Key Takeaways
- • Jeremy Bloom, former CU Buffs receiver and U.S. moguls skier, said he is open to investing in CU football if it is structured as a sustainable business rather than a subsidy, per his email to the Daily Camera on Nov. 5.
- • Bloom said private equity investment in Colorado athletics is "absolutely worth exploring" and cited the University of Utah as taking a more sophisticated financing approach.
- • Bloom has not given NIL money to CU because "the system is broken," according to his Nov. 3 appearance on Front Office Sports' "Portfolio Players" podcast, though he still supports CU athletics as a donor in other ways.
- • Bloom called for the power conferences to form an independent governing body for major college football and said the NCAA no longer needs to govern the sport, with players placed on salaries and multi-year contracts.
- • Bloom, CEO of X Games (backed by MSP Sports Capital), wrote that his views are his own and not those of X Games.
Summary
Former Colorado receiver and U.S. moguls skier Jeremy Bloom says he is open to investing in CU Buffs football, but only in a sustainable business rather than one that depends on subsidies from fans. In an email to the Daily Camera on Nov. 5, Bloom wrote: "I'm open to investing in CU football, but I'd want to invest in a sustainable business, not subsidize one." He added that fixing college football's business model "shouldn't be the fans' responsibility." Bloom made similar comments on a Nov. 3 episode of Front Office Sports' "Portfolio Players" podcast, where he said he has not given NIL money to his alma mater because "the system is broken." He said he still supports CU athletics as a donor in many ways, just not through NIL-specific gifts.
Bloom laid out the conditions he would require as an investor. He wants assurance that athletes committed to a roster will stay longer than one year, along with transparent financials, disciplined spending, a strategy to grow revenue, multi-year athlete contracts, and a share in the value his investment helps create. He described the donation model as "an outdated holdover from the amateurism era" and wrote that "college football isn't charity work. It's big business." Bloom's own history with NIL-related restrictions is central to his argument: the NCAA ended his college football eligibility in 2004 because he earned endorsement money as an Olympic skier. He wrote that he is glad today's Buffs can sign the deals that cost him his eligibility.
Bloom called private equity investment in Colorado athletics "absolutely worth exploring" and said the University of Utah "is taking a more sophisticated approach to financing college athletics." He described CU as having "a powerful brand, a passionate alumni base, and significant commercial potential," and said he would like to see capital that creates "long-term enterprise value rather than relying on annual donations." Bloom has direct experience with such capital: he is CEO of X Games, which is backed by private equity firm MSP Sports Capital, and he sold Integrate, a company he founded, to a private equity firm. He stated that the views expressed are his own and not those of X Games.
Bloom argued that structural change must come from the conferences rather than individual schools. He called for the power conferences to establish "an independent governing body dedicated exclusively to the sport" and said he does not see a need for the NCAA to govern major college football. He would place players on salaries with defined terms and buyout clauses, arguing this would let coaches build rosters without fear of losing players to the transfer portal.
On head coach Deion Sanders, Bloom said he advocated for the hire because he believed Sanders could make Colorado nationally relevant again, and wrote that Sanders "delivered that attention almost immediately." Colorado is 3-6 in Sanders' fourth season, and Bloom said the next step is "translating that visibility into sustained success." He wrote that his criticism "isn't directed at Colorado" but at the sport's economics.
Bloom laid out the conditions he would require as an investor. He wants assurance that athletes committed to a roster will stay longer than one year, along with transparent financials, disciplined spending, a strategy to grow revenue, multi-year athlete contracts, and a share in the value his investment helps create. He described the donation model as "an outdated holdover from the amateurism era" and wrote that "college football isn't charity work. It's big business." Bloom's own history with NIL-related restrictions is central to his argument: the NCAA ended his college football eligibility in 2004 because he earned endorsement money as an Olympic skier. He wrote that he is glad today's Buffs can sign the deals that cost him his eligibility.
Bloom called private equity investment in Colorado athletics "absolutely worth exploring" and said the University of Utah "is taking a more sophisticated approach to financing college athletics." He described CU as having "a powerful brand, a passionate alumni base, and significant commercial potential," and said he would like to see capital that creates "long-term enterprise value rather than relying on annual donations." Bloom has direct experience with such capital: he is CEO of X Games, which is backed by private equity firm MSP Sports Capital, and he sold Integrate, a company he founded, to a private equity firm. He stated that the views expressed are his own and not those of X Games.
Bloom argued that structural change must come from the conferences rather than individual schools. He called for the power conferences to establish "an independent governing body dedicated exclusively to the sport" and said he does not see a need for the NCAA to govern major college football. He would place players on salaries with defined terms and buyout clauses, arguing this would let coaches build rosters without fear of losing players to the transfer portal.
On head coach Deion Sanders, Bloom said he advocated for the hire because he believed Sanders could make Colorado nationally relevant again, and wrote that Sanders "delivered that attention almost immediately." Colorado is 3-6 in Sanders' fourth season, and Bloom said the next step is "translating that visibility into sustained success." He wrote that his criticism "isn't directed at Colorado" but at the sport's economics.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.