MLB Buys Stake in Jomboy // 1st Sports League Investment into Creator Media
July 18, 2025 by Chris Erwin
RockWater Roundup
M&A analysis of the creator economy to make you a better operator and investor.
Today we discuss MLB’s investment into Jomboy Media, a baseball and sports-focused digital publisher. We cover deal details, strategic rationale, rise of creator sports deals, 1st league investment into a media co, input from Jomboy CEO, editorial independence, and a potential golden handcuffs scenario.
Let’s break it down…
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–TARGET: Jomboy Media–
Overview
- A creator-led sports and entertainment media platform
- Specializes in baseball content, digital video, podcasts, and original programming
- Founded in 2017 by Jimmy “Jomboy” O’Brien and Jake Storiale
- CEO is Courtney Hirsch (sister of cofounder Jimmy)
- 86+ associated members on LinkedIn
- HQ’d in New York
Origination Story
- Started as “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast in 2017. Built following through fun, relatable banter and analysis
- Jimmy’s viral “breakdown” videos with lip reading and humorous commentary quickly gained millions of views and brought national attention
- Jomboy gained major spotlight during the 2019 Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, due to in-depth, accessible coverage that connected with both casual and long-time fans
- Expanded lineup to include multiple podcasts, YouTube shows, warehouse-style games, and collabs with networks like YES and Amazon
Company Highlights
- 93+ million social media engagements in 2024
- FY 2024 Revenue: $10M+, up 44% YoY
- 2.1M+ YouTube subs
Business Lines
- Programmatic Revenue: From YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Podcasts
- Sponsorships & Partnerships: Brand deals with T-Mobile, Corona, Mountain Dew, DirecTV, DraftKings, SeatGeek
- Merchandise: Direct-to-consumer apparel (shirts, jerseys, etc) through company website
- Media Rights: Six-figure TV deal with Bally Sports for Warehouse Games content
Content footprint:
- Social Video:
- Viral breakdowns of MLB plays and controversies (notably lip reading, rules analysis, and hot takes)
- “Warehouse Games” original series: high-production, backyard-inspired competitions (e.g., Blitzball, floorball)
- Short-form highlights and recaps designed for social platforms
- Podcasts:
- “Talkin’ Baseball”: Weekly deep dives and banter on league events, player news, and fan culture
- “Talkin’ Yanks”: Yankees-focused analysis, guests, and season storylines.
- Live Events & Collaborations:
- MLB All-Star Game, Home Run Derby, and other event activations – co-produced and distributed alongside MLB digital channels
- YES Network partnership: Exclusive original shows on the YES App
Capital Markets History
- Lead Investors: Connect Ventures LLP (a JV between Hollywood agency CAA and VC firm NEA. Cofounded by Jack Davis, cofounder of Crypt TV which sold to Brat TV)
- May’22: $5M VC (Series A) raise
- Dec’19: $0.3M VC (Seed 2) raise
- Apr’18: $0.05M VC (Seed 1) raise
–BUYER: Major League Baseball–
Overview
- Professional baseball league representing 30 teams across North America
- Baseball Endowment L.P. (BELP): MLB’s investment fund owned collectively by all 30 teams, valued at $1B+
- Each team holds 3.3% ownership stake in BELP
- Founded in 1903 through merger of National League and American League
- Led by Commissioner Rob Manfred
Company Highlights
- FY 2024 Revenue: $12.1B+, up 4.3% YoY
- 71.3M+ attendance in 2024, up 11% over 2022
- Record $2.6B avg MLB team valuation in 2025, up 8% YoY
Business Lines
- Media Rights & Broadcasting: National and local television, radio, and streaming distribution
- National TV Deals: Fox ($550M annually), Turner Sports through 2028, Apple TV+, Roku Channel
- MLB.TV Streaming: $149.99 per season out-of-market package
- Sponsorships & Corporate Partnerships: League-wide and team-specific brand partnerships
- 40+ Official Partners: Including Anheuser-Busch InBev, Mastercard, Chevrolet
- Helmet Sponsorships: First-ever helmet sponsor (Strauss) beginning 2024 postseason
- International Partnerships: Konami, Japan Airlines, ITO EN
- Digital Media & Technology: MLB Advanced Media and digital platforms
- MLB Network: Emmy Award-winning programming and live game telecasts
- MLB.com Platform: Website and mobile applications for all 30 teams
- Licensing & Merchandise: IP and consumer products
- 200+ Licensees including Topps, Fanatics, New Era, Rawlings
