Thomas Hagedorn joins David Alaba's Icon League team – DNA Athletics reaches million-dollar valuation

The entry of entrepreneur Thomas Hagedorn makes DNA Athletics the flagship franchise of the Icon League and drives forward professionalization.

A blend of football and entertainment—that's the Icon League . Founded in September 2024 by Toni Kroos and streamer Elias Nerlich, it's a game of indoor soccer. According to the Icon League, last season reached nearly 20 million viewers via TV and streaming. Target audience: Gen Z.

Part of the Icon League's business model is a franchise model based on the American model, such as the NBA: The 14 teams are self-sufficient, market themselves independently, and have their own sponsorship contracts and partners.

Now the Icon League announces that entrepreneur Thomas Hagedorn is joining DNA Athletics, the team of footballers David Alaba and Niklas-Wilson Sommer, as a strategic partner. Hagedorn himself is also an investor in the Icon League.

With a valuation in the upper seven-figure million range, DNA Athlethics becomes one of the most valuable teams in the Icon League. The Icon League declined to disclose the exact amount when contacted by Gründerszene.

According to Icon League CEO Marc Goroll, the teams' evaluation is based "on their financial revenue, primarily driven by their sponsors, as well as their reach and engagement rates on social media."

The fact that a team is now worth so much also has advantages for the league itself. "The professionalization of the franchises contributes to the overall viewership and reach of the league," Goroll told Gründerszene. The other teams are also in discussions with potential partners.

With Hagedorn as a growth partner, the DNA Athletics team plans to “build sustainable structures within the company that will also promote athletic development in the long term,” say Louis Grimm and Jannik Kirchner, both Managing Directors of DNA Athletics.

"At the same time, we are working on our brand identity: With our own website, the upcoming launch of an online shop, and a fashion collection, we are creating a clearly recognizable profile." DNA Athletics wants to differentiate itself from other teams.

Why did Hagedorn choose this team? "We chose this team because it combines several success factors: It's the league's most popular team, the reigning champion of the last regular season, and thus possesses enormous sporting potential," said Grimm and Kirchner. "At the same time, it already brings financial strength and has built important structures within the franchise that ensure sustainable growth."

In May of this year, the Icon League itself completed a financing round. Investors include entrepreneur Thomas Hagedorn, Jürgen Klopp's family office, and Luigi Berlusconi's venture capital arm, as well as other angel investors.

The league itself is said to be valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Furthermore, the Icon League is currently preparing for its third round of financing. The third season starts at the end of September.