I won’t profess to understand Aaron Rodgers’ business acumen. I imagine he probably sits back, goes on an Ayahuasca-fueled spiritual journey, and burps out a game-changing idea every few months. Inevitably, he gets taken seriously due to his money and connections. One of those ideas is the extremely generic Online Sports Database, or OSDB, which is essentially Rodgers’ brain-dead idea to create an IMDB for athletes. There have been several spinoffs of successful digital platforms, but designed specifically for athletes over the years. Think of any successful digital concept and someone has thought about creating their own harebrained version of that thing to appeal to some market, but lacking in the technological expertise.
ODSB founder and CEO Ryan Rottman’s background is in some “blink and you’ll miss him” acting credits and Executive VP Michael Goldman is cited for helping launch TMZ Sports. Rottman related the community-owned aspect to the Green Bay Packers. On Tuesday crowdfunding site StartEngine began allowing any member of the public to buy into OSDB for a minimum of $500. The goal is to reach their goal of $1.25 million.
ODSB is a hodgepodge of ideas and corporate gibberish that hasn’t caught on since its launch. At one point, the site’s editorial section was ripping off content from Deadspin and other sites. First, they want our content, now they need your money. To keep these half-baked ideas afloat though, these dying unicorns have to scrounge resources from somewhere. Rodgers’ crowdfunding to keep this fledgling enterprise afloat is the latest sign of their flailing business.
Rodgers isn’t just some sideline investor. According to The Hollywood Reporter, which aided in carrying water for their crowdfunding launch, the idea for OSDB apparently originated during a conversation between Rodgers and Rottman about why there wasn’t a sports equivalent of IMDB.
“We went to dinner one night, and I just said, ‘As an athlete, is this something you think you would utilize? Like, do you think it would help you? Do you think people would care?’” Rottman recalls. He remembers Rogers asking if he’d told anyone else about his idea. “I said, ‘A couple buddies.’ And he said, ‘Well, don’t tell any more because there’s a need for this. There’s a white space for this, and I think you and I are the guys that do it.’”
You’d think a multi-time NFL MVP could afford this
It all sounds so simple. Money talks though and Rodgers is smart enough to walk and instead is relying on public money to fund OSDB. Rodgers has earned roughly $305 million in his NFL career. You’d think he has some loose couch change to keep ODSB afloat. Instead, he’s relying on the average Joe Schmo.
Investing in a shaky business model Rodgers won’t even ante up for is akin to buying stock in OceanGate. At $500, they’d need to find approximately 2,000 suckers, or 2,500 at the most, which is surprisingly easy to find in this day and age. That’s what Rodgers is for.
Celebrity endorsers are used for just this sort of thing. He bought a 1 percent stake in the Bucks, some celebrity-backed home rowing machine system, VICIS Zero1 football helmets, yoga, and a coffee product and launched a vague $50 million venture fund deal with sports-entertainment influencers.
Remember all the athletes who lost millions investing in FTX? The Miami Heat can recover. The average person was wiped out. Rodgers’ portfolio is not some LeBron James-Maverick Carter-level operation. He certainly looks like some hipster venture capitalist billionaire from an episode of Black Mirror. Rodgers is the guy who makes big life decisions by taking dumps inside dark caves for a month.
A few marks reading this are positively giddy over being a Green Bay Packers-style shareholder in a pointless, redundant platform they think is backed by Aaron Rodgers. Here’s a free tip though (or send $500 to my CashApp if you’re so inclined). If the quarterback whose conversation sparked OSDB isn’t investing any more of his nine-figure financial capital in this digital space centered around athletes, don’t get roped into this nonsense.
Follow DJ Dunson on Twitter: @cerebralsportex