What if you could carry a pro-level shooting machine on your back?

Thats exactly what HOOPTEQ built. At just 18 lbs, HOOPTEQ is the only basketball shooting machine you can pack into a backpack and bring to any hoop: driveways, gyms, parks, wherever you train. No chasing misses. No wasted time. Just 6x more reps and faster skill growth, anywhere.

A year ago, HOOPTEQ was a prototype on a backyard court in Chicago. Today, over 1,500 people have already locked in their spot before the product has even officially launched, proof that hoopers everywhere are ready for this.

The Kickstarted goes live June 2nd. Early backers get:

Lock in your spot now for just $1: get.hoopteq.com

Why 1,500+ Hoopers Locked In Before Launch

Watch It Work — Real Reps, Zero Chasing

From Backpack to Full Court Setup

Stop Training Like This — There's a Better Way

HOOPTEQ will be featured at Chicago Sports Tech Week, July 20-23 in Chicago. Stay tuned for more details on where to find us at the summit.

HOOPTEQ is currently raising its pre-seed round and exploring strategic partnerships. If you’re interested in either, reach out to [email protected]

Stay up to date with HOOPTEQ across all platforms:

HOOPTEQ — Elite Training. Anywhere.  |  hoopteq.com

📍Coming up very soon on June 3rd, The Chicago Sports Commission’s Business of Sport Speaker Series will bring together leaders in sports and professional communities to discuss current business trends in the sports industry. In this edition of the Business of Sport Speaker Series, they will be joined by the PGA Tour in advance of the 2026 Presidents Cup in Chicago.

Event Highlights:

🏌️Featured speaker and International Team Captain of the 2026 Presidents Cup, Geoff Ogilvy, will be joined by PGA Tour Representatives, Joie Chitwood and Andy Weitz, to discuss the Presidents Cup’s venue debut at the legendary Medinah Country Club.

For more information, visit: https://prescupspeakerseries.rsvpify.com. Tickets begin at $75 per individual, and $950 for your own Table Sponsor! This table includes up to 10 guests, with your logo featured, event signage, and verbal recognition. Don’t miss this opportunity!

🚧DraftKings closing its 2-year-old retail sportsbook at Wrigley Field It didn’t take Cleo the psychic to see this one coming. After not one but two tax hikes on online sportsbooks from Illinois, and the city of Chicago’s desire to tack on its own tax, it was only a matter of time until a major player took action. In this case, DraftKings will maintain its online wagering in Illinois, but close the state’s only in-person retail sportsbook connected to a sports venue. This move ends a 6-year partnership between the Cubs and DraftKings inside Wrigley Field. DraftKings will remain the official sports betting and daily fantasy partner of the Cubs, but not without some casualties. The change will cost a few employees tied to the retail sportsbook operation, but may only make a dent in statewide operations. Most of DraftKings’ revenue in Illinois comes from online wagering, and Illinois ranks second in the nation in sports betting revenue. It’s no wonder Springfield and lawmakers in Chicago have made increasing their tax revenue from sportsbooks a top priority. The Tribune reports on how the changes will impact DraftKings and Wrigley Field.

🔥Chicago Stars stadium talks heat up as Springfield weighs Bears deal The Stars feel compelled to remind everyone their stadium considerations are just as important as the headine-dominating Bears. If one materializes, they’d still have to thank the Bears. The megaproject bill promising property tax relief was designed with the Bears in mind and would partially open a door for the Stars. But…there’s a lot that would have to happen to make that a reality. As is, the bill is intended for multi-billion-dollar projects. The Stars estimate their stadium would cost around $300 million. Also, Mayor Johnson has made it his mission to block the Bears from leaving Chicago for Arlington Heights. This would impact the Stars as well. Not to mention, the physical area the Stars are evaluating may need a ton of work to become suitable. Still, it’s progress for a club that had waited for years to gain any kind of support in finding its own home. Crain’s details the considerations behind the Stars gaining support for a stadium.

🤝Major League Cricket appoints rEvolution as AOR to help Drive U.S. Growth and Fan Engagement Football, basketball, baseball…cricket? If one of Chicago’s finest sports marketing agencies in rEvolution makes its imprint, cricket just could join the ranks of the most popular sports in the U.S. Over its 25 years, rEvolution has made a name for itself. It’s the agency to turn to for marketing campaigns that bring real results in business performance. It already has experience in cricket from its partnership with the ICC (International Cricket Council), serving as marketing lead for the first-ever ICC Men’s T20 World Cup held in the U.S. in 2024. As Major League Cricket’s Agency of Record, rEvolution will have full rein over MLC’s communications and media relations to increase its national and global fanbase. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Cricket returns to the Olympics for LA2028 after a 128-year absence. It’s the chance of a lifetime to introduce a beloved global sport to millions of Americans nationwide. rEvolution World drops its PSA announcing the partnership, featuring quotes from both the MLC and rEvolution on its potential impact.

