Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty had a breakout rookie season on the field. Now he's putting his name and money behind a business tool built to fix a problem most professional athletes quietly struggle with: too many people, too many spreadsheets, and no single place where everyone's on the same page.
Nukleus, a career operating system for the business of sports, announced this week that Jeanty has joined as an investor and the face of the platform ahead of its public launch later this month. It's a partnership worth watching, not just for football fans but for anyone who follows how local business news intersects with the business world at large.
The Problem Nukleus Set Out to Solve
Every professional athlete builds a team around them, agents, lawyers, CPAs, financial advisors, marketing agents, and each of those people typically works off their own emails, PDFs, and spreadsheets. Information gets lost. Deals get delayed. Nobody has the full picture at the same time.
"The athlete is the nucleus. Everyone around them, from agents and lawyers to brands and advisors, should be operating off the same information, not chasing it down separately every time something changes," said Hector Rivas, founder and CEO of Nukleus. "I've spent years around the business of sports, watching deals, data, and decisions get lost between people who know they'd be better off working together, but never had a way to actually do it. Nukleus is the system that keeps them on the same team."
Rivas isn't approaching this as an outsider. He founded and ran a sports agency, which gave him a front-row seat to how fragmented these operations tend to be. That background now shapes the platform's AI infrastructure, which draws on a knowledge base of collective bargaining agreements, contract structures, and athlete benefits to support the professionals working on an athlete's behalf.
Why Jeanty Signed On
For Jeanty, the appeal comes down to control. Stepping into the NFL means suddenly running a small business, whether a rookie feels ready for that or not.
"Coming into the NFL, you become a CEO, directing a team of agents, advisors, and marketers, whether you're ready or not. Nukleus is what finally gets them all on the same page, so I can actually run that team the way it should be run. That's why I invested in it," said Jeanty.
That's a sentiment plenty of local business owners will recognize. Running any operation, whether it's an NFL career or a shop on Main Street, gets a lot harder when your team isn't working from the same information.
Built for the Whole Team, Not Just the Athlete
What sets Nukleus apart from other athlete-focused tools is who gets to use it. Athletes join for free. The agents, CPAs, advisors, marketing agencies, brand collectives, trainers, and lawyers who serve them subscribe to run their side of the business. It's a model built around collaboration rather than gatekeeping, one shared system instead of a dozen disconnected ones.
The leadership team behind Nukleus brings experience from outside sports too. Rivas previously led ThriftBooks to more than $150 million in annual revenue. CTO Eric Ahlstrom has a background with ESPN, Microsoft, and Oracle. Chief Creative Officer Ben Miller previously served as creative director for University of Washington Football and CAA Sports. CFO Matt Porter formerly worked as Controller at Disruptive Sports.
A Washington State Company with National Reach
Nukleus is based in Washington state, giving it a natural connection to the Seattle business community and the broader Pacific Northwest sports economy. As the platform prepares for its public launch later this month, it joins a growing list of companies proving that innovative business solutions don't have to come out of Silicon Valley or New York.
For consumers and business owners who care about supporting local businesses and staying on top of business events shaping the region, Nukleus is a story worth following. It's a reminder that community spotlights aren't limited to small shops and restaurants. Sometimes the most interesting local business news comes from a startup working to change how an entire industry operates.
Where to Learn More
Nukleus opens to the public later this month. Anyone curious about how the platform works, or how it might apply to their own business relationships, can find more information at nukleus.co.
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