1 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio News. 2 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:12,560 Speaker 2: This is the Business of Sports. Sports are the greatest 3 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 2: unscripted show owner. 4 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:16,159 Speaker 3: The next generation of players who really grew up with 5 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 3: tech and. 6 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:19,240 Speaker 1: Believe in tech. Your face is your ticket, your face 7 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:21,800 Speaker 1: is your wallet, your face is your access to a club. 8 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:25,640 Speaker 3: These are such iconic and important buildings for businesses. 9 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 1: For fans, COVID was one of the best things that 10 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:29,159 Speaker 1: ever happened to go. 11 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:32,880 Speaker 4: The NFL is a bulletproof business. Racing is unique because 12 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 4: there is absolutely no reason why we can't compete with 13 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 4: the guys. Well, it's pro pickleball? 14 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 2: Real, are people really going to tune into this? 15 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:41,160 Speaker 3: If you're playing moneyball with a huge bag of money, 16 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 3: you're going to be really, really good. 17 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 2: Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. 18 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 4: This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports, where we explored 19 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 4: big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael 20 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 4: Bart and I'm an esperanmo Coming up today, we are 21 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 4: keeping the Winter Olympics alive. Speaking with a member of 22 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 4: the Gold mill winning US women's iced hockey team, Kendall 23 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 4: Coin Showfield. But first, let's go racing. 24 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 5: Joining us now is the founder and owner of Trackhouse 25 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 5: Entertainment Group. Justin Marx Trackhouse Racing has quickly become one 26 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 5: of the most competitive teams in the NASCAR Cup Series. 27 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:18,160 Speaker 5: Justin is here to talk to us about how he 28 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 5: went from driver to team owner. Justin Welcome to the 29 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 5: Bloomberg Business of Sports. 30 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 6: Yeah, thanks for having me. 31 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 4: Good to be here. Oh, we're in my wheelhouse, Vanessa. 32 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 4: I love Lascar, I love racing Justin Mark's track House Racing. 33 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 4: How has the team been so far this year? 34 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 6: Well, it's early, you know, we're we've got four races 35 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 6: into the NASCAR season, one race into the Moto GP 36 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 6: World Championship season, and it's been a bit of a 37 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 6: mixed bag to start with. I mean, we've we've got 38 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:50,960 Speaker 6: we've made a lot of investments in the offseason to 39 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 6: build our engineering department and some of our tools and everything. 40 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 6: So we're just starting to kind of see the fruits 41 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 6: of that right now. But but it's been it's been 42 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 6: pretty good. I mean, we've had we've had a couple 43 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 6: of races where we've been in contention to win, but 44 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 6: you know, we're so early in the season, we've got 45 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,119 Speaker 6: got a lot of racing ahead of us, so it's 46 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 6: been a good start, high hopes for the year ahead 47 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 6: of us. 48 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 2: Justin I think it's interesting there. 49 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 5: You had mentioned obviously NASCAR and Moto GP, because you're 50 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 5: involved in both. Can you tell us a little bit 51 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 5: about just the energy, the difference between the two that 52 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 5: you find and the fandom and how they're different in 53 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 5: motor racing. 54 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 6: Yeah, well, I mean, look, these are these are opposite 55 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,080 Speaker 6: ends of the spectrum in the world of motor sports. 56 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 6: You know, NASCAR obviously very America focused, deep history in America, 57 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 6: and Moto GP, you know, which is basically Formula one 58 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 6: on two wheels racing, you know, all over the world. 59 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 6: You know, it's interesting when I when I first started 60 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 6: getting involved in Moto GP, you know, there there are 61 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 6: things that are strikingly different, the logistics of the team 62 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 6: traveling around the world, obviously a lot of different cultures involved, 63 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 6: but in some ways it's also very similar in the 64 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 6: fact that you know, it's just it's a group of 65 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 6: people that are working hard to make a vehicle go 66 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 6: as fast as possible, and there's a lot of parallels 67 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 6: between the two businesses. But I will say that you know, 68 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 6: these are incredibly passionate fan bases and they know everything, 69 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,799 Speaker 6: They follow every single lap. And so I think when 70 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 6: you know, when you've got a fan base that's that 71 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:28,799 Speaker 6: engaged and that deeply passionate, it just creates a lot 72 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:31,320 Speaker 6: of opportunity for companies like ours. 73 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 4: I'm an old school NASCAR fan and You've got a 74 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 4: lot of chauffeurs that are excellent at track House Racing, 75 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 4: Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, and Jane van Geisbergen. How have 76 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:48,119 Speaker 4: they been And it must be a pleasure to work 77 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 4: with those guys. 78 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 6: It is, well, you know, Daniel isn't racing for us 79 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 6: this year. We had a good five year run with Daniel, 80 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 6: but what we're excited about is he was replaced this 81 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 6: year with a guy, nineteen year old rookie named Connor Zilich, 82 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 6: who's really touted is as being, you know, one of 83 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 6: these generational talents, and you know, a kid that we've 84 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 6: actually really kind of like our first driver that we 85 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 6: have been able to sort of develop within the walls 86 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:19,840 Speaker 6: of track House, and he's been incredibly successful. Look these guys, 87 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 6: you know, when we set out to build track House, 88 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:25,840 Speaker 6: you know, one of the core fundamental parts of our 89 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 6: mission is to be storytellers and you know, essentially we're 90 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 6: a racing team, but we're a marketing services company, and 91 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 6: you know, we really wanted to have great stories and 92 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 6: athletes personalities that connect very deeply with fans, and that's 93 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,800 Speaker 6: what we've got with our drivers, We've got great stories. 94 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:48,479 Speaker 6: I mean, you know, Ross Chastain's an eighth generation watermelon 95 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:52,119 Speaker 6: farmer and you know, a guy that really represents rural 96 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 6: America and the ag industry. And so we've been able 97 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,720 Speaker 6: to curate sponsorships around in with Anheuser Busch and jockey 98 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:01,680 Speaker 6: and Cabota tractor, you know. And then we've got Shane 99 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 6: Van Gisberg and who you know from New Zealand in 100 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:08,920 Speaker 6: the middle of his career, completely switched disciplines and moved 101 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,599 Speaker 6: to America, uh to go NASCAR racing, and that's been 102 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,280 Speaker 6: that's been an incredible journey. We've got some great, aggressive, 103 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 6: young startup companies that are involved with that car. And 104 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,159 Speaker 6: then with Connor as this nineteen year old generational rookie. 