- Team Merchandise: D2C and retail partnerships
- Video Game Licensing: Multi-year deals with publishers including Konami fornami for mobile games
Capital Markets History
- Jun’25: Acquired minority stake in Jomboy Media
- May’25: Acquired minority stake in Athlete Unlimited Softball League
- Apr’22: Follow investor in $1.5B G2 round for Fanatics LLC
- Aug’21: Follow investor in $325M F2 round for Fanatics LLC
- Jul’21: Follow investor in $15M B3 round for LeagueApps Inc
- Mar’21: Lead investor in $350M F1 round for Fanatics LLC
–DEAL DETAILS–
Overview
- Announced June 10, 2025
- MLB acquired minority stake in Jomboy Media
- Investment made through MLB’s BELP
Post-Deal Operations
- Jomboy Media operates as independent entity
- Jimmy O’Brien continues as founder and primary content creator
- Courtney Hirsch remains CEO (appointed March 2025)
- Jomboy has access to MLB and team intellectual property for content and merchandise
- MLB will distribute Jomboy Media content across MLB’s own digital channels, including activations around major events like the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby
Strategic Rationale
- Viewer Demographic Changes: Average MLB TV viewer age dropped 4 years since 2018, but league still seeks solutions to unlock younger audiences
- Digital Transformation: Shift toward creator-led content and authentic voices over traditional media among younger audiences
- Creator Economy Entry: MLB’s first major investment in independent creator-led media company
- Content Distribution: Leverage Jomboy’s 93M+ annual engagements for broader reach and expanded audience
–WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING–
- A new investment precedent for the creator economy; sports leagues investing into creator-led media. I believe MLB’s minority investment in Jomboy Media is the first time a major sports league has taken an ownership stake in a creator-driven media company. Perhaps even any type of media company (though DM me if I’m wrong here).
- While leagues like the NFL and NBA have worked with creators through a variety of brand marketing and promotional campaigns over recent years, like the MLB’s past partnership with Whistle Sports, these leagues haven’t taken meaningful equity ownership in media businesses. Instead, within the sports ecosystem, most direct investments into media have come from athletes and their owned media ventures or investment funds. I think of Kevin Durant (via Boardroom and Thirty Five Ventures) and LeBron James (via SpringHill Company).
- But direct investment into media has not come from a sports team nor league. Until now.
- The MLB / Jomboy deal may signal a new model that could emerge: sports leagues and teams will increasingly take minority ownership in creator companies to gain better audience distribution and marketing, and find new creative ways to engage modern and youth sports fans. Aka a realization that creator businesses are worthy of institutional investment by major sports leagues and teams, and not just marketing spend.
- Of note, adjacent media investments by leagues do exist, like NBA Equity, the venture arm of the NBA, announcing in 2024 an investment into Greenfly, a short-form content marketing platform. So we’ve known that the leagues have been taking social media, and its impact on its business and partners, more and more seriously, and willing to put real capital to work. Now we know the investment aperture by the leagues and the sports ecosystem, has grown even wider.
- NOTE: In thinking about the intersection of capital, media, talent, and sports, I also think about Ryan Reynolds buying a stake in Wrexham AFC in 2020, and then co-producing a docuseries with his prod co Maximum Effort. A different precedent, but still in the…ballpark…of today’s analysis. You can read more about that deal here in our Ryan Reynold’s “Fast Follower” strategy breakdown.
- The rise of sports-focused creator economy investments. I think of Dude Perfect’s $100M+ majority acquisition by Highmount Capital (our deal analysis), and Good Good Golf’s $45M funding (our deal analysis). Now with MLB investing into Jomboy, this is the 3rd capital infusion into a creator-focused sports media co within the last 15 months. This deal builds on the broader trend that investors are quickly realizing how critical creator-led media is to build any modern business enterprise that reaches young, digital native consumers…whether a CPG company, a live events company, or a sports franchise.
