METHOD & POLICIES · 2026
AEI 100 is the first and definitive index of athlete entrepreneurs. Every athlete is evaluated using the same six dimensions and evidence standards. AEI is a comparative editorial index—not a valuation, audited financial analysis, statistical probability or investment recommendation.
“Transparent criteria. Evidence-linked profiles. Proprietary scoring.”
WHAT THE INDEX EVALUATES
The dimensions and their definitions are public. Category weights, formulas, caps, normalization, confidence adjustments, comparative benchmarks and tie-breaking rules are proprietary.
Evaluates whether the underlying enterprises are real, active and producing meaningful results. Evidence may include customers, products, employees, revenue, operating history, governance, market presence and verified liquidity events. The athlete is not required to personally operate or manage the business.
Evaluates whether the athlete has developed a coherent, repeatable investment or company-building platform rather than a collection of isolated deals. Multiple successful exits may support evidence of repeatability when they arise from distinct investments or enterprises.
Evaluates meaningful ownership, personal capital commitment, risk assumed and the athlete’s demonstrated alignment with enterprise outcomes. Endorsement compensation and nominal promotional equity are not treated as equivalent to material ownership.
Evaluates the athlete’s ability to attract and assemble capital, investors, professional executives, operators, strategic partners, advisers and distribution. Recruiting excellent operators is a critical indicator of entrepreneurial success and is never treated as a lack of legitimacy.
Evaluates how effectively athletic relevance is converted into durable customer access, owned media, retail reach, licensing, community, events or other distribution that strengthens the enterprise beyond a one-time endorsement. Fame and follower counts alone receive no scoring credit.
Evaluates whether the athlete’s business credibility, institutions, intellectual property, ownership and impact can endure independently of athletic performance and short-term celebrity attention. Active athletes can receive full credit and are not penalized for still competing.
ONE WORLDWIDE FIELD
AEI considers athletes worldwide for one overall ranking. There is no separate international list or different scoring track.
Country, region, sport and college or university are ways to explore the Index. They never add to or subtract from an athlete’s score.
International registries, local-language reporting and jurisdiction-specific records are assessed under the same source hierarchy. Missing information is not treated as proof that achievement did not occur.
A CRITICAL CLARIFICATION
The question is whether the enterprise is real, active and producing meaningful results. The ability to recruit professional executives and assemble capital, investors, operators, strategic partners and distribution is positive evidence of entrepreneurial success—not a deduction.
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
Verified liquidity events may strengthen Enterprise and Operating Proof. Multiple successful outcomes may also support Investment Platform and Repeatability. They do not create a separate exit category, and one transaction cannot overwhelm the broader business record.
HOW CLAIMS ARE TESTED
Claims are assessed for source quality, ownership relevance, recency, completeness and confidence before they affect a score.
Sources include, but are not limited to, regulatory filings, audited financial information, official company and transaction announcements, court records, direct company disclosures, investor and partner materials, league and team records, direct interviews, and reputable financial and sports-business reporting.
AEI distinguishes total transaction value from the athlete’s ownership percentage and realized proceeds. A headline transaction value is never assumed to equal the athlete’s realized value.
Private or incomplete transaction details receive confidence-appropriate credit. Unverified estimates, rumor and unsupported net-worth claims receive no scoring credit.
One event cannot be credited repeatedly across overlapping evidence. A liquidity event may support more than one dimension only when it demonstrates a genuinely distinct fact, such as operating proof and repeatability.
Exits are supporting evidence within Enterprise and Operating Proof, not a separate heavily weighted category. Passive investment exits may receive appropriate but limited credit.
Every athlete—regardless of country, sport, playing status or entrepreneurial path—is evaluated against the same six dimensions. The model creates no fame exception and no geographic adjustment.
ELIGIBILITY + STATUS
Living and deceased athletes are eligible. Death, retirement or active-playing status creates no automatic scoring benefit or penalty.
Active athletes are evaluated on demonstrated entrepreneurial achievement to date. They need not wait until retirement to build a durable business identity.
Retired athletes are evaluated under the identical criteria, without receiving automatic credit merely because more time has elapsed since competition.
Deceased athletes are evaluated on the record established during their lifetime. Later performance may demonstrate durability, but it is not treated as new entrepreneurial activity by the athlete.
