– Growing Number of Tennis Stars Join Historic Group Licensing Agreement, Backed by Fanatics’ Long-term Commitment to the Sport and Its Players –

Washington, D.C., March 23, 2023– Winners Alliance, the for-profit affiliate of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), has partnered with Fanatics Collectibles to provide professional women’s and men’s tennis players the opportunity to be included in a broad-scale group trading card set program through the company’s cornerstone brand, Topps. This is the first group licensing agreement in the history of professional tennis.

As part of the groundbreaking deal, Winners Alliance grants Fanatics Collectibles the right to use the name, image and likenesses of professional women’s and men’s players who opt into the group licensing agreement. Fanatics Collectibles will produce an annual set of player cards every year of the partnership.

Fanatics Collectibles has committed to creating an annual series of player trading cards for the next two decades. Men’s and women’s players who opt in to the PTPA group licensing agreement will have the opportunity to participate in the deal. In the upcoming months, the PTPA will further expand the program and welcome additional players on board. This initiative is a key part of Winners Alliance’s overarching vision to establish a sustainable group licensing program that generates incremental revenues for the players while also contributing to the growth of the sport.

“What an amazing opportunity for players to be part of an annualized tennis trading card program featuring dozens of women’s and men’s players. The group licensing model is key to including athletes in wide-ranging licensed products like this. This deal, and the future deals to come, will not only increase the financial upside for players – but they will also help grow the game for generations to come,” said Ons Jabeur, the fifth-ranked women’s player in the world.

“The PTPA and Winners Alliance are true leaders in the sport of tennis, and we’re incredibly excited for Topps to be their exclusive trading card partner,” said Kelvin Smith, Vice President of Global Licensing and Partner Development, Fanatics Collectibles. “With Fanatics Collectibles’ focus on reaching new audiences and enhancing the collector experience, we’re thrilled to be bringing the trading card hobby to tennis fans around the world for the first time.”

“Celebrating this unprecedented agreement with Fanatics Collectibles, we’re excited to continue supporting athletes in maximizing their collective power and achieving their full potential,” stated Ahmad Nassar, Executive Director, PTPA & CEO, Winners Alliance.

Winners Alliance, the PTPA’s for-profit affiliate, was founded in August of 2022 to generate and maximize off-the-court commercial opportunities for players and their agents, emulating the successful model of players associations in other sports. Among its first initiatives, Winners Alliance will establish a sustainable group licensing program for video games, trading cards, collectibles, and related opportunities.

About Winners Alliance

Winners Alliance, the PTPA’s for-profit affiliate, was founded in August 2022 to generate and maximize off-the-court commercial opportunities for players and their agents, emulating the successful model of players associations in other sports. Among its first initiatives, Winners Alliance will establish a sustainable group licensing program for video games, trading cards, collectibles, and related opportunities.

About the Professional Tennis Players Association

The PTPA is uniting and mobilizing tennis players from around the globe to create transparency and fairness throughout decision-making in professional tennis. It is an independent organization dedicated to the advancement and protection of professional women’s and men’s tennis players across their entire professional journey. Through the PTPA, professional tennis players are building an equitable and sustainable competitive environment for players today and for generations to come, including health and safety issues, schedules, rules, purses, benefits and education. The PTPA is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with operations globally.

About Fanatics Collectibles

Fanatics Collectibles is a new model and vision for the hobby fundamentally changing the experience for current and future collectors, leagues, and players across many professional and college sports. The organization secured long-term, exclusive rights to design, manufacture and distribute trading cards for several sports properties, including MLB, MLBPA, NBA, NBPA and NFLPA. In January 2022, Fanatics Collectibles announced the acquisition of Topps, establishing the preeminent licensed trading card brand as the cornerstone of Fanatics’ trading cards and collectibles business and jumpstarted its MLB and MLBPA rights to design, manufacture and distribute trading cards.

Media Contacts:

For Winners Alliance: david@mvppr.com
For Fanatics: mneumayr@fanatics.com

Want to know the story behind the Winners Alliance brand?

Every element of the visual identity ties back to Winners Alliance’s mission to empower athletes to win on and off the court.

The W, the brand’s core mark, is not only indicative of the company’s name – it’s indicative of what it looks like to win. The structure of the W was developed using inspiration from victorious icons throughout sports. The shape is reminiscent of a triumphant athlete with their arms raised in victory; a champion’s trophy; a celebratory toast.

The two overlapping shapes in the mark serve as a testament to the full athlete experience and Winners Alliance’s role in supporting athletes – and helping them win – both on and off the court.

Winners Alliance believes that winning is unlimited – that’s why the motion of the W’s edges are aimed skyward. Continue extending the lines of the mark, and a pattern is created that reflects a core element of the Winners Alliance brand: collective. Winners Alliance supports athletes at scale, and the strength of the brand stems from the collective power of athletes.

The brand’s shorthand of “Win All” is an homage to Winners Alliance’s role in the athlete experience. We create commercial opportunities for athletes so they not only win on the court – they Win All.

WINNERS ALLIANCE RAISES $26 MILLION IN EQUITY TO SUPPORT OPERATIONS AND LONG-TERM GROWTH

– Funding will enable the PTPA to launch its Player Services Platform to serve professional men’s and women’s tennis players globally;

– Ahmad Nassar, Former OneTeam Partners Founding CEO and NFL Players Inc. President, Named PTPA Executive Director & Winners Alliance CEO;

– Bill Ackman, CEO and Portfolio Manager of Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P., and Co-Trustee of The Pershing Square Foundation, Appointed Winners Alliance Chairman of the Board –

NEW YORK, NY (August 26, 2022) – The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) – global advocates on behalf of men’s and women’s professional tennis players today announced the launch of Winners Alliance, the Association’s for-profit affiliate, to generate and maximize off-the-court commercial opportunities for players and their agents, emulating the successful model of players associations in other sports. Among its first initiatives, Winners Alliance will establish a sustainable group licensing program for video games, trading cards, collectibles, and related opportunities.

Former OneTeam Partners Founding CEO and NFL Players Inc. President Ahmad Nassar has been named the Executive Director of the PTPA and CEO of Winners Alliance. Winners Alliance Chairman Bill Ackman, via the Pershing Square Foundation, and Prysm Capital, a growth equity investment firm experienced in working with player associations, co-led the $26 million raise, alongside an investment from Mr. Nassar.

Said Ahmad Nassar: “I am excited to continue my career working to empower world-class athletes at the PTPA. Having a players association that unconditionally cares for every tennis player is incredibly important, and I am privileged to have the opportunity to take this organization to the next level.”

Nassar joins after serving three years as Founding CEO of OneTeam Partners, a group licensing, marketing, and media powerhouse representing the commercial interests of women’s and men’s athletes across multiple sports. Prior to OneTeam, Nassar led NFL Players Inc. as President and helped grow the NFL Players Association’s marketing and licensing business into one of the largest for-profit licensors in sports, doubling annual revenue and payouts to players during his tenure.

Said Vasek Pospisil, co-founder of the PTPA: “Ahmad is the perfect choice. He brings an unrivaled set of experiences and expertise working with women’s and men’s athletes across many sports. As we continue to build our player leadership and base, I know Ahmad’s perspective, background in licensing and marketing, and success in unlocking huge value for players and their associations will be a major asset. Players want an independent voice and a real seat at the table. With the launch and funding of Winners Alliance, we are now well resourced to make a material difference in players’ lives.”

The Winners Alliance Board of Directors reflects leadership across industries, with the inaugural board consisting of Chairman Bill Ackman, CEO and Portfolio Manager of Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P., and Co-Trustee of The Pershing Square Foundation; Christina Francis, President of Magic Johnson Enterprises and former CMO of the Orange Bowl and NFL Players Association; Jay Park, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Prysm Capital; Muhammad Mian, Prysm Capital Co-Founder & Partner; and Ahmad Nassar.

