Drew Brees Invests in Sports-Themed Gaming Company

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Wedge Buster, a company that targets males with its sports-themed social games, said Tuesday it raised $2.2 million in venture funding, including investments from NFL quarterback Drew Brees and professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek.

Other investors include 37 Technology Ventures, Archer Ventures, the Dauntless Fund, former Motorola CEO Ed Zander and sports-focused investment bank Park Lane, which also acted as financial advisor to Wedge Buster.

Wedge Buster launched dozens of games Tuesday, many of which are played via Facebook, with titles like Soccer Trouble, Trigger Happy, Fat Umpire, QB Attack and Beaver Hunt.

“Most of the major sports media companies haven’t figured out a viable model for Facebook and mobile, and the ones who have are all targeting the 40-year-old female,” said Wedge Buster COO and co-founder Ryan Houston. “We’ve been in testing mode for months and know we have the right product to reach males cross platform.”

Wedge Buster said that its social app has registered 250,000 users thus far who spend an average of 13 minutes per session playing games and return multiple times per day.

The popularity of social games can’t be disputed – Lazard Capital says it will be a $9 billion market globally by 2015 – but companies have had a tough time living up to profit expectations. Zynga, for example, boasts 60 million daily active users but the company routinely disappoints Wall Street and its stock has sunk from $14 a share in March to just $2.82 on Tuesday.

Los Angeles-based Wedge Buster said it will use its $2.2 million in Series A funding “to accelerate game development, support marketing strategies and build out the distribution gaming network with media companies.”