UNA Sports Group is an investment firm specializing in the acquisition and partnership of premier global professional sports franchises and media platforms. The firm focuses on high-quality assets situated at the intersection of athletics, media, and cultural influence, with a specific mandate for long-term value creation. UNA is steered by a partnership of executives with extensive backgrounds in sports operations, corporate finance, and talent management. The leadership team includes Del Wright, CEO and Managing Partner; David Rader, President; and Andrew Thau, Founder and Partner. Thau, the former Chief Operating Officer of United Talent Agency (UTA), will serve as the Governor of the New York X Games franchise. This leadership core is expected to leverage its collective expertise to operate X Games Club New York across both the Summer and Winter seasons, ensuring a year-round presence in the New York Tri-State region, one of the most lucrative sports and cultural markets globally.
Strategic Shift to a League-Based Model
The sale of the New York franchises is part of a broader structural evolution for the X Games. Since its inception in the mid-1990s, the X Games has primarily functioned as a festival-style competition. However, under the leadership of CEO Jeremy Bloom and the backing of MSP Sports Capital, the organization is pivoting toward the MoonPay X Games League. This new model introduces city-based teams, a structured regular season, and a draft system, mirroring the operational blueprints of the NFL, NBA, and MLB.
Jeremy Bloom emphasized the significance of this transition, stating that the deal represents the "starting line" for the league’s ambitious expansion. By establishing a permanent presence in major metropolitan markets like New York, the XGL aims to foster deeper fan loyalty through regional affiliation, a component previously missing from the individual-centric nature of action sports. To facilitate this expansion, the MoonPay X Games League has engaged Moelis & Co LLC as its financial advisor to evaluate further team sales and expansion opportunities. Additional franchise sales are anticipated in the coming months as the league prepares for its inaugural full season.
Building a Global Roster: X Games Club New York
X Games Club New York has already begun assembling a high-caliber roster designed for immediate competitiveness. The team is led by captain Nyjah Huston, an American skateboarding icon and one of the most decorated athletes in the history of the sport. Huston’s involvement provides the franchise with instant credibility and a massive global following. Joining Huston is Chloe Covell, the teenage skateboarding sensation from Australia who was selected by the Club with the first overall pick in the inaugural MoonPay X Games League Summer Draft.
The roster is further bolstered by elite talent across multiple disciplines, including American BMX star Hannah Roberts, a multi-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist, and Logan Martin, the Australian BMX rider who secured Olympic gold in Tokyo. The inclusion of these athletes highlights the league’s global reach and its ability to attract the highest tier of international talent.
Managing the day-to-day operations of the New York franchise is Steve Rodriguez, a well-known figure in the New York City skateboarding community and a successful entrepreneur. Rodriguez’s deep roots in the local scene are expected to bridge the gap between the professional league and the grassroots action sports culture of the Tri-State area. Rodriguez noted that his goal is to unlock new opportunities for the club while supporting athletes in their pursuit of championships.
Financial and Regional Implications
The eight-figure valuation of the New York franchises reflects the growing confidence of institutional investors in the commercial viability of action sports. Historically, action sports relied heavily on endemic sponsorships from apparel and equipment brands. The entry of UNA Sports Group, coupled with the league’s title partnership with MoonPay, indicates a shift toward non-endemic, high-growth sectors such as fintech, media, and diversified investment firms.
By prioritizing New York as a core host market, the XGL plans to bring both Summer and Winter events to the state in the upcoming years. This strategy includes a steady cadence of athlete appearances, community-driven events, and fan engagement initiatives. For the New York region, this means the potential for significant economic impact through tourism, venue utilization, and local media rights. The Tri-State area, with its dense population and history of supporting diverse sports properties, provides an ideal backdrop for the XGL’s city-based model.
A Chronology of the X Games Evolution
To understand the magnitude of the New York franchise sale, it is essential to view it within the context of the X Games’ thirty-year history:
- 1995: The inaugural "Extreme Games" are held in Newport, Rhode Island, founded by ESPN.
- 1996: The event is officially rebranded as the X Games, gaining mainstream traction.
- 2002: The X Games expands its global footprint with international events and the introduction of the Winter X Games.
- 2022: MSP Sports Capital acquires a majority stake in the X Games from ESPN, signaling a move toward a more commercial and expansionist business model.
- 2024: The MoonPay X Games League is announced, introducing the team-based format and the inaugural draft.
- 2025: UNA Sports Group acquires the New York Summer and Winter franchises in an eight-figure deal, the first of its kind.
- 2026: The first full XGL Summer Season is scheduled to take place, culminating in a championship in New Orleans.
The 2026 Season and Competitive Framework
The 2026 XGL Summer Season is set to provide a rigorous test for the new team-based format. The season will commence on June 26 in Sacramento, California, a city with a deep-seated affinity for action sports. From there, the league will travel to Chiba, Japan, highlighting its commitment to international markets, before concluding with the Championship on July 24–26 in New Orleans at the Caesars Superdome.
The competitive structure is designed to reward consistency and team depth rather than individual brilliance alone. The team that secures the highest cumulative score across the various stops of the season will be crowned the first XGL Champion. To incentivize high-level performance, the league has established a $500,000 team purse for the inaugural season winners. This prize pool, combined with individual athlete earnings, creates a dual-incentive structure that is expected to elevate the level of competition.
Industry Analysis and Market Outlook
The professionalization of action sports through the XGL model comes at a time when the industry is seeing a resurgence in global interest, driven in part by the inclusion of skateboarding and BMX in the Olympic Games. The Paris 2024 Olympics demonstrated a massive appetite for these "lifestyle" sports among younger demographics, a segment that traditional sports leagues often struggle to capture.
By moving to a franchise model, the X Games is attempting to solve the "fragmentation" problem that has historically plagued action sports. In the past, fans followed individual athletes across various disconnected tours and events. The XGL provides a centralized narrative and a recurring schedule, which are critical components for securing long-term media rights deals and large-scale corporate sponsorships.
The involvement of Andrew Thau and UNA Sports Group is particularly telling. Thau’s background at United Talent Agency suggests that the New York franchise will likely focus heavily on content creation and storytelling, leveraging the personalities of athletes like Nyjah Huston and Chloe Covell to build a lifestyle brand that extends beyond the competition itself. This approach aligns with the current trend in sports ownership, where teams are viewed as media assets as much as athletic organizations.
Conclusion and Future Expansion
The sale of the New York teams to UNA Sports Group is a definitive signal that the X Games is no longer just a biannual television event, but a burgeoning professional league with significant capital backing. As the league prepares for the 2026 season, the focus will turn to the remaining franchise sales and the finalization of the host city roster.
For New York, the arrival of a full-time X Games presence adds another layer to the city’s rich sports tapestry. With a roster of Olympic medalists and world champions, X Games Club New York is positioned to be a flagship franchise for the league. As the XGL continues to roll out its team-based model, the success of this New York deal will likely serve as the benchmark for future expansions into other major global markets. The transition represents a calculated bet that the future of action sports lies in the stability and narrative power of the professional league format.
