LeBron James-Backed Fantasy Life Raises $7M in Second Funding Round

LeBron James-Backed Fantasy Life Raises $7M in Second Funding Round

In its second investment round, Fantasy Life, the fantasy sports and gaming startup founded by fantasy football player Matthew Berry, reported raising $7 million from over a dozen investors.

According to the New York-based business, the funds will be utilized to finance the acquisition of Guillotine Leagues, a distinctive take on survivor football pick 'em, and to launch its new platform.  This is Fantasy Life's first capital raising since a $2 million seed round in 2023.

"The funding has fueled the creation of a new fantasy ecosystem featuring improved technology, expanded tools, new content offerings, and a mobile-first experience designed for scale – reinforcing Fantasy Life as a premier destination for fans and marking the beginning of a transformative new phase, driving growth and innovation in fantasy sports,” according to a statement issued by the company.

In 2020, Berry established Fantasy Life, named it after his book of the same name from 2013.  He left ESPN for NBC Sports in 2022 when the Comcast division gave him the freedom and encouragement to expand Fantasy Life.  He presently hosts Fantasy Football Happy Hour on Peacock and serves as the betting and fantasy expert on Football Night in America.

Famous People Take Part in the Fantasy Life Capital Raise

Despite only having completed two rounds of investment, Fantasy Life is demonstrating a talent for attracting well-known investors.  Jason Stein's SC Holdings and LeBron James and Maverick Carter's LRMR Ventures spearheaded the $7 million.

Like LRMR, Tony Khan, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Roger Ehrenberg, a co-owner of the Miami Marlins, made a second investment in Fantasy Life.  The $7 million financing raise also included participation from former NFL player Larry Fitzgerald, musician John Legend, YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley, SUM Ventures, Wassserman Ventures, Fortnite co-creator Donald Mustard, and David Blitzer's Bolt Ventures.

“They join a roster of existing investors that includes NFL stars Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Austin Ekeler. That support has helped spark major momentum, with Fantasy Life increasing revenue by 737% since launching in 2022, including a 230% jump from 2024 to the first half of 2025,” according to the statement.

Team owners have long been drawn to startups with ties to the sports betting sector; two examples are the now publicly traded DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) and Sportradar (NASDAQ: SRAD).

Investors Accepting Operators in Fantasy Sports

Although the legality of daily fantasy sports (DFS) in California is still up for discussion, investors are shown a willingness to support fantasy sports businesses, as evidenced by multiple industry capital rounds in 2025.

Regarding Berry's Fantasy Life specifically, investors are probably drawn to the company because of its rapid revenue development and unique positioning as a non-traditional gaming business.

Fantasy Life does not offer sweepstakes games or place bets.  Instead, it concentrates on research and statistics for fantasy football fans and gamblers.  Although Fantasy Life doesn't run a sportsbook directly, it does have a sizable betting area designed to assist bettors in placing more informed player prop and futures wagers.