The Global Gaming League (GGL), a professional gaming entertainment organization featuring celebrity team owners, has successfully raised $10 million in its SAFE round, led by the private equity group Solyco Capital, according to a news release.
Founded by multi-platinum music producer and entrepreneur Clinton Sparks, in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning artist T-Pain and tech visionary Jeff Hoffman, GGL is building the first entertainment system that monetizes the world’s largest and most engaged audience: the more than 3 billion people who play video games.
“There are over 3 billion gamers around the world,” Sparks said. “But there’s still no centralized platform that gives everyday players the spotlight—while authentically connecting brands, celebrities, and competition in a way that’s truly entertaining. That’s where GGL comes in.”
Each GGL team has four players — including high-profile influencers, actors, athletes, artists, and casual and professional gamers — competing in live events across a variety of game genres.
The first team owners are T-Pain, TikTok star and digital entrepreneur Bryce Hall, Hip-Hop legend and reality show star Flavor Flav — who was an unofficial host of the 2024 Paris Olympics — and retired professional wrestler Ric Flair, who is a character in numerous video games.
“Everybody games,” said T-Pain, also GGL’s director of strategy. “Sixty-seven percent of people between the ages of 5 and 90 game in some form—in fact, more people watch video gaming than any sport (short of the NFL). Forty-six percent of gamers are female, colleges give scholarships for gaming now. And the average gamer is 36 years old, despite most thinking it’s only for kids. Gaming is a faster, cheaper and safer path to success than traditional sports.”
GGL will host matches at its 43,000-square-foot campus and arena in Las Vegas, NV. According to the news release, The Campus, powered by Vū, is reportedly the most technologically advanced studio in the area, featuring the largest wrap-around digital screen in the Western U.S.
The launch also introduces the GGL Academy, which offers gaming education and connects aspiring gamers, creators, and professionals with career and scholarship opportunities as well as mentoring and training.
Analysts predict gaming will surpass $300 billion by 2026, outpacing TV, film, and music combined, per the news release. With 74% of Gen Z interested in careers in gaming or digital media, GGL is creating infrastructure to meet that demand, specifically in underserved communities.
“Imagine the energy of the Super Bowl, the fandom of Comic-Con, and the culture of ComplexCon and Coachella,” Sparks added. “There is currently no place for investors to have any meaningful return on a gaming investment, brands to consistently get an ROI with gaming, publishers to expand their IP to new audiences, celebrities to have an authentic footprint in gaming and nothing set up for all gamers to build a career as a gamer, and have a chance to be recognized globally as true athletes. Until now.”