105 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 6: You know, we've we've got Red bull in putting a 106 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 6: lot of a lot of horsepower so to speak, around him, 107 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 6: and a lot of support around him. But these guys 108 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 6: all understand the business, and they understand how important it 109 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,280 Speaker 6: is for them to be brand ambassadors for the sponsors. 110 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:44,800 Speaker 6: And they're you know, incredibly talented guys. So so we're 111 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 6: very lucky with the lineup that we've got. They they 112 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 6: understand the business. Uh, but they're they're elite athletes, and 113 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 6: and they play the game really well. They prepare really well, uh, 114 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 6: and they're all winners. So it's we're really lucky to 115 00:05:57,560 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 6: have a group like that driving our race cars. 116 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 4: And I want to we had before we go on? 117 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 4: Is that? Yeah, Daniel Suarez was the one that started 118 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:07,800 Speaker 4: the whole thing for Trackhouse in the first place, when 119 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:10,360 Speaker 4: you guys hit the road in twenty twenty one. 120 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 6: Yeah, and really, you know, the biggest decision that we 121 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:18,039 Speaker 6: made as a company when we first started was obviously 122 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:20,800 Speaker 6: who's going to drive the race car? And we wanted 123 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 6: somebody with a great story. We wanted somebody who's approven winner. 124 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:27,160 Speaker 6: We had somebody who was hungry and kind of had 125 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:29,119 Speaker 6: a chip on his shoulder to prove something to the world. 126 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:32,600 Speaker 6: And Daniel checked all those boxes for us, and it 127 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:36,160 Speaker 6: was a really great, a great run. We were able 128 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:39,800 Speaker 6: to win some races, you know, get some big sponsorships 129 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,720 Speaker 6: in the race team and you know, really it kind 130 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 6: of you know, without Daniel, I don't think we would 131 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:47,359 Speaker 6: have been able to debut with the kind of momentum 132 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 6: that we did. So it was great. You know, as 133 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:54,200 Speaker 6: time goes, as with anything, things change, and we had 134 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 6: this this rookie that we really needed to be able 135 00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:58,599 Speaker 6: to promote to the top level or we were going 136 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:00,920 Speaker 6: to lose him. So, you know, works about the journey 137 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:03,720 Speaker 6: that we had with Daniel and certainly was instrumental and 138 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:05,599 Speaker 6: kind of getting this thing off the ground. 139 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 5: Justin one of the things you had said was the 140 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 5: drivers you have now, you like how they understand the 141 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 5: business and you yourself, obviously as a as a driver 142 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:18,080 Speaker 5: and now running a team, how have you learned the 143 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:20,480 Speaker 5: business in a different way? And how how does you 144 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 5: know your driving career affect you running the team and 145 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:27,280 Speaker 5: all of that, and how do you feel like you're 146 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 5: able to succeed in that way? 147 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 4: Yeah? 148 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 6: Well, I mean, you know, look, I grew up in 149 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 6: Silicon Valley. I grew up in a very entrepreneurial family 150 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 6: and was able to have a front row seat for 151 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 6: founders disrupting industries in the valley. And so the twenty 152 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:47,880 Speaker 6: years that I raced, I was always paying attention to 153 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 6: the to the business side of the sport, and you 154 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:55,800 Speaker 6: know understand where there's opportunities, where there's you know, growth 155 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 6: levers that could be pulled, and ultimately where a team 156 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:02,239 Speaker 6: like track House could come in and create enterprise value 157 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 6: by by creating ip that that didn't exist in the 158 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 6: sport yet. And that's why you know it's not called 159 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 6: justin Marx Racing. It's why it's an independent brand and 160 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:16,680 Speaker 6: it's focused on, you know, engaging deeply with with the fans. So, 161 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 6: you know, being a race car driver for twenty years, 162 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:22,520 Speaker 6: you know I had, like I said, I had a 163 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,160 Speaker 6: front row seat for how these businesses were being run 164 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:27,600 Speaker 6: and I recognized a lot of opportunity. And so when 165 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 6: I started getting older and my competition started getting younger 166 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 6: and faster, I recognized that as an opportunity to kind 167 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:37,200 Speaker 6: of flip the switch and come over to the to 168 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 6: the business side. But you know, I think with me 169 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:43,960 Speaker 6: being a former driver, I have a unique relationship with 170 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 6: with my athletes, with my drivers. I know the emotions 171 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,559 Speaker 6: that they're feeling, I know the you know, what they 172 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,200 Speaker 6: go through in the race cars, and you know, I 173 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:55,720 Speaker 6: can connect very deeply with them and have a very 174 00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:59,080 Speaker 6: sort of unique relationship with them. But you know, I 175 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,160 Speaker 6: think more than anything, being a driver in the sport, 176 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,240 Speaker 6: you you see everything that it takes to run a 177 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:07,439 Speaker 6: race team, and I think in the position that I'm 178 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 6: in right now, having that experience, it makes it easier 179 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 6: to see around corners, and it makes it easier to 180 00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:16,080 Speaker 6: engage deeply with everybody that works in the race team 181 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:18,440 Speaker 6: because I spent so much time kind of in the 182 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:22,480 Speaker 6: trenches with everyone. So it's a unique scenario and I 183 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 6: think it's one that really, you know, really just helps me, 184 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:28,320 Speaker 6: helps me run the team because everybody knows me as 185 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:31,560 Speaker 6: as a racer, and you know, because of that, I 186 00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:34,079 Speaker 6: can I can have you know, really authentic and deep 187 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,080 Speaker 6: relationships with you know, everybody in the company, top to bottom. 188 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:42,199 Speaker 4: Well, you arrived at a unique situation because you were 189 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:46,199 Speaker 4: able to purchase the chip Ganassi Racing team, the entire 190 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:50,960 Speaker 4: Cup Series operation, including the charters and the race shop. 191 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:56,440 Speaker 4: Tell us about that, because obviously that's a big deal, 192 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 4: especially with chip Ganassi Racing. 193 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,280 Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, so we we have these charters, which 194 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 6: are our franchise spots in the sport, and so it 195 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 6: guarantees you a start in every race. And then you know, 196 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 6: with the charters, you participate in the red share with 197 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:12,160 Speaker 6: NASCAR from the media rights deals, and so to be 198 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:14,560 Speaker 6: able to be a team in the sport, you have 199 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 6: to own these charters. And our first year in twenty 200 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 6: twenty one, I leased a charter. We had like seven employees. 