FUTURE
OF SPORTS®
Digitally Savvy
A commercial proposal for FSPDISCUSSION DRAFT / 02 · OCT 2026

LET’S GET
BRANDS BEHIND
FSP.

FSP has moved on since our first conversations. I’d work with the team to turn that progress into programs brands can buy, run & renew.

FSP’s blue ASCII sports artwork
FSP / COMMERCIAL PLAYBOOK+
01
HUMAN PARTICIPATIONBRAND VALUEREPEAT REVENUE
A first test worth building on.↗

Prepared for Adi Mishra & the FSP team
By Rick Welch / Digitally Savvy

Shape the offer. Get in front of buyers.
Use what we learn to earn the next budget.

FSP leads.
The wider sports ecosystem.

League Sports CoVaunt
Company context

01 / The opportunity

A new & innovative venture needs a clear commercial offer.

FSP brings together sport, technology, talent and participation. My job would be to make that easy for buyers to evaluate, buy, activate & renew.

“I’d collaborate to shape an offer buyers understand, knock down doors with decision-makers/budget owners, test it with the market & lead the commercial work toward funded deals and repeat revenue.”Rick Welch / Proposed approach

July’s walkthrough gave me a much better feel for the product. The new site also makes it easier to see where brands could fit into verified play.

I’d start with the practical questions: what can we run today, who would pay for it, what does delivery cost, and what would make them come back?

What’s changed since our earlier discussions

02 / What we take to market

One distinct offer first.

There are a few ways in. I’d pick the program FSP can deliver well now, with a clear buyer, price and reason to spend. The other opportunities can follow.

Bowling lanes from FSP’s official brand imageryFSP BRAND IMAGERY / ILLUSTRATIVE CONTEXT
CANDIDATE PILOT / TO QUALIFY

A sponsor people
actually play with.

Start with a challenge or Arena program built around a sport, an audience and a sponsor’s objective. Be clear about what the budget buys and what we’ll report back.

The buyer need
A sports, wellness or consumer brand wants people to participate, engage and remember it.
The package
The experience, eligible audience, creative, dates, delivery team and campaign report.
The proof
Who took part, what they did, whether they returned, and the sponsor outcomes we can support. A session, an ad view and a sale are different measures.
BEFORE WE SELL ITConfirm current scale, session definitions, placement availability, attribution and cost to serve.

These are options to work through together. The first engagement would select one or two priorities, subject to product availability and rights.

03 / How we build the proof

Grow credibility through tests & trials that become testimonials & cases.

The first offer gets us a conversation. A well-run test gives the next buyer something to go on: results, a reference, an approved case study and a reason to renew.

01Make sure we can deliver what we’re selling.Product, evidence & commercial readiness

Get time with Adi, product and the commercial team. Walk through what works today, which rights we can use and who will deliver. Then agree the first offer we’re comfortable taking to a buyer.

OUTPUTS

Readiness assessment · priority gaps & owners · one or two offer outlines

MOVE FORWARD WHEN

We can explain the offer, show how it works, name the delivery team and tell the buyer how success will be measured.

02Talk to the people who own the budget.Pricing, packaging & buyer feedback

Use relevant relationships to get honest feedback from decision-makers and budget owners. What would they pay for? Where would the budget come from? What needs to change before they could say yes?

OUTPUTS

Buyer feedback · revised pricing & materials · a brief we can turn into a proposal

MOVE FORWARD WHEN

There is an identified buyer, an actual brief, a usable budget and a deliverable activation.

03Close the test, then make the next one easier to sell.Proposal, activation & a repeat-spend decision

Once we agree the sales remit, I’d lead the commercial work on selected deals. Put the scope, price, delivery and reporting in writing. Review results with the buyer, ask what they’d do again, and seek permission to turn a good outcome into a reference or case study.

OUTPUTS

A funded test, if qualified · buyer review · a renewal proposal · a testimonial or case where the buyer agrees

PLANNING ASSUMPTION

Roughly three months to close an initial $30–50K test after the offering and buyer opportunity are qualified; potentially longer from a standing start.

Plan for a real sales cycle. The $30–50K first-test range and roughly three months after qualification are planning assumptions. Product gaps, buyer timing and procurement can make it longer.

AdMonstersHow we tested demand at Flipboard before a deeper integration August 1, 2018 · Article supported by TripleLift

04 / Working together

I’d work across the team to get this into market.

I’d work with product, leadership and the commercial partners already involved. Agree who owns what, share buyer feedback quickly and avoid approaching the same account from three directions.

RICK / DIGITALLY SAVVY

Shape the offer
& bring in buyers.

I’d lead the agreed commercial work: positioning, pricing, packaging, buyer conversations and selected introductions. Add sales responsibility as we validate the offer and agree the scope.

FSP / PRODUCT & LEADERSHIP

Make the program
work in practice.

FSP provides product access, evidence, rights and technical support. We need someone able to make decisions and someone accountable for delivering what we sell.

DESIGNATED COMMERCIAL PARTNERS

Agree the accounts
& the handoffs.

Understand RoS’s current remit, existing conversations and role in delivery. Agree account ownership, deal credit and handoffs before taking the offer out together.

Where the dS team could help

If we need a campaign page, sales tool, reporting view or creative support, I can scope a paid project with the right dS engineers, developers or designers. We’d first look at what the existing teams already cover, then agree a brief, budget and owner for any extra work.

Remote, non-exclusive engagement through Digitally Savvy proposed. Scope and availability agreed together.

05 / The proposal

A retainer for the build, with upside when I close.

The retainer pays for the work that makes deals possible. The commission rewards closing them. We can increase the commitment as the product, pipeline and available time justify it.

INITIAL RETAINER

$5,000/ month

Commercial readiness, offer development, buyer feedback and selected opportunities. Agree the scope and capacity before kickoff.

DEAL INCENTIVE

5%

On deals I close. Define revenue basis, attribution, payment timing, renewals and any post-engagement credit in the agreement.

AS THE OFFERING PROVES ITSELF

If it’s working,
we can do more.

Expand sales responsibility as we validate the offering. If it’s working, grow the retainer or discuss a base, with scope and availability agreed together.

ILLUSTRATIVE DEAL INCENTIVE

What 5% looks like
on an initial test.

5% applied to a $30–50K initial deal. The monthly retainer is separate; this is not a margin or ROI model.

$40,000
$30,000$50,000
5% deal incentive$2,000

Illustration only. Final commission depends on agreed terms and eligible revenue.

Practical terms to settle before kickoff

Confirm the contracting entity, paid scope, time commitment, tools and expenses, decision owner, term and termination, confidentiality, work-product treatment and FSP / partner responsibilities.

06 / A refreshed view

The public story has moved on since we last spoke.

A few things from the current site are worth bringing into the next conversation. Public pages checked October 21, 2026.

01
CURRENT POSITIONING

The brand offer now leads with verified play.

FSP’s Brands page leads with integration within play, cost per verified session (CPVS) and performance reporting. We should translate that into a defined offer and verify the buying, delivery and measurement workflow.

FSP / Brands
02
LAUNCH TIMING

WBL & WPS now point to 2027.

WBL and WPS Arena pages now show 2027 openings. Anchor any proposal to confirmed activation dates and available inventory, rather than the earlier 2026 launch expectations.

FSP / WBL FSP / WPS
03
READINESS STILL MATTERS

We should be precise about what’s live.

FSN explicitly marks several verification and payout capabilities as planned. Demonstrations and product claims should lead to evidence requests, not be presented as completed campaign results.

FSP / FSN
Two market signals worth keeping in mind

SFIA’s March 2026 participation release supports the broad interest in sport and physical activity. The useful commercial question for FSP is which specific cohort participates repeatedly, at a scale a sponsor can use. SFIA source ↗

IAB’s creator research points to growing budgets and continuing demands for ROI, audience fit and measurement. Talent and culture should strengthen a deliverable program with clear rights and reporting. IAB source ↗

07 / The next conversation

A few things I’d like to understand before we start.

These questions should help us agree a sensible paid starting point.

  1. 01

    Can we run a credible paid activation today?Product, eligible audience, rights, timing, delivery and measurement.

  2. 02

    What has already sold?Current FSP deals, delivery evidence and buyer feedback.

  3. 03

    What is RoS doing, and what is still needed?Deals, accounts, responsibilities and the right place for Rick / dS.