FranchiseVerdict
Play It Again Sports logo
FV-01983·STRONGExcellent86

Play It Again Sports

RetailFranchising since 1988Website
Investment
$346K – $460K
80th pct Retail
Avg revenue
$1.2M
36th pct Retail
Royalty
5.0%
15th pct Retail
Units
309
87th pct Retail
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $346K – $460K including a $25K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.2M/year (median $1.0M).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 44/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 180 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Winmark Corporation
Incorporated in
Minnesota
HQ
605 Highway 169 N, Suite 400, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55441
Auditor
Grant Thornton LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$81.3M
vs $86.1M prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one Play It Again Sports unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,172,630
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: retail
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $346K–$460K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $40K–$50K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

18%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$82K
EBITDA margin
7.0%
Total invested
$448K
Payback
65 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Play It Again Sports franchisees operate retail locations specializing in new and used sporting goods, equipment, and apparel. Day-to-day operations include inventory management (buying, selling, trading used equipment), customer service across both retail and buyback programs, and managing tight margins in a competitive sporting goods market dominated by larger chains.

CEO
Brett D. Heffes
Founded
1988
FDD year
2026
States available
46

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$346K – $460K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$40K – $50K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
n/d
Total fee load
5.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.2M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$1.0M
Item 19 type
Average Annual Sales and Gross Profit
Sample size
287 units
vs category median 52 · large
Range (low → high)
$223K$7.1M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
6 / 5
vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Revenue rank36th
vs Retail peers
Investment cost rank80th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank15th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank87th
vs Retail peers
Risk score rank10th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
309
Opened
15
Last reporting year
Closed
8
Turnover rate
2.6%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+2.3%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+5.1%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
309+7
Franchised units
2025
302
Franchised units
2026
294
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 12 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 12 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
180
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

44
Risk · 0-100
STRONG44 / 100

Play It Again Sports presents moderate-to-cautionary risk: slow unit growth, undisclosed profitability, and high capital requirements relative to revenue potential warrant deep financial due diligence.

Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORMinimal unit growth (2.3% YoY) indicates market saturation or declining franchisee interest in a mature system
  2. 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents ROI verification and suggests weak profitability metrics
  3. 03MINORHigh initial investment ($346,300–$459,700) relative to modest average revenue ($1.17M) yields thin margin potential
  4. 04MED309 units is relatively small for an established brand, suggesting limited system strength and bargaining power
  5. 05HIGHNo going concern statement is positive, but combined with slow growth raises questions about system viability

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
42 hrs
On-the-job training
34 hrs
POS system
POS System
Operating tech stack

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

99 numbers

Locked
(714) 848-••••
CA
(302) 318-••••
DE
(229) 232-••••
GA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Play It Again Sports · FDD (2026) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above