Sheldon is a Current NFL Veteran, Seasoned Real Estate Investor and Call of Duty expert (Self Proclaimed)
Richard is a former NFL Cornerback, Superbowl Champion, and Standford Alum. He loves family, played football, and now you can catch him on the set for TNF.
Tom is the CEO, a seasoned founder, and a former NFL Sports Scientist. He loves his family and has a decent jumper.
Tanisha is the GC, former Cooley Partner, and Founder of Flow Forward Capital. She loves being active and trying to relive her track glory days when she’s not flexing her creative muscle.
Malcolm is a Former NFL Linebacker, Superbowl Champion, and the MVP of Superbowl XLVIII. He’s the Founder of Amina Grace Partners
While Mia may not be a linebacker, you will still have to go through her to get to the boss! Outside of work, Mia enjoys shopping, spending time with friends, and attending concerts.
Lindsay is the Creative Coordinator and Founder of Krenshaw Films. She’s a Transmedia storyteller, bridge builder and executive hippie.
Justin has 10+ years of e-commerce & marketing operational experience. He’s family-focused, a NY pizza-lover & ice-cream connoisseur
A former college basketball player, Althea now channels that competitive spirit into bringing stories to life. When she’s not supporting TPC’s media and marketing efforts, you’ll find her at the movies, outside exploring, or cheering on the growth of women’s sports.
Sheldon Day is the Co-Founder and President of The Players Company, where he leads with a deep passion for financial empowerment, education, and equity in sports and business. A seasoned NFL veteran, Sheldon is best known for his leadership and on-field presence with teams like the San Francisco 49ers, Indianapolis Colts, and Cleveland Browns.
Throughout his career, Sheldon developed a unique lens on the importance of sustainable wealth and opportunity beyond the game. That perspective fueled his transition from athlete to entrepreneur and investor, with a focus on closing the gap between athletes and access to elite business and investment opportunities.
Alongside Richard Sherman and Tom Zheng, Sheldon launched The Players Company with a mission to help athletes and their communities build generational wealth through access, empowerment, and smart capital strategy.
Sheldon continues to build his legacy both on and off the field—serving on advisory boards, mentoring emerging athletes, and championing innovation at the intersection of sports, business, and social impact.
Tom is a published Health and Sports Scientist, most well-known in the performance space for his tenure with the San Francisco 49ers during Super Bowl LIV and several NFC championship runs.
Since retiring from the NFL, Tom started his consulting firm, Adapt Health and Performance, working with various athletes, professional teams across the leagues, and helping emerging companies scale.
Shortly after his tenure from the NFL, Tom joined Sheldon Day and Richard Sherman as Co-founder and CEO of The Player’s Company. Propagating the mission to help athletes and their communities build generational wealth through empowerment and access.
Today, Tom also serves at different capacities, various executive and board roles around the sports, medical, and entertainment spheres to create change and growth.
Darnell Smith is a former D1 football player who played at Ball State University. He worked in sales for a couple years before getting into the sports entertainment space where he’s worked at Fox Sports as a Social Media Producer for the last 7-years. Darnell has experience behind & in-front of the camera having spent over a year on live TV [Speak For Yourself] as well as hosting plenty of sporting events.
Darnell is currently the Head of Entertainment for TPC where he leads all things content, including live activations and podcasts.
Tanisha is an award-winning M&A and antitrust attorney, most recently as an equity partner at Cooley LLP where she represented corporate clients, particularly venture-backed companies, as well as venture, private equity and sovereign wealth funds, among others, in connection with their domestic & international mergers, acquisitions and other strategic combinations, minority investments, joint ventures, government and private investigations and more.
Her experience touches almost every industry from all things tech, including software/SAAS/platforms, life sciences/biotech/healthcare, fintech, edtech, sports/betting/gaming, as well as digital and print media, beauty, CPG broadly, book publishing, oil & gas, industrial equipment and more.
As a long-time angel investor, Tanisha’s passion for empowerment through entrepreneurship and investing led her to venture capital. Tanisha started Flow Forward Capital, a boutique legal, investment and advisory firm that partners with founders, funders and other ecosystem contributors building, investing in and supporting high-growth, tech-enabled companies at every stage of their lifecycle – from ideation to exit.
Tanisha’s legal expertise and longstanding enthusiasm for sports led her to join The Players Company as General Counsel to support the team in its mission to help athletes and their communities build generational wealth through empowerment and access. She also serves in various capacities related to amplifying and supporting women’s sports, especially in the realm of venture and investing.
Tanisha is also currently involved with multiple venture capital ecosystem-building projects including as a co-Founder of a BiPOC venturing community and co-Founder of a foundation supporting emerging female fund managers, among others. Tanisha is an avid speaker, writer, mentor and an adjunct professor of law at American University, Washington College of Law.
