1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:08,320 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News. 2 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:16,800 Speaker 2: Hi everyone, welcome to the Deal. 3 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jason Kelly, alongside my partner Alex Rodriguez. 4 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:22,079 Speaker 1: All right, Alex, we're going to get to our interview 5 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:24,520 Speaker 1: with Kevin Warren, of course, the president and CEO of 6 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:26,600 Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears in a minute. 7 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 2: So much to talk to him about. 8 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: He was the former Big Ten commissioner, now the president CEO, 9 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 1: as I said, of the Chicago Bears. But let's talk 10 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: a little bit about what's been going on with us lately, 11 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 1: very recently, very appropriately. You were at the Big House 12 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 1: in ann Arbor visiting your daughter Natasha. You saw a game. 13 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: I mean, the scope of college football. It's amazing. 14 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 3: It really is, Jason, and it reminds you every time 15 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 3: you go back. Well, let me just check you on that, 16 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 3: because I think I saw half the game. The other 17 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 3: half I was like lou Lemon and shopping and working 18 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 3: my credit card for my daughter. I keep getting hooked 19 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 3: into this much football, dad, but it's really about let's 20 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 3: go shopping. 21 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 1: You're a great credit card bearer. I mean, listen, you're 22 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: really really good at just offering them. 23 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 4: Yeah. 24 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 3: I keep falling for it. I mean, just like you 25 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 3: do with your son, right, of course. Yeah, it can't 26 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 3: help reminds me. It feels like the Michigan football is 27 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 3: like the New York Yankees of baseball or duke basketball. 28 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 3: There's this or around it that is them against the world, 29 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 3: and in many ways, everyone has a feeling about Michigan, 30 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 3: like just like the Yankees, you either love him or 31 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 3: hate them. So it was fun to be back to 32 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:39,399 Speaker 3: the big House. 33 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, and it also is a reminder of the scope 34 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 1: of the Big Ten. I mean, when you think about 35 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 1: how the college athletics landscape, certainly the college football landscape 36 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: is evolving, it's really coming down to the SEC and 37 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: the Big Ten as the massive drivers of revenue, talent 38 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: transferst Like, every single bit of it, it feels like, 39 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:09,240 Speaker 1: is being dictated by those two conferences. And so with 40 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 1: Michigan as a recent national champion at the white hot 41 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 1: center of that putting on your business at you must 42 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: be looking around and just thinking, God, I mean, these 43 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: football teams, these college football teams are bigger than a 44 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: lot of professional franchises in terms of their importance and 45 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: maybe even the revenue. 46 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 3: They're massive, massive businesses, and I think our viewers and 47 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,839 Speaker 3: listeners would find it really interesting to think that these 48 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 3: kind of jobs Big ten, Big twelve, they're almost like 49 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 3: running a public company, except they're private, but much more 50 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 3: complicated because a lot of times you don't have the 51 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 3: infrastructure or the budgets. And the truth is these businesses 52 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 3: NCAA football, Duke basketball, they've grown so fast it's impossible 53 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 3: to have the infrastructure to keep up with that growth. 54 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 3: And what a massive responsibility when you negotiate these media rights, 55 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 3: and Kevin Warren did that. You're talking about billions and 56 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 3: billions of dollars, which public companies don't deal with that 57 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 3: type of scale, and they do. 58 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, totally, and a lot of a very disparate group 59 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: of stakeholders in that as well. One other thing I 60 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: wanted to mention is by the time, folks who are 61 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: listening to this episode, I will have come out of 62 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: a really interesting event that we're doing here in New York, 63 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 1: a partnership between Bloomberg and the Earthshot Prize, which is 64 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:24,480 Speaker 1: Prince William's Climate initiative. Messiah Jerry and Joel Embi talking 65 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:29,080 Speaker 1: about the business of sports. In Africa, economic development has 66 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 1: tied to sports, so I'm definitely going to get a 67 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:33,959 Speaker 1: copy of that and send it along to you because 68 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: I know it's a subject you're quite interested in personally. 69 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, I can't wait to see it. And look, we've 70 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 3: talked a lot about this on the globalization around sports. Yeah, 71 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 3: and one of the main drivers of why these enterprise 72 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:51,160 Speaker 3: values are gone through the roof. But what's interesting about basketball, 73 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 3: It is a massive global sport. I mean, you have 74 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 3: more people in China and India watching basketball nightly than 75 00:03:57,480 --> 00:03:59,840 Speaker 3: you do in the US. That's incredible. And like, as 76 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 3: you know, Jason, there's so much going on in the 77 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 3: continent of Africa. I'm very bullish with anything around Africa. 