Athletes HQ Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $179K – $346K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Athletes HQ is a youth sports franchise operating baseball and softball training facilities with lessons, cages, and travel teams. Franchisees run the facilities, managing coaches, training, and cage rentals.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Athletes HQ franchise requires a total initial investment of $179K – $346K, including a $25K franchise fee. The 2026 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: partial✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored4 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $179K – $346K
- 31st pct Health & Fitn…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Incl. company outletsNet sales
- Royalty
- Flat fee
- Units
- 3
- 14th pct Health & Fitn…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Health & Fitness · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Health & Fitness median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $179K – $346K including a $25K franchise fee.
- RETURNSItem 19 discloses individual historical Gross Revenues (not an average) for 3 outlets in 2025: Affiliate Facility (6th full year) $1,419,956; Franchised Facility #1 (2nd full year) $606,152; Franchised Facility #2 (1st full year) $312,751. Figures are unaudited, self-reported/tax-return based, and not a cohort average, so not captured as avg_gross_sales per spec (mixes outlets of very different maturity: 6th year vs 1st/2nd year).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 50/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Athletes HQ Systems, Inc.
- CEO title
- President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
- Jordan Dean
- Incorporated in
- Illinois
- HQ
- 500 Lake Cook Road, Suite 475, Deerfield, IL 60015
- Auditor
- Sassetti
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $61K
- vs $37K prior year
Affiliated brands
- that offers franchises in different lines of business
- Athletes HQ
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Jordan Dean
- Headquarters
- IL
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 33% below the typical health & fitness franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $25K | $25K | |
| Lease deposit | $5K | $10K | |
| Leasehold improvements | $38K | $70K | |
| Facility Build-out | $75K | $180K | |
| Computer system(s) | $6K | $7K | |
| Signage and graphics (interior and exterior), wall signs and instructional posters | $1K | $5K | |
| Uniforms | $250 | $1K | |
| Insurance | $2K | $3K | |
| Utility deposits | $2K | $3K | |
| Travel related expenses during training | $2K | $3K | |
| Facility Opening Marketing Fee | $8K | $8K | |
| Blue prints, plans and permits | $5K | $7K | |
| Furniture, fixtures and misc. equipment | $1K | $2K | |
| Legal, accounting and professional fees | $3K | $8K | |
| Royalty Fee | $4K | $4K | |
| Team Players Fee | $0 | $2K | |
| Additional funds – 3 months | $4K | $9K | |
| Total initial investment | $179K | $346K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $179K – $346K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $4K – $9K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- $300/week for first 52 weeks after opening, then $500/wee…
- Ad fund
- 10.0%
- typical 3–5%
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | $300 per week for first 52 weeks after opening; $500 per week thereafter, payable weekly by electronic bank draft |
| Marketing / ad fund | 10.0% |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Athletes HQ is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Athletes HQ unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, royalty rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 discloses individual historical Gross Revenues (not an average) for 3 outlets in 2025: Affiliate Facility (6th full year) $1,419,956; Franchised Facility #1 (2nd full year) $606,152; Franchised Facility #2 (1st full year) $312,751. Figures are unaudited, self-reported/tax-return based, and not a cohort average, so not captured as avg_gross_sales per spec (mixes outlets of very different maturity: 6th year vs 1st/2nd year).
Includes company-owned outlets
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
- Item 19 type
- STATEMENT OF HISTORICAL RESULTS FOR 1 AFFILIATE-OWNED FACILITY AND 2 FRANCHISED FACILITIES - calendar 2025 Gross Revenues disclosed facility by facility with no average, median or total: the affiliate facility in Elgin, Illinois $1,419,956 (6th full calendar year, ~19,900 sq ft, 27 teams / 345 members), franchised facility #1 in Machesney Park, Illinois $606,152 (2nd full year, 14 teams / 169 members), and franchised facility #2 in Carol Stream, Illinois $312,751 (1st full year, 8 teams / 96 members). All three were open a full 12 months in 2025 and are every facility in the system. The figures are unaudited, taken from the affiliate's 2025 income tax return and the franchisees' 2025 sales reports, and the filing's own 'Gross Revenues' is net of sales/use/service taxes AND of bona fide customer refunds and approved rebates, discounts and allowances.
- Range (low → high)
- $313K→$606KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 39 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 173 Health & Fitness brands
Item 19 · by group
What the filing does disclose
Item 19 of this FDD reports performance in more than one group. We publish no single average for this brand; the groups the filing does disclose are listed below, quoted from its own Item 19 table.
Each row below is quoted from the FDD's own Item 19 table. Gross sales are not profit.
Incl. company outletsNet salesItem 19 detail
Item 19 discloses individual historical Gross Revenues (not an average) for 3 outlets in 2025: Affiliate Facility (6th full year) $1,419,956; Franchised Facility #1 (2nd full year) $606,152; Franchised Facility #2 (1st full year) $312,751. Figures are unaudited, self-reported/tax-return based, and not a cohort average, so not captured as avg_gross_sales per spec (mixes outlets of very different maturity: 6th year vs 1st/2nd year).
company owned
| Segment | Sample | Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Affiliate-owned facility | 1 | $1.4M |
franchised
| Segment | Sample | Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Franchised facilities | 2 | — |
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +100.0% over 3 years (0 opened, 0 closed).
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Health & Fitness medians
How Athletes HQ Compares
Category median of published Health & Fitness brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 3
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 67%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +100.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +100.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 2 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
2
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Early-stage sports franchise with minimal unit count, undisclosed profitability metrics, and a suspicious royalty ramp structure that misaligns franchisor-franchisee interests.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Sassetti
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 50 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 3 units in system with 100% YoY growth appears artificially inflated (1→2→3 is small sample size, not market validation)
- 02MINORRoyalty structure is unusually low ($300/week) initially then doubles ($500/week) — incentivizes early exit after year 1
- 03MEDNo litigation disclosed but only 3 units limits exposure history and complaint visibility
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 20 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 12 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Chicago, Illinois (AAA); arbitration must be held in Illinois |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Illinois |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 13 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 10 hrs
- Training location
- Elgin, Illinois (headquarters) or other designated location, plus on-site training at franchisee's facility
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 8 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee_locates_franchisor_approves
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Square
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Square
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Athletes HQ franchise?
The total investment to open a Athletes HQ franchise ranges from $179K – $346K, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Athletes HQ franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Athletes HQ FDD discloses outlet figures from $313K to $606K but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Athletes HQ?
Athletes HQ is franchised by Athletes HQ Systems, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Athletes HQ FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Athletes HQ FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Athletes HQ's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Athletes HQ (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Athletes HQ franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Athletes HQ has 3 total units in the United States, including 2 franchised units and 1 company-owned units.
Is Athletes HQ a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Athletes HQ as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 50 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Athletes HQ, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.