☠️Group led by Egon Durban to buy 25% of Las Vegas Raiders at $9.9 billion valuation, sources say Al Davis ran the Raiders with an iron fist for five decades, with ultimate say in everything. Today, its ownership structure would be unrecognizable to him if he were still alive. Egon Durban’s minority stake purchase is setting up a future sale of the team from Mark Davis, Al’s son. Mark Davis has been instrumental on the business side of things, but unfortunately, not on-field success. He’s responsible for engineering the move from Oakland to Vegas in 2020 and has helped increase the franchise's value to the fourth-highest in the league, up from the lower ranks. But consistent winning on the field has alluded Mark. Raiders fans will hope that something new in the front office will help improve the team’s fortunes, even though the past hasn’t shown that to be true. CNBC provides info on the transaction and what it means for the franchise.

🏈InStudio Ventures Launches $50 Million Sports Investing Fund Anchored By NFL Team Stakes Danny Cortenraede knows how to build relationships and startups. Despite having only been in the U.S. for eight years, the founder and CEO of InStudio Ventures has developed quite a reputation and valuable relationships. For example, he’s good friends with several pro athletes, including Jameis Winston, who now invests in InStudio. His time with Wannahaves, a social media agency, introduced him to sports brands that would later open the door for Instudio Ventures. He’s now combining his skills to hunt for sports tech startups on the cutting edge of integrating AI more into sports. The new fund will aim to invest in at least five sports tech startups that have at least $1 million in annual recurring revenue. He’s found an in to the most powerful of sports leagues, the NFL. Cortenraede expects plenty of opportunities to invest in startups looking to work with the NFL, thanks largely to its massive $125 billion media rights deal. Forbes presents more background info on Cortenraede and who invests in InStudio.

🤔OnlyFans Is Paying Pro Athletes What Their Sports Won’t Never thought OnlyFans could be a source of greater good, did you? But here they are. The company known for pumping out adult-star wannabes is giving pro athletes a chance to thrive instead of just barely survive. For pro athletes in sports that don’t provide a livable wage — like beach volleyball and speed skating — OnlyFans has become an oasis. Some athletes use the subscription service, while others have paid sponsorship deals with OF itself. Some do both. Either way, it gives them a way to avoid exhaustion by working multiple jobs to pay for training and to live. But, as you can imagine, it doesn’t come without its drawbacks. Just the company’s reputation alone can scare away other sponsors. Or it could lead to consequences from the athlete’s sport’s governing body. It did for mountain bike racer Lewis Buchanan, even when not posting explicit content. Its reputation may never completely change, but at least among athletes who use OnlyFans to supplement their income, it’ll at least have some truly forgiving fans on that front. Front Office Sports dives deep into the world of OF for athletes.

🏙Best Sports Business Cities: 2026 What makes a city a good one for sports business? It requires a multifaceted approach to calculate. It’s a measure of three factors: opportunity (the presence of sports sponsors, agencies, media partners, etc with major operations in a city and the addition of new events/teams), a city’s stability in sports (number of major sports teams with a continued presence; penalizes the loss of teams), and polling industry executives about where they think is best to conduct sports business. In the Sports Business Journal’s fourth edition of its Best Sports Business Cities, we see an evolution of the methodology behind the selections. No longer are wins by a city’s franchises factored in, and the ease of winning bids to host major sporting events was elevated. Chicago makes its place just inside the top 20, below Orlando and above Dallas. The Windy City earns a lot of points for solid attendance of sporting events and our heritage of great teams, but loses points on previous sports sponsors leaving town, like Boeing and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Securities. From Atlanta down to Greensboro-High Point, N.C., the top 50 sports business cities are a fair reflection of what goes into being a great city for sports business.

🍽️Warren Buffett, Stephen Curry lunch auction fetches $9 million for charity “How much would you pay to have dinner with two famous investors?“ is a twist on that age-old question: “Who are five people you would have dinner with?” Buffett, at 95 years old, is a priceless repository of investing knowledge worth that $9 million by himself. Curry has shown an aptitude for sound investments outside of his NBA career. It’s an invaluable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The winner is allowed to bring up to 7 dinner guests, who will all dine with Curry and Buffett in Omaha, NE. Proceeds from the event will go to a charity run by Steph and Ayesha Curry and one dear to Buffett. Buffett popularized lunch auctions in 2000, making them a trendy way to raise money while granting exclusive access to hard-to-reach people. This one is unique and powerful. It’ll leave an imprint on many, not just the lunch attendees. CNBC discusses the charities at hand and how much will be donated in total.