sports wasn't really a thing at that point. Sports only lived for me in my portfolio, sports only really lived in the early to mid-stage technology space. That was really all that was accessible at that point. so it is definitely the sports has definitely evolved and taken more and more line share of the of that alternative portfolio.
Slava (14:13)
So in the early days you were more real estate or more gold and silver? Got
Marques Colston (14:16)
Yep. Yep.
Slava (14:17)
it. Okay, super interesting. So I'm gonna ask you an open ended question here. What do you think of today's economy? what do you think of today's market? Which you can take it wherever you want.
Marques Colston (14:26)
Yeah, I mean, it's a it's an interesting question. I think the stock market and the economy are feel dislocated at this point. you know, I think what we're starting to see, I think what we're seeing from the consumer's perspective, there's this the middle is disappearing, right? I think that there are people that are on either end of the spectrum and the middle is thinning out.
at a time where the stock market itself is continuing to hit record highs. the AI trade is still kind of driving the markets. and I think as the AI trade continues to kind of move downstream away from the chipmakers into some of the suppliers, into some of the memory and the other pieces of the value chain, I think that's going to continue to kind of carry the weight. But
At a time where the stock market is hitting all-time highs, I think a lot of people, a lot of in-consumers are struggling. and it's hard to reconcile those two things. you know, I think if you turn on any financial news show, any publication, you'll walk away feeling much different about the stock market than you do what you actually see with your own two eyes in the economy itself, if that makes sense.
Slava (15:41)
Yeah, it makes sense. So let me put you on the spot here with a little bit of lightning round just to get your opinions on a few things. So twelve months from now, do you think we're in a recession or not?
Marques Colston (15:52)
I don't think the stock market shows I don't I don't think we see a recession indicator in the stock market. I think we'll just continue to see rotations.
Slava (15:59)
Okay. So twelve months from now, do you think the federal funds rate is up, down, or flat?
Marques Colston (16:05)
I think it has to go down from here. yeah, I think it has to go down from here. There there's just still a lot of pressure on the end consumer. There's a lot of pressure on businesses that have that have debt that need to refinance debt. I think it has to go down sooner than later.
Slava (16:20)
And do you have any feel for like how much it would go down, like twenty five basis points, fifty, a hundred basis points, or twelve months from now?
Marques Colston (16:27)
I would guess
Probably somewhere between fifty basis points and seventy five basis points. I don't think it can go down fast.
Slava (16:34)
Okay.
How about inflation? Is inflation up, down, or flat twelve months from now?
Marques Colston (16:38)
Say it's probably flat.
Slava (16:39)
Okay. And how about unemployment?
Is it up down or flat twelve months from now?
Marques Colston (16:44)
Man, that's it's a good question 'cause I would say it it's
I'd say it's probably flat, but it looks different, if that makes sense. I think from my understanding, the unemployment rate and the jobs numbers, the type of employment, I think the nuance in the type of employment becomes really important. 'cause I think people are going to be employed, but
Is it truly like livable wages or are we talking about part time employment and you know, contractor and like yeah, it's the numbers get interesting once you start pulling them apart. I'll say that.
Slava (17:14)
So you're not in the
AI taking everybody's job camp.
Marques Colston (17:17)
No, I think AI will create new jobs. I think we're starting to see some pushback from some of the larger corporations around just their AI spend. so some of the some of the thought processes that AI was gonna take jobs is now becoming a little bit more costly than I think people anticipated.
so I do think that there will be a blending of new jobs coming online and just a matter of what do those jobs and what do those salary positions look like.
Slava (17:41)
So you mentioned the stock market is doing really well. It's actually pretty much an all time high right now. what is it gonna be twelve months from now? Is it gonna be the standard eight percent up year over year from today, a year from today, or do you think it's gonna be down, less than the trip typical eight percent or up more than typical eight percent?
Marques Colston (18:00)
I kinda wanna say in twelve months time, I think we probably take a round trip. I think there there's still some meat on the bones left in terms of new all time highs. but I think we do kind of retrace and find ourselves back in a very similar place that we are right now, but feeling very different about it because we're now off of all time highs.
Slava (18:17)
Got it. So we're gonna go higher but come back down here. So it's gonna feel like we're coming down. Okay, so we're gonna call it flat but coming down. Cool.
Marques Colston (18:26)
Yeah.
Slava (18:27)
So this is great. Thank you for playing the game and being on the spot to throw out some predictions. Nothing better than having receipts, you know, twelve months from now. it's
Marques Colston (18:38)
hopefully I want to look at
Slava (18:40)
all good. Everybody has opinions, that's why we have this show. So
Let's now talk about Champion Capital. So tell us about it. What's the Champion fund? You know, not everybody's familiar. Explain to us how people can invest into sports. What is this?
Marques Colston (18:53)
So Champion Capital is an RIA firm that manages Champion Fund. And for us, Champion Fund is kind of this flagship vehicle, this concept that has come to market over the last, I'll call it 16 months or so.
And our vision for Champion Fund has always been to take sports as an asset class and provide a platform that every investor can invest in sports. traditionally, what we've seen over the last handful of years as private equity has become more and more of a player in the sports asset class, we've seen a lot of these different fund concepts and fund platforms come online.
And in essence, kind of attack the same pieces of the market, which is minority stakes and really large enterprise teams, typically in what I'll call the big four leagues, the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB. And again, this is kind of going back to those multiple lenses and different experiences.
What we know at Champion Capital is that the sports asset class is a much deeper value chain and a much deeper value proposition than just the team assets themselves. so we wanted to take sports, break it into its component parts, which for to us represent the sports teams and leagues as one bucket, the sports venture companies, the earlier to mid and growth stage companies that
you know, are changing fan engagement, are changing player and athlete performance, they're changing business intelligence. we wanted to take that sports venture a as a bucket. we wanted to look at some of the media and services businesses that make sports what it is. so whether that's you know player agencies, player representation firms, that's media and content companies, that's a third bucket. the fourth bucket is real estate and hospitality.
for us, whether that's you know, stadium projects or sports anchors mixed use districts, you see all of the retail that is popping up and the residential popping up around these stadiums as they move closer and closer to city centers. that is the fourth bucket. And then finally, the fifth bucket for us is funds, fund managers that have their own thesis, that have their own track record. so we wanted to take sports and break it into those five different buckets.
And then be able to make it accessible for every investor from the non-accredited to the institutional investor. so that's for to us what Champion fund represents. It's the entirety of the sports asset class in an investment vehicle that is simple enough for anyone to invest in, which has all of the different return profiles that those five different categories represent.
all of the different upside that those five different categories represent. But in a vehicle that it it doesn't force you to be a company picker. It doesn't force you to deploy seven-figure check. and it allows you as someone who is more than likely a stakeholder in sports to actually gain some equity along the way to the ecosystem that you've been paying into.
Slava (22:04)
Super exciting. So talk to me as if I'm potentially a customer. So what's the minimum?
Marques Colston (22:10)
So the minimum investment is five hundred dollars. and there's the ability to set up a recurring investment so that you can kind of build into a position at a rate that fits your portfolio.
Slava (22:21)
And do I have to be accredited?
Marques Colston (22:22)
Don't have to be accredited. Nope.
Slava (22:24)
so retail. Anybody can invest.
Marques Colston (22:26)
Yep.
Slava (22:28)
And when do I get my money back or how do I sell out of it if I want to?
Marques Colston (22:32)
So the way that the fund is set up, it's what's called an interval fund. And what that allows us to do and really mandates us to do by law is to create two periods per year where they're called redemption periods, where if you're a shareholder, you can you can basically buy back, you can sell back shares to the fund. And we're as a fund, we're able to buy back up to five percent of the net asset value of the fund in every one of those repurchase windows.
Slava (23:00)
Okay, great. So can I buy this on like my Robinhood account or how do I buy it?
