University of Southern California star quarterback Caleb Williams is vying to be much more than a premier pick in next year’s National Football League draft.
Briefly trading in his football uniform, the Heisman Trophy winner put on his finance hat to become one of the latest backers of a new women’s sports-focused fund.
Monarch Collective LLC, a Los Angeles-based sports investment firm, has raised at least $109 million with plans to target assets in women’s sports including teams, emerging leagues and rights. Co-founders Kara Nortman and Jasmine Robinson began pitching for the oversubscribed fund in January and have now closed with capital support from family offices, pension funds, endowments and select foundations.
“There hasn’t necessarily been as much support as there should be in women’s sports,” Williams said in a phone interview while navigating California traffic. While his interest to invest more has been piqued, one thing he wanted to make clear: “If it’s not authentic, then I’m not going to do it.”
Williams, who transferred from the University of Oklahoma, was introduced to Monarch through his mentor Ross Walker, who’s also a limited partner at the firm. Williams declined to disclose how much he invested.
“NIL is doing well for me,” said Williams, referring to new rules allowing college athletes to earn money through brand marketing deals using their name, image and likeness. Although he had NIL deals before coming to USC, joining the powerhouse institution “has opened more doors within the brands,” he said.
Other backers of Monarch’s fund include: American tennis icon Billie Jean King, National Football League Players Association former executive director DeMaurice Smith, Hello Sunshine Chief Executive Officer Sarah Harden, Lydia Jett of the SoftBank Vision Fund, and former Netflix Inc. content chief Cindy Holland.
“If you do real work it’s real multiples here in women’s sports,” Nortman said. “I think the more we do to understand who’s really authentically interested in that, the more we can not just help ourselves but help others.”
Nortman started the Angel City Football Club, which is now playing its second season in the National Women’s Soccer League, with co-founders including actress Natalie Portman.
“One of the really nice things about sports in general is that the dollars get big enough and you can really collaborate where you don’t have to like elbow each other out to get a certain percentage,” she said.