Jason is a former collegiate quarterback and international rugby player for the Philippine Volcanoes. Jason’s athletic career was cut short after a car accident, forcing him to shift his focus off the field. This pivotal moment became the catalyst for his transition into investing, where he learned a powerful lesson: if you don’t know how to make your money work for you, you’re simply holding on to it for someone else.
Jason’s roots in service were established at a young age. Growing up, he spent significant time volunteering in the slums of Manila, where he witnessed firsthand how education and access could transform underserved communities. This experience instilled in him a lifelong dedication to helping others and inspired his mission to create lasting impact.
Today, Jason continues to leverage his experiences as an athlete, entrepreneur, and advocate to inspire others to reach their full potential. Whether it’s mentoring young athletes, building businesses, or providing resources through education and access, Jason is dedicated to helping others secure brighter futures for themselves and their communities.
Malcolm Xavier Smith is a former NFL linebacker and Super Bowl MVP with extensive experience in sports, business operations, and real estate investments. During his 11-season NFL career, Malcolm played for several teams, including the Seattle Seahawks, where he was instrumental in ending a 20+ year playoff drought and securing a Super Bowl victory.
Beyond his on-field accomplishments, Malcolm has demonstrated strong leadership and business acumen. He served as the NFL Players Association Union Representative, advocating for over 10,000 current and former players and participating in high-stakes negotiations for the NFL/NFLPA collective bargaining agreement.
Post-retirement, Malcolm has successfully transitioned into the business world. He is currently pursuing an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, focusing on Finance and Strategic Management. As the Principal of Xavier Real Estate Holdings since 2016, he has overseen multiple successful real estate projects, consistently achieving above-market returns.
Malcolm’s sports investment experience includes leading fundraising efforts for an SPV that co-invested in the acquisition of Leeds United Football Club alongside 49ers Enterprises. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Barcelona Dragons in the European League of Football, providing strategic guidance to the organization.
In May 2024, Malcolm founded a search fund, Amina Grace Partners, that will identify, acquire, and grow businesses in the lower middle market.
Mia is the Executive Assistant at The Players Company, also assisting the Content and Marketing Team with upcoming releases and managing TPC’s LinkedIn.
She is a current senior at Villanova University, set to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Cultural Studies and Communications with a concentration in Public Relations and Advertising.
While Mia may not be a linebacker, you will still have to go through her to get to the boss! Outside of work, Mia enjoys shopping, spending time with friends, and attending concerts.
Lindsay Kent is a multimedia producer, director, writer and editor based in San Francisco. After several years in live event production, Lindsay summited Mt. Kilimanjaro with the NGO campaign Summit on the Summit in 2013.
Working with activists, influencers and top brands like KLM, First Ascent, P&G and HP, Lindsay produced and dispatched the project’s gamified content series in real time from the mountain. Inspired by this holistic approach to high-impact content, she founded Krenshaw Films, a concept-through-delivery production company with her sister, Webby winning producer Lauren Harris.
Lindsay has since produced and directed two feature documentaries, dozens of cross-platform projects for major brands, and many cause-based projects for nonprofit organizations in the US. Recently she co-produced and edited a documentary for Hulu called We Live Here, about LGBTQ families in the Midwest.
She is currently producing Expedia’s first long form travel series, The Next Turn. , and developing several exciting series with The Player’s Company.
Justin has been immersed in operations and marketing for over a decade, with a primary focus on e-commerce within the sports, supplements & CPG industries. Before diving into e-commerce, he spent six years in the healthcare field, gaining valuable insights into operations and client service.
Over the years, he has developed a deep expertise in scaling brands on platforms like Amazon. Walmart, Target & Sam’s Club. As the head of operations at multiple marketing agencies, he has played a pivotal role in helping companies achieve impressive growth. Most recently, Justin joined The Players Company as the Head of Operations, where he leverages his experience to streamline processes and drive performance.
Justin has successfully guided numerous businesses from startup to 7-figure success on multiple e-commerce channels, with several reaching 8-figure milestones. His hands-on approach and strategic mindset have made him a go-to expert for scaling and optimizing online endeavors.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Justin is deeply family-focused and works hard to strike a healthy work-life balance. His personal interests include cars and cutting-edge technology. Justin’s passion for innovation is matched only by his commitment to helping companies thrive in the competitive spaces they are in. Whether working with startups or established companies, his goal is always to deliver scalable growth and lasting success.
Althea Hill is a former college basketball player and recent Hamilton College graduate.
With a background in film and production, Althea currently serves the media and marketing departments at The Players Company, where she supports content projects, marketing strategy, and manages TPC’s LinkedIn presence.
Outside of work, Althea enjoys watching movies, spending time outdoors, and following the continued growth and mounting excitement surrounding women’s sports.
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