201 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 6: We basically outsourced, you know, everything on the team, and 202 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:26,960 Speaker 6: I had to try to figure out, even though we 203 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:30,160 Speaker 6: were on the racetrack, you know, how we were going 204 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:34,000 Speaker 6: to get these charters and invest in infrastructure that gives 205 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 6: us longevity in the sport. And there were a number 206 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 6: of charters that were trading hands at that time, and 207 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 6: I was involved in bidding on all those, but I 208 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:45,240 Speaker 6: lost all of them, and so the future of the 209 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:48,520 Speaker 6: team really from the outset was very much in doubt, 210 00:10:48,559 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 6: and I had to kind of think creatively around how 211 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:53,520 Speaker 6: how we were going to you know, get these charters 212 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:56,199 Speaker 6: in this infrastructure and everything to be able to build 213 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:59,520 Speaker 6: a real company. And I'd raised for Chip for a 214 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:03,320 Speaker 6: number of years myself, and you know, I knew that 215 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 6: there were things happening in his business. There were headwinds 216 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:09,000 Speaker 6: in the business that you know that were challenging for 217 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 6: Chip and so ultimately, you know what I did was 218 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:13,719 Speaker 6: I just I called him and I said, look, I 219 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:18,000 Speaker 6: I need to make a very strategic and significant investment 220 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 6: in track House and if you know, if you're willing 221 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:24,840 Speaker 6: to have a conversation around you know, me potentially buying 222 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:27,600 Speaker 6: the company, you know, let's talk about it. And it 223 00:11:27,640 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 6: was it was a scary phone call to make because 224 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:31,079 Speaker 6: this is a guy that had, you know, spent twenty 225 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 6: years building this business. Certainly didn't want to insult anybody, 226 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:36,880 Speaker 6: but there were some serendipity involved, and you know, he 227 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:39,720 Speaker 6: was ready and I got lucky that I made that 228 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:41,440 Speaker 6: phone call at the time that I made it, and 229 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:43,640 Speaker 6: we were able to put a deal together. And I 230 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:47,000 Speaker 6: think that ultimately he saw in me a lot of 231 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:50,040 Speaker 6: himself twenty years prior, because my path to getting into 232 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 6: NASCAR was very similar to his. He was a race 233 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:55,679 Speaker 6: car driver and he started, you know, start on the 234 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,880 Speaker 6: business side, started small, found somebody that was an established 235 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:01,440 Speaker 6: owner in the sport to attach himself to and give 236 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,480 Speaker 6: him an opportunity to grow his business. So it's a 237 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:08,040 Speaker 6: story that's very consistent with his and yeah, I got lucky, 238 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:10,319 Speaker 6: and you know he was ready to step away. And 239 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:13,240 Speaker 6: at the end of twenty twenty one, I had one 240 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 6: hundred and fifty thousand square foot building and one hundred 241 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,520 Speaker 6: and seventy five people and we were off to the races. 242 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,520 Speaker 5: That was Justin Mark's, founder and owner of track House 243 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:22,280 Speaker 5: Entertainment Group. 244 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 4: Up next, we speak with two time Olympic gold medalist 245 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,760 Speaker 4: Kendall Coin Schowfield. That's straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business 246 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 4: of Sports for Vanessa Prodoma. I'm Michael Barr. You are 247 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:36,320 Speaker 4: listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports for Bloomberger Radio 248 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 4: around the world. 249 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:45,440 Speaker 5: This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. 250 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:50,280 Speaker 4: This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore 251 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:52,560 Speaker 4: the big money issues. I'm gonna talk about little money. 252 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:55,880 Speaker 4: I'm talking about big money issues in the world of sports. 253 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 2: I'm Michael Barr and I'm Vanessa Prodemo. 254 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:00,520 Speaker 4: Vanessa, you recently got a chance to speak with gold 255 00:13:00,559 --> 00:13:06,200 Speaker 4: medalist and professional women's hockey player Kendall Coin Showfield as 256 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:09,439 Speaker 4: she's coming off a big win at the Olympics and 257 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:13,320 Speaker 4: going into the second half of the PWHL season. 258 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:13,840 Speaker 2: Michael. 259 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:16,960 Speaker 5: Speaking with Kendall was amazing because she's not only just 260 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:20,160 Speaker 5: a player in the PWHL, but she's essentially the reason 261 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:22,600 Speaker 5: it exists, because she's the one who made the call 262 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:26,520 Speaker 5: to Billy Jean King, godmother of women's sports, that put 263 00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:27,520 Speaker 5: the league in motion. 264 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:30,880 Speaker 4: Oh yeah, I've heard of her. Let's dive right into 265 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:34,760 Speaker 4: that conversation with gold medalist and player for the Minnesota 266 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,160 Speaker 4: Frost Kendall Coin Showfield. 267 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 5: Kendall, you're coming off your fourth Olympic Games claiming Golden Milan. 268 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:45,000 Speaker 5: It feels like there's a lot of momentum right now 269 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 5: for women's hockey. What does it feel like coming back 270 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 5: into the PWHL right now and coming out of the Olympics. 271 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:54,360 Speaker 1: Well, I mean coming back with a gold medal. You know, 272 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:56,800 Speaker 1: there's no better way to get back into the PWHL 273 00:13:56,920 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 1: season other than that. That was the goal going over 274 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:02,040 Speaker 1: to and to be able to come back home with 275 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:04,360 Speaker 1: a gold medal, you know, being able to do it 276 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:07,240 Speaker 1: with such a special group is only going to you know, 277 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: carry momentum forward for the you know, into the second 278 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 1: half of the season. But I think what's so special 279 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:15,080 Speaker 1: about the second half of the season is that there 280 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:18,319 Speaker 1: is a season, there is more women's hockey to be played, 281 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: there's more women's hockey to be seen, there's more women's 282 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:24,040 Speaker 1: hockey to be celebrated. Because the last three experiences I've 283 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:27,160 Speaker 1: had at the Olympic Games, as soon as the Olympic 284 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:30,240 Speaker 1: Games doors closed and they announced the games over, people 285 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 1: would and see or hear women's hockey and see the 286 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:35,920 Speaker 1: best of the best play for eight plus months, and 287 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 1: then from the international standpoint, it could be over a year. 288 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:41,800 Speaker 1: You know, when we were in college, we would take 289 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:43,880 Speaker 1: the year off of school to be with the national team. 290 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:46,200 Speaker 1: Our college players went back to school and they're competing 291 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:49,080 Speaker 1: for an NCAA championship for all of US pro players 292 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:51,360 Speaker 1: that played in that gold medal game on both teams 293 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:53,720 Speaker 1: are returning back to our PWHL teams are back in 294 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:55,760 Speaker 1: action and our buildings are full. 295 00:14:56,760 --> 00:14:59,280 Speaker 5: Do you feel like it's almost different this time coming 296 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:01,840 Speaker 5: back and going into the PWHL than it really ever 297 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:05,120 Speaker 5: has before. I mean, you're coming out of these Olympics. 298 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:07,920 Speaker 5: There's so much momentum, So does it feel different going 299 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 5: back into the league with the excitement that there was 300 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:12,240 Speaker 5: for this Olympics? 