Rubicon Talent, a newly created sports agency, has announced a partnership with venture capital firm SeventySix Capital. The team at Rubicon is comprised of Dave Maryles, Peter Raskin, Jonathan Salant and Brandon Swibel whose experience include stints at SFX Sports, CSMG, The Agency Sports Management (TASM) and The Legacy Agency (TLA). SeventySix Capital has a sports, tech and health focus and is led by Wayne Kimmel and Jon Powell.
Peter Raskin was a partner at The Legacy Agency before leaving the firm in January. Raskin commented on the partnership stating, “We are committed to helping our clients throughout their careers and beyond. As the sports and entertainment business continues to evolve, our clients are continually seeking more strategic, diversified opportunities. Partnering with SeventySix Capital is a way for us to set ourselves apart from the traditional sports marketing firms. Wayne and his team are best in class and enable us to provide our clients with a new expertise, ensuring they are well-positioned to explore entrepreneurial and equity based opportunities.”
On paper, the partnership appears to be one that could shake up the industry and the types of partnerships we see moving forward. SeventySix Capital’s top exits include SeamlessWeb (now public as GrubHub), Take Care Health Systems and NutriSystem while Rubicon boasts 3x Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh-Jennings and NFL players including DeMarco Murray, Emmanuel Sanders, and Marcellus Bennett as clients. If this alliance translates into successful startups or investments from these players, then we could see future VC/sports agency partnerships.