78 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 3: A lot of smart capitals going in the the billions 79 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 3: and billions of dollars, and it's so smart for the 80 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 3: NBA to bring basketball there with partners like Grant Hill, 81 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,680 Speaker 3: Barack and Michelle Obama. I'm really intrigued to watch what 82 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 3: you're doing anything to do with Africa basketball. 83 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:25,919 Speaker 1: All right, coming up on the deal, our interview with 84 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: the president and CEO of the Chicago Bear is Kevin Warren. 85 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: All Right, so now we're going to bring in Kevin Warren. 86 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,839 Speaker 1: He is the president and CEO for the Chicago Bears. Kevin, 87 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 1: welcome to the deal. We actually like to have people 88 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: at the start introduce themselves and just tell us what 89 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 1: you do. 90 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 4: I mean, my goal is to basically lead this franchise. 91 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:02,040 Speaker 4: This is one of the most oracle sports franchises in 92 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 4: the industry. I'm very cognizant conscientious that this franchise is 93 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 4: one hundred and five years old, was founded by George Hallis. 94 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 4: It's one of the founding franchises in the NFL. So 95 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 4: what I'm trying to do on an every day basis 96 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:19,680 Speaker 4: is from a business, from a football from an entrepreneurial, 97 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 4: from a vision standpoint, is to make sure that we're 98 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 4: operating in an innovative manner. So that's the goal, although 99 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,160 Speaker 4: we're under the umbrella of the National Football League. 100 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:31,599 Speaker 3: So, Kevin, when you think about and Jason and I 101 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:34,480 Speaker 3: were prepping and we were laughing, your resume seems like 102 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:37,240 Speaker 3: just the most stellar resume you've seen from you know, 103 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:39,799 Speaker 3: undergrad a pan where you played hoops, You have an NBA, 104 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 3: you have a law degree. You negotiate one of the 105 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 3: biggest and not the biggest, you know, TV deal in 106 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 3: Big ten history. Obviously, you work for almost a handful 107 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:51,600 Speaker 3: of teams in the NFL, the Vikings just because I'm Minnesota. 108 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:54,480 Speaker 3: I mean, the halo of Kevin warn is still there 109 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:56,840 Speaker 3: in a great way because you came in at the 110 00:05:56,839 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 3: beginning for a six hundred million dollar buy and now 111 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:02,160 Speaker 3: the team, the Vikings are probably worth north of six billion. 112 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 3: You build a stadium on time and on budget. What 113 00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:09,479 Speaker 3: lessons can you drawp on for your mission now with 114 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:10,480 Speaker 3: the Chicago Bears. 115 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 4: Yeah, I think the lessons I draw from it are 116 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 4: all the lessons that I learned from my parents and 117 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 4: even from my grandparents. Is one to be diligent, to 118 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:23,479 Speaker 4: be focused, to be resilient, to be able to operate 119 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:25,040 Speaker 4: with grit. You know, I have a saying to be 120 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,039 Speaker 4: able to operate with dirt in your mouth. And these 121 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 4: things aren't easy, and so I always chuckle sometime when 122 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,720 Speaker 4: I have some of these calls and the first thing 123 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 4: business people or politicians or stadium developers will talk and 124 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:41,719 Speaker 4: they'll they'll say, boy, this is a really hard project 125 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:44,040 Speaker 4: or these things are very difficult, and I say, that's 126 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:46,919 Speaker 4: why we're here, I mean, because otherwise we have robots 127 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:49,400 Speaker 4: who could do it. The lesson aloge back to your question, 128 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:53,480 Speaker 4: that I learned the most is really about. The result 129 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:57,600 Speaker 4: is a stadium. The result is a World Series like 130 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 4: you've won. The result is being an MVP. The result, 131 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,600 Speaker 4: you know, is a super Bowl champion. But it really 132 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 4: the input is relationships. And so at the end of 133 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 4: the day, it's all those basic core tenets. You know 134 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 4: that my grandparents and my parents are teachers taught us. 135 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 4: You know, be diligent, be focused, clean up, you know, 136 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 4: when you make a mess, say I'm sorry. You know, 137 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:22,679 Speaker 4: work hard, you know, drink your water, wait in line, 138 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 4: be patient, get your sleep, all those different things that 139 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 4: seem so very basic, but they really are today, and 140 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:31,640 Speaker 4: as I get further in my career, I just recognize 141 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 4: that this world is really, you know, small. People will 142 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:35,720 Speaker 4: say that, boy, it's a small world, but it really 143 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 4: is small. But the biggest thing is that all of 144 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 4: these deals, and the more complex they are, the more 145 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:45,880 Speaker 4: relationships from a positive standpoint, you need to have. It's 146 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 4: just not about who's the smartest person in the room, 147 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 4: because at the end of the day, when you do 148 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 4: these deals, you come together and everyone has great lawyers 149 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,160 Speaker 4: and great advisors and great financial advisors and accountants, and 150 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 4: they understand the terms of the deal. But when you 151 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 4: break it down to the basic core elements, people do 152 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,800 Speaker 4: business with people who they like and respect more. And 153 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 4: I also found that the more you learn and understand someone, 154 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 4: they are more attuned to be able to do business 155 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:18,640 Speaker 4: with you. So that's why I say it all the time. 156 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 4: I don't do business with people. I do relationships. And 157 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 4: if you do relationships the right way, like we've been 158 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:27,360 Speaker 4: able to develop Alex, the business part becomes very easy. 159 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:30,800 Speaker 2: And so how does that playbook apply Kevin? 