i9 SportsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A i9 Sports franchise requires a total initial investment of $37K – $70K, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $462K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 22 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $37K – $70K
- 4th pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- $462K
- 22nd pct Education
- Royalty
- 7.5%
- 30th pct Education
- Units
- 264
- 66th pct Education
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Education avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Each dollar invested generates 8.7x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Only 0.0% of 22 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
Bottom line
- Total investment $37K – $70K including a $25K franchise fee, 7.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $462K/year (median $360K). Estimated payback in 0.4 years (based on Operating Income).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 39/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 22 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 21.1% CAGR over 3 years with 264 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- i9 SPORTS, LLC
- Parent company
- Youth Enrichment Brands, LLC
- Predecessor
- began
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 9410 Camden Field Parkway, Riverview, Florida 33578
- Auditor
- RSM US LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $29.0M
- vs $32.0M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Independent Franchisee Association
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- U.S
- SafeSplash Brands
- School of Rock Franchising
- that offers franchises or products or services to franchisees
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
i9 Sports franchisees operate youth recreational sports leagues and camps in their protected territories, managing player registration, coach recruitment and training, game scheduling, facility coordination, and customer service. Day-to-day activities include league administration, parent communication, marketing to fill roster spots, and ensuring compliance with corporate programming standards across multiple sports (soccer, basketball, baseball, flag football, etc.).
- CEO
- Matt Kurowski
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 2002
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 38
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $25K | $25K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $8K | $13K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $4K | $32K |
| Total initial investment | $37K | $70K |
Source: i9 Sports 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$62K
13.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
98%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
12 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $37K – $70K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $8K – $13K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 7.5%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 12.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 0.4 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $3 |
| Transfer fee | $12K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $3K – $4K |
| Total fee load | 12.5% of rev |
At 12.5% total fee load, roughly $58K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $462K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $360K
- Avg operating income
- $122K
- Reported as Operating Income in FDD Item 19
- Item 19 type
- Average and Median Registration Revenue and Operating Profit
- Sample size
- 224 units
- vs category median 14 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $39K→$1.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $216K→$850K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 237 Education brands
Revenue is 8.7x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Education averages
How i9 Sports Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 264
- Opened
- 25
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 6
- Turnover rate
- 2.3%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +7.8%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +21.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 19
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 17
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 18 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Maryland
- Michigan
- New York
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 22
- Loan volume
- $4.1M
- Median loan
- $110K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 12
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into i9 Sports's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 12 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 8-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 22 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Moderate-to-caution risk profile: solid unit economics and low entry cost are offset by litigation exposure, ambiguous growth trajectory, and heavy reliance on unverified financial claims without Item 19 disclosure.
Litigation (Item 3)
3 case reference(s): 0 pending, 9 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $650,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · RSM US LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 39 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHLitigation involving parent company affiliates (Arby's, Dunkin') raises questions about corporate governance and legal exposure that could affect franchise operations
- 02MINORSlow unit growth of 7.8% YoY in a youth sports market suggests market saturation or operational challenges despite positive unit economics
- 03MINORHigh royalty floor ($425-$450/month minimum) creates fixed cost burden; franchisees earning below $5,400-$5,400 annually in network revenue operate at a loss
- 04MINORNo Item 19 (financial performance representations) limits ability to validate the $461K average revenue and $122K net income claims independently
- 05MINORMinimum royalty structure incentivizes aggressive revenue extraction even from struggling locations, potentially masking system-wide underperformance
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Contiguous geographic area delineated by zip codes or other boundaries |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 79,999 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
3 case reference(s): 0 pending, 9 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 26 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 39 hrs
- Training location
- Riverview, Florida
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 25 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- POS system
- Franchise Manager Software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Franchise Manager Software
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
100 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
i9 Sports · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a i9 Sports franchise?
The total investment to open a i9 Sports franchise ranges from $37K – $70K, 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 i9 Sports franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the i9 Sports FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $462K. The median is $360K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is i9 Sports's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, i9 Sports has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 22 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many i9 Sports franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, i9 Sports has 264 total units in the United States, including 218 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 25 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is i9 Sports a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates i9 Sports as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 39 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.
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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.