“I have had a lifelong passion for tennis, both as a player and a fan, but have long recognized the challenges that most professional tennis players experience due to the sport’s inferior economics for all but the very top of the rankings ladder,” said Bill Ackman. “I could not be more optimistic about the opportunity to partner with Ahmad and Vasek and the new team they are building to help revolutionize the economics of the game for the players, and to accelerate the growth and sustainability of the sport to benefit all participants in the tennis ecosystem.”
“I am thrilled to join the board and continue my work on behalf of athletes,” said Christina Francis. “Ahmad is best positioned to lead the association and Winners Alliance, as he and I both see the value and importance of advocating for the business interests and livelihoods of athletes. My track record throughout my career will support the PTPA, Winners Alliance and their mission.”

Players Services Platform (PSP)

The PTPA will launch the Player Services Platform to enhance professional players journeys in the sport by leveraging the group buying power and brand value of all the players. PSP services will include global discounts on travel, food, and accommodations and other player necessities, benefit programs, insurance options, travel and logistics support, player concierge amenities, a tax advisory and attorney network, discipline appeals support, access to financial planners, player charity support, and media and public relations counsel, among other benefits.

About The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA)

The PTPA is uniting and mobilizing tennis players around the globe to create transparency and fairness in professional tennis. It is an independent organization dedicated to the advancement and protection of professional men’s and women’s tennis players across their entire professional journey. Through the PTPA, professional tennis players are building an equitable and sustainable competitive environment for players today and for generations to come, including health and safety issues, schedules, rules, purses, benefits and education. The PTPA is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with operations globally.

About Ahmad Nassar

Ahmad Nassar built his career by dedicating himself to working with athletes to help them get more value out of their professional careers. His vision helped form OneTeam Partners in 2019 as a joint venture between the NFLPA, MLBPA, and RedBird Capital Partners. Established to maximize the collective value of athlete rights across group licensing, marketing, media and investing, OneTeam was the first company owned by athletes and capitalized by a major financial partner. Under Nassar’s leadership, the sports company evolved into a multibillion-dollar company representing the commercial business interests of world-class athletes represented by the NFLPA, MLBPA, MLSPA, the USWNTPA, the NWSLPA, the WNBPA, the U.S. Rugby PA as well as men’s and women’s collegiate athletes.

Prior to OneTeam, Nassar spent more than a decade at NFL Players Inc., the for-profit marketing and licensing business of the NFLPA representing 2,000 NFL players. He managed operations and led commercial negotiations with the NFL and partners such as Fanatics and Electronic Arts. The organization evolved into one of the most progressive business-to-business entities in sports, generating multiple years of record revenue growth. During his tenure, Nassar led the creation and launch of ACE Media, an NFLPA-owned business focused on athlete lifestyle programming; co-founded and led the OneTeam Collective, the first athlete-driven business accelerator, engaging early-stage companies by licensing NFLPA group rights in exchange for equity. Along with founding partners from the WNBPA and USWNTPA, Nassar helped launch REP Worldwide, a landmark group player representation business that offered licensing and brand management services to athlete-driven sports properties.

About The Pershing Square Foundation

The Pershing Square Foundation (PSF) is a family foundation established in 2006 to support exceptional leaders and innovative organizations that tackle important social issues and deliver scalable and sustainable global impact. PSF has committed more than $600 million in grants and social investments in target areas including health and medicine, education, economic development and social justice. Bill Ackman and Neri Oxman are co-trustees of the Foundation. For more information visit: www.pershingsquarefoundation.org.

About Prysm Capital

Prysm Capital, LLC is a growth equity firm that partners with disruptive, category-leading companies in the technology, consumer, and healthcare sectors. With a long-term and company-first perspective, Prysm helps management teams achieve their next level of growth.

The PTPA conducted a global executive search process utilizing TurnkeyZRG, which recruited and vetted a diverse pool of CEO candidates from around the world.

Media Contact:

For PTPA: david@mvppr.com