160 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:32,920 Speaker 1: As you take on you know, trying to figure out 161 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: a stadium for the city of Chicago, as you say, 162 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: and this historic franchise, how do you start that process 163 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:43,240 Speaker 1: to kind of unpack the different pieces, understand the different stakeholders, like, 164 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:45,640 Speaker 1: take us inside your head as you sort of sit 165 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 1: down and start to map that out. 166 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:50,400 Speaker 4: Yeah, the way it works for me is the first 167 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:53,720 Speaker 4: thing that I do is I have these freethink sessions 168 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 4: with myself. I usually start in a conference room and 169 00:08:57,480 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 4: most of the time it starts alone. And what I 170 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 4: do is I will just write down all the different 171 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,320 Speaker 4: attributes that I feel that our team will need to 172 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:09,560 Speaker 4: be able to solve and resolve to bring whatever we're 173 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:11,719 Speaker 4: trying to bring to life, whether it's a world championship, 174 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:14,400 Speaker 4: whether it's a stadium, whether it's a you know, acquisition 175 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:17,000 Speaker 4: of a deal. And I'll just free think. I'll just 176 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 4: write all these different things down. And so when I 177 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,559 Speaker 4: think about, you know, you take Chicago and I think about, okay, 178 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:25,000 Speaker 4: we need a new stadium. Yes, all these things. It's 179 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,280 Speaker 4: a place to play, it's a place you know that 180 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:30,760 Speaker 4: people will get married, people will get buried, or you know, 181 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:34,319 Speaker 4: have funeral services, Businesses will make decisions on whether they 182 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:36,800 Speaker 4: relocate to the state of Illinois. I'll just go through 183 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 4: all of those attributes and just get them all down 184 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 4: on a piece of paper. And then what I try 185 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 4: to do is to say, who are the people involved, 186 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:47,320 Speaker 4: who are the organizations and the agency involved, who can 187 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:50,080 Speaker 4: bring those things to life? And then I try to 188 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:53,560 Speaker 4: just create this tapestry and mosaic of this what this 189 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:56,640 Speaker 4: picture looks like. That's one thing. The other thing, as 190 00:09:56,679 --> 00:09:59,400 Speaker 4: a lawyer, always start in the courtroom, you know, what 191 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 4: is the using argument look like? And I even will 192 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:05,839 Speaker 4: visualize from a deal standpoint, where are we going to 193 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:07,920 Speaker 4: have And I'll ask my team where are we going 194 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:10,640 Speaker 4: to have the closing dinner, and people say, well, what 195 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,520 Speaker 4: do you mean, We're just starting this process right now, 196 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 4: Because if you can get it in your mind where 197 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:18,560 Speaker 4: the closing dinner is going to be, then it's easy, 198 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:22,360 Speaker 4: always easier instead of working toward a deal, to work 199 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:24,880 Speaker 4: backwards to the beginning of the deal. And so once 200 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:28,600 Speaker 4: I get those elements set, then I start building relationship 201 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:31,240 Speaker 4: because I found once you get in the room to 202 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:34,640 Speaker 4: really negotiate the terms of the agreement, you have to 203 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:37,440 Speaker 4: have the terms of engagement set, and you have to 204 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:40,200 Speaker 4: trust each other. You have to know that you're working 205 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:43,080 Speaker 4: toward a common calls. Many times when I meet with 206 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 4: technology companies who are pitching, the first question I'll ask 207 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 4: is does your product work? And sometimes people will chuck 208 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 4: on go well, yeah, obviously that's why we're here. It's 209 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 4: like no, no, no, no, you're showing to me. Then it 210 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 4: works for one person, but can it work for ten 211 00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:58,840 Speaker 4: million people at the same time, And a lot of 212 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,319 Speaker 4: times people will say, I don't know, I haven't been there. 213 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:03,920 Speaker 4: It's not in the judgmental fashion. So in the deal, 214 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 4: the first thing I will ask, do we all agree 215 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:08,880 Speaker 4: that we do want to get a deal done, that 216 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:11,520 Speaker 4: we have a common goal, and then what I will do. 217 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 4: I'll spend weeks in putting myself in that other person 218 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:18,640 Speaker 4: or person's position, and to say, if I were in 219 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:22,280 Speaker 4: their shoes, what are the most important things that we 220 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:26,080 Speaker 4: need to accomplish? Because if I accomplish the other party's goals, 221 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:27,680 Speaker 4: my goals will come easy. 222 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 3: So, Kevin, I've never met anyone to your point about 223 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 3: having the relationships you have, But in many ways, I 224 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:37,040 Speaker 3: think one of your biggest superpowers is the ability to 225 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 3: recognize and recruit top tier talent. Yes, A, where do 226 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:44,360 Speaker 3: you get that from? And B maybe another one of 227 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:47,160 Speaker 3: your superpowers that you think separates you from the rest. 228 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 4: You know, I think about that often because what I 229 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 4: try to do is make sure you keep those superpowers. 