Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has taken an equity stake in the CHAMP Fund, the athlete-led investment platform backed by L Catterton and Patricof Co. that now counts more than 250 active professional athletes as partners. The move places Cunningham inside a vehicle designed to convert athlete endorsement leverage into ownership positions in consumer brands.
The CHAMP Fund launched last year as a structured alternative to one-off endorsement deals, offering athletes equity participation in early-stage consumer companies in exchange for promotional work and distribution access. L Catterton, the private equity firm with $35 billion under management and ties to LVMH, provides capital and deal sourcing. Patricof Co., the venture firm founded by Greenberg Traurig partner Alan Patricof, handles athlete onboarding. Athletes receive equity grants tied to performance milestones—social impressions, retail activations, revenue thresholds—rather than flat endorsement fees.
Cunningham joins a roster that includes WNBA players Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, NFL wide receiver Justin Jefferson, and tennis player Frances Tiafoe. The fund has deployed capital into brands including Olipop, the prebiotic soda company, and Ghost, the lifestyle supplement line acquired by Nestlé Health Science in 2023 for an undisclosed sum reported north of $500 million. Athletes who held equity in Ghost at acquisition received payouts scaled to their promotional contribution, a structure the fund now applies across its portfolio.
The timing reflects two shifts in athlete economics. First, WNBA players remain underpaid relative to revenue growth—Cunningham's base salary for the 2025 season sits near $200,000, while the league's new media deal with Disney, Amazon, and NBC will generate $2.2 billion over eleven years starting in 2026. Equity stakes in consumer brands offer upside that salary caps suppress. Second, the NIL market has trained college athletes to think in ownership terms, creating demand for post-draft structures that preserve equity participation. Cunningham, who played at Missouri before six WNBA seasons, fits the profile: established platform, proven promotional reach, and a willingness to accept illiquid equity in exchange for backend leverage.
The fund's structure also solves a capital problem for early-stage brands. Consumer companies need athlete endorsements to break through crowded categories—hydration, apparel, recovery—but lack cash to pay traditional endorsement rates. CHAMP offers brands access to multiple athletes simultaneously in exchange for minority equity, effectively turning promotional spend into dilution rather than expense. For brands that exit, athletes receive pro-rata distributions. For brands that stall, athletes lose promotional time but avoid cash outlay.
Cunningham's addition expands the fund's WNBA footprint ahead of the league's next inflection point. The league will add a thirteenth franchise in Portland for the 2026 season, with expansion fees reportedly near $100 million. Player salaries will rise under the new CBA currently in negotiation, but veteran guards like Cunningham—age 30, three years from unrestricted free agency—remain in the earnings window where equity exposure matters. She averaged 9.2 points per game last season and maintains 412,000 Instagram followers, a mid-tier WNBA promotional base suitable for brands targeting women 18-34.
The fund has not disclosed the size of individual equity grants or the performance thresholds required to unlock full vesting. Early participants in the Olipop deal, which raised a $50 million Series B in 2023 at a reported $500 million valuation, saw paper gains but no liquidity event. The fund's next portfolio announcements will clarify whether it prioritizes high-probability exits or long-duration brand building.
Watch for additional WNBA signings before the 2025 season tips in May, particularly among guards and forwards with Instagram followings above 300,000. The fund will likely announce at least one new portfolio brand by March, timed to spring retail cycles. Cunningham's first promotional campaign under the CHAMP structure should surface within 90 days, offering a public test of the fund's ability to convert athlete equity into measurable brand lift.
The takeaway
Cunningham's equity stake in CHAMP Fund signals growing appetite among mid-tier WNBA players to trade endorsement fees for ownership in early-stage consumer brands.
wnbaathlete equityconsumer investingl cattertonendorsement economicschamp fund
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