Marques Colston (23:03)
So as of now, the way that you would purchase is come through the Champion Fund website. you create an account, go through the onboarding process, which takes about five minutes. we'll take you through like a verification process and a platform that we that we built on called Sweater kind of walks you through the whole onboarding process, gets you set up, link your bank account, and you're able to fund your account within five, 10 minutes.
Slava (23:27)
Okay, great.
Marques Colston (23:28)
What we're what we're working on, hopefully is it it's in the pipeline. It's just a matter of time of when it comes to the market is the ability to invest. If you have a self-directed IRA, we want to be able to make those retirement accounts accessible to the platform. and then if you have like a an entity that you invest through, you can also invest through that entity as well.
Slava (23:49)
Got it. So I just heard that the Lakers were sold, which is pretty crazy, from ten billion to a twelve and a half billion flip like in a year. am I gonna get access like to the Lakers? Can you give me access to the Lakers as part of this fund or how does that work?
Marques Colston (24:02)
So we're not looking at again, we're not looking at those big four franchises. for us as a fund, it's it those mature franchises and mature leagues, they don't present the same type of upside and return that we see in some of the emerging markets that we're focused on.
So our focus and our mandate is really to find those undervalued, underpriced leagues to where that media cycle that has created the valuations that you see in the big four leagues, we wanna be in the in the emerging leagues before that media cycle moment hits. because
Slava (24:38)
Can you give me s a couple
of examples? Like what's two or three of those leagues that w we should keep in mind?
Marques Colston (24:43)
Sure. So, I'll give you a I'll give you a perfect example that's one in our portfolio. so we had we were able to invest in an English soccer club called Ipswich Town FC. at the time when we made the investment, it was a English, it was an EFL championship club, which is the second tier, it's the second tier professional league in England.
since we've made that investment, they've gotten promoted into the Premier League, which is arguably one of the most viable commercial leagues in the world. So the ability to get in at that undervalued mark, the ability to ride that wave, that promotion wave uphill, that's kind of the thesis at work. We want to be in position you know, before these moments hit.
Slava (25:26)
so do you think like trying to invest in Champion league, meaning like the triple A team, it's not quite triple A, but like the triple A team before they go professional, is that like where there's a lot of opportunity, like in that championship kind of league?
Marques Colston (25:40)
Yeah, that that's what we see. And it's obviously not going to be every single company and every single team is not gonna be able to make that jump. Right. So it's really the diligence around finding that undervalued asset and that undervalued league and then validating that they have the fundamentals. They have the they have the business approach, they have the fan experience, they have the sponsorship and marketing pieces buttoned up to where
You want the off field business to match the on field production. And if you can find those assets that are that are in prime position to make a move, that's kind of where the thesis goes to work.
Slava (26:12)
So if I invest in Champion fund, am I gaining exposure to Ipswich?
Marques Colston (26:15)
Yes, you're getting exposure to Ipswich. and there are three other companies in the portfolio right now. one is Fathead. So if you if you've been in and around the sports ecosystem for the last decade, you've probably seen their product. It's it started as a, you know, the wall decals and the business has kind of transformed into a more of a digital first, you know, you know, fan cut customer, customized fan experience.
we've got staking sports illustrated tickets, which you would also get exposure to, which started as a secondary ticketing market. And, you know, as live as the demand for live entertainment, live sports continues to ramp up, Sports Illustrated Tickets is in a really good position.
And then the fourth position is a fund called emerging fund. And what they invest in is experiential dining and experiential sports experiences. So think F1 Arcade is in their portfolio, Bat Box is in their portfolio, Putt Shack. So again, like these sports and sports adjacent properties are all a part of this portfolio that you would get access to and exposure to.
Slava (27:23)
I just took my kids to F1 Arcade for the first time. That is quite the experience. Have you been to F1 Arcade?
Marques Colston (27:29)
I ha I haven't been to one yet. We actually just hosted an event in Bat Box in Dallas. So that that's one of the cool things for us is as we get exposure to some of these platforms, being able to partner and you know, being able to kind of pay a visit.