301 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: It feels different? Definitely, I think because of the momentum 302 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:19,520 Speaker 1: that the Olympic Games carries. While that has felt similar 303 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 1: from the other experiences from this time around, the momentum 304 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: doesn't stop. 305 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:24,480 Speaker 2: It doesn't. 306 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:24,600 Speaker 6: You know. 307 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:27,680 Speaker 1: The conversation isn't just the Olympic Games. It's about the 308 00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:30,480 Speaker 1: p WHL, It's about winning the Walter Cup. It's about how, 309 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:33,200 Speaker 1: you know, incredible this league is, and you know, and 310 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: it's We're in season three, halfway through season three, and 311 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:38,560 Speaker 1: just I think you look at the success of the 312 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:41,640 Speaker 1: Olympic Games, that success was because of the p WHL, 313 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:44,400 Speaker 1: and now here we are going back into the PAHL 314 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:47,760 Speaker 1: and it's just I think what people don't maybe see is, 315 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 1: you know, the days in between. I think, for you know, 316 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:52,680 Speaker 1: the before the PTERBHL existed, a lot of people talk 317 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:55,080 Speaker 1: about women's hockey every four years at the Olympic Games. 318 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: Now we have the opportunity and the ability and we 319 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 1: should talk about women's hockey every day. It should be 320 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 1: part of our mainstream conversation because you can see us 321 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:05,640 Speaker 1: and you just look at the success that players are 322 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:08,360 Speaker 1: having coming off the Olympics. We're waking up every day 323 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 1: and this is one of my favorite lines to say 324 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:12,520 Speaker 1: is that we return to our day job as professional 325 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:14,720 Speaker 1: hockey players, and we have never been able to do that. 326 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:17,120 Speaker 5: So Kendall, you had brought up a point there which 327 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:18,960 Speaker 5: I'm really excited to talk about, which is you said 328 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:21,440 Speaker 5: you guys are coming back with a lot of success 329 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,960 Speaker 5: for the players and that brings up this partnership with ELF. 330 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:28,280 Speaker 5: Can you tell me about that and how the partnerships 331 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:31,280 Speaker 5: and the sponsorships are different for you and those opportunities 332 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:32,000 Speaker 5: that you have now. 333 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: Well, I think a lot of people want to talk 334 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:36,200 Speaker 1: about the success of women's sports and like, how you 335 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:38,880 Speaker 1: know women's sports is having a moment right now, But 336 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:40,960 Speaker 1: I think when you really break down the success of 337 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,280 Speaker 1: women's sports, you need to break down the partners that 338 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 1: have been alongside women's sports. And when it comes to 339 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:48,520 Speaker 1: ELF and the partnership with the PWHL, they've been with 340 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:50,720 Speaker 1: us since day one. And I think there were a 341 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:53,200 Speaker 1: lot of people who want to sit on the sidelines 342 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 1: and say, hey, let's see if this is going to 343 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:58,000 Speaker 1: be another iteration of women's pro hockey that comes and 344 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:02,560 Speaker 1: goes or it's professional by name only, But ELF immediately 345 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:05,639 Speaker 1: saw the how successful the PTERBHL was going to be, 346 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:07,679 Speaker 1: They saw the best players in the world wanting to 347 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:09,480 Speaker 1: be a part of this, and they said, let's put 348 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:11,560 Speaker 1: our weight behind this. And I think when you look 349 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:14,000 Speaker 1: at the you know how incredible ELF is, and you 350 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 1: know they've they've been disruptors in the women's sports world 351 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,040 Speaker 1: for a long time now. They said, we believe in 352 00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:21,600 Speaker 1: this and we're going to partner with this, and it 353 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 1: just brought so much credibility to the league from the 354 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 1: from the get go, and that's what we needed because 355 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:29,720 Speaker 1: women's hockey didn't have that credibility. They didn't we didn't 356 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:32,960 Speaker 1: have that sustainable model where we could wake over every 357 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:35,800 Speaker 1: day and call ourselves professional hockey players and that be 358 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:38,760 Speaker 1: our singular job. This time around, it was different. And 359 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:41,720 Speaker 1: you look at the weight and and the resources and 360 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:45,680 Speaker 1: the finances and the support that that ELF brings. It's 361 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 1: allowing this lead to be successful and ultimately the players 362 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:50,639 Speaker 1: uh to live out their dreams and our dreams of 363 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,520 Speaker 1: being professional hockey players. And I think, what's so special 364 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:55,640 Speaker 1: for me? You know, I'm one of the lucky ones 365 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:58,480 Speaker 1: that gets to, you know, work closely with ELF. I've 366 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:00,840 Speaker 1: had the opportunity to bring young girls to games and 367 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:02,560 Speaker 1: be able to do a pep talk with them after 368 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,240 Speaker 1: games and just to hear their voices and see their 369 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:07,720 Speaker 1: faces and hear them say, I want to be on 370 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:10,480 Speaker 1: the Minnesota Frost. My dream is to be a professional 371 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:13,040 Speaker 1: hockey player. And then for them to you know, they 372 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:15,119 Speaker 1: have their ELF gear and they have their ELF shirt on, 373 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:19,560 Speaker 1: and it's really special to see that momentum, to see 374 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:22,320 Speaker 1: the dream be blossomed and for these girls to know 375 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:25,160 Speaker 1: that they have a path in the sport as professional 376 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 1: hockey players if they're good enough to do so, just 377 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 1: like a lot of the boys that they've grown up 378 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:30,679 Speaker 1: alongside that have always had. 379 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:31,479 Speaker 2: That dream, right. 380 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:33,600 Speaker 5: And I think it's interesting that what you're saying there too, 381 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:38,280 Speaker 5: because partnerships are what make a league really valuable obviously, 382 00:18:38,359 --> 00:18:42,159 Speaker 5: and seeing a company like Elf see value in the 383 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:45,640 Speaker 5: PWHL before we even drop the first puck, right, how 384 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:48,680 Speaker 5: big of is it that you know, for you and 385 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:51,600 Speaker 5: for the league And did you even have real sponsors 386 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:54,159 Speaker 5: like that in previous iterations of leagues? 387 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:59,080 Speaker 1: There were definitely partners who helped us get to where 388 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:01,720 Speaker 1: we are today, for sure, but I think, you know, 389 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:05,679 Speaker 1: there were so much hesitancy I think around you know, 390 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:08,800 Speaker 1: the start of something new and I think, you know, 391 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:12,359 Speaker 1: with women's hockey of history repeats itself, a lot of 392 00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:14,040 Speaker 1: people were saying, Oh, this is going to be another 393 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:15,960 Speaker 1: league that'll come and go, you know, this will be 394 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:19,240 Speaker 1: another one of those, and it wasn't. And I think 395 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:23,000 Speaker 1: even for the players to see someone like ELF to 396 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:26,360 Speaker 1: come behind the league before the league even started. As 397 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:28,439 Speaker 1: a player, what am I saying? Oh, this is the 398 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:32,960 Speaker 1: real deal. You know, ELF is putting themselves right out 399 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:35,800 Speaker 1: in front of this new league. It's here and it's 400 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:36,560 Speaker 1: here to stay. 401 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:37,680 Speaker 2: Yeah. 402 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,399 Speaker 5: Absolutely, I want to talk more about like the previous 403 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,479 Speaker 5: iterations and how you got to this point, right. And 404 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:46,720 Speaker 5: I watched the documentary that came out on Peacock The Rise, 405 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:50,520 Speaker 5: where you know, it went through the whole inaugural season, right, 406 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:53,199 Speaker 5: and and you were such a big part of that. 407 00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 5: And I obviously a lot of people don't know, and 408 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:58,360 Speaker 5: for people who don't know who are listening, how big 409 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:01,440 Speaker 5: of a part you played in that There's no PWHL 410 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:04,880 Speaker 5: without you. And you had, you know, fellow players even 411 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 5: saying that, you know, what did that feel like, having 412 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:10,119 Speaker 5: you know, that recognition from from teammates, from other players 413 00:20:10,119 --> 00:20:10,560 Speaker 5: in the league. 