230 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 4: And I love the way you phrase that is keep 231 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,080 Speaker 4: those sharp. And it's no different than an athlete. There 232 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:02,920 Speaker 4: were things that Alex that you did on the baseball 233 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:05,880 Speaker 4: field better than any other human being in the world, 234 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:07,400 Speaker 4: So you got to keep those sharp. Then there are 235 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:09,960 Speaker 4: other things you say, you know I do pretty well. 236 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:13,320 Speaker 4: I can't regress in that area. So one is relationship, 237 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:14,840 Speaker 4: and I think it's a couple of different ways you 238 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 4: build relationship there are a lot of people that they 239 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:21,200 Speaker 4: build relationships for the reason of getting something else. And 240 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:23,360 Speaker 4: I think one of the things that I learned from 241 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:26,960 Speaker 4: my parents was the most beautiful relationships you can build 242 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:29,880 Speaker 4: in your life are the ones that you hope and 243 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:33,880 Speaker 4: pray that as you put people together, that they develop 244 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 4: a relationship that one day, one year, five year, ten 245 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:40,400 Speaker 4: years down the road, that you gear back from them 246 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 4: and you get a note from them and they say, 247 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:45,000 Speaker 4: you know what it was based upon that dinner that 248 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:48,200 Speaker 4: we had three years ago. That now these two other 249 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:51,440 Speaker 4: people are either married or their business partners, or now 250 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:53,439 Speaker 4: they've gone on to do something that even makes the 251 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:55,840 Speaker 4: world a better place. So many things, and I'm always 252 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 4: working with our young individuals. That I mentor is to 253 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:02,199 Speaker 4: tell them, don't be a person that looks over somebody's shoulder, 254 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:05,640 Speaker 4: don't be in a conversation and look into the person 255 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 4: who comes into the room to see what you can do, 256 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:10,840 Speaker 4: or don't build a relationship saying well, I'm gonna do 257 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 4: this for this person because I think I can get 258 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,080 Speaker 4: that back. It has to be I'm doing this for 259 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:18,600 Speaker 4: this person because it's the right thing to do. So 260 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:21,160 Speaker 4: I think that's one thing I think the other thing, 261 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:23,440 Speaker 4: and a lot of it emanates from the car accident 262 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:25,839 Speaker 4: I had as a kid, is just you got to 263 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:28,280 Speaker 4: have a sense of grit and you got to be 264 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:31,720 Speaker 4: grimy in business. And I say that in a good way, 265 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:35,959 Speaker 4: just to figure things out and to be uncomfortably comfortable, 266 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 4: to be able to climb flat mountains and don't start 267 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 4: today with boy, that's going to be hard and I'm 268 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 4: going to take a shortcut, but to do it in 269 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:46,640 Speaker 4: a manner where you say, you know that really is 270 00:13:46,679 --> 00:13:49,000 Speaker 4: a gift from God. I really know that God is 271 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:53,040 Speaker 4: in the atmosphere and is present when we enter into 272 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 4: business deals or relationships that are complex, and you say, 273 00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:59,480 Speaker 4: this is going to take some supernatural powers to figure 274 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:01,640 Speaker 4: this out. And I think if people can be more 275 00:14:01,679 --> 00:14:05,440 Speaker 4: patient and be more diligent, be more caring, be more loving, 276 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:09,160 Speaker 4: be more creative, and not go into a deal with 277 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:11,640 Speaker 4: their mind made up, that's really where the beauty and 278 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:15,040 Speaker 4: the benefits come out of these complex relationships. And that's 279 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:16,720 Speaker 4: those are the ones I thrive the most on. 280 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:21,000 Speaker 1: And so when I think about complex relationships and organizations 281 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:24,160 Speaker 1: and institutions, Kevin, my mind actually goes back to your 282 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:24,800 Speaker 1: previous job. 283 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:27,000 Speaker 2: At the Big Ten, and you know, you've. 284 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:32,560 Speaker 1: Got stakeholders with a lot of different backgrounds and needs 285 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:37,120 Speaker 1: and wants and desires. You're also talking about a massively 286 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:42,000 Speaker 1: fast growing business. Alex mentioned the seven billion dollar media 287 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 1: deal that you did, which was a signature not just 288 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:46,720 Speaker 1: for the Big Ten, but really for college sports and 289 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 1: certainly for college football. What is something that you remember 290 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:53,240 Speaker 1: about that time at the Big Ten that you feel 291 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 1: like was either a key decision or a key moment 292 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:59,600 Speaker 1: that really sort of set you on the right path. 293 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:02,040 Speaker 4: You know, that's a great question, and I think I 294 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 4: learned so much because I went from pro sports to 295 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:08,880 Speaker 4: college sports. I started at the Big Ten in the 296 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:11,640 Speaker 4: fall of twenty nineteen, and you know, the greatest job 297 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:14,280 Speaker 4: you can have is when you're a commissioner elect of anything. 