Slava (27:42)
outside of your portfolio, going back to the question, what do you think are two other leagues that are undervalued or good opportunities?
Marques Colston (27:49)
I think one that's on our radar is Serie A a Italian soccer league. I think just the level of play on the on the pitch puts it right in that second and third tier of performance.
And I think I can absolutely see a world where as they are looking for expansion into the into North America and into the states, I can absolutely see a kind of one of those media rights cycle moments coming for Serie A
Slava (28:16)
give me one more.
Marques Colston (28:17)
I think one that's really interesting to me is the professional lacrosse league, PLL what Paul what Paul has built
funny enough, man, I remember conversations with Paul back in like twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen as he was st thinking about launching it. just to see the new investment that they've taken on and just to kind of see how that comes to fruition. you know there's gonna be a lot of scale within that investment, and I'm really excited to see where it goes.
Slava (28:43)
Very cool. What do think about the trajectory of women's sports? Any league that particularly stands out for you?
Marques Colston (28:48)
for me, one that I that I always talk about is Unrivaled the three on three league. what they have been able to do in a really short amount of time has been has been really, exciting to watch from the outside.
You know, they've taken a product and they've taken momentum that is women's sports that women's sports is having right now. And it's one of the first leagues that I've seen that is a truly intentional kind of experience from the way that it's marketed to the way that they are bringing endemic sponsors on board and activating those sponsors. it's been a very, intentional league that I think is kind of setting the stage and creating a new wave and a new way forward for women's sports.
Slava (29:28)
Super interesting. Just 'cause so many people are talking about it. What do think about what's happening in the WNBA right now?
Marques Colston (29:34)
there's a lot of ways to slice that question. Where you where are you going with it? I
Slava (29:37)
it's open ended.
Marques Colston (29:40)
I think I heard a take the other day that was really interesting. I think there is a lot of discourse around everything that is not on the court. And when I think about other sports, when I think about the league that I came from and I played in, and I think about what
the reporting and what the media around sports has become, it doesn't really feel much different than some of the men's sports, what's happening. you know, so I think I think as the product I think is at an all-time high. I think
the play on the court is and the players themselves are at a level that is that is top notch. I think some of the some of the media narratives and the craziness that's happening is what comes along with growth. so I think
As much as it may not feel that way from week to week, I think they're on a really good trajectory and a really good pathway. And I think they'll continue to I think they'll continue to grow as new markets come in. I think Philly is getting one here soon. I saw Cleveland's getting one here soon. I think they'll continue to grow at a really high pace.
Slava (30:42)
Nice. So you're so immersed in sports. Give me two or three predictions for you know a few years from now, five years from now. What's happening that you see clearer than most people in sports? you know, that it really will layer into your investment opportunities as well. But give me a couple of predictions that five years from now, people can like, man, Marques Colston told me that.
Marques Colston (31:04)
I think for me, the most interesting
Slava (31:07)
Mm.
Marques Colston (31:08)
wholesale changes are coming to college sports. it would not surprise me within the next five years to see a football or basketball program spin out of a university and be its wholly owned a wholly owned entity. because I think
In a lot of ways, what's happening in college sports is you're taking an industry that has been run one way for so long, in kind of this donor model, having to shift and become a for-profit enterprise real time. And there there's just so much newness that I don't think anyone knows really where to turn, and there's not a ton of reference points. I think, you know.
Slava (31:52)
So sorry,
piggybacking off of that, will your fund look at potential college sports investments, sort of things like that?
Marques Colston (31:58)
A absolutely. I think there's real estate opportunities around college sports. I think you we're seeing what's happen what already happened in Utah with Otro Capital, what's happening in the Big Twelve, what's rumored to be happening in the LSU. those. I'm sorry. So
Slava (32:11)
Sorry, sorry, you're talking too fast for my listeners. So what happened what happened in Utah with Otro Capital? Tell me.
