Veteran executives Matt Grandis and Ross Meltzer to oversee commercial development for premium rights holders across sport, entertainment and media 

Washington, D.C., June 6, 2024 – Winners Alliance, an organization transforming athlete rights and commercialization in global sports, has partnered with Team Playmaker, a new sales, marketing and partnerships agency representing best-in-class rights holders across sport, entertainment, and media. Led by veteran executives Matt Grandis and Ross Meltzer, Team Playmaker will serve as an extension to rights holders, crafting strategic ideas and building impactful partnerships that connect brands, properties and fans to accelerate growth strategies and elevate athletes’ collective power.

Team Playmaker will serve as the official partnership development agency of Winners Alliance, bringing new commercial opportunities to Winners’ affiliate athlete collectives worldwide including the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), EuroLeague Players Association (ELPA), and Michael Johnson’s new track & field venture. Team Playmaker will also work with additional rights holders, commercial brands and properties across sport, entertainment and media. 

“The creation of Team Playmaker represents an exciting opportunity to diversify our work and elevate our impact,” said Matt Grandis, Co-Managing Partner of Team Playmaker. “This venture, backed by the strength of Winners Alliance, allows us to be dynamic and innovative in our work to generate more meaningful, memorable, and measurable growth for our partners. We’re eager to help our longstanding partners meet their unique business objectives and we look forward to exploring new opportunities across sport, entertainment, media, lifestyle and culture.” 

“Teaming up with Winners Alliance was an obvious choice given our shared focus on athletes’ best interests, imaginative thinking, and impact,” said Ross Meltzer, Co-Managing Partner of Team Playmaker. “We’re excited to drive results for Winners Alliance’s diverse and inspiring athletes as well as a myriad of other best-in-class partners. There is tremendous potential for sport and entertainment to catalyze business growth, brand building, and internal impact, and we will be wholly focused on harnessing and unlocking that potential for our partners.”

Team Playmaker will provide end-to-end sales and marketing solutions across various functions including research and analysis, strategy and ideation, go-to market narrative, asset creation, business intelligence, digital strategy, partnership sales execution and revenue generation. The agency will work with partners to create and unlock new commercial opportunities around partnerships, sponsorships, athlete marketing, content, naming rights, jersey patch sales, events, activations, licensing, and more.   

“Winners Alliance is proud to partner with Team Playmaker and we recognize this as a milestone in our commitment to maximizing athletes’ collective power,” said Eric Winston, President of Winners Alliance. “We’re confident that Team Playmaker will create innovative and impactful opportunities for our athletes at scale, and will set the standard for effective marketing strategy and revenue generation for the sports and entertainment industry as a whole. Ross and Matt have unparalleled track records and we’re excited to work alongside them to transform commercialization in global sports.” 

Grandis and Meltzer boast more than 50 combined years of sales and marketing experience. Prior to launching Team Playmaker, the Co-Managing Partners led commercial efforts at CSM Sport & Entertainment where Grandis served as Chief Commercial Officer and Meltzer served as President of Properties and Chief Business Officer. Throughout their careers, Grandis and Meltzer have overseen commercial activities and sales and marketing strategy for a variety of premium brands, properties and rights holders across Formula 1, NFL, MLB, global football, domestic soccer, tennis, rugby, college sports, mass participation/running, media, and entertainment. 

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About Winners Alliance

Winners Alliance is a global, athlete-centric commercial solution focused on optimizing, protecting, and maximizing athletes’ collective value through the creation of novel group licensing, partnership, sponsorship, content, event and investment opportunities. Launched in August 2022, Winners Alliance serves as the for-profit affiliate of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), and EuroLeague Players Association (ELPA), representing the group commercial rights of hundreds of athletes worldwide and creating scalable commercial opportunities that are impactful for athletes and partners alike. To learn more, visit www.winnersalliance.com and follow @WinnersAlliance on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.  

About Team Playmaker

Team Playmaker is a global sales, marketing and partnerships agency representing best-in-class rights holders across sport, entertainment, and media to accelerate growth strategies. Team Playmaker serves as an extension to rightsholder teams, crafting strategic ideas and building impactful partnerships that connect brands, properties and fans. Learn more at www.teamplaymaker.com. 

Media Contacts

david.cooper@winnersalliance.com 

ELPA and Winners Alliance form exclusive partnership to unlock commercial opportunities for players in Europe’s top basketball league

Frankfurt/Washington, D.C., May 20, 2024 – The EuroLeague Players Association (ELPA) and Winners Alliance, an organization transforming athlete rights and commercialization in global sports, today announced an exclusive commercial partnership to optimize the commercial rights of the more than 300 professional basketball players competing in EuroLeague. This partnership represents a historic first in collective commercial rights management for EuroLeague players. 