298 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 4: Because I had really three months or four months that 299 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:19,680 Speaker 4: fall where I was able to shadow Jim Delaney and 300 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 4: you know, going to meetings and didn't have to speak 301 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,600 Speaker 4: much and didn't have to make any decisions. And Jim 302 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:26,520 Speaker 4: was coming toward the end of his thirty one year 303 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:28,920 Speaker 4: brilliant career and I was starting. And then I ended 304 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:31,760 Speaker 4: up becoming commissioner on January second, after the Rose Bowl 305 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 4: of twenty twenty and then in March the world shuts 306 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:36,720 Speaker 4: down and it was amazing. I got a lot of 307 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:40,360 Speaker 4: gifts from people, you know, books of first ninety days, 308 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:43,040 Speaker 4: first one hundred days, first year on the job, and 309 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 4: it's no different than sports. And that's why I think 310 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:48,480 Speaker 4: sports allows the ability for you to kind of understand 311 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:52,280 Speaker 4: business and relationships. This was truly one of those days 312 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 4: that we had a game plan going into it. You know, 313 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:56,880 Speaker 4: I had my first year mapped out as commissioner the 314 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:59,320 Speaker 4: Big Ten, and then seventy two days on the job, 315 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:01,240 Speaker 4: all that had to go out of the window. So 316 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:04,440 Speaker 4: one of the things I learned was although you can 317 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 4: be prepared and be diligent and plan that, you have 318 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 4: to be able to pivot and to be nimble. I 319 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:13,600 Speaker 4: remember when I went from high school in Tempie, Arizona 320 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:17,680 Speaker 4: Public School Good Basketball to play at the University of Pennsylvania. 321 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 4: I had a coach of Bob Weinhouer, who was a 322 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:23,320 Speaker 4: great technical coach. I never knew like we had offensive 323 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:25,760 Speaker 4: plays once you got the ball up to court, but 324 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:29,800 Speaker 4: I had never run a transition offense. And I remember 325 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 4: the first time they put it in, I said a 326 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:33,600 Speaker 4: transition off I was taught, you know, get the ball 327 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:35,280 Speaker 4: out of the net, or get a rebound and get 328 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 4: it up to court and once you get over half court, 329 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 4: set it up. We had plays in transition, and that's 330 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:42,240 Speaker 4: something that I think in business. One thing I learned 331 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:43,880 Speaker 4: at the Big Ten is you have to have a 332 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:47,240 Speaker 4: plan in a transition, and so that was really helpful. 333 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,200 Speaker 4: The other thing I learned is to make sure that 334 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:53,680 Speaker 4: you take the proper amount of time to find out 335 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:58,120 Speaker 4: who the decision makers really are. And every university is different, 336 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,000 Speaker 4: and so it really helped because all those things come 337 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:02,800 Speaker 4: together and you need to make sure that you know 338 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:06,119 Speaker 4: where everyone is to get that group to coalesce and 339 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:10,040 Speaker 4: make decisions. 340 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:21,920 Speaker 1: So, Kevin, when you think in that context about say 341 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 1: the stadium project, and you think about the uniquely Chicago 342 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:30,320 Speaker 1: nature of it all you've talked about potentially a partnership 343 00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: with the White Sox, what do those conversations look like. 344 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:39,240 Speaker 1: How do you think about essentially the Chicago sports ecosystem, 345 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:43,120 Speaker 1: because it's different, you know, with multiple teams, obviously multiple 346 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:46,560 Speaker 1: baseball teams. You know, you've got professional sports across the 347 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,760 Speaker 1: gamut in a critical city in the center of the country. 348 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:52,760 Speaker 1: How do they intertwine as you think about the next 349 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:53,280 Speaker 1: few years. 350 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 4: I love that question. At Chicago is a very special place, 351 00:17:58,119 --> 00:18:01,160 Speaker 4: especial to me, special to my family, and I think 352 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:04,160 Speaker 4: it's the most unique and robust sports town in all 353 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:06,440 Speaker 4: of the world. Like you said, you got two baseball teams, 354 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:10,200 Speaker 4: you have a basketball team, you got hockey, you got football, 355 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 4: you have women's soccer, you have the MLS, you have colleges. 