Next League
Next League is a New York-based B2B professional services firm that designs, deploys, and operates AI-powered digital systems exclusively for sports organizations including leagues, federations, and professional teams such as NASCAR, USOPC, NBA, and the PGA Tour.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Next League does
Next League is a New York-based B2B professional services firm founded in November 2021 that designs, deploys, and operates AI-powered digital technology systems exclusively for sports organizations. The company serves leagues, federations, professional teams, sports media companies, and venues — including NASCAR, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), the NBA, the PGA Tour, USGA, LPGA, the New York Jets, Golden State Warriors, Inter Miami CF, Chelsea FC, TGL, PWHL, USTA, NYRR, Learfield, Bay FC, Gotham FC, and Breeders' Cup. Eighty percent of its leadership team has prior operating experience inside major sports properties, and the firm positions itself as an 'AI Operating Partner' rather than a traditional consultancy.
The company's core offering spans five service domains: Fan Engagement & Identity, Content & Distribution Platforms, Revenue Optimization, Live Events Operations, and Agentic AI & Workflow Automation. Its proprietary product, Alex, is an AI voice agent that handles fan phone inquiries (schedule, ticketing, stadium guide) by training on a team's website. Technology is built on modern cloud infrastructure with multi-modal AI capabilities (text, image, video, audio, structured data) and integrations with NVIDIA, Anthropic, Oracle, Google, Microsoft, and AWS via its 2026 Marvik partnership. Frameworks used include LangChain, LangGraph, OpenAI Agents SDK, and Claude. Delivered outcomes include AI-generated content for PGA Tour's Every Shot Live product and 91% Microsoft Copilot adoption at the New York Jets.
Next League generates revenue through enterprise managed services engagements and AI Strategy & Training professional services contracts structured as multi-year agreements. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales targeting C-suite and executive-level buyers at sports organizations. The firm is 100% remote with 11-50 employees, is funded by TLI Bedrock (2022, undisclosed amount), and has completed two acquisitions — Infront X in 2022 and Edge3 in February 2025 — to extend its capabilities (Edge3 adds college athletics as a vertical) and delivery capacity.
Next League firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Next League
- Legal name
- Next League, LLC
- Website
- https://nextleague.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Next League is a New York-based B2B professional services firm that designs, deploys, and operates AI-powered digital systems exclusively for sports organizations including leagues, federations, and professional teams such as NASCAR, USOPC, NBA, and the PGA Tour.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Next League industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sports Technology Services
- SIC
- Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Data Platforms, BI/Reporting & Player Analytics (CDP/Attribution) (MPAEAKAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- AI/ML Engineering & Model Development Services (BPAEAHAF), AI Observability, Monitoring & Evaluation Platforms (Drift, Quality, Safety) (HDAEANAF)
Keywords
Where Next League is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Next League business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Technology Services & Operations: Next League designs, deploys, and operates intelligent systems for sports clients. Engagements are structured as strategic, multi-year technology services agreements combining strategy, design, development, and ongoing operations. The company does not sell projects or people — it builds and runs systems that produce measurable outcomes. Revenue is generated through professional services engagements with leagues, federations, teams, and sports properties.
- AI Strategy & Training Engagements: Enterprise AI enablement engagements where Next League works alongside client executive teams to embed AI within front-office operations, generating AI deployment ideas and conducting workshops. These are billed as distinct consulting/professional services engagements.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Contract engineering roles (AI Solutions Engineer, Data Scientist) — $200 USD/hour |
| Subscription | Annual | Vice President of Engineering — $250,000–$325,000 USD annual salary |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise services — quote-based |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Next League product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Next League designs, deploys, and operates AI-powered intelligent systems for sports organizations, spanning five domains: Fan Engagement & Identity, Content & Distribution Platforms, Revenue Optimization, Live Events Operations, and Agentic AI & Workflow Automation. The company engages with leagues, federations, teams, venues, and sports media organizations through multi-year managed services and AI Strategy and Training engagements rather than selling discrete software licenses or projects.