414 00:20:11,119 --> 00:20:14,679 Speaker 1: Sports are it takes everybody, you know, there were so 415 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:18,680 Speaker 1: many people who contributed, and I think, like any great team, 416 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:22,080 Speaker 1: everybody has a role. Some roles are are different than others. 417 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:24,720 Speaker 1: Some roles require a little bit more than others, but 418 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:27,679 Speaker 1: every role is critically important to the success. And that 419 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:30,000 Speaker 1: was no different when it came to the PWHL, and 420 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:33,600 Speaker 1: I would say my role was definitely one that consumed 421 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:37,440 Speaker 1: a lot. It took a lot, but I was committed 422 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:39,240 Speaker 1: to this goal. I was I was not going to 423 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:43,720 Speaker 1: stop until we achieved what we deserved, and that's a sustainable, 424 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:46,760 Speaker 1: viable professional women's hockey league. And for me, it was 425 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,520 Speaker 1: never about playing in it. It was always about building it. 426 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:51,800 Speaker 1: I've been lucky to be able to have played in 427 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 1: it now for two and a half years and it's 428 00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:56,159 Speaker 1: been a dream come true. But for me, when I 429 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:59,320 Speaker 1: truly mean it, when the ultimate dream was to build 430 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:03,720 Speaker 1: it for the next generation because I couldn't keep you know, 431 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:06,000 Speaker 1: I run a hockey camp every summer, you know, where 432 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 1: a hundred girls come to the rink. I put on 433 00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:10,199 Speaker 1: my first pair of skates and all I look at 434 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 1: these girls and just to look at them and know 435 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:14,320 Speaker 1: that they don't have the same dream as all the 436 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:16,720 Speaker 1: boys that they see in this rink because simply because 437 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:19,919 Speaker 1: they're they're girls like I just I just can't go 438 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:22,080 Speaker 1: to bed at night accepting that. And I wasn't going 439 00:21:22,119 --> 00:21:24,160 Speaker 1: to accept it until I was a part of changing that. 440 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:26,840 Speaker 1: And so I was, you know whatever, it took day 441 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:28,920 Speaker 1: in and day out. I mean it took five years, 442 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:33,239 Speaker 1: I would say, honestly, every day for five years of 443 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:35,560 Speaker 1: putting in the work, whether it was an email, getting 444 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:36,879 Speaker 1: on a plane to come to New York, you know, 445 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:39,200 Speaker 1: sitting in front of someone trying to tell them, hey, 446 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:40,840 Speaker 1: this is the right thing to do, like we're going 447 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 1: to have success. You know, people ask me all the time, 448 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:45,080 Speaker 1: are you surprised these buildings are full? 449 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:46,160 Speaker 6: No. 450 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 1: I believed in this wholeheartedly. That's why I woke up 451 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:52,080 Speaker 1: every day and chased it, and I woke up every 452 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:54,720 Speaker 1: day to try and create it. Because I knew that 453 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:57,440 Speaker 1: we were going to be this successful. I knew the 454 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:00,560 Speaker 1: sport had this, had this much you know, weight behind it, 455 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:03,600 Speaker 1: and it was just a matter of finding the right infrastructure, 456 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:05,960 Speaker 1: finding the right investment, you know, Mark and kimber Walter 457 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:08,639 Speaker 1: saying yes to saying we you know, we are going 458 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:10,920 Speaker 1: to be the single entity owners of this league. It's 459 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:14,000 Speaker 1: partners like ELF saying yes, we believe in this wholeheartedly. 460 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:16,320 Speaker 1: We're getting behind it, and it's all the right people 461 00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:18,560 Speaker 1: at the table, and that's why we're having the success 462 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:20,680 Speaker 1: that we're having in such a short period of time. 463 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:22,920 Speaker 1: I can't wait to see what ten and twenty years 464 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,639 Speaker 1: down the line looks like, because it's you know, incredible, 465 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:27,719 Speaker 1: you know, two and a half years in. But you know, 466 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:29,919 Speaker 1: for me, it was I just I believe in it 467 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:32,480 Speaker 1: so so strongly, and I knew we had a worth 468 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:35,160 Speaker 1: and it was surrounding ourselves with the right people who 469 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:37,879 Speaker 1: believed in that worth alongside us. And it's it's our 470 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:39,920 Speaker 1: partners like ELF. It's you know, Mark and kimber Walter, 471 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,199 Speaker 1: It's Billy jin King and Alana Cloths, it's you know, 472 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:44,679 Speaker 1: our lawyers that were They're with us every step of 473 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:46,399 Speaker 1: the way. And you look at the people who are 474 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 1: running the league. Now we have a super team. We 475 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:51,160 Speaker 1: have an a team running this league and this league 476 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:52,200 Speaker 1: is here and it's here to stay. 477 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:56,320 Speaker 5: Yeah, and like you said, filling arenas, sold out crowds, 478 00:22:56,359 --> 00:22:58,200 Speaker 5: which is really amazing to see in such a short 479 00:22:58,200 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 5: period of time. 480 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:00,960 Speaker 2: But that does go to the investment. 481 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:04,480 Speaker 5: Right, you have to invest in spaces like this, play 482 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,320 Speaker 5: in places where the NHL teams are playing in order 483 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:08,960 Speaker 5: to make that sort of a splash. 484 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:10,320 Speaker 2: Right to have partners. 485 00:23:10,359 --> 00:23:14,679 Speaker 1: Absolutely absolutely, And you know people are celebrating your Madison 486 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:17,199 Speaker 1: Square Garden being sold out, feed Garden being sold out. 487 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,320 Speaker 1: You know that's gonna that's gonna become the norm, you know, 488 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:22,119 Speaker 1: I think for you know, I'm starting to get to 489 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,440 Speaker 1: a point where if the if the building isn't full, 490 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:26,040 Speaker 1: I'm like, oh no, what's going on? 491 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:26,440 Speaker 3: Right? 492 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:29,199 Speaker 1: Because we that's become the norm of of playing in 493 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:31,160 Speaker 1: front of full buildings. And you know, there's a there's 494 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:33,280 Speaker 1: a game tonight. You know people like, oh, women's are 495 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:35,200 Speaker 1: men's you know, not not being like, oh it must 496 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:37,800 Speaker 1: be a men's game because they're more. Then there's you know, no, 497 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:39,359 Speaker 1: there's a game tonight. Well who's playing? 