Betting apps and NFTs represent only a fraction of the new developments emanating from the sports world. Here’s how Fanatics, the NBA, Intel, and others are leading the industry forward.
Explore the full 2022 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, 528 organizations whose efforts are reshaping their businesses, industries, and the broader culture. We’ve selected the firms making the biggest impact with their initiatives across 52 categories, including the most innovative media, events, and consumer goods companies.
Technology continues to revolutionize sports, whether experienced on the field or viewed from the couch, and innovations from these 10 companies are altering playing fields from little leagues to the majors. Fanatics entered the trading card business with a deal that for the first time offers a piece of the action to the leagues and to players’ unions. Surfline released a new wave forecasting engine that uses AI and machine learning to assess data from more than 800 HD cameras around the world. Golftec is bringing state-of-the-art motion capture and measurement technology to weekend duffers, while GameChanger (a division of Dick’s Sporting Goods) has taken the live streaming of little league and high school sports to new heights, including archives and sharable highlights. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is expanding pro play in Africa, the Drone Racing League worked with T-Mobile to launch the first 5G-enabled racing drone, and Carbon teamed up with Rawlings to create the first baseball glove that includes 3D-printed components. Intel’s new 3DAT technology, an AI-powered video analytics platform, enhanced broadcasts of last summer’s Olympic track and field trials. Following the NCAA’s landmark ruling to allow college athletes to begin profiting off their names, images, and likenesses, Opendorse launched three products that enable amateurs to seek deals while remaining compliant with regulations. Abbott Laboratories introduced a Bluetooth-enabled wearable to help athletes monitor glucose levels while working out or competing. Here are this year’s 10 honorees in the Sports category of Most Innovative Companies.
1. FANATICS
For remaking the supply chain of sports fandom
After conquering sports apparel with its combination of an on-demand supply model and e-commerce deals with almost every major sports league and team on the planet, Fanatics is aiming to rule the rest of the sports commerce ecosystem from trading cards and ticketing to betting and NFTs. In August, Fanatics secured trading card rights for Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), and NBA. It ended Topps’ decades-long hold on baseball cards, which immediately made Fanatics a major player in the $98 billion trading card industry. What’s more: Fanatics has given the leagues and players’ unions equity in the trading cards business, something they’ve never had before. The company also partnered with Jay-Z last summer to enter the New York sports betting market with Fanatics Sportsbook, and hired FanDuel’s former CEO to run it. Fanatics’ Candy Digital, an NFT venture that launched in June, has exclusive digital rights for MLB and hit a $1.5 billion valuation this fall after a new round of fundraising.
