Sports software provider Teamworks has purchased NIL technology platform Basepath, a move the company says will expand its reach to approximately 90% of NIL transactions for all Division I athletes.
The deal, which recently closed, includes Basepath’s technology, its portfolio of about 75 corporate customers and about 15 employees, all of which will be integrated into Teamworks, CEO Zach Maurides said.
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“A lot of times we wonder, ‘Hey, is there anyone in the industry doing great work?’” Maurides said in an interview. “And over the last few years, Basepath has been a company that we kept hearing from our customers that was doing great work. While we traditionally focused on the school side of NIL, they had really focused on building solutions for collectives. So they worked on the other half of the equation.”
The combined entity, Teamworks said, will have direct partnerships with more than 90% of NIL collectives in Division I. The company already provided services to 99% of DI schools.
Talks between the two sides about an acquisition began this summer, Maurides said. He declined to comment on the financial details of the deal, but said it included a “large equity component” to incentivize the Basepath team joining Teamworks.
State laws are constantly changing, the NCAA’s position is still unclear, and many schools are moving quickly to expand their financial benefits. To keep pace, companies serving the sector have had to quickly adapt their offerings. Some have closed their shops. Others have been cut back. Teamworks, which bought NIL marketplace INFLCR in 2019 and was recently named a partner of the NCAA in the long-awaited NIL registry, has been on the offensive.
“My view is that (NIL) is a perennial problem that is very complex (for schools),” Maurides said. “We are betting on the continued professionalization of college athletics departments and the way they operate.”
Founded in 2021, Basepath’s services include software that helps with NIL disclosures, contract signing, compliance and financial management. Partners on Basepath’s website include collectives that include Ole Miss (The Grove Collective), Penn State (Happy Valley United), Louisville (502 Circle), Florida State (Rising Spear), Georgia (Classic City Collective), Washington State (Cougar) Support Collective) and Minnesota (Dinkytown Athletes). In June 2023, Basepath signed a software services agreement with Blueprint Sports, NIL’s collective operator.