Product overview
Next League operates as 'The AI Operating Partner for Sports,' offering a unified platform that designs, deploys, and operates intelligent systems across five interconnected domains: Fan Engagement & Identity, Content & Distribution Platforms, Revenue Optimization, Live Events Operations, and Agentic AI & Workflow Automation. The core platform is augmented by a voice AI product called Alex, an AI Strategy and Training practice for enterprise enablement, and thought leadership content including the Know What Is Next podcast, The AI Playbook column, and a published book. The portfolio is anchored by deep sports operator experience and partnerships with leading AI platform vendors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Alex: AI-powered voice assistant that serves as a team's AI rep, handling questions about schedule, ticketing, stadium guide, concessions, and bag policy via phone in real time.
- Know What Is Next
- The Business of Sports Technology
- The AI Playbook
Products and services
- AI Operating Partner for Sports An end-to-end AI operating partnership for sports organizations that designs, deploys, and operates intelligent systems across five integrated domains — Fan Engagement & Identity, Content & Distribution Platforms, Revenue Optimization, Live Events Operations, and Agentic AI & Workflow Automation. Delivered as multi-year managed services engagements targeting leagues, federations, teams, venues, and sports media organizations.
- Alex — AI Voice Agent
Quantifiable outcome
- 91% daily Microsoft Copilot adoption rate achieved at New York Jets following Next League AI workshops.
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Next League
Customer profileNamed customers18 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Next League technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability14 records
Feature6 records
Next League partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- MarvikcoreStrategic partnership announced May 18, 2026, pairing Next League's sports operator playbook with Marvik's enterprise AI engineering depth. Marvik has deployed over 300 production AI systems and holds strategic partnerships with NVIDIA, Anthropic, Oracle, Google, Microsoft, and AWS. The partnership brings Marvik's enterprise-grade AI capabilities to Next League's growing sports client portfolio, including integrated delivery teams working across Next League's global sports engagements. Marvik enters the sports market through this strategic relationship with Next League.
- NASCARflagshipExtended and expanded multi-year strategic partnership originally dating to 2012, renewed in late 2021 and expanded again in November 2025. Focuses on developing a more dynamic, fan-first digital platform for NASCAR and boosting the sport's global interest.
- NVIDIAcoreMarvik holds strategic partnerships with the world's leading AI and cloud platforms including NVIDIA. Next League benefits indirectly through the Marvik partnership in accessing NVIDIA AI infrastructure.
- AnthropiccoreMarvik holds strategic partnerships including with Anthropic for Claude AI capabilities. Next League benefits through the Marvik partnership.
- MicrosoftcoreMarvik holds strategic partnerships with Microsoft for Azure AI. Next League also uses Microsoft Copilot in its client engagements (e.g., New York Jets deployment).
- GooglecoreMarvik holds strategic partnerships including with Google Cloud and Vertex AI platforms.
- AWScoreMarvik holds strategic partnerships with AWS cloud infrastructure. Next League leverages AWS for client digital platform operations.
- OraclecoreMarvik holds strategic partnerships with Oracle for AI and cloud platforms.
- Techstars Sports AcceleratorminorShripal Shah co-founded NextUp Ventures, which worked with startups from the Techstars Sports and Comcast SportsTech Accelerators. Through 14 demo days, helped startups secure over $1.5M in funding. Relationship is indirect through Shripal Shah's personal investment activities rather than a Next League corporate partnership.
- Women's Sports FoundationminorNext League committed a $10,000 donation to the Women's Sports Foundation specifically targeted at supporting women in STEM efforts. Part of the company's mission-focused diversity and inclusion initiatives.
- TMRW Sports Fund at Palm Beach State CollegeminorNext League made a gift to the TMRW Sports Fund at Palm Beach State College providing scholarship and academic programming support. Part of the company's mission-focused approach and commitment to social impact.
