Fantex Moves Forward With Football Player I.P.O.

Fantex, a start-up looking to sell stocks tied to athletes’ future earnings, is getting back in the game after taking a couple of hits.

The company said on Tuesday that it was moving forward with a planned initial public offering of stock linked to Vernon Davis, the star tight end of the San Francisco 49ers who experienced a concussion last fall. With Mr. Davis back on the field, Fantex is hoping that investors will show up for its inaugural deal.

The offer represents the second attempt by Fantex to pull off an athlete I.P.O. Last fall, the company caused a stir on Wall Street and in the sports world when it said it would offer shares linked to the future income of the Houston Texans running back Arian Foster. But less than a month later, Fantex postponed the offering when Mr. Foster was placed on injured reserve.

Mr. Davis, the second N.F.L. player to sign with Fantex, is now set to be the guinea pig for this new and highly speculative type of investment. Fantex plans to offer shares representing a 10 percent interest in Mr. Davis’s future income, including the value of his playing contracts, corporate endorsements and appearance fees.

If enough investors sign up to reserve stock, Fantex expects to sell 421,100 shares at $10 each, raising $4.2 million. The company plans to pay Mr. Davis $4 million for the tracking shares, with the balance of the I.P.O. covering the costs of the deal.

For investors to make money, the total value of Mr. Davis’s future income has be more than $42 million. The company has valued that potential money pot at $61 million.

Unlike some other investments, the Fantex tracking shares do not give the investor a direct legal right to the athlete’s income.

Adding some star power to this endeavor, Fantex announced separately on Tuesday that the golf legend Jack Nicklaus would join its advisory board. Mr. Nicklaus, 74, a retired athlete in possession of an immensely valuable brand, said in a statement: “I wish a platform such as this existed early in my professional career.”

An open question is whether more athletes will decide to take the Fantex proposition, accepting a lump sum in exchange for a significant portion of all future income related to their brand, including after they retire. The Vernon Davis I.P.O. represents a smaller portion of the athlete’s income than the one connected to Mr. Foster, which, if it eventually goes forward, would claim a 20 percent share.

The company’s debut in the fall was marred by a pair of seemingly inauspicious events. Not long after his I.P.O. was announced, Mr. Foster required back surgery to repair a ruptured disc, ending his season. Mr. Davis left a game in the first half after suffering a concussion.

But Buck French, the chief executive and co-founder of Fantex, seemed to take the setback in stride, saying that things never go quite as planned. He also said the injuries made prospective investors more aware of the risks.

“With the belief in short-term pain, long-term gain as a mantra, I think it certainly conditioned the market to the risks inherent in the security that we outlined in the prospectus,” Mr. French said.

The threat of injury is just one of the risks that investors in the Fantex stock accept.

While the stock simulates owning a portion of an athlete’s brand, it is actually an ownership interest in Fantex itself, a risky start-up without a proven track record. While the company hopes to pay a dividend, that is not guaranteed. In addition, Fantex is allowed to dissolve the tracking stocks at any time and convert them into shares of the management company.

Rather than trade on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq, the tracking stocks will trade only on an exchange operated by Fantex, where there is no guarantee of liquidity. Fantex plans to take a 1 percent commission from both the buyer and seller in any secondary transactions.

At core, Fantex is a sports marketing and management company, with plans to promote Mr. Davis’s brand after completing his I.P.O. The company will keep 5 percent of the money flowing to investors in the deal.

To promote the offering, Fantex is holding a “road show” tour across the United States in a former Madden Cruiser, the bus made famous by the football great John Madden. Investors can start reserving shares on Thursday.

“I fundamentally believe that this overarching concept of Fantex will exist one day,” Mr. French said. “Whether it’s us or not, I guess that comes down to how well we execute and whether the market wants it to exist.”