Pro Football Focus (PFF) has become the go-to name in football analytics. The company is owned and run by NBC color commentator and former NFL receiver Cris Collinsworth, is featured on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, and is the center of weekly fan debates over its player grades during football season. This podcast will break down the money and business behind PFF, including its founding, its fast rise in the world of football, and where the business stands today. Enjoy! Ps. I recently launched a ...
Nov 02, 2023•18 min•Ep. 223
The University of Michigan football team — the 8-0 squad that is the current betting favorite to win the national championship — is under investigation for illegally stealing signs from its opponents. There’s a lot out there on this scandal and a lot to process. So this podcast will break down the who, what, where, when and why behind the investigation, providing a breakdown that shows where we’re at in the process so far and what could be next. Enjoy! Ps. I recently launched a sports business c...
Oct 31, 2023•22 min•Ep. 222
Crystal Palace Chairman Steve Parish recently said that the Premier League is considering the implementation of a cost cap for club wages. This podcast will look at how a salary cap would impact the league, how a cap would make the EPL look like an American sports league, what an EPL salary cap figure could be, and more. Enjoy! Ps. I recently launched a sports business community on Microsoft Teams. Join here: https://teams.live.com/l/community/FAAIJe0ERyXmJDuOQw...
Oct 25, 2023•16 min•Ep. 221
The NBA tips off on its 2023-24 season this Tuesday, October 24. This podcast will look at the state of the league’s business, including its negotiations for a new TV rights package, record-breaking franchise valuations, the league’s highest-paid superstars, and more. Enjoy! Ps. I recently launched a sports business community on Microsoft Teams. Join here: https://teams.live.com/l/community/FAAIJe0ERyXmJDuOQw
Oct 23, 2023•27 min•Ep. 220
Aaron Rodgers is already back on the field walking without a boot and throwing passes just five weeks after Achilles surgery. Many people doubted he would be able to make it back this year — the fastest Achilles recovery ever is five months — but that’s now looking like a real possibility. So today’s podcast will break down Rodgers’ recovery, provide the best information possible on how Rodgers’ process looks, provide background on the surgeon leading his recovery, and more. Enjoy! Ps. I recentl...
Oct 20, 2023•17 min•Ep. 219
Today’s podcast examines how Bryce Harper went from high school phenom — he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated at 16 labeled The Chosen One — to MLB superstar. Joe examines his unusual path, his business success, and much more. Enjoy!
Oct 18, 2023•24 min•Ep. 218
International expansion has been a priority for Roger Goodell since he became NFL commissioner in 2006. The NFL has played more and more games overseas as each year has gone on in Goodell’s tenure, and there’s no doubt American football has become more global over the past decade-plus. But Goodell has been floating the idea of even further international expansion for the NFL with a team in London or even an entire European division. And what would those two scenarios even look like? This podcast...
Oct 16, 2023•26 min•Ep. 218
23-year-old Kenyan long-distance runner Kelvin Kiptum set a new world record men’s marathon time of 2:00:35 this past Sunday at the Chicago Marathon. The athletic feat is one of the most impressive accomplishments we’ve ever seen in sports history. Still, many were quick to point to the advantage modern day running shoes give to today’s professional runners. So, this podcast will break down Kiptum’s historic moment, his fast rise to the top of marathon running, and how much “super shoes” really ...
Oct 13, 2023•11 min•Ep. 216
Rich Paul is the Founder and CEO of Klutch Sports Group, one of the world’s biggest sports agencies. He has hundreds of clients across the NBA and NFL, including LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Jalen Hurts, and he has negotiated more than $4 billion in contracts. We talk about his upbringing in Cleveland, Ohio, how he met LeBron James, misconceptions about the agency business, the future of NIL, his new book “Lucky Me: A Memoir of Change the Odds,” and much more. Enjoy!
Oct 11, 2023•59 min•Ep. 215
Today’s podcast breaks down three topics: 1) Why Tom Brady’s 5% to 10% equity stake in the Raiders still hasn't been approved, 2) FIFA’s plan for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups, and 3) TGL’s recently-announced broadcasting deal with ESPN.
Oct 09, 2023•22 min•Ep. 214
MrBeast’s “Feastables” brand signed a deal with the Charlotte Hornets to become the team’s official jersey patch sponsor starting this season. It’s the first time a creator-owned brand will grace an NBA jersey. And this announcement comes on the heels of the many partnerships signed by PRIME, Logan Paul, and KSI’s drink brand with sports teams and franchises. This podcast will explore the fast rise of creator-owned brands in sports, and why the Feastables and PRIME deals aren’t going to be the l...
Oct 06, 2023•18 min•Ep. 213
Apple is reportedly discussing a $2 billion-per-year bid for all of Formula 1’s global media rights, similar to their exclusive setup with Major League Soccer. So today’s podcast will break down why Apple is interested in a deal, how their current partnership with MLS is going so far, the future of broadcast vs. streaming, and more. Enjoy!
Oct 04, 2023•17 min•Ep. 212
Mike McDaniel is one of the NFL’s best coaches. His team just put up 70 points on Sean Payton’s Broncos, and he’s also known for his unique personality — one full of quirks, one-liners, jokes, and unconventional football wisdom. So this podcast will recount McDaniel’s story, showing that while McDaniel had some luck early in his life, it’s no accident a kid from Aurora, Colorado rose to the top of the NFL. Enjoy!
Oct 02, 2023•21 min•Ep. 211
Team USA and Team Europe will battle it out at the 44th edition of The Ryder Cup this weekend at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, Italy. This podcast will break down the business and economics of the storied event, one that pits the best golfers from the United States and Europe against each other. Enjoy!