356 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:18,160 Speaker 4: This is a major metropolitan area with colleges and universities here, 357 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:22,119 Speaker 4: with a great business community, with a fantastic downtown. So 358 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:24,720 Speaker 4: it's an interesting area. So one of the things that 359 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:27,880 Speaker 4: I like about Chicago is that we're at a inflection 360 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:31,640 Speaker 4: point where we really if we come together, which I'm 361 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:34,320 Speaker 4: confident we will. As we come together, we have a 362 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:39,280 Speaker 4: chance to make a major and massive impact on athletics 363 00:18:39,359 --> 00:18:41,679 Speaker 4: all the way from the youth sports standpoint, all the 364 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:44,879 Speaker 4: way from high school to college to pro athletics, not 365 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:47,960 Speaker 4: only within Chicago, around the world. The interesting thing that 366 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:51,440 Speaker 4: I love about Chicago, because it's a complex environment, is 367 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:54,680 Speaker 4: you know, there was a study done and it came out. 368 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:58,040 Speaker 4: I live downtown. I live in a neighborhood called Streeterville, 369 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:01,080 Speaker 4: nine miles south of where I live, in a neighborhood 370 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:05,040 Speaker 4: that's called Inglewood, just nine miles. There's a thirty year 371 00:19:05,119 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 4: age disparity, thirty years average age disparity. And so I'm 372 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:14,119 Speaker 4: constantly always thinking about what can we do in this 373 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,800 Speaker 4: context and umbrella of sports to be able to change 374 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:20,560 Speaker 4: the world. What can we do to shorten to bring 375 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:23,679 Speaker 4: together that age disparity. What can we do in the 376 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:26,640 Speaker 4: building of a stadium to put people to work, to 377 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,639 Speaker 4: increase the tax base. There are only eight cranes right 378 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:33,320 Speaker 4: now in Chicago. That's up. There's only two cranes up 379 00:19:33,359 --> 00:19:36,160 Speaker 4: in the air north of the river in downtown Chicago. 380 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:40,439 Speaker 4: You compare that to a place like Nashville they have 381 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:44,359 Speaker 4: twenty one. Las Vegas is twenty four. You look at 382 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:48,280 Speaker 4: Toronto has two hundred and eleven. And in my estimation, 383 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:52,600 Speaker 4: cranes means progress. But the beautiful thing that I love this, 384 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:55,960 Speaker 4: I love your show is the fact you all deal 385 00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:00,359 Speaker 4: with that cross section of sports, but a business of life, 386 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:03,480 Speaker 4: of health, of all those different things. So I'm trying 387 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:05,879 Speaker 4: to make sure that we work together these different sports 388 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:08,919 Speaker 4: teams of what can we do to make Chicago just 389 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:13,159 Speaker 4: a strong and fortified city under the auspices of sport. 390 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:15,720 Speaker 4: But a lot of the things that need to be 391 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 4: changed improved, not only in Chicago, but in our surrounding 392 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 4: communities in the state of Illinois. That we can do 393 00:20:21,359 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 4: it through sport. How can we come together to be 394 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:27,199 Speaker 4: able to make Chicago with the epicenter of sport, but 395 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:30,000 Speaker 4: not only in sport the goodness associated with sport. 396 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:32,679 Speaker 3: Kevin, you mentioned a cranes. I mean, I'm here in 397 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:36,560 Speaker 3: Coconut Grove at our headquarters and I'm seeing eight cranes 398 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:37,199 Speaker 3: from my office. 399 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 2: I mean starn A boom down I am. 400 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:42,919 Speaker 3: And so your challenges, which I'm sure you had similar 401 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,960 Speaker 3: challenges in Minnesota, I am confident that you will get 402 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:47,720 Speaker 3: that done. If anyone can, I know you can. 403 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:50,239 Speaker 1: And so just to follow on to that, in order 404 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:53,280 Speaker 1: to get this stadium done, does it necessitate essentially working 405 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:56,080 Speaker 1: together with some of the other franchises. Is that the 406 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:58,680 Speaker 1: cleanest or clearest path forward, do you think, Kevin? 407 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:01,840 Speaker 4: I think in all these big deals is that everyone 408 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:05,640 Speaker 4: needs to go back to their respective constituents and feel 409 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 4: like they had a positive experience there. There can't be 410 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,440 Speaker 4: a winner and loser in a deal, So not only 411 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:13,439 Speaker 4: from a political standpoint, and that's why I said, I 412 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:17,280 Speaker 4: spend time putting myself in the shoes of politicians the 413 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 4: best that I can do. I've never set in that seat, 414 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 4: but into CEO business leaders to other owners of pro 415 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,840 Speaker 4: sports franchises, because that's the way you really can reach 416 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,800 Speaker 4: a resolution there. You know, you may not always get 417 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:31,680 Speaker 4: what you want, but if you walk away and say 418 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:34,960 Speaker 4: people were fair and that my company that I represent 419 00:21:35,119 --> 00:21:38,239 Speaker 4: is better by us coming together. And I'm constantly and 420 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:40,360 Speaker 4: Alex and I have talked about this, you know, this 421 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 4: can't be that anytime I see people walk out of 422 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,679 Speaker 4: a negotiating room and they say, yeah, we won and 423 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:48,600 Speaker 4: we got the deal, and that doesn't work that way. 424 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:50,879 Speaker 4: And I think that's one of the reasons why you've seen, 425 00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 4: you know, businesses have gotten kind of crossways, is that 426 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 4: we have to walk out and try to figure out, 427 00:21:56,560 --> 00:21:58,760 Speaker 4: you know, how do we work out where you walk 428 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:01,000 Speaker 4: away and say, may, yeah, maybe I didn't get everything 429 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:04,000 Speaker 4: I wanted to, But it wasn't even about me getting 430 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:06,119 Speaker 4: when I wanted. It was you know, how did we 431 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:09,360 Speaker 4: leave the situation better than it was, you know when 432 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:11,320 Speaker 4: we got there. And that's been my focus that was 433 00:22:11,359 --> 00:22:14,000 Speaker 4: my focus at the Vikings, that was my focus at 434 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,760 Speaker 4: the Big Ten, and that was my focus since I've 435 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 4: been here. That any time and I walk out of 436 00:22:19,359 --> 00:22:22,080 Speaker 4: the door for the last reason and the last day, 437 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:24,800 Speaker 4: is that I hopefully I look back on it and 438 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:27,840 Speaker 4: those around to say he added value, He made us better, 439 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:30,800 Speaker 4: and if anything, he fortified the platform for us to 440 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:33,920 Speaker 4: build upon even more. And so I just think it's 441 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:36,840 Speaker 4: important for us to have a collaborative relationship, to work 442 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:38,680 Speaker 4: together to see how we can create a win win 443 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:40,000 Speaker 4: win opportunity. 