Among its initial priorities, Winners Alliance will advise ELPA leadership on organizing and aggregating players’ group commercial rights. Additionally, Winners Alliance will consult with ELPA on its collective bargaining efforts and strategies to prevent unauthorized use of players’ names, images and likenesses. 

“The team at Winners Alliance has unmatched experience in understanding and maximizing the value of athlete rights on a global scale,” said Boštjan Nachbar, ELPA Managing Director. “They have a proven track-record from working with the most prestigious player associations in the world. With their expertise, we are eager to explore and create new, meaningful and comprehensive opportunities for our players. This is a crucial step for ELPA in safeguarding and expanding IP rights and opportunities of our members. Our cooperation will help players become more visible and will ultimately benefit the growth and potential of EuroLeague and basketball in general.”

“This partnership between Winners Alliance and ELPA is truly groundbreaking,” said Eric Winston, President of Winners Alliance. “It comes from our shared goal of empowering athletes and looking out for their best interests by maximizing their value throughout their careers and beyond. Our collaboration with ELPA is all about tapping into opportunities available to their players and changing the game for how athlete rights are handled globally. Winners Alliance remains committed to unlocking athlete potential and pioneering innovative initiatives across global sports, and EuroLeague players in particular have tremendous potential to capitalize on their commercial rights. We are excited to explore these opportunities together with ELPA.”

Winners Alliance recently spearheaded the first group licensing program in professional tennis through its partnership with the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), led by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, and has since partnered with premium brands like Fanatics Collectibles, Hilton, Priority Pass and TUMI, directly contributing to players’ off-court financial upside and visibility. Earlier this year, Winners Alliance partnered with the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), taking a previously-fragmented group rights structure and transforming it into a first-of-its-kind opportunity to work with 500+ men’s and women’s cricketers worldwide. The company also announced its alliance with legendary sprinter Michael Johnson to build a new and improved track & field model dedicated to empowering runners, protecting their rights and creating novel opportunities. 

ELPA was founded in 2018 out of necessity among professional basketball players to protect and provide stability to their working conditions and benefits. 

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About ELPA

EuroLeague Players’ Association represents the players’ unified voice in regards to EuroLeague Basketball and assists their members in achieving their goals, on and off the court. Through collective bargaining with EuroLeague Basketball and the EuroLeague clubs, ELPA seeks to achieve a higher level of protection of players’ individual and collective rights and to improve the working conditions, economic benefits, and job security of all its members.

In collaboration with specialists in various sports fields, ELPA provides support for players’ physical and mental well-being. ELPA also engages in organisational, financial, educational, and marketing activities which advance the economic stability and security of its members. To learn more, visit www.elpa.basketball and follow @ELPA on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.  

About Winners Alliance

Winners Alliance is a global, athlete-centric commercial solution focused on optimizing, protecting, and maximizing athletes’ collective value through the creation of novel group licensing, partnership, sponsorship, content, event and investment opportunities. Launched in August 2022, Winners Alliance serves as the for-profit affiliate of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) and Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), representing the group commercial rights of hundreds of athletes worldwide and creating scalable commercial opportunities that are impactful for athletes and partners alike. To learn more, visit www.winnersalliance.com and follow @WinnersAlliance on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.  

Media Contacts

For Winners Alliance: david.cooper@winnersalliance.com 

For ELPA: s.sylla@elpa.basketball

First Large-Scale, Officially Licensed Fantasy Tennis Game to Feature Tommy Paul, Jessica Pegula, and Many More Professional Tennis Stars

Washington D.C., March 20, 2024 – The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) and its commercial affiliate, Winners Alliance, have formed a groundbreaking collaboration with Fungiball, a leading developer in the next-generation fantasy tennis gaming sphere. This innovative partnership will bring forth the first large-scale game of its kind, featuring over 250 professional men’s and women’s tennis players. Fungiball has secured rights to showcase the names, images, and likenesses of these players in their upcoming officially licensed tennis game.

Scheduled for launch in late March 2024, Fungiball’s web3 fantasy tennis game promises an unparalleled gaming experience. The license gives Fungiball immediate access to hundreds of top ATP and WTA tennis players, allowing fans the opportunity to play with their favorite stars such as Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alexander Bublik, Tommy Paul, Jessica Pegula, Caroline Garcia and many others. The game not only financially supports featured players, but also fosters novel engagement opportunities with fans, contributing to the overall growth and visibility of the sport.