Marques Colston (32:17)
a private equity firm, Otro Capital, basically came into to Utah and they formed a strategic partnership which
In essence, allows Otro to kind of they've committed Capital to basically building the enterprise around Utah sports, Utah sports entities, the intellectual property, and in a world where similar to the pro sports model.
a lot of the revenue that they're seeing is coming from TV rights and T V and media deals, the ability to kind of bring Capital in as a way to invest in the infrastructure of the asset itself. that that's what the deal with Otro represents to me.
Slava (32:59)
So as part of that Otro
we'll get a slice of all the revenues.
Marques Colston (33:01)
Yes, exactly. And it's future media rights. There's I don't think there's any equity is exchanging hands. It's basically Utah continues to be the steward of the brand, the steward of the relationships. and it's basically it's kind of a private credit deal in a lot of ways.
Slava (33:16)
Interesting. So thank you for walking us through that. So college sports you think is a huge opportunity in the next few years. Give me another kind of Marques Colston knows more than others, you know, a few years from now.
Marques Colston (33:28)
well, I mean, in four or five years, ip Ipswich will still be in the Premier League and kick and butt. but no, I think to me the big one is college sports. I think there's just so much there's so much change on the horizon because there has to be like you have people in place that don't know how to structure intellectual property, don't know how to commercialize intellectual property.
in a world where like you have payroll to meet now and there's probably gonna be more media more revenue flowing in through the ecosystem than ever before. so to me that is the big opportunity that's probably gonna spawn multiple opportunities out of it.
Slava (34:06)
Yeah, I heard that I think it was like Chase, JP Morgan Chase, paid like seventeen million to be the decal on Ohio State football maybe it was all Ohio State jerseys. it's pretty wild.
Marques Colston (34:18)
And just think that's a relatively that's a new frontier that just got that just got discovered. jersey patches, right? So I mean I think just the reach the alumni networks that some of these programs have, we're just at the tip of the iceberg.
Slava (34:32)
Amazing. What else do you want to say as any final words related to Champion fund and how people can get in and what it's all about?
Marques Colston (34:39)
I think I I'll just kind of double click on something I mentioned earlier in passing. I think most people when they when they think about the sports asset class, when they hear about the sports asset class, I don't think they realize the breadth that's the breadth that's there. you know, when you start to kind of dig beneath the surface of teams, you run into a lot of traditional asset classes just kind of tucked and folded into sports.
And I think the more people kind of study that and the more people are able to start to peel back the layers of the onion, the more that they'll see that this it's not a it's not this new and nascent asset class. It's literally traditional asset classes that are folded in with a sports spin on it. and I think the more people start to see that and the more people are able to get access to that, I think it just continues to rise the ranks as an asset class to contend with.
Slava (35:30)
I mean it's a lot of changed since I was a kid. I remember the only way you can do it was trying to buy some David Robinson rookie cards, or some Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards or some Barry Sander rookie cards. and now there's a lot more opportunities in terms of trying to make money in sports, which is incredible. So you're obviously a very smart guy. What is it that you like to watch, listen to, read to you know, make Marques Marques?
Marques Colston (35:52)
Man, it's a it's an interesting mix. I work out with Bloomberg on the TV all the time. just trying to catch those just trying to catch those macro trends that are gonna drive what I'm doing. you know, obviously any I now have a reason to sit and binge sports, which is never a bad thing. so super excited for, you know, the football season, both professional and collegiate coming up.
So those are those are the two the two main things that I watch. And then really and truly just being able to spend time with my kids, man.
Slava (36:24)
Amazing.
Marques Colston (36:25)
yeah, I mean, I got two, of my three, two are of age to play sports. So I got one going into high school, playing football, and I got my daughters kind of running the country playing lacrosse. So that's where all my free time goes these days.
Slava (36:37)
Very nice. And just to talk sports for a second, since we're about to have football season around the corner, give me your two teams in your Super Bowl for this coming year.
Marques Colston (36:46)
I think the Patriots are gonna be tough. I could see them getting back to the dance.