- It’s also worth highlighting that these creator-led media co’s take sports content far beyond just cut-downs of game highlights. They also offer comedic stunts, educational breakdowns, and viral challenges that appeal to both die-hard fans and casual viewers. They’re transforming how fans experience and interact with sports overall, from broadcast / social co-viewing habits and what stories are told, to the new merch lines and irl experiences being developed.
- Making baseball more accessible to youth and non-baseball fans. MLB’s minority stake in Jomboy Media goes beyond just a financial investment – it’s a strategic alliance that gives Jomboy access to MLB’s official IP, live games, and events. This enables Jomboy to expand its content portfolio and create fresh formats that make baseball more engaging and accessible to a wider range of fans.
- Similar to how Good Good Golf has broadened its audience by creating content that appeals not just to golf enthusiasts, but to casual viewers and adjacent fans, Jomboy is doing the same for the sport of baseball. Like how the lip-reading breakdown YouTube videos are inspired by action on the baseball diamond, but are actually comedic entertainment that resonates with a much broader, non-baseball audience.
- I can personally attest to this after skimming Jomboy’s YT channel a couple days ago for some article research, and then getting sucked down the lip reading videos rabbit hole for at least 30 min of joyful viewing. It’s a brilliant format, even if a bit raunchy.
- And MLB wants more of that.
- Jomboy extends MLB’s reach into social-native communities and younger demos, with proven formats. With digital sports viewership surpassing traditional TV for the first time in 2024, leagues that don’t establish creator distribution channels risk losing entire generational audiences. So MLB is playing critical business model defense with this move – I’m curious to see how the MLB might get more aggressive as they seek to evolve their business during generational media disruption.
- And with the MLB partnership, Jomboy will have player, team, and league access that will allow their content teams to produce new and differentiated sports x media content for the full spectrum of baseball fans, from newbies to diehards, and adjacent entertainment audiences. All amplified by the MLB’s own digital media network.
- A mutual win.
- Recent MLB rule changes are a boon for creator-led media. MLB’s recent rule changes, designed to speed up gameplay and increase action, are making games more appealing to younger fans who expect fast-paced and digestible content. The changes create ideal opportunities for creator-driven coverage that highlights exciting moments, quick reactions, and explainers tailored for social media. Specifically, there will be more social-native format opportunities for highlight breakdowns, real-time commentary, and educational clips. The result is more content that helps both casual viewers and long time fans understand and enjoy the game, and discover the sport of baseball.
- The takeaway is that there’s a clear synergy between the recent on-field innovation and off-field investment in creator engagement via the new MLB / Jomboy partnership. Overall, expect to see fresh storytelling techniques that drive new fan growth and deepen fan engagement, and which will be both more effective AND cost-efficient than relying on traditional sports broadcasts.
- Notes on editorial independence in the modern creator landscape. With the MLB as new minority owners of Jomboy, it raises the question of editorial independence. It’s the same question that arises during any investment or acquisition of a media co – like when a prominent business person buys a newspaper (e.g. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos buying the Washington Post in 2013), a telecom company buys a Hollywood Studio (e.g. AT&T buying WarnerMedia in 2018), or when a Hollywood studio buys another Hollywood studio (e.g. Discovery buying WarnerMedia in 2022).
- The question that our team raised is if Jomboy’s editorial voice will change post deal, which could alienate existing Jomboy fans and viewers i.e. might Jomboy need to soften some of its raunchy breakdown videos, or strive to take a more neutral or positive tone for any MLB commentary.
- I didn’t do a detailed audit of Jomboy’s content, so I can’t speak to the potential risks there. But my gut instincts point to the following takeaways (1) Jomboy still mountains majority ownership and control post deal (2) trying to change the voice of a creator-led media company is bad business and if that was the goal, the deal never would have happened, and (3) Jomboy benefits so much from increased access to MLB IP and distribution that even some minor “filtering around the edges” of Jomboy content to maintain good MLB rapport will be worth it considering the bigger business opportunity.