“With over 250 professional tennis players, Fungiball offers unparalleled authenticity in the Fantasy Tennis universe,” stated Ahmad Nassar, PTPA Executive Director. “Our collaboration with Fungiball reinforces the PTPA’s and Winners Alliance’s commitment to supporting players with new, incremental revenue-generating opportunities and empowering them to maximize their off-the-court value.” 

“We are committed to providing a high-quality gaming experience for tennis fans worldwide,” expressed Jean Matias, CEO of Fungiball. “Fungiball merges the excitement of professional tennis with blockchain technology. We’re thrilled to provide gamers and tennis fans a more immersive and interactive experience by featuring a robust lineup of the sport’s biggest stars and next-generation talents.”

Fungiball is a play-to-earn game that seamlessly combines the thrill of professional tennis with the transformative power of blockchain technology. Users have the opportunity to craft unique game avatars, each endowed with four core skill sets: Serve, Return, Mental, and Power. To enhance their avatar’s proficiency, users can engage in weekly online tournaments—mirroring the professional tennis schedule—or utilize the Fungiball marketplace to collect and trade digital cards (NFTs) featuring their preferred men’s and women’s players.

Each player’s digital card encapsulates essential attributes, including Serve, Return, Mental, and Power ratings, along with distinctive factors such as favorite court type. As the on-court performances and results of real-life players fluctuate throughout the tour season, the skills ratings, value, and rarity of their corresponding Fungiball NFTs also evolve.

Since its establishment in 2022, Winners Alliance has consistently secured novel, player-centric commercial opportunities with premier brands such as Hilton, Topps, TUMI, and Priority Pass. Eric Winston, President of Winners Alliance, added, “Fungiball is an exciting addition to our growing portfolio of partners. Fungiball’s commitment to providing fair market value and increased visibility to players aligns with Winners Alliance’s athlete-centric model. We look forward to continuing to provide players and their teams with dynamic and impactful opportunities.”

The marketplace is now live here and features dozens of players, with additional players added throughout 2024. Gameplay will be available to users beginning late March 2024.

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About the Professional Tennis Players Association

The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) is a global organization that unites and mobilizes tennis players to foster transparency and fairness in professional tennis. As an independent entity, the PTPA is dedicated to advancing and safeguarding the rights of professional men’s and women’s tennis players throughout their careers. By prioritizing crucial aspects such as health and safety, schedules, rules, purses, benefits, and education, the PTPA endeavors to build an equitable and sustainable competitive environment for present and future generations of players. Headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area, the PTPA operates on a global scale. For more information, visit www.ptpaplayers.com and connect with @ptpaplayers on social media.

About Winners Alliance

Winners Alliance is a global, athlete-centric commercial solution dedicated to creating novel group licensing, sponsorship, partnership, content, investment and event opportunities for world-class athletes collectively. Launched in August 2022, Winners Alliance serves as the for-profit affiliate of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) and Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), representing the group commercial rights of hundreds of athletes worldwide. Among its pioneering initiatives, Winners Alliance aims to establish a sustainable group licensing program encompassing video games, trading cards, collectibles, and related opportunities. To learn more, visit www.winnersalliance.com and follow @WinnersAlliance on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.

About Fungiball

Fungiball is a next-generation, play-to-earn fantasy tennis game built on blockchain technology. Users create their own virtual tennis player avatars by collecting digital cards representing the real-life skills of over 250 men’s and women’s professional tennis players. By collecting players’ cards, which are divided into four categories (Power, Service, Return, Mental) and three rarity levels (Silver, Gold, Platinum), users build their own avatar and compete in weekly tournaments for the chance to win premium prizes such as rare Fungiball cards, tennis equipment, tickets, and much more. Fungiball’s digital marketplace is now live, with game play scheduled to launch in late March 2024. Visit fungiball.io to play and learn more. 

Media Contacts

Winners Alliance & PTPA: david.cooper@winnersalliance.com

Fungiball: contact@fungiball.io

The Professional Tennis Players Association partnership with Priority Pass – via Winners Alliance – bolsters the mission to help alleviate travel burdens of pro tennis players

Washington, D.C., February 28, 2024 – The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), global advocates for professional tennis players, today announced Priority Pass as an official partner. This marks a significant step in supporting the travel needs of players worldwide who have a desire to decompress during their rigorous travel schedules.