The NFC is so wide open. There's a part of me that wants to see the Eagles kind of climb the mountain again. I just think I think that Jalen Hurts, the criticism and the vitriol that go that gets directed his way. I don't understand it. if the if the job is to win, he's probably won at a at a higher rate than most quarterbacks in the league. so I'm secretly hoping that he gets some vindication this year.
Slava (37:16)
All right, so Patriots Eagles.
Marques Colston (37:18)
There you go.
Slava (37:19)
Nice. and our final segment, which is always called three years out. What's your pick in the public markets and why? And what's your pick in the private markets and why, as to what you think is interesting that potentially our listeners can make some money in the next three years. This is obviously not investment advice. This is all for entertainment purposes, but we'd love to hear your two picks.
Marques Colston (37:40)
private markets is I think is easier because I'm you know I'm gonna say sports. there there's there's just too there's just too many
Slava (37:46)
Which one? What what is it that what is it that you would pick
though?
Marques Colston (37:49)
Champion fund is too self promotion promotional. I I'm gonna stick with college sports. I think that there is an opportunity on the horizon here in the next three or four years to where you're going to see a team spin out and become a pub a professional entity on paper.
Slava (38:06)
So is there any more discrete way to quote unquote invest in college sports as opposed to the like what it what index or what thing can we track for the next three years to see that your college sports prediction went up? Anything specifically?
Marques Colston (38:18)
I think I would track the number of outs the number of deals with outside Capital that come into the
Slava (38:24)
Okay.
Marques Colston (38:24)
ecosystem.
Slava (38:25)
Perfect. College sports. Number of deals with outside Capital. I love it. And in the public markets.
Marques Colston (38:31)
For a long time I was and when I say a long time, like the last six or nine months, I've been hot on just kind of the value chain of AI. whether it's the kind of the nuclear companies that are going to become the power sources because it it's just too tough on the power grids, all the way down to data centers. I think with the pushback that we're starting to see around data centers and
you know, cities and jurisdictions just not wanting them there. I I'll stick to just kind of the picks and shovels of AI. so I'll go nuclear. I'll go like
Slava (39:07)
Give me one pick. Oklo Okay, perfect. I thought
Marques Colston (39:08)
I'll throw Oklo out there. Yep.
Slava (39:11)
you were gonna there. Okay, well, Marques, we have covered a lot of ground. from ten years in the NFL, which obviously we could have done hours regarding your 700 catches, 10,000 yards, and 72 touchdowns. But we didn't do a sports show. We're focused on investments. You know, you first dabbled with indoor football at Harrisburg.
Then you checked out consulting, financial services, but you couldn't stay away from you know sports. So you got back into sports. You're about 50% into public, 50% into privates. Your privates are really interesting. You like your hard assets like gold, silver, real estate, but really been leaning more and more into sports and sport-related investment, a little bit of crypto. You're not into the recession in 12 months. You think the Fed rate's going down in the next year, maybe 50 basis points.
flat inflation, flat unemployment, potentially flattered stock market, but it's gonna do a round trip after going up a bit. obviously we talked about Champion fund, which is really interesting. You can come in with $500 minimum retail investors. You already have potential to get into Ipswich, Fathead, Sports Illustrated Tickets, Emerging Fund, etc. Ipswich you were able to get in when they were in the Champion League and now in the Premier League, which is super interesting. You gave us a couple predictions for leagues to watch out on, which is the professional lacrosse league,
Also Serie A in Italy. we talked about Unrivaled, the three on three, talked a lot about college sports and where that's headed, told us about the story in Utah, which is really, really interesting. and you know, you gave us your prediction for the Super Bowl, which is the Patriots against the Eagles. So we got that on archived. And finally, you double down on college sports. There's a lot of opportunity. There are a lot of outside money is gonna be going into these universities, gotta figure out how to play it, potentially Champion fund is one of the ways how to play it.
And your final pick was in the public markets, going with picks and shovels with nuclear power with Oklo Marques, thank you very much.
Marques Colston (40:56)
I appreciate you. That was a lot of ground.