- In the creator economy space, we don’t have a ton of precedent here, so I’m curious to see how this shakes out. I think of the Lunar X / Game Theory acquisition in 2022, but that deal speaks more to keyman risk in transitioning a YT channel to a new owner once the host leaves. But a more recent and relevant example that comes to mind is Fox’s acquisition of Red Seat Ventures in early 2025 (our analysis here). RSV owners were very clear to Fox about the need for talent independence of former Fox broadcasters (e.g. Tucker Carlson and Megn Kelly), who are coming back under the Fox umbrella through the deal. But if you’re following the recent news, I’m curious to see how that independence is navigated as the current presidential administration puts pressure on media outlets like Fox about recent sensitive topics.
- Digital media leaders will be setting new playbooks here on how to co-manage media parent co pressures in a creator ecosystem where the talent have significantly more leverage, both through direct audience access and their contractual agreements, than times past. I look forward to learning their strategies.
- I spoke to Courtney Hirsch, the newly promoted CEO of Jomboy. Below are some paraphrased notes from our convo (incl edits for clarity).
- Courtney is excited by the bigger sponsorship opportunity enabled by the MLB partnership. By collaborating with the MLB in an official capacity, Jomboy can provide sponsorship packages that are also league and team-focused, and incorporate official league and team IP and distribution that were unavailable to Jomboy prior to the investment.
- Courtney further noted that creator counterparts often struggle with 1-off brand campaigns, and live campaign by campaign. Instead, Jomboy will now help uplevel the creator sports space by unlocking blue chip brands through more premium long-term campaign opportunities, and in turn more sponsorship revenue. That’s a win for Jomboy, but also the broader creator sports space.
- Courtney was also excited by the larger consumer product merch opportunity. Through the deal, Jomboy will be able to make joint apparel, with official MLB and team marks. For example, the company can make “Talkin’ Yanks” shirts with the official NY Yankees logo, which will help Jomboy merch stand out in the saturated creator and podcast merch space. To get access to official league and team marks, creator co’s typically have to work with large sports licensing orgs like Fanatics and New Era, which can take time, and getting rights access is not guaranteed. Being an early and approved partner gives Jomboy a real advantage VS other sports media peers.
- Golden handcuffs, poison pills, and potential challenges of an MLB tie-in. Some industry observers noted that Jomboy might have had to do this deal due to their illegal use of MLB content, and so a partnership had to be sorted. I don’t know if there were any official copyright or fair use claims outstanding by the MLB against Jomboy, and what pressures may have historically been put on Jomboy by the sports league. But based on some quick research, I found this 2019 article from Techdirt. Yes it’s a bit dated, but does provide helpful context on my point above, and also has a POV that aligns with my own on the matter, in that the MLB should embrace Jomboy VS fight them – which is where we ended up with this partnership! A good article insight is that the MLB was actually claiming Jomboy’s YouTube videos like its lip reading breakdowns, meaning that all adsense revenue went to MLB and NOT the creator media co. I recommend giving the article a full read.
- A question the deal also raises is if the MLB presents a golden handcuffs situation, preventing a future Jomboy majority exit. The concern would be that if MLB were to ever pull its commercial partnership, it would dramatically impact the Jomboy business via a loss of access to key IP, audience, and revenue. So why rock the boat. Though with Jomboy aspirations to be broader than just baseball and sports, that risk could be mitigated, but it’s definitely a legitimate concern. Another concern is that the MLB could refuse to sell its stake, due to the MLB wanting to continue being in business, and perhaps having some influence, over the media co. This could be a poison pill for a new owner who seeks a 100% buyout.
- Though having MLB as a financial and commercial partner, with aligned incentives over a long or infinite term, could be a good thing for a new owner, and the new owner would still enjoy majority control. I also wonder if Jomboy negotiated drag along rights, enabling them to force MLB’s stake sale in the case of a majority buyer. Though I doubt it.
- This then raises the point if MLB is the natural fit to be a future majority owner of Jomboy – maybe, but first let’s see how the partnership goes, how content / audience / revenue grow together, and how editorial independence is navigated. Then perhaps another new precedent will be set for how a sports league can take majority ownership of a media co, VS just an investment.
I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for creator economy and digital agencies. From buy / sell-side M&A and fundraising, to consumer research and go-to-market planning.
DM me on LinkedIn or email me chris@wearerockwater.com