This announcement comes on the heels of a global survey recently commissioned by Priority Pass that shows 53 percent of travelers say visiting an airport lounge has improved their ability to switch off and relax during their travels.

Facilitated by the PTPA’s for-profit affiliate Winners Alliance, the partnership grants hundreds of professional tennis players complimentary Priority Pass Prestige memberships – which includes the most comprehensive benefits of the three membership tiers to maximize comfort. Priority Pass Prestige membership includes:

• Lounge access that provides a sanctuary of peace and quiet, away from the bustle of the airport so players can recharge between tournaments

• Complimentary food and beverages, including access to healthy dining throughout the day with wellness in mind

• Access to lounge alternatives including sleeping pods*, pre-flight spa treatments* and restaurant experiences* (*At select airports) 

“Priority Pass is a thoughtful and natural addition to our growing family of PTPA partners given the rigorous travel schedules for professional tennis players,” said Vasek Pospisil, PTPA Executive Committee member. “We’re always looking for ways to make our travels more comfortable, and we’re grateful that Priority Pass is committed to supporting players in our day-to-day lives.”

Priority Pass, renowned as the world’s leading provider of airport lounges and experiences, boasts 1,500 lounges in over 700 cities and 145 countries. A transformative brand founded in 1992 and continuing to grow to this day, Priority Pass has been providing frequent travelers with award-winning independent airport lounge access worldwide. With the professional tennis tour spanning 30 countries over 11 months, players who face one of the most demanding travel schedules in all of professional sports now have access to seamless, premium airport experiences across the globe.

“Priority Pass is proud to partner with the Professional Tennis Players Association enabling us to directly impact players and their overall travel experience,” said Sheryl Pflaum, President, Collinson Americas (operator of Priority Pass). “These athletes deserve to travel with ease of mind and comfort thereby empowering them to play at their highest level. This meaningful partnership allows players at all levels equitable access to the full benefits of our program, thus enhancing the growth of their careers.”

Ahmad Nassar, PTPA Executive Director, stated, “The PTPA’s partnership with Priority Pass is another strategic step in supporting professional tennis players worldwide through new benefits, services, and opportunities. World-class athletes deserve world-class support, and we know Priority Pass will provide players with added comfort and convenience during their travels.”

Added Eric Winston, President of Winners Alliance: “We are dedicated to creating opportunities that enhance the lives of professional athletes. This partnership with Priority Pass aligns with our mission, providing a tangible and valuable benefit to our members as they crisscross the globe in pursuit of their athletic dreams.”

The PTPA, through Winners Alliance, has strategically crafted this partnership to address the unique challenges players encounter, aligning with its broader mission of creating an equitable and sustainable competitive environment.

About the Professional Tennis Players Association

The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) is a global organization that unites and mobilizes tennis players to foster transparency and fairness in professional tennis. As an independent entity, the PTPA is dedicated to advancing and safeguarding the rights of professional men’s and women’s tennis players throughout their careers. By prioritizing crucial aspects such as health and safety, schedules, rules, purses, benefits, and education, the PTPA endeavors to build an equitable and sustainable competitive environment for present and future generations of players. Headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area, the PTPA operates on a global scale. For more information, visit www.ptpaplayers.com and connect with @ptpaplayers on social media.

About Priority Pass

Priority Pass is operated by Collinson, the global, privately-owned company dedicated to helping the world to travel with ease and confidence. Priority Pass is the world’s original and market-leading airport experiences programme. We provide travelers with access to over 1,500 airport lounges and travel experiences in over 700 airports in 145 countries. Members can access an ever-growing range of premium experiences – from spas to sleeping pods to dining – that help elevate every journey into something special. By building partnerships with other leading brands, we help to bring a better travel experience to the world.

About Winners Alliance

Winners Alliance is a global, athlete-centric commercial solution dedicated to creating novel group licensing, sponsorship, partnership, content, investment and event opportunities for world-class athletes collectively. Launched in August 2022, Winners Alliance serves as the for-profit affiliate of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) and Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), representing the group commercial rights of hundreds of athletes worldwide. Among its pioneering initiatives, Winners Alliance aims to establish a sustainable group licensing program encompassing video games, trading cards, collectibles, and related opportunities. To learn more, visit www.winnersalliance.com and follow @WinnersAlliance on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.

Media Contacts

For PTPA & Winners Alliance: david.cooper@winnersalliance.com
For Priority Pass: Aaron Kokoruz: aaron.kokoruz@ketchum.com