498 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:39,639 Speaker 4: You know? 499 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:43,119 Speaker 1: The wilder the frost, which is where we knew we 500 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:44,840 Speaker 1: could get, which is where we are and it's only 501 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:45,760 Speaker 1: going to keep getting better. 502 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:50,080 Speaker 5: Before the iterations that you played in before, what were 503 00:23:50,119 --> 00:23:51,760 Speaker 5: they like and what was it like? 504 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:53,959 Speaker 2: That drove you to get to the point where you 505 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:57,280 Speaker 2: made that call to Angela roguirero at first, Yeah, it. 506 00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,600 Speaker 1: Was, you know, the best way to describe it as 507 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,240 Speaker 1: profession by name only. I think when you have to 508 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:05,440 Speaker 1: have another job in order to continue to play hockey, 509 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:09,400 Speaker 1: you're not a professional in hockey your professional name only, 510 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:12,399 Speaker 1: and quite frankly, you're an amateur because you need to 511 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 1: do something else to in order to be able to 512 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:17,800 Speaker 1: continue to play. And that was the reality for for 513 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,320 Speaker 1: all of us. You know, we would practice a couple 514 00:24:20,359 --> 00:24:22,639 Speaker 1: of times a week. I never attended a team practice 515 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:24,840 Speaker 1: because I wasn't moving to the state of Minnesota when 516 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:28,080 Speaker 1: I'm from Illinois. My full time job was in Illinois, 517 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:30,880 Speaker 1: my you know, my benefits, everything I needed, we're here 518 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:33,320 Speaker 1: in Illinois. I wasn't going to go there for seventy 519 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:36,720 Speaker 1: five hundred dollars salary, you know, at that point. And 520 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: so I think that's that's one thing, you know is 521 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:44,199 Speaker 1: so special and has been so long overdue, is you know, 522 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:46,800 Speaker 1: we wake up every day and we're hockey players. You know, 523 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:50,920 Speaker 1: we have multiple athletic trainers and strength coaches and chiropractors, 524 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:56,920 Speaker 1: massage therapists, nutritionists, you know, skills coaches, goalie coaches, head coach, 525 00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:00,399 Speaker 1: two assistant coaches. The list goes on and on and on. 526 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:04,439 Speaker 1: A general manager. You know, this is professional. What you 527 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:07,439 Speaker 1: do every day is professional. And so we didn't have 528 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:10,000 Speaker 1: any of those resources in order to be truly professional, 529 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:12,600 Speaker 1: and we still found a way to be as good 530 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:13,160 Speaker 1: as we were. 531 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:16,560 Speaker 2: That was professional women's hockey player Kendall con Showfield. 532 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:19,919 Speaker 4: Up. Next, we pivot to focus on college sports and 533 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:25,320 Speaker 4: all the intricacies that's around nil right as March Madness 534 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:29,000 Speaker 4: heats up that straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. 535 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:32,040 Speaker 4: I'm Michael Barr with Vanessa Perdemo. You are listening to 536 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:35,679 Speaker 4: the Bloomberg Business of Sports Bloomberger Radio around the world. 537 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:43,560 Speaker 5: This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. 538 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:47,439 Speaker 4: Thanks for joining us on the Bloomberg Business of Sports, 539 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:49,600 Speaker 4: where we explore the big money issues in the world 540 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:50,160 Speaker 4: of sports. 541 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:51,959 Speaker 2: I'm Michael Barr and I'm Vanessa Prodemo. 542 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:56,159 Speaker 4: As March Madness continues to blow us away, we wanted 543 00:25:56,200 --> 00:26:00,399 Speaker 4: to check in on the crazy business that is college 544 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:01,480 Speaker 4: sports right now. 545 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:04,960 Speaker 5: Name, image and likeness keeps changing, the way the schools 546 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:08,160 Speaker 5: pay their athletes keeps changing. So we're bringing an expert 547 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:10,880 Speaker 5: now to give us the rundown on the current NIL market. 548 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:14,200 Speaker 5: Justin Giangrande is the founder and CEO of Network, a 549 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,719 Speaker 5: sports marketing and management agency dedicated to college sports. 550 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,960 Speaker 4: Welcome to the Bloomberg business of sports. First of all, 551 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:24,880 Speaker 4: tell us about Network and the company. 552 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:30,040 Speaker 3: Network is a collegiate sports marketing and management agency. We 553 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,959 Speaker 3: are coast to coast New York, South Florida, and Los Angeles. 554 00:26:35,119 --> 00:26:39,000 Speaker 3: Started about four years ago, if that makes sense, and 555 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:42,880 Speaker 3: really have just been laser focused on being the best 556 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:46,800 Speaker 3: collegiate sports marketing agency in the college and NIL space. 557 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:51,960 Speaker 3: My background had been in sports representation and marketing specifically 558 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:55,400 Speaker 3: for about twenty two years after I graduated from University 559 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:57,719 Speaker 3: of Florida. Kind of got to live through those glory 560 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:00,280 Speaker 3: days back in the day with Tibo and I. Yeah, 561 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:03,159 Speaker 3: that's a little bit about Network. We have three areas 562 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:07,760 Speaker 3: of the company, three divisions. One talent management, you know, 563 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:11,120 Speaker 3: representing talent in this era of college sports three sixty 564 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:16,200 Speaker 3: negotiating their deals with the school and you know, collectives, 565 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:20,240 Speaker 3: really branding them and building a brand strategy and giving 566 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:23,960 Speaker 3: them a playbook to make themselves marketable. And then we 567 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:26,960 Speaker 3: have an advisory side of our business works with schools 568 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:32,600 Speaker 3: and conferences on their overall strategy of revenue generation. And 569 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:37,560 Speaker 3: then lastly network Studios, which is our content and storytelling side. Obviously, 570 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:40,200 Speaker 3: if you have talent, you know, getting their word out 571 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,000 Speaker 3: and their stories is important for them to become marketable. 572 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,639 Speaker 5: Justin you said you started four years ago, and since 573 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:51,040 Speaker 5: the implementation of NIL about four or five years ago, right, 574 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:56,200 Speaker 5: it has changed, I feel massively every single year there's 575 00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:59,040 Speaker 5: there's all of these ebbs and flows that's working. How 576 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:01,480 Speaker 5: have you seen it change? How are you adjusting every 577 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:03,600 Speaker 5: year to everything new in NIL? 578 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:08,880 Speaker 3: You're absolutely right that it changes every year. Each year 579 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:12,720 Speaker 3: has you know, it's crazy to starting off. You know, 580 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,919 Speaker 3: the first year, people didn't believe it was legal. Regardless 581 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:19,200 Speaker 3: of it being legal, if that makes sense for college NILE, 582 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:21,960 Speaker 3: people still felt like it was very much a dirty secret. 583 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:27,280 Speaker 3: Schools didn't want to talk about it, you know. So 584 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:29,160 Speaker 3: I guess the first step of this in the phase 585 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,200 Speaker 3: was just people understanding that it was legal, and then 586 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:35,520 Speaker 3: the second step was okay, boosters and people realizing that 587 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:38,680 Speaker 3: this could be advantageous for people to change, you know, 588 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:43,560 Speaker 3: their college trajectories. So some boosters and schools latched on 589 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:46,760 Speaker 3: to seeing it as an opportunity. Then we saw a 590 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:50,920 Speaker 3: normalization of people realizing, Okay, this isn't going away. Then 591 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:53,680 Speaker 3: the next step was people trying to figure out, you know, 592 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:57,200 Speaker 3: how do we manage this? Can this be managed? Is 593 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:00,440 Speaker 3: this an advantage? Is this right? I guess that's what 594 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:03,480 Speaker 3: we're kind of seeing now, right. You know, obviously Trump 595 00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:07,760 Speaker 3: calling that council recently. You know, we're seeing people realize 596 00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 3: that unless we gather everyone on the same page, I 597 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:13,800 Speaker 3: guess the chaos is going to continue. Now when we 598 00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:16,520 Speaker 3: say chaos, I actually think it's been good chaos because 599 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:18,480 Speaker 3: college sports has never been hotter. 