Allyson Felix Launches Women’s Sports Management Firm Always Alpha (EXCLUSIVE)

Dolphin, a NASDAQ listed company, has launched Always Alpha, the first management firm of its kind fully focused on women’s sports.

Olympic legend and women’s rights advocate Allyson Felix, her longtime business partner and brother Wes Felix and standout sports executive Cosette Chaput founded Always Alpha with the intention of bolstering the industry’s potential and addressing dated, transactional talent management models that were not built for today’s multifaceted talent. “I needed to build what I wished existed,” Allyson Felix says.

“We created Always Alpha to revolutionize women’s sports by moving beyond outdated, one-size-fits-all models designed with male athletes in mind,” Chaput tells Variety. “These traditional frameworks, tied to contracts and templated endorsements, fail to recognize the unique strengths and potential of female athletes, coaches and broadcasters.”

The venture is supported by Dolphin’s portfolio of marketing and communications companies. Always Alpha aims to empower modern women who are breaking barriers, owning their voices and creating a better future on and off the field of play.

“Young athletes often ask me how I’ve diversified and consistently grown my business across marketing, media, entrepreneurship, venture, entertainment and impact,” says Allyson Felix. “Wes and I did it ourselves piece by piece, out of necessity — because there wasn’t another option for transforming our vision into reality. With Always Alpha, we’re taking everything we learned and creating the modern management firm I used to dream of existing to help the next generation of talent do the same and build the future they in turn dream of too.”

The most decorated track and field athlete in history, Allyson Felix holds a record 20 World Championship and 11 Olympic medals (including seven gold). She has her own shoe brand Saysh, and beyond the track, she has continued pushing for change — including this summer, when she launched the first-ever Olympic Village nursery at the Paris 2024 Games to support athletes with children. At the conclusion of the Games, Felix was elected to The International Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission by her peers.

“There used to be a lot of fear-driven narratives that once you were done competing, you were done. That couldn’t be further from the truth but it can be a scary road and I have made a lot of mistakes that could have been avoided,” Felix tells Variety. “So I see Always Alpha as a chance to use the lessons I’ve learned alongside a dynamic team to help guide the next generation in creating the right next chapter for them whether it be motherhood, entrepreneurship, impact work, investing, broadcasting and multimedia (books, podcasts, documentaries) or something entirely new.”

Over the last decade, Chaput has made history as the digital marketing lead behind the successful bid to bring the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games to Los Angeles, before becoming a vice president at Wasserman, where she represented golf’s best broadcasters, coaches and the No. 1 player in the world. She has also delivered award-winning campaigns for global brands like CoverGirl and Beats by Dre.

“Women’s sports is an underserved and undervalued billion dollar industry,” says Chaput. “Women are more than athletes, more than an afterthought and more than the current system is built for. Always Alpha is reimagining modern talent management for today’s athletes, investors, moms, entrepreneurs, broadcasters, coaches, advocates and change-makers.”

Always Alpha joins Dolphin’s roster of celebrity, influencer and entertainment marketing companies. Dolphin clients received 24 Oscar nominations, 60 Emmy nominations and 25 Grammy nominations this year. Dolphin companies also handle many signature entertainment events, from the Academy Museum Gala to countless movie and television premieres each year.

“Bringing our reach and influence into sports, and specifically to support women’s sports, is both a natural extension and a strategic no-brainer for Dolphin,” says Dolphin CEO Bill O’Dowd. “Modern female athletes and sportscasters have interests outside of their sports. They are celebrities and influencers in their own right. Many of them are also entrepreneurs, with dreams of launching their own products and businesses. And they all care about the world they live in, and want to use their influence to make a positive impact.”

O’Dowd, who’s seven feet tall and played college basketball, says he personally understands the grind of playing a sport and wondering what’s next. “I think that question is posed generally with excitement, mixed with a little bit of fear of wondering if you will have to do it alone,” he tells Variety. “We want to supercharge the excitement, because we make things real every day, and we want to take that little voice of fear away because with Allyson, Cosette and over 270 great folks working at Dolphin, these women will now have a big team to support them in achieving their dreams.”