Sep 28, 2023•23 min•Ep. 210
The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup is only three years away, and the competition to host the final match is heating up. So today’s podcast will break down the pros and cons of each city/venue, and I’ll even speculate on where I think the game ultimately ends up. Enjoy!
Sep 26, 2023•15 min•Ep. 209
Canadian sports drink company BioSteel filed for bankruptcy this past Thursday, Sept. 14. The move was a shock across sports as the upstart company had backing from Patrick Mahomes as well as sponsorship deals with the NHL, LA Lakers, Luka Doncic, and more. So, how did this all happen? This podcast will break down the details. Enjoy!
Sep 22, 2023•14 min•Ep. 208
Today’s podcast breaks down three topics: 1) Deion Sanders financial impact at the University of Colorado, 2) The upcoming merger between the XFL and the USFL, and 3) Goldman Sachs opening up a sports investment division for its wealthy clients. Enjoy!
Sep 20, 2023•28 min•Ep. 207
Gerard Pique’s new soccer league, the Kings League, is disrupting soccer as we know it with a completely new style of play. But what exactly is it? This podcast will break down the upstart soccer league, and what it could mean for the future of sports.
Sep 18, 2023•21 min•Ep. 206
New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce is in its second season and is already off to a hot start. The NFL podcast has topped the sports charts for more than a year, and the Kelce brothers are building a legitimate media business for retirement. So today’s podcast will examine the podcast’s origins, the money behind a top sports podcast, the company that makes them go viral, the rise of athlete-hosted podcasts, and more.
Sep 15, 2023•19 min•Ep. 205
Jeremy Levine is the founder and CEO of Underdog Fantasy. Underdog has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital from people like BlackRock, LionTree, and Mark Cuban, and Underdog is now one of the fastest-growing fantasy sports companies on the market. We talk about the ever-changing sports gambling marketplace, why product innovation is paramount, the ongoing regulatory discussion, how owned media can be an asset, and much more. Enjoy!
Sep 14, 2023•33 min•Ep. 204
The National Women’s Soccer League is having its best year ever as a league and is growing fast. The NWSL has made a ton of big moves lately, including the addition of two new expansion teams by 2026, record-breaking attendance, and an impending new TV deal. This podcast will break down the business and economics behind the NWSL. Enjoy!
Sep 13, 2023•20 min•Ep. 203
Monday Night Football (MNF) returns on ESPN tonight. The focus will be on Aaron Rodgers’ debut as a New York Jet versus Josh Allen and the Super Bowl-hopeful Buffalo Bills. And two familiar faces will be back for their third season of MNF: Peyton and Eli Manning on the ManningCast . While the Manning brothers have done well in retirement with their alternate cast on MNF, the company behind the show — the Peyton Manning-owned Omaha Productions — is quietly building a media empire. This podcast wi...
Sep 11, 2023•17 min•Ep. 202
Today’s episode breaks down three topics: 1) Charter’s increasingly ugly fight with ESPN over the future of cable, 2) Deion Sanders plan to turn Colorado into a preeminent football destination, and 3) The business and money behind this year’s Rugby World Cup. Enjoy!
Sep 08, 2023•25 min•Ep. 201
The NFL season kicks off with a Thursday Night Football game between the reigning Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs and the rising Detroit Lions. So today’s newsletter will serve as a “state of the union”-style review of the Shield’s business, including where it’s at, new developments for the 2023-24 season, and all things NFL.
Sep 06, 2023•23 min•Ep. 200
Sam Schwartzstein played center at Stanford University (with Andrew Luck). He was a founding member of XFL 2.0, building a team of 800+ employees to oversee the playing rules, on-field technology, and player/coach compensation model. He now works on Amazon Prime's NFL production, integrating Next Gen Stats into Thursday Night Football's weekly broadcasts. We talk about playing with Andrew Luck at Stanford, how he got recruited to join the XFL, his process for reinventing different parts of the r...
Sep 04, 2023•34 min•Ep. 199
The Boston University CTE Center released a new study on Monday (Aug. 28) that found chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in more than 40% of youth, high school, and college athletes — mainly football players — who suffered repeated head impact from contact sports and died before turning 30 years of age. So today’s podcast will break down the study’s findings and serve as an overview of the monetary investments professional sports leagues are making into research to make their sports safer. En...
Sep 01, 2023•22 min•Ep. 198
The 143rd edition of the U.S. Open kicked off on Monday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center grounds in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York. This podcast will break down the business behind the final Grand Slam event on the professional tennis calendar. Enjoy!
Aug 30, 2023•16 min•Ep. 197
High school football in Texas has taken on a world of its own. We’re seeing $50 million-plus stadiums built, restaurants experiencing an economic boom in the Fall, and thousands of people attending games every Friday night. So today’s newsletter examines how Texas became the country’s biggest football hotbed, and how the economics of the sport incentivize the construction of multi-million-dollar stadiums.
Aug 29, 2023•15 min•Ep. 196
Today’s podcast breaks down three topics: 1) How UFC continues to screw over its fighters with low pay, 2) The ATP Tour’s new plan to financially incentive the top players, and 3) An honest review of the most recent sports documentaries. Enjoy!
Aug 25, 2023•27 min•Ep. 195
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese went viral after the NCAA Women’s Championship Game for their back-and-forth battle on the court and along with some trash-talking theatrics — and their impact from that game and tournament is still being felt across sports. This podcast will be a summary feature on the impact Clark and Reese have had on their respective schools. We’ll look at everything from ticket sales, donations, NIL deals, social media, and more. Enjoy!
Aug 23, 2023•14 min•Ep. 194
