Navigating Sports Business

What's the real ROI of firing your coach and paying an expensive buyout?   AJ Maestas and Charles Rolston break down the numbers behind the high-profile coaching buyouts we're seeing in college football, and the potential economic justifications for taking big risks.   Listen to the full episode here:  https://nvgt.com/podcast?ppplayer=1e977ebc536a4f7840f232ca6e253547&ppepisode=b8c86e42a9f3d7b6f21...

David Dunn - Founder of Athletes First - is one of the most successful NFL agents of all time. He gives an inside look at one of the sports industry's most fascinating and misunderstood professions.   David has represented the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Justin Herbert, Troy Aikman, and many more. He has signed the largest deal in NFL history 8 times! He has worked with 17 Hall of Famers, seven Super...

Jeb Terry – President and CEO of Cosm – tells the story of his first time experiencing an early prototype of a Cosm venue.   He explains the transportive nature of the "shared reality" experience.   Listen to the full episode here:  https://nvgt.com/podcast?ppplayer=1e977ebc536a4f7840f232ca6e253547&ppepisode=4830009f2315f99b926e22e26021574b   For more insights, visit our  LinkedIn page  or learn m...

AJ Maestas and Charles Rolston are regularly advising conference commissioners, athletic directors, and other clients shaping the future of college athletics.   They share their POV on various paths forward including revenue sharing, super leagues, athlete employment, and more.   Timestamps: 0:30- Can athletic department budgets continue to rise? 4:30 - What would a college super league look like?...

Who will win the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery? Netflix announced an $82.7B deal for all of WBD's streaming + studio assets, but now Paramount is pursuing its own $108 billion takeover that will include cable and linear networks as well.   Charles Rolston and Umar Hussain break down the biggest story in media.   Timestamps: 0:50 - What do we know so far? 3:10 - 6:37 The difference between...

Donn Davis – Chairman and Founder of the Professional Fighters League – explains what the UFC's most recent media deal means exciting things for the PFL in their upcoming negotiations with partners.   UFC gets $25M per event, and PFL has ⅓ of the audience. Donn predicts they'll end up getting much more than the $1M/event they currently receive.   Listen to the full episode here:  https://nvgt.com/...

Navigating Sports Media:   Dan Porter - CEO of Overtime - runs one of the biggest content platforms for the younger generation of sports fans. Overtime doesn't compete for sports rights, but they have added 35,000 followers per day for over nine years.   They have also made two major bets: building out their own leagues for high school basketball and high school football. Dan explains how their de...

AJ Maestas and Charles Rolston break down the ROI metrics behind the (seemingly) crazy trend of expensive coaching buyouts in college football. They explore the economic and political factors at play that lead to these decisions for athletic directors and university presidents.   The right coaching hire can yield an incremental $20M - $35M per year for a football program, so there's a lot to lose...

Jeb Terry - President and CEO of Cosm - explains "Shared Reality" and what their venues add to the sports fan experience.   Jeb describes Cosm as "the next best thing" to being at a live event, and gives a thorough breakdown of the business model that is in many ways similar to a traditional venue with tickets, concessions, and partnerships.   He also explains the strategy behind expansion and how...

Navigating Sports Media: Eric Ratchman – CRO of FanDuel Sports Network – on the challenges of emerging from bankruptcy with a sustainable plan for the future, and how they were ultimately able to find success.   He highlights the three-step process that his team employed, and the many stakeholders and creditors that had to be aligned in order to make it all work.   Listen to the full episode here:...

Donn Davis - Chairman and Founder of the Professional Fighters League - has a long history of successful investments both inside and outside of the sports industry.   He talks about the opportunity he saw in the MMA space, and why PFL has become such a valuable property as it looks to gain marketshare from UFC.   He also shares lessons from some of the most (and least) successful deals of his care...

Drew Weatherford – Founding Partner of Weatherford Capital – has a novel idea for how private equity can get involved in college sports. Beyond varsity sports, athletic departments can also drive value by investing in club sports as an extension of the lucrative youth sports model that already exists across the country.   Would parents be willing to pay thousands of dollars for their students to u...

Navigating Sports Media:   Eric Ratchman - CRO of FanDuel Sports Network - discussed the new era of the RSN model and how they're finding sustainable success after bankruptcy.   He argues that no other media company offers the same combination of local penetration and national scale, appealing to advertisers wishing for year-round content in a given market or those looking to make a deal across ma...

