Players Era

College Sports Tournament Organizationplayersera.com

Company typePrivate
Founded2024
HeadquartersNew York, United States
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

Players Era firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Players Era
Legal name: Players Era
Website: https://playersera.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2024
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Players Era industry classification

Industry

Product category: College Sports Tournament Organization
NAICS: Spectator Sports (71121)
SIC: Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
akta.pro primary industry: Collegiate & Scholastic Tournament Organizers (MPAKADAG)
akta.pro secondary industries: Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support) (MPAKAKAK), Athletics Fundraising, Sponsorships & NIL Support (EDALAIAN)

Keywords

College basketball tournaments
NIL-driven events
Pre-season sports showcases
Athlete compensation programs
NCAA multi-team events

Where Players Era is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: New York
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

Players Era business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

Television Broadcasting Rights: Multi-year broadcast agreement with ESPN for exclusive rights to air all tournament games across ESPN networks. Previously aired on TNT Sports.
Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from ticket sales at MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena venues in Las Vegas.
Sponsorships: Corporate sponsorship revenue from brands seeking exposure during tournament events and broadcast coverage.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Other	One time/ perpetual license	NIL compensation for participating teams

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Players Era product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Players Era organizes NIL-driven college basketball tournaments and athlete engagement events, primarily held at premium Las Vegas venues (MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena). The core offering includes the Men's Championship (8-team, 18-team, and 2026 24-team formats), the inaugural Women's Championship, a Volleyball Showcase, and the international Eternal City Tip-Off in Rome, with participating schools receiving guaranteed NIL compensation averaging at least $1 million per team and national broadcast exposure through ESPN.

Product overview

Players Era operates a portfolio of college sports tournaments and events, primarily focused on basketball (men's and women's) while expanding into volleyball. The core offering consists of the Players Era Men's Championship (2025: 18 teams; 2026: 24 teams across Players Era Eight and Players Era Sixteen) and the Players Era Women's Championship (inaugural 2025), both held in Las Vegas with guaranteed $1 million NIL payments per participating school. Additional offerings include the Players Era Volleyball Showcase and the Eternal City Tip-Off (international basketball event in Rome). The original 2024 Players Era Festival served as the debut event before the portfolio expanded.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Players Era Men's Championship The main men's college basketball tournament held in Las Vegas, featuring 18 teams in 2025 and expanding to 24 teams across two events in 2026, with guaranteed $1 million NIL payments per participating school and national broadcast exposure on ESPN.

Quantifiable outcome

Viewership doubled year-over-year to 322,000 average viewers with 1.1 million peak for championship game
+3 more outcomes

Companies that use Players Era

Customer profile

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Players Era technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Players Era partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

ESPNflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 7 May 2026Multi-year broadcast agreement making ESPN the exclusive media rights partner for Players Era Men's Championships. ESPN Events collaborates with EverWonder on tournament operations. All 37 games of the 2026 event to air across ESPN networks. This replaces the previous two-year partnership with TNT Sports.
ACC and SEC Conferences (Discussions)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 November 2025Players Era reportedly offered a 15% stake to all power conferences before signing with the Big 12. ACC and SEC were reportedly more receptive than the Big Ten. Indicates potential future expansion of equity partnerships.
Big 12 ConferencecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 November 2025Five-year equity partnership (2026-2030) where Big 12 takes equity stake in Players Era. Eight top Big 12 teams receive automatic entry. Players Era committed at least $50 million in rights fees to Big 12 programs over the six-year period. First-of-its-kind partnership for collegiate athletics.
MGM Resorts InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024Founding host partner for the Players Era Festival. MGM Grand Garden Arena hosted inaugural 2024 championship. MGM provides world-class venue, hospitality, and entertainment infrastructure in Las Vegas. Described as treating teams and fans with high-level service.
TNT Sports (Previous)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 November 2024Previous broadcast partner for the first two years of Players Era tournaments. The tournament moved to ESPN for 2026 and beyond. Players Era CEO thanked TNT Sports for their role in launching the event.
EverWonder StudioflagshipOthers · 1 January 2024Parent company and co-founder of Players Era. Led by Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer Ian Orefice (former President of TIME and TIME Studios) and backed by RedBird IMI and Jeff Zucker (former President of NBCUniversal, CNN, and Turner Sports). EverWonder CEO Ian Orefice is tournament co-founder.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Players Era competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Broad incumbents

Learfield (Learfield IMG College): College athletics multimedia rights and sponsorship company that holds long-term rights deals with universities and conferences across the NCAA. Broad incumbent relevant to Players Era's sponsorship and NIL-related revenue infrastructure.
ESPN Events: Disney/ESPN-owned division that operates multiple early-season college basketball MTEs including Champions Classic, Charleston Classic, and Diamond Head Classic. A broader incumbent that now sits on the other side of the table from Players Era as its exclusive 2026 broadcast partner while still running competing events.

Direct peers

Battle 4 Atlantis: Paradise Island, Bahamas-based early-season MTE featuring top college basketball programs during Thanksgiving week. Directly comparable to Players Era as a destination tournament format competing for the same pool of elite NCAA basketball teams and broadcast inventory.
Maui Invitational: The premier early-season Division I men's college basketball multi-team event held annually in Lahaina, Hawaii. Directly comparable to Players Era as a Thanksgiving-week destination MTE attracting elite programs; Players Era explicitly cites it as the legacy competitor it differentiates against via NIL payments.
NIT Season Tip-Off: Long-running early-season college basketball event operated by the NCAA featuring top Division I programs in a multi-game format. Directly comparable to Players Era's tournament structure and competing for the same Thanksgiving-week television inventory.
Diamond Head Classic: ESPN Events-operated early-season college basketball tournament held in Honolulu during the holiday season. Comparable destination MTE structure competing for the same elite-program pool and broadcast windows as Players Era.
Champions Classic: ESPN-operated annual early-season college basketball event featuring Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, and Michigan State. Directly comparable to Players Era as a marquee early-season basketball showcase; now owned/operated by Players Era's broadcast partner.
Wooden Legacy: Multi-team college basketball tournament held in Anaheim, California during Thanksgiving weekend featuring Division I programs. Comparable destination-MTE format targeting the same elite-program pool and broadcast windows as Players Era.
Fort Myers Tip-Off: Thanksgiving-week Division I college basketball multi-team event held in Fort Myers, Florida. Comparable destination-MTE format competing for elite programs and holiday-week broadcast inventory.
CBS Sports Classic: Early-season college basketball event typically featuring matchups between elite programs from major conferences. Comparable as a premium early-season basketball showcase competing for top-tier team commitments and national broadcast windows.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Players Era financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Players Era leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Players Era funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Players Era M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Players Era

What does Players Era do?

Is Players Era a public or private company?

Players Era is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.

When was Players Era founded?

Players Era was founded in 2024. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is Players Era based?

Players Era is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.

How does Players Era make money?

Three revenue lines are on record. Television Broadcasting Rights are the primary driver. The others are ticket Sales and sponsorships.

Who are Players Era's main competitors?

Broad incumbents on record are Learfield (Learfield IMG College) and ESPN Events. Direct peers are Battle 4 Atlantis, Maui Invitational, NIT Season Tip-Off, Diamond Head Classic, Champions Classic, Wooden Legacy, Fort Myers Tip-Off and CBS Sports Classic.

Does Players Era have an API?

No public API is recorded for Players Era.

What industry is Players Era in?

Players Era's product category is College Sports Tournament Organization. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAKADAG, Collegiate & Scholastic Tournament Organizers, with a secondary code of MPAKAKAK, Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support). Its NAICS code is 71121 and its SIC code is 7900.