Profluence Sports by Andrew Petcash

Share this post

Sports Is Changing: To Win Content Reigns Supreme

www.petcashpost.com

Discover more from Profluence Sports by Andrew Petcash

A newsletter breaking down the business of athletes, sports, and NIL.
Over 29,000 subscribers
Continue reading
Sign in

Sports Is Changing: To Win Content Reigns Supreme

Podcast with NBA player & Investor Thad Young + how content is fueling the future of sports (especially in college).

Andrew Petcash
Jun 7, 2023
34
Share this post

Sports Is Changing: To Win Content Reigns Supreme

www.petcashpost.com
Share

Sports is changing.

The media landscape is changing.

In this new era, content will be king. 

Let Me Explain 👇

What’s Happening

As the media landscape shifted from the internet → mobile devices & social media we saw sports get impacted directly.

Athlete-driven media has taken over:

  • Pat Mcafee ($85M w/ ESPN)

  • Brandon Marshall ($$ w/ SiriusXM)

  • Travis Kelce (~$3M w/ New Heights)

  • Adam Breneman (co-founder Mercury)

  • Will Compton ($3M w/ Barstool Sports)

Brandon Marshall Says NBA Players Are 'Soft'
Brandon Marshall x SiriusXM

Many of the higher-end athletes have even gone straight to building production studios.

And recently…

Peter Chernin's new venture North Road Co. invested ~$10M in Peyton Manning's Omaha productions, valuing them at $400M.

So where’s this going?

Downstream to College

This shift in media will be most apparent in college sports over the next several years.

And for an array of reasons:

1️⃣ NIL

As we’re all aware…

Athletes can monetize their name, image, and likeness.

This has created a frenzy to start building brands — which naturally happens on social media.

From there, monetization occurs on the content athletes create (which is mostly achieved through video content).

2️⃣ Transfer Portal

NIL money is having a massive impact on where players decide to go play.

This has created an interesting dynamic…

Schools need to innovate — to attract players (and also retain the current ones they have).

Data via On3 & NCAA (6/6/23)

It’s about becoming more appealing beyond just paying athletes (as donor money from collectives isn’t sustainable).

3️⃣ Conference Realignment

Conferences are all competing now and need to be more than just a “name” with schools that represent them.

Proof of this happening…

Brett Yormark was named the Big 12 Commissioner to help the conference compete with the SEC and Big10 (moving on from his role as COO at Roc Nation).

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark to visit University of Houston

Something I firmly believe…

Conferences that invest in storytelling and original content will win over the next several years.

With paying college athletes on the horizon, conferences need to act more like media companies (just as the NBA and NFL have done to great success).

Companies to Watch

Which companies are at the heart of this downstream movement?

Mercury, which labels itself as the college sports company, is one of the most fascinating.

It was co-founded by former football star turned sports media entrepreneur Adam Breneman.

Adam Breneman (@AdamBreneman81) / Twitter
Breneman w/ PSU QB Drew Allar

Mercury is doing a bunch of interesting things from:

  • school partnerships

  • NIL deals with athletes

  • original content series

  • in-house production

I would also keep an eye on Barstool Sports, The NIL House, The Player’s Lounge, Altius Sports Partners, Fanatics, and even athlete production companies to start exploring the collegiate space.

Going Forward

Media is now innovating at a rapid pace!

LinkedIn’s Creator & Community Manager Daniel Markovits laid it out best:

2000 - 2008: The Internet disrupted media distribution 🌍︎

2008 - 2016: The rise of mobile and social disrupted media consumption📱

2020 - now: AI is disrupting media creation 🎨

Throw in NIL, increased interest in sports, athletes entering media, and massive media rights deals and things get interesting.

Sports has always been about entertainment — but it’s more so NOW than ever before.

Great opportunity lies ahead for those that can crack the code of…

“Eyeballs, Eyeballs, Eyeballs”.


Podcast 🎙

Today’s guest is Thad Young, NBA Player and Founder of Reform Ventures.

Thad was the 12th pick in the 2007 draft and has built an impressive 300+ investment portfolio over his 16-year career.

You’ll enjoy this episode as we discuss:

  • Rising salaries and the upcoming NBA media contract

  • Thad’s investment portfolio + what he looks for in companies

  • How he’s preparing his kids for success both on and off the court

Check out the podcast episode here.

Thad has a unique mindset and provides several great insights you’ll want to hear. You can’t get this type of content anywhere else.


Thanks for reading & listening today!

Have a great rest of your day.

Peace,

AP


Extra Credit

It’s been wild following the recent PGA and LIV Golf Merger…

Which opens up a floodgate of other opportunities I may touch on in a future newsletter.

Anyway…

I called this merger 11 months ago ⬇️

LIV & PGA Tour Merger?! Things Are Getting Interesting

Andrew Petcash
·
July 25, 2022
LIV & PGA Tour Merger?! Things Are Getting Interesting

Over the past week, we’ve had some interesting statements about LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. Charles Barkley and Donald Trump made the headlines after making some remarks about the golf situation. Whil…

Read full story

34
Share this post

Sports Is Changing: To Win Content Reigns Supreme

www.petcashpost.com
Share
Previous
Next
Comments
Top
New
Community

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Andrew Petcash
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing