Byron Roth got a special kick out of RX3 Growth Partnersโ annual flag football tournament, held March 16 at Saddleback College.
โMy three kids playedโ with the NFL quarterbacksโwhose attendees included Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen and Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff, both of whom live in OC in the offseason โparticipating in the event, Roth, head of Newport Beachโs Roth MKM, the areaโs largest investment firm, told our Peter J. Brennan.
โOne of them got an over-the-shoulder touchdown pass from (Green Bay Packers QB) Jordan Love,โ Roth, one of the three founders of RX3, noted.
Another Roth family member followed the unfortunate playbook of another RX3 partner, Aaron Rodgers, whose first season at the helm of the NY Jets only lasted a handful of plays.
โThe other (kid) snapped his Achilles on the first play,โ Roth said.
The third edition of the flag football event raised nearly $3M for charity, a record amount.
โAll in all, it was good,โ Roth said of the event.
For more on RX3 and its other founder, Nate Raabe, see Brennanโs front-page story, along with the Business Journalโs other Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award winners profiled in this edition.
OCโs famed sports promoter Roy Englebrecht has pitched his own unique football competition: the โIrrelevant Bowl,โ which aims to feature the two worst teams in college football going head-to-head.
โNo polls, no rankings, no controversy, just two winless or near winless teams looking for redemption and one elusive win,โ Englebrecht said in a statement.
The proposed bowl is a play on the โMr. Irrelevantโ festivities held annually in Englebrechtโs hometown of Newport Beach, to commemorate the last player selected in the NFL Draft.
That event got plenty of exposure in the past year, as Brock Purdy, the last pick in the 2022 draft, took the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl this February.
Thus far, the NCAA appears uninterested in approving the Irrelevant Bowl, according to national reports.
Roy Englebrecht has other ideas up his sleeve. Last month he announced plans to launch Extreme Roller Derby, a locally based, modernized take on the vintage sporting competition.
The new league, starting out in Southern California, aims to start next year. The new league expects to be โinvesting millionsโ in its formation and launch.
The competition will focus โon the established rule set of classic roller derby, but with no pre-determined outcomes or pro wrestling-esque antics,โ it says.
For any aspiring skaters, open tryouts take place next month at The Hangar at Costa Mesaโs OC Fair & Event Center. The league is looking for 100 skaters, to make up its first eight teams.