Photo Credit: Global Gaming League
The Global Gaming League has raised $10 million in funding from celebrity investors including T-Pain and Flavor Flav. The league is not focused on eSports, but rather a league that brings together every kind of player.
GGL was founded by Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum music producer and entrepreneur Clinton Sparks, in partnership with T-Pain and tech entrepreneur Jeff Hoffman (Priceline, UBid, Booking.com). The GGL is a multi-title gaming league with celebrity-owned teams made up of four players each. Members of the teams are influencers, actors, athletes, artists, casual, and professional gamers.
They compete in live events playing everything from first person shooters, sports titles, and fighting games to the latest releases and retro favorites. Speaking in an interview with GamesBeat, Founder Clinton Sparks said he wanted to create a model similar to owning a sports franchise without the headache. “The celebrities don’t have to worry about managing, staffing, recruiting, sales, merchandising, any of that stuff,” Sparks says.
GGL owns each team with each celebrity at a 50/50 split. “We’re their partners and we’re their entire back office, the GGL,” Sparks continues. Solyco Capital led the SAFE round, while the rest are strategic individal investors. The first team owners to be revealed include T-Pain, Bryce Hall (TikTok star), and Flavor Flav. GGL will be announcing more team owners in the coming weeks, pulling from music, film, sports, fashion, social media, and gaming.
Gaming revenue is projected to surpass $300 billion by 2026—eclipsing TV, film, and music combined. Unlike other media where viewers and listeners can be distracted or multi-tasking, gaming usually requires full focus. For brands, leagues like this are a new way to reach a tuned in consumer. With 74% of Gen Z expressing interest in careers in gaming or digital medial, GGL is creating the infrastructure to meet the demand.
“The GGL is positioned to make gaming a household name in the same manner that WWE did with wrestling and the UFC did with mixed martial arts,” Sparks adds. “By systemizing and democratizing an industry that already exists with billions of users and hundreds of billions already being generated.”
Clinton Sparks started out as a DJ and record producer in Boston. He created bootleg remixes and mixtapes and hosted the radio show SmashTimeRadio. In 2012, he was nominated for a Grammy for his production work on Lady Gaga’s Born This Way album. He’s also written and produced songs for Akon, Ludacris, 2 Chains, Big Sean, and more.
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