INCLUSION STANDARD
AEI considers current and former elite competitive athletes worldwide whose documented business record is substantial enough for comparative evaluation. Selection is based on entrepreneurial evidence—not a predetermined allocation by sport, country, gender, era or celebrity level.
Founding and company building; meaningful equity ownership; operating enterprises; professional investment platforms; team or franchise ownership; repeatable capital deployment; owned intellectual property and distribution; verified liquidity and durable business identity.
Endorsement income, licensing without demonstrated ownership or enterprise substance, social following, estimated net worth, one passive investment, philanthropic visibility, fame, athletic dominance or unverified claims.
SCORING + CALIBRATION
The AEI 100 is composed of accomplished athlete entrepreneurs, but inclusion does not imply a score above 90. The model uses the available 100-point scale to distinguish developing, established, exceptional and category-defining business records.
Scores follow the evidence. AEI does not assign quotas to score bands or predetermine how many athletes must receive a particular score.
An AEI score is an index value within a highly selective global field. It is not a percentage, probability or letter grade, and a score below 70 does not mean that an athlete has failed.
Comparisons are calculated with greater internal precision before whole-number public scores are displayed. Substantive evidence—not alphabetical order or fame—resolves close cases.
A score near 100 is reserved for an unusually complete, category-defining record across the full model. It is not the expected score for every prominent athlete entrepreneur.
Weights, formulas, caps, normalization, confidence adjustments, comparative benchmarks and tie-breaking rules remain proprietary to protect the integrity of the Index.
DESCRIPTIVE INDEX DATA
Sport, college or university, athlete status, country and gender provide additional ways to view the same worldwide AEI 100. They are not scoring inputs and never create a separate ranking methodology.
Uses the athlete’s primary elite competitive sport. Where two sports materially define the athlete’s career, a combined label may be used.
Includes verified postsecondary institutions attended, including transfers. An athlete may appear under multiple schools. “Did not attend” is distinct from “institution not established.” Short executive-education programs and honorary degrees are excluded.
Active means currently participating in professional or elite competition as of the research cutoff; Retired means no longer competing at that level; Legacy identifies a deceased athlete.
Reflects the country represented in elite athletic competition. Birthplace, residence, citizenship and business markets may differ and are not substituted automatically.
Reflects the athlete’s publicly documented identity and competition record. It is descriptive only and creates no selection, scoring or ranking benefit or penalty.
SOURCE HIERARCHY
Sources include, but are not limited to, the categories below. AEI weighs reliability, directness, specificity, recency and corroboration—not merely the number of links attached to a claim.
Search snippets, anonymous claims, unsupported net-worth estimates, promotional lists and repeated articles tracing to the same unverified assertion do not establish a scoring fact.
HOW TO READ THE INDEX
AEI scores are comparative editorial assessments built from available public and direct evidence as of the edition’s research cutoff. Private ownership, proceeds, valuations and operating results are credited conservatively when they cannot be verified.
A one- or two-point difference should be understood as a close comparative judgment—not proof of a precisely measurable gap. AEI is not a valuation, credit rating, investment recommendation, factual guarantee or measure of an athlete’s character.
The Lonely Entrepreneur researches, scores and publishes AEI and retains sole editorial responsibility. AEI does not use an independent review panel, athlete voting, sponsor approval or paid placement.
As of the inaugural edition’s research cutoff, neither The Lonely Entrepreneur nor Michael Dermer has a financial interest in, or commercial relationship with, any athlete included in the AEI 100. Any future relationship that could reasonably affect perception will be disclosed and will never contribute to an athlete’s score.
Neither inclusion nor omission constitutes an endorsement or criticism. Third-party trademarks belong to their owners, and links to external sources do not imply affiliation.
CORRECTION POLICY
The inaugural 2026 edition remains a draft until its revised scores and rankings are approved. After publication, each annual edition is dated, locked and preserved so changes can be shown year over year. Rankings remain fixed except for a documented material correction. New business activity is ordinarily reflected in the next annual edition.
Substantive corrections should identify the athlete, disputed claim and supporting source. AEI reviews the underlying evidence and documents any controlled correction rather than making an unexplained live alteration. Private claims are not accepted solely on assertion.
Submit an evidence correction →