- Sports Business Journal (SBJ) Tech WeekminorNext League sponsors the 'Next In Sports Tech: Rising Female Tech Leader' award starting 2025 at the Sports Business Awards: Tech ceremony during SBJ Tech Week. Active participant and speaker at SBJ Tech Week events.
- Washington CommandersminorShripal Shah served as SVP, Chief Strategy Officer at the Washington Commanders for nine years before joining Next League. His tenure there generated over $60M in sponsorship revenue and 120,000 affinity program members. This is a former employer relationship, not an active Next League client partnership.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Next League competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Slalom: Slalom is a large consultancy with a dedicated sports and entertainment practice delivering digital transformation, cloud, and AI services. Competes for the same enterprise sports engagements Next League targets, with broader vertical reach.
- Deloitte Digital: Deloitte's sports business group delivers digital strategy, cloud, and AI-enabled transformation to major sports properties. Comparable to Next League's AI Strategy & Training and managed services offerings, with significantly greater scale.
- Accenture: Accenture operates a global sports practice providing strategy, technology, and managed services to leagues, federations, and teams. A large incumbent competitor that could out-resource Next League on enterprise RFPs.
Emerging players
- Pixellot: Pixellot offers AI-automated sports video capture and analysis. Overlaps with Next League's computer vision and automated content tagging capabilities for live events and content operations.
- Catapult Sports: Catapult provides athlete performance and analytics technology for professional teams and leagues. Adjacent to Next League's Edge3 acquisition and the AI Strategy & Training practice targeting athlete-side workflows.
Direct peers
- Sportradar: Sportradar provides sports data, content, and technology solutions to leagues, media, and betting operators. Comparable to Next League on data-driven fan engagement, content platforms, and AI-driven sports services.
- WSC Sports: WSC Sports uses AI to automate creation, distribution, and personalization of sports video content in real time. Directly comparable to Next League's content & distribution and AI-generated content work (e.g., PGA Tour's Every Shot Live).
- Genius Sports: Genius Sports supplies data, technology, and content solutions to sports leagues, sportsbooks, and media companies. Competes with Next League on league-level data, content, and engagement platforms.
- Stats Perform: Stats Perform provides sports data, AI-powered content, and performance analytics to leagues, teams, and media organizations. Overlaps with Next League's AI-driven content, fan engagement, and predictive analytics capabilities.
- Deltatre: Deltatre designs, builds, and operates digital, broadcast, and content platforms for major sports organizations worldwide. It is the closest direct competitor to Next League's sports digital platform and content distribution domain, serving many of the same league and federation clients.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Next League social profiles
Digital presenceNext League financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Next League leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Next League subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Next League funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Next League M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Next League
What does Next League do?
Next League designs, deploys, and operates AI-powered intelligent systems for sports organizations, spanning five domains: Fan Engagement & Identity, Content & Distribution Platforms, Revenue Optimization, Live Events Operations, and Agentic AI & Workflow Automation. The company engages with leagues, federations, teams, venues, and sports media organizations through multi-year managed services and AI Strategy and Training engagements rather than selling discrete software licenses or projects.
Is Next League a public or private company?
Next League is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Next League founded?
Next League was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Next League based?
Next League is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Next League make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Technology Services & Operations are the primary driver. The others are AI Strategy & Training Engagements.
Who are Next League's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Slalom, Deloitte Digital and Accenture. Emerging players are Pixellot and Catapult Sports. Direct peers are Sportradar, WSC Sports, Genius Sports, Stats Perform and Deltatre.
Does Next League have an API?
No public API is recorded for Next League.
What industry is Next League in?
Next League's product category is Sports Technology Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAEAKAI, Data Platforms, BI/Reporting & Player Analytics (CDP/Attribution), with a secondary code of BPAEAHAF, AI/ML Engineering & Model Development Services. Its SIC code is 7373.