Less than 2 weeks ago, AJ Maestas and Charles Rolston broke down the news of a looming $2B deal for the Big Ten to take a massive infusion of cash from private capital.   A lot has happened since then, with the news that the conference will be closing a deal with an investment fund of the University of California pension system and establishing Big Ten Enterprises with the goal of optimizing confe...

Drew Weatherford - Founding Partner of Weatherford Capital - discusses the role of private equity in college sports, including a less-discussed opportunity to invest in club sports.   The episode was recorded prior to the news of the Big Ten exploring a $2B private equity deal. You can hear AJ Maestas and Charles Rolston break that down in a bonus episode, here: https://nvgt.com/podcast?ppplayer=1...

The Big Ten is exploring $2B in private funding. In this episode, AJ Maestas, Founder of Navigate, sits down with Charles Rolston, Navigate's collegiate consulting expert, to break down what this means for the conference, the schools, and the entire college sports space.   Will the deal actually close? How do Ohio State and Michigan factor in? Do 20-year plans make sense in collegiate athletics? W...

Haley Rosen – Founder & CEO of Just Women's Sports – explains the relationship between athletes and the media. She is able to draw on her experience as an athlete and the friction she felt before ultimately launching a media platform of her own.   She sees the role of Just Women's Sports as building the fan base and ecosystem that will let women's sports continue to grow and thrive.   Listen to th...

Haley Rosen - Founder & CEO of Just Women's Sports - is no stranger to discussing trends in sports business, which is why she's such a great fit for our show. She offers an interesting perspective on the WNBA labor situation, the coverage of women's sports on traditional media platforms, and why she believes that women's sports will one day surpass men's sports in total popularity.   Timestamps: 2...

Pat Dimon – Head of Front Office Sports Studios and Owner of A Frame Productions – shares the secret to a good sports docuseries.   Many of our clients on the property side have raised questions about how to optimize non-live content in a crowded ecosystem where everyone is trying to make the next Drive to Survive. Pat is the creator of Full Swing, and shares his tips to getting it right.   Listen...

Tim Zulawski – President of AMB Sports & Entertainment – on the fan-friendly concessions strategy at Mercedez-Benz stadium and how it leads to higher fan satisfaction, increased merchandise sales, and creates "super advocates" for the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United, and the stadium itself.   As they prepare to host major events like the FIFA World Cup, Super Bowl, and Final Four, their concession...

Amber Cox – COO & GM of the Indiana Fever – on new WNBA fans buying season tickets or becoming passionate about the league after giving it a chance for the first time. Often, their first exposure comes from attending a game or tuning in to watch stars like Caitlin Clark.   She calls Caitlin Clark the "ultimate multiplier effect" for the WNBA, in amplifying the momentum that has been building for t...

Navigating Sports Media:   Pat Dimon - Head of Front Office Sports Studios and Owner of A Frame Productions - is one of the biggest names in the sports docuseries space. He joins Umar Hussain to discuss the the new joint venture with Front Office Sports, and why some sports docs cut through the clutter while others miss the mark.   He also gives his thoughts on where rightsholders should be invest...

"If all progress in AI stopped tomorrow, it would still take five to 10 years for what we've got now to diffuse through the market."   Bruce Bassett - internationally renowned computer science expert & embedded AI strategist at Navigate - on the importance of building an AI-native culture within your organizations. It's not enough to chase the newest tools, or to build a custom AI agent. If the pa...

Amber Cox - COO & GM of the Indiana Fever - stepped into her role at the dawn of the Caitlin Clark era - a moment that's fueled unprecedented growth for both the Fever and the WNBA. But as Amber shares, that surge didn't start with Caitlin; her arrival simply created a powerful "multiplier effect" on momentum that was already building.   Timestamps: 2:10 - Amber's career in the WNBA 9:10 - Joining...

"This is a business where you can lose having a superior product"   Robert Davari – CEO and Founder of Tixr – on the challenges of raising money in the crowded ticketing space. Investors are looking for emerging technologies, particularly in AI, and don't often have the patience to support a challenger brand like Tixr.   As an entrepreneur, Robert has always preferred bootstrapping his businesses...