600 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:19,000 Speaker 4: Right. 601 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:21,520 Speaker 3: You can't look at the Super Bowl and the College 602 00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:25,080 Speaker 3: Football Championship and tell me that the College Football Championship 603 00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:28,240 Speaker 3: and just the storylines and college sports are not more interesting. 604 00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 3: I mean, look at the Lane kiffn saga. So it's 605 00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:34,720 Speaker 3: definitely being crazy. And Vanessa, that's kind of the point 606 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:37,560 Speaker 3: of what we do at Network. We're laser focused on 607 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:41,160 Speaker 3: surfacing both high school and client and college clients and 608 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,960 Speaker 3: really understanding this ecosystem. I think for a while people 609 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,000 Speaker 3: thought that NFL agents and that it was the kind 610 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:49,880 Speaker 3: of the same or that you could realize that it 611 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,600 Speaker 3: was the same ecosystem. I think everyone's pretty clear. Now 612 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:55,440 Speaker 3: it's a whole different set of rules, different timeline, different 613 00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:58,640 Speaker 3: set of general managers that we're seeing front office people. 614 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:00,840 Speaker 2: So you know, it's harder. 615 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:03,720 Speaker 4: NFL. 616 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:07,760 Speaker 3: It's funny you say that it is harder. You as 617 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:11,840 Speaker 3: representation need to be way more knowledgeable when I say that, 618 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:13,959 Speaker 3: you know this is something we should talk about. No 619 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:18,440 Speaker 3: contracts or standardized. So having representation in college sports is 620 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:22,880 Speaker 3: even more important than pro because you can absolutely gain 621 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:27,040 Speaker 3: an advantage if you have good representation who understands where 622 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:30,400 Speaker 3: to push, what language to include, how things are done. 623 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:34,080 Speaker 3: If that makes sense, you absolutely can guard. If you 624 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:36,360 Speaker 3: have leverage, you can have a huge advantage. Whereas obviously 625 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:38,960 Speaker 3: if you look at college both you know pro, NBA 626 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:43,440 Speaker 3: and NFL those contracts are standardized, right, so you know, 627 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:46,160 Speaker 3: the chances that you sign an awful contract are very 628 00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:49,560 Speaker 3: slim even if you didn't even have representation, right, So 629 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:51,640 Speaker 3: you know, like you said, it's definitely tougher. 630 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:55,680 Speaker 4: We're talking with a gestion Gia Rende, founder and CEO 631 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:59,640 Speaker 4: of Network. Now, there there are recent deals that have 632 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:04,240 Speaker 4: been made to Colorado quarterback Julian Lewis, he InCD Equity 633 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:07,640 Speaker 4: and IL deal with jim Weed. Now, first of all, 634 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:10,360 Speaker 4: what is jim weed and where can I buy some? 635 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:13,040 Speaker 3: First of all, not the jim weed you're thank you. 636 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:19,200 Speaker 3: Jim Weed is actually an awe natural energy drink from 637 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:22,640 Speaker 3: mcassie Brothers, who are long serial entrepreneurs in the CpG 638 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:26,280 Speaker 3: and beverage space. It's sold all over the country. If 639 00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:29,240 Speaker 3: you go, you can check it out. Most convenience stores 640 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:33,040 Speaker 3: seven to eleven and around the country have it. And yeah, 641 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:37,080 Speaker 3: I mean they're a mid sized company already and growing rapidly. 642 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:40,640 Speaker 3: And you know, Julian has always wanted to be entrepreneurial. 643 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:42,600 Speaker 3: That's one of the reasons I was excited about working 644 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:45,160 Speaker 3: with him and his father TC. You know, from the 645 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:48,920 Speaker 3: beginning they said, look, obviously endorsement deals where cash makes sense, 646 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,520 Speaker 3: that's great. But if there's ever an opportunity for me 647 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:54,400 Speaker 3: to really grow alongside a company that can be significant, 648 00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:58,000 Speaker 3: let us know. And so, you know, we recognize that 649 00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:00,480 Speaker 3: this is a great size company. It's out the gates, 650 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:03,000 Speaker 3: it's already had multiple rounds of funding. They have a 651 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:06,360 Speaker 3: team that has a track record and it aligned with him, 652 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:08,840 Speaker 3: and so you know, it's cool we're kind of seeing 653 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:11,920 Speaker 3: we did, you know, photo shoot and some activations year one. 654 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:14,720 Speaker 3: Now we're doing a larger footprint with him at the 655 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:17,440 Speaker 3: face of it, and so you know, hopefully I always 656 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:19,920 Speaker 3: joke with my team this is kind of tongue in cheek, 657 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:22,400 Speaker 3: but my goal is, you know, doing an equity based 658 00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:24,840 Speaker 3: deal for one of these college kids where they exit 659 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:26,520 Speaker 3: so well that they don't even want to go play 660 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:29,160 Speaker 3: pro football because they've decided to just get to retire 661 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:32,480 Speaker 3: off of their exit. Now we'll see we got to 662 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:36,320 Speaker 3: get a unicorn. But yeah, that's absolutely what happened with Juliana. 663 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:37,360 Speaker 3: We're excited about it. 664 00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:38,720 Speaker 2: I think that's really interesting. 665 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:40,600 Speaker 5: And the interesting part of that deal, like you said, 666 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:43,680 Speaker 5: is the equity part of it. How often is that 667 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:47,040 Speaker 5: really happening in ANIL deals, that they're getting equity instead 668 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:48,600 Speaker 5: of like a paid sponsorship. 669 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:51,800 Speaker 3: That's a great question. It depends on where the let 670 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:53,880 Speaker 3: me let me use the words. I think it's less 671 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:58,080 Speaker 3: than pro because I think the talent is still they 672 00:32:58,080 --> 00:33:00,760 Speaker 3: haven't had the track record of being a come Does 673 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:03,640 Speaker 3: that make sense? So if it's if you're a younger brand, 674 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:06,960 Speaker 3: I actually think it's like taking a shot. If you're 675 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:10,640 Speaker 3: a younger brand placing some bets because your valuation of 676 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:12,480 Speaker 3: your company is not so high that you're giving away 677 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:15,120 Speaker 3: a big chunk. It could be advantageous for you. Right Like, 678 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:16,560 Speaker 3: at the end of the day, you're not a proven 679 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:20,480 Speaker 3: model as a company either where you know. So I 680 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:23,720 Speaker 3: am seeing as these guys, you know, as these talents 681 00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:27,080 Speaker 3: step into the arena and have success right after they 682 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:29,520 Speaker 3: have a year or two. Now we're seeing more and 683 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:31,520 Speaker 3: more brands say all right, well we've seen them prove 684 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:33,920 Speaker 3: it on a on a on a scale at college. 685 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:36,160 Speaker 3: So I'm seeing more and more of it than I 686 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:38,600 Speaker 3: used to, if that makes sense. And I think this 687 00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:42,920 Speaker 3: generation grew up watching the Steph Curries and Lebron's being entrepreneurial. 