EVO offers fans a chance to invest in MMA fighters, share in their winnings

EVO offers fans a chance to invest in athletes, share in their winnings.

Imagine if you could have invested in the careers of fighters like Muhammad Ali, Conor McGregor, or Floyd Mayweather. The return on your investment in these combat sports champions could have been pretty hefty. Now, there’s a new sports management company, EVO, who is offering fans that exact chance. It allows fans from all economic backgrounds to, in essence, help an athlete become a champion, and then benefit from that help.

Part of the program is run by an Olympic silver medalist in boxing, Kevin Barry who is helping to recruit the athletes for the combat sports teams.

“Having been around sport most of my life, I’ve witnessed first hand the struggles of athletes trying to fulfill their goals,” Barry told FanSided. “And the struggles that they’ve endured … most of these struggles are financial. A lot of people are very, very talented but never ever get the opportunity to truly fulfill their potential. Not because of a lack of talent, but because of a lack of resources.”

Something like this has never been done before, where fans can participate in the success of the athletes and earn something in return. Barry knew it was a win-win for both athletes and fans and wanted to be involved.

“This is a revolutionary company,” he said. “EVO is doing something that’s never been done before by any other company. They’re a revolutionary sports management development company who are giving the fans the opportunity to invest in the athletes. Then with that fan investment, the athletes have the opportunity to become tomorrow’s champions. So I bought in very early to the concept. I liked everything that [CEO John Norman] was saying and I was delighted when he asked me to come on board as part of the team.”

What exactly is EVO?

EVO is forming a team of athletes across multiple sports including car racing, boxing, golf, MMA, and tennis. Fans will invest in the company, which in turn, covers the costs of training for that athlete. Investors then share a portion of the winnings. It’s pretty simple. It’s a way for fans to really feel a part of the process and a part of the team.

“You are investing essentially like into a mutual fund,” CEO John Norman told FanSided. “Where you’re relying upon us and our experts to find those athletes that we feel that when surrounding them with the program, the development, the nutrition and everything like that, we can take somebody that’s maybe performing at 80 percent already, and give them access to the 20 percent that they’ve been missing.”

How does the investment work?

Investments start at as little as $150 and cover the entirety of the company, rather than a particular athlete or sport. At the end of the year, a portion of the winnings of all athletes on the EVO team will be divided amongst the investors based on your initial investment.

“We know there are so many people out there that enjoy sports and all these different sports, and we wanted to make it very affordable because this is the first time really the average fan can participate in the success of a professional athlete,” Norman said. “Before you had to know somebody or have a million-dollar net worth and stuff like that. So that’s why we feel that this will appeal to the masses and then they will be part of the EVO team and know that they’re helping these athletes achieve their goals.”

The cool part is, once it’s safe to do so, EVO plans to hold investor events where those who have invested can meet and interact with some of the EVO athletes.

In addition, EVO plans to document the training camps of their athletes with behind the scenes videos and photos which the investors will have exclusive access to throughout the athletes training.

How will this work within MMA?

At press time, EVO has not announced who their MMA and boxing fight team will be. Those announcements will come as the team is built and the company is comfortable releasing the names. The success of their program can be demonstrated through their already established race car driver program which includes Andretti Auto Sports.

How can you get involved as an athlete or an investor?

Barry and the combat team are actively recruiting and scouting talent right now and are open to athletes who are undiscovered or already established.

“We’ve got excellent coaches,” Barry said. “We’ve got international coaches, we’ve got top strength and conditioning coaches, we’ve got dietitians and supplementation people, sports psychologists, we’ve got good experienced sports medical people. We’re going to put a team of recovery experts available for all the athletes across all of EVO to use. There is no stone unturned here. We’re putting the best that we can put together to take care of our EVO athletes and to enable each and every one of these athletes the best opportunity to be the best that they can possibly be.”

For more information about how to apply to be an EVO athlete, click here.

For more information about how to apply to be an EVO investor, click here.