444 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:41,640 Speaker 1: I realized there was one thing I wanted to ask 445 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:43,480 Speaker 1: you about from a deal perspective, Kevin, I shit, if 446 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:46,320 Speaker 1: you don't mind, which is I feel like it would 447 00:22:46,359 --> 00:22:48,600 Speaker 1: be negligent if we didn't ask you about one of 448 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 1: the biggest things that's happened in your league recently, which 449 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:53,679 Speaker 1: is private equity coming in as a piece of This 450 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:56,919 Speaker 1: may not be something that affects your franchise immediately, but 451 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:00,680 Speaker 1: it is going to it already is affecting the nature 452 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:04,080 Speaker 1: of the league and conversations around it. From your perspective, 453 00:23:04,119 --> 00:23:07,200 Speaker 1: what does it mean and what does institutional money coming 454 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:10,159 Speaker 1: into sports mean at the pro level and even at 455 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:11,840 Speaker 1: the college level, because we're starting to see that. 456 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:15,560 Speaker 4: I think the private equity vote that our owners took, 457 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:18,639 Speaker 4: I think it's positive. It's positive for the NFL. I 458 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:21,080 Speaker 4: think anytime you get in and give an opportunity, provide 459 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,840 Speaker 4: an industry and opportunity to take on investors, it's positive. 460 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,560 Speaker 4: I think it'll help in a lot of different things. 461 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:31,000 Speaker 4: I know for me, I actually have started it already. 462 00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:34,680 Speaker 4: I promised myself before I make any recommendations, I need 463 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:37,479 Speaker 4: to become an expert in this space to understand it. 464 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:40,159 Speaker 4: So I'm going to take the next between now and 465 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,560 Speaker 4: the end of the year to really study this industry 466 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,480 Speaker 4: and how the interplay between I understand private equity, I 467 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,560 Speaker 4: understand the NFL, but the interplay between of it because 468 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:51,439 Speaker 4: so many times in these deals, I want to make 469 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,399 Speaker 4: sure that I truly spend time and try to understand 470 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:57,960 Speaker 4: kind of the obvious is obvious, but it's always the 471 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:01,120 Speaker 4: unintended consequences. You know, what is it really? You know, mean, 472 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:03,359 Speaker 4: what's the you know what the whole period is, But 473 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:05,600 Speaker 4: what happens if down the road a private equity company 474 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:07,639 Speaker 4: wants to sell, who can buy it? How does that 475 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 4: impact evaluation? You know how much access do they have 476 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:12,480 Speaker 4: to your books and records? And so I'm going to 477 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:15,639 Speaker 4: be really diligent. I'm talking to people in the private 478 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:18,240 Speaker 4: equity space, not only even the companies who've been approved 479 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:21,280 Speaker 4: by the NFL, but just generally speaking, I'm looking at 480 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:23,640 Speaker 4: other sports leagues. I'm looking at other leagues how it's 481 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:26,560 Speaker 4: impacted them, and I just want to make sure you 482 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:28,960 Speaker 4: know that I understand it from that area. But I 483 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:30,840 Speaker 4: think it's good for the business. I think is good 484 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:34,359 Speaker 4: for the economy. Again, it reiterates to show that how 485 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:38,439 Speaker 4: much people really love, you know, sports and sports ownership. 486 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:47,399 Speaker 1: All right, we're going to do We like to end 487 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:51,240 Speaker 1: the episode with a rapid fire around Kevin, So brace yourself, 488 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:53,440 Speaker 1: all right, I'll start, and then we'll kick it over 489 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:55,840 Speaker 1: to Alex. What's the best deal you've ever made? 490 00:24:56,119 --> 00:24:58,679 Speaker 4: Oh, that's a good one. The best deal that I 491 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:03,000 Speaker 4: ever made was probably was probably marrying my wife, Greta. 492 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:07,360 Speaker 3: I love that. Who's your dream deal maker partner? 493 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,760 Speaker 4: My dream deal maker partner would be Ken schanal Oh, 494 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:14,080 Speaker 4: former CEO of American Express. Yeah. 495 00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:14,680 Speaker 2: Why is that? 496 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,080 Speaker 4: Why? Because you know I keep a picture of him 497 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:19,639 Speaker 4: right over my shoulder here in my office. Ken Shanal 498 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:22,400 Speaker 4: and Ken Fraser. You know one that they were African 499 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,520 Speaker 4: American CEO is a massive companies American Express for Ken 500 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:28,359 Speaker 4: Shanaul and MRK for Ken Frasier. But the reason why 501 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:31,360 Speaker 4: I think Ken Shanad I am attracted to him so much. 502 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:33,160 Speaker 4: He's been a mentor of mind and really I don't 503 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:35,719 Speaker 4: make any major decision while I'm talking with him is 504 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:40,040 Speaker 4: because he's done it in a manner that's just true elegance. 