Four roles get confused in coverage of exchange-traded funds that reference sports performance benchmarks. A league supplies official statistics. An index administrator (here, FutureSports) turns them into a benchmark under its own governance. A CFTC-regulated futures exchange (here, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.) has announced plans to list futures on that benchmark, pending regulatory review. Let's use the NHL for example for the first scheduled live listing. A fund sponsor files with the SEC; no shares sell until the statement is effective.
The category stack is a team or athlete performance index (for example, a FutureSports Performance Index), cash-settled index futures on a CFTC-designated contract market that reference that benchmark, and ETF wrappers that would reference those benchmarks if and when a registration statement is declared effective.
FutureSports' 4 August 2026 release describes an exclusive statistics agreement. CME Group's 11 August 2026 release describes the planned listing.
As of 7 September 2026, EDGAR full-text search shows registration statement amendments from 3 fund trusts referencing the FSPI indexes (form 485APOS, term "FutureSports"). Any future fund would be described in its own registration statement.
A professional sports league supplies the official statistics used in the indexes. Let's use the NHL for example: FutureSports' 4 August 2026 release describes that hockey data relationship (paraphrased).
Per the administrator's methodology guide (August 2026, section 1.C), the league doesn't participate in index determination, calculation, methodology governance, or decision-making, and doesn't sponsor, endorse, or administer the indexes.
LeagueShares, LLC and LeagueShares Advisors, LLC aren't affiliated with, licensed by, or sponsored or endorsed by any league, team, player or players' association, CME Group, or FutureSports (LeagueShares release, 26 August 2026, and the prospectus).
FutureSports (legal name Sports Futures Xchange, Inc., per the copyright notice in its August 2026 methodology guide) is based in Chicago. The firm has been under development since 2022 and launched in 2026 (FutureSports release, 23 July 2026). Co-founders are Leigh Taylforth and Rhett Dinsdale (futuresports.com/about, accessed September 2026).
Investors disclosed by FutureSports include CME Ventures and Robinhood Markets, Inc. A CME Group executive sits on its board (FutureSports release, 23 July 2026). Each party still holds a distinct role in the chain described on this page.
FutureSports turns official statistics into FutureSports Performance Indexes (FSPI) under its own governance. CME Group's announced contracts carry the CME FSPI name.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc., a CME Group exchange and a designated contract market regulated by the CFTC, has announced plans to list standard and micro FSPI futures. Take hockey for example: those hockey / NHL contracts are planned for 28 September 2026, pending regulatory review (CME Group release, 11 August 2026), as the first scheduled live example.
LeagueShares, LLC is an exchange-traded fund issuer formed to bring sports performance benchmarks into regulated, exchange-listed funds. A fund sponsor causes a trust to file a Form N-1A registration statement (or an amendment adding new series) with the SEC. The document is public on EDGAR. The statement becomes effective under the Securities Act's timing rules (Section 8(a) for a new registrant; Rule 485 for amendments by an existing one).
This section describes the generic issuer role. No LeagueShares fund is for sale until a registration statement is declared effective.
The league is a private organization. It isn't a registrant of the SEC or the CFTC in this chain.
No U.S. registration regime applies to benchmark administrators. FutureSports states its methodology is designed to align with the IOSCO Principles and that it publishes an annual IOSCO Statement of Compliance (methodology guide, section 1).
The exchange is a CFTC-designated contract market. The fund trust and adviser are SEC registrants under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940; the adviser is also under the Investment Advisers Act. A fund that holds futures is a commodity pool under the Commodity Exchange Act, and its adviser acts as commodity pool operator, overseen by the CFTC and NFA. The fund distributor is a FINRA-member broker-dealer whose communications follow FINRA Rule 2210.
CME Group has announced futures, not ETFs (CME Group release, 11 August 2026). The registration statements on EDGAR were filed by fund trusts, not by CME Group.
Some early coverage attributed the ETFs to CME Group. The publisher later corrected the piece to say CME Group plans to list futures, not ETFs (Investment Executive / Advisor.ca, Perspective column first published 31 August 2026, updated 3 September 2026).
Role map for sports performance indexes, announced futures, and ETF filings.
| Party | Example | What it does | What it doesn't do | Regulator | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | A professional sports league (hockey worked example: NHL data feed) | Supplies official real-time statistics under an exclusive agreement with the index administrator (FutureSports, 4 Aug 2026) | Per the administrator's methodology guide, doesn't participate in index determination, calculation, methodology governance, or decision-making, and doesn't sponsor, endorse, or administer the indexes (section 1.C, August 2026) | Private organization (not an SEC or CFTC registrant in this chain) | FutureSports release 4 Aug 2026; methodology guide s.1.C |
| Index administrator | FutureSports | Calculates and governs FSPI under published methodology | Doesn't list futures; doesn't file ETF registration statements | No U.S. benchmark-administrator registration regime; IOSCO alignment stated by administrator | Methodology guide Aug 2026; FutureSports release 23 Jul 2026 |
| Exchange | Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc., a CME Group exchange | Has announced plans to list standard and micro FSPI futures (hockey first scheduled 28 Sep 2026, pending regulatory review) | Doesn't issue ETFs; doesn't calculate the index | CFTC (designated contract market) | CME Group release 11 Aug 2026 |
| ETF issuer | An ETF sponsor with a registration statement on file | Files and amends a Form N-1A registration statement with the SEC; sells no shares until the SEC declares it effective | Doesn't calculate the index; doesn't list the futures; has no role in league statistics | SEC (1933 and 1940 Acts); the fund's distributor is a FINRA member | EDGAR filing index (CIK 1122649) |
Four roles sit in this chain: league statistics, index administration, futures listing plans, and SEC registration statements. Each role has a different actor and a different regulator.
LeagueShares, LLC is an exchange-traded fund issuer formed to bring sports performance benchmarks into regulated, exchange-listed funds. Registration statement amendments relating to these securities have been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and have not yet become effective. This page is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security, and no securities may be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, before the amendments become effective.
LeagueShares, LLC and LeagueShares Advisors, LLC aren't affiliated with, licensed by, or sponsored or endorsed by CME Group, FutureSports, or any professional sports league, team, player, or players' association.
CME, CME Group and Chicago Mercantile Exchange are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. FutureSports and FSPI are marks of Sports Futures Xchange, Inc. Third-party document titles are cited for identification only; no license, sponsorship or endorsement is implied.
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