This Former Athlete’s Startup Has Now Raised $100M To Make Youth Sports Safer

Players Health, founded by former athlete Tyrre Burks, has secured $60 million in Series C funding to expand its mission of ensuring safety in youth sports. 

Led by Bluestone Equity Partners, the funding round also included Mosaic General Partners, RPM Ventures, SiriusPoint, and TriplePoint Capital, bringing the total raised to over $100 million.

A Former Athlete’s Vision for Change

Tyrre Burks founded Players Health to address the challenges he experienced as an athlete playing Division II football team while attending Winona State University, then in Europe and the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Reflecting on a college injury that left him temporarily paralyzed, Burks said, “I thought it was over. I thought I was never going to walk again.” 

This experience, combined with other injuries and observations of inconsistent safety measures, inspired him to create a platform that prioritizes athlete well-being.

Players Health offers a range of services, including insurance, injury management tools, abuse prevention programs, and resources for name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities. 

Since its launch, the company has partnered with over 40,000 sports organizations, protecting 5.5 million athletes.

A Growing Market for Athlete Safety

Youth sports in the US are experiencing rapid growth, with projections estimating the sector will nearly double to $69 billion within six years. 

Recognizing this opportunity, Burks sees the new funding as a way to scale Players Health’s workforce, advance mergers and acquisitions, and integrate artificial intelligence tools into its offerings.

“With more than 440,000 amateur sports organizations and over 60 million people playing organized sports in the United States, the need to prioritize and enhance the safety and wellbeing of athletes has never been greater,” Burks stated in the press release.

“This funding round underscores the need and opportunity to build the necessary advisory infrastructure to unify and streamline the fragmentation of vendors and services in today’s sports insurance market,” said Bluestone Equity Partners’ founder Bobby Sharma.

What’s Next for Players Health?

The funding enables Players Health to pursue new initiatives, such as standardizing safety practices nationwide and launching AI-powered tools to identify risks before harm occurs. 

As part of the expansion, Bluestone partner Walker Brumskine and Jake Harris will join the company’s board of directors.

“This investment will enable us to continue expanding Players Health’s nationwide reach, fostering a safer, more supportive ecosystem for athletes at every level,” Burks said.

Feature Image Credit: TCBMag