688 00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:46,760 Speaker 3: I mean, I know DJ Lagway and Malachi Nelson and 689 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:49,640 Speaker 3: Julian Lewis and Dobby Belford some of my quarterbacks, like 690 00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:52,640 Speaker 3: they all grew up watching those guys, as we've heard 691 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:55,600 Speaker 3: so long, like build the empire around them. It's not 692 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:59,080 Speaker 3: just about endorsement deals for cash. 693 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:04,040 Speaker 4: I want to talk about not just the younger athletes 694 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:08,520 Speaker 4: that are still in the sport and some just left 695 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:10,719 Speaker 4: the sport, but I want to talk about the athletes 696 00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:12,560 Speaker 4: that have been in business for a while, like the 697 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:16,520 Speaker 4: friend Tarkington's. That was the first venture that I realized 698 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:19,319 Speaker 4: that my goodness. Yeah, it's like, what are you going 699 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:22,920 Speaker 4: to do after you are done with your sport? So 700 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:25,759 Speaker 4: I bring the same question to you. Is that a 701 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:29,680 Speaker 4: question that is asked by a lot of athletes to. 702 00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:33,719 Speaker 3: You about what they're going to do? Clarify just what 703 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:34,439 Speaker 3: they're going to do. 704 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:36,200 Speaker 4: What they're going to do after their sport is over 705 00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:40,799 Speaker 4: in terms of when they're done, Can they still work 706 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:42,040 Speaker 4: out a deal with you guys? 707 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:47,000 Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, So part of our process is going through 708 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:50,080 Speaker 3: a branding strategy and figuring out how to position them 709 00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:52,359 Speaker 3: one who they are, who they want to be, how 710 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:56,640 Speaker 3: they're differentiated from other talent that's out there to the marketplace. 711 00:34:56,920 --> 00:35:01,320 Speaker 3: But then we truly build three year map for them. Okay, 712 00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:04,560 Speaker 3: now that's not after playing, but three years is a 713 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:06,799 Speaker 3: long time to try to project out right, And so 714 00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:09,640 Speaker 3: you have your short term goals, your mid term goals, 715 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:12,400 Speaker 3: and then your long term opportunity that you're working towards, 716 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:15,200 Speaker 3: if that makes sense. And yeah, so you know that's 717 00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:17,040 Speaker 3: something and I think honestly, one of the things you're 718 00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:20,200 Speaker 3: talking about Mike, Like, I think talent signs with us 719 00:35:20,239 --> 00:35:22,200 Speaker 3: because we know that no matter what, we are going 720 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:24,560 Speaker 3: to be there. We've built some businesses with some of 721 00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:27,840 Speaker 3: our clients, if that makes sense. And these are guys 722 00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:30,200 Speaker 3: that you know, maybe have not had the fanfare of 723 00:35:30,239 --> 00:35:33,200 Speaker 3: their careers have panned out like they originally wanted. So 724 00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:37,160 Speaker 3: I think we're known as being more entrepreneurial as an agency, right, 725 00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:40,520 Speaker 3: That's the benefit of being boutique. It's not always about 726 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:42,839 Speaker 3: the bottom line for us, if that makes sense. And 727 00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:46,279 Speaker 3: I definitely am seeing some of these kids become entrepreneurs 728 00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:49,480 Speaker 3: and have their own ideas while they're still in college, 729 00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:52,239 Speaker 3: which is really cool because, like you said, some of 730 00:35:52,239 --> 00:35:54,520 Speaker 3: them are not going to all pan out as NFL 731 00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:57,240 Speaker 3: or NBA players, And if they can use this moment 732 00:35:57,719 --> 00:36:01,160 Speaker 3: to gather attention when they're relevant and build something that's sustainable, 733 00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:03,919 Speaker 3: well then NIL has done something for good for them 734 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:04,800 Speaker 3: and their families. 735 00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:10,319 Speaker 5: Justin how do you, though, build out a roadmap for 736 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:14,320 Speaker 5: three years when you're considering things like the transfer portal 737 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:17,080 Speaker 5: and things like that. How can you build out deals 738 00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:20,279 Speaker 5: and work with the athletes in that way to build 739 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,000 Speaker 5: for the future if they really are going to be 740 00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:26,080 Speaker 5: leaving a school and how does that work with deals 741 00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:28,040 Speaker 5: they signed with the school, with the collectives and all 742 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:28,279 Speaker 5: of that. 743 00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:32,080 Speaker 3: So let's take the last piece. How does it work? Well, 744 00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:36,200 Speaker 3: Schools are getting smarter. Obviously, everyone is seeing that the 745 00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:42,240 Speaker 3: transfer portal exists, so more and more brands are taking 746 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:45,759 Speaker 3: into account and understanding that that's a risk. I think 747 00:36:45,800 --> 00:36:50,360 Speaker 3: they're looking at the longevity of the client's potential before 748 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:54,919 Speaker 3: they go pro that's something too. I think we're seeing brands. 749 00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:57,279 Speaker 3: It's actually interesting to us. So we're seeing kind of 750 00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:01,760 Speaker 3: two different sides. I'm seeing brands take like very long bets, okay, 751 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:05,279 Speaker 3: Like example, Red Bull for client DJ Lagway. It's not 752 00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:07,080 Speaker 3: to say they didn't care where he went to school. 753 00:37:07,080 --> 00:37:08,799 Speaker 3: They do care where he went to school, but they're 754 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:11,480 Speaker 3: kind of betting on him for like his entire career. 755 00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:15,000 Speaker 3: Like that's how they're positioning, Like, we don't ever intend 756 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:17,919 Speaker 3: to not be in the DJ Lagway business. So yes, 757 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:21,600 Speaker 3: you know, and this is a great example. He transferred 758 00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:24,399 Speaker 3: after Florida this year he's at Baylor, and so we've 759 00:37:24,440 --> 00:37:27,879 Speaker 3: had to reset the activations, the marketing plan. But that's 760 00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:30,440 Speaker 3: actually been a very fun process because obviously with a 761 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:32,880 Speaker 3: big brand like Red Bull that's across the entire country 762 00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:36,600 Speaker 3: and world, right, so the marketing strategy and how they're 763 00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:39,520 Speaker 3: using him is different. I guess to your other question is, 764 00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:42,960 Speaker 3: you know, how do you account for understanding that the 765 00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:45,920 Speaker 3: transfer portal world exists? You know, you have to do 766 00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:47,239 Speaker 3: I think it's kind of going back to what I'm 767 00:37:47,239 --> 00:37:49,719 Speaker 3: just saying, is like making sure that you understand that 768 00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:52,800 Speaker 3: you really can only plan from an endorsement deal perspective, 769 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:56,040 Speaker 3: an activation perspective a year out right, and then you 770 00:37:56,080 --> 00:37:58,200 Speaker 3: also understand that the goal is for these guys to 771 00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:00,239 Speaker 3: get to the NFL or NBA, so you have to 772 00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:02,879 Speaker 3: take that into account from a timing perspective as well. 773 00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:06,520 Speaker 2: That was justin Gian Grande, founder and CEO of Network. 774 00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:09,120 Speaker 4: That's it for today, Thanks for joining us. Tune in 775 00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:11,920 Speaker 4: again next week for the latest on the stories moving 776 00:38:12,080 --> 00:38:14,279 Speaker 4: big money in the world of sports, and. 777 00:38:14,239 --> 00:38:17,160 Speaker 5: Don't forget to catch our podcast on all your podcast platforms, 778 00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:19,040 Speaker 5: and go to Bloomberg dot com to subscribe to the 779 00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:21,919 Speaker 5: Bloomberg Business of Sports newsletter to stay up to date 780 00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:23,480 Speaker 5: on all our juicy insights. 781 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:26,800 Speaker 4: Hey, now you're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports 782 00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:29,000 Speaker 4: Bloomberger Radio around the world,