505 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:42,960 Speaker 4: And he can deliver bad news to people, but do 506 00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:45,400 Speaker 4: it in a manner where you hug him and walk 507 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:48,120 Speaker 4: out of the room. And so that's just a certain art. 508 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:51,760 Speaker 4: And because of his position American Express and just understand 509 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:55,080 Speaker 4: the kind of economic infrastructure of this country, he knows 510 00:25:55,119 --> 00:25:57,840 Speaker 4: how really deals work. But you know, he just he's 511 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:00,359 Speaker 4: just one of those guys that has always done it 512 00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:03,359 Speaker 4: in the manner and early on I learned from him 513 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:07,160 Speaker 4: to be really a thermostat, not a thermometer. He controls 514 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:08,200 Speaker 4: the temperature of the room. 515 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:10,640 Speaker 2: All right, what's the most nervous You've ever been? 516 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,600 Speaker 4: The most nervous I've ever been, I would probably say 517 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:17,840 Speaker 4: after my car accident when I was hit by that car, 518 00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:19,960 Speaker 4: I was in traction for a couple months, and then 519 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,719 Speaker 4: a body cast for multiple months, and because I didn't 520 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:26,800 Speaker 4: know if I because I wanted to test it and 521 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:28,480 Speaker 4: if I could walk again, and I didn't know if 522 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:30,240 Speaker 4: I'd ever be able to walk again. And I knew 523 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 4: if I wasn't able to walk again after they took 524 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:35,359 Speaker 4: the body cast off, that I would need time to 525 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:37,720 Speaker 4: get my mind right, because your body follows your mind. 526 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,080 Speaker 4: But that was the first time that I really understood 527 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:44,280 Speaker 4: when people say a relationship with God and angels and faith. 528 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:46,160 Speaker 4: But that was the most nervous I've been in my life. 529 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:48,440 Speaker 4: Since they cut the cast off of me, I haven't 530 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:49,000 Speaker 4: been nervous. 531 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:51,159 Speaker 2: How old were you when that happened? 532 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:54,880 Speaker 4: Ten and a half? Wow, totally smokes. 533 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:58,480 Speaker 3: All Right, what's your hype song before you go into 534 00:26:58,520 --> 00:26:59,960 Speaker 3: a big meeting or negotiate? 535 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:04,439 Speaker 4: That's that's a great question, Alex. I would say it 536 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:07,639 Speaker 4: depends on the nature of the meeting. I mean, my 537 00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:13,560 Speaker 4: music love is broad. I mean I listened to Mozart, 538 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:18,639 Speaker 4: to Vivaldi, to Walter Hawkins, gospel to a little dirt 539 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:21,080 Speaker 4: and rap. You know, you can go down the list, 540 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:23,480 Speaker 4: So it kind of depends. But I think music you know, 541 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:26,800 Speaker 4: we play music constantly in our office. I grew up around, 542 00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:29,000 Speaker 4: you know music. I love music and it has so 543 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:30,160 Speaker 4: many memories. 544 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:33,280 Speaker 1: If you had to distill down your advice, or if 545 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:36,639 Speaker 1: you had to pick the one sort of piece that 546 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:40,040 Speaker 1: you would give someone who wants to be in your 547 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:42,399 Speaker 1: seat someday, any of the seeds that you've had, what 548 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:43,720 Speaker 1: would that piece of advice be. 549 00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 4: I think the piece of advice I would give them 550 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:53,280 Speaker 4: would be to just to slow down and enjoy people. 551 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,760 Speaker 4: And you know, because there's so many times we rushed 552 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:03,440 Speaker 4: back past our marriages, past our kids, We rush past 553 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:08,560 Speaker 4: you know, business deals. But sometime slowing down a little bit, 554 00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:11,560 Speaker 4: you know, is good. I mean because what it does, 555 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:14,960 Speaker 4: there's all kind of attributes that come along with taking 556 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:17,800 Speaker 4: your time because you can enjoy those things instead of 557 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:20,600 Speaker 4: just kind of rushing, you know, rushing by. So I 558 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,440 Speaker 4: think the advice I would give people is slow down. 559 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:27,240 Speaker 4: A bus ride sometime is better than a private jet 560 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:29,840 Speaker 4: because it takes time and you got to learn how 561 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:31,000 Speaker 4: to spend time with each other. 562 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:34,119 Speaker 1: Well, Kevin, thank you so much. This has been a 563 00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:37,720 Speaker 1: real pleasure for us. And look for thank you. 564 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:39,000 Speaker 3: See kay, We'll be in touch. 565 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:51,200 Speaker 1: The deal is hosted by Alex Rodriguez and me Jason Kelly. 566 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 1: This episode was made by Stacy wung Anamasaracus, Lizzie Phillip, 567 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,320 Speaker 1: and Victor Eveaz. Our theme music was made by Blake Maples. 568 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:04,240 Speaker 1: Our executive producers are Kelly Laferrier, Ashley Honig, and Brendan Newnham. 569 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:08,280 Speaker 1: Sage Bauman is the head of Bloomberg Podcasts, additional support 570 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:12,440 Speaker 1: from Rachel Scaramzino and Elena Los Angeles. Thanks for listening 571 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,240 Speaker 1: to the deal. If you have a minute, please subscribe, rate, 572 00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:18,760 Speaker 1: and review our show. It'll help other listeners find us. 573 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:21,520 Speaker 1: And remember, if you're a Bloomberg subscriber, you can listen 574 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:25,000 Speaker 1: to all of our episodes absolutely ad free on Apple Podcasts. 575 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:27,280 Speaker 1: All you need to do is find the Bloomberg channel 576 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:28,880 Speaker 1: and connect your Bloomberg account. 577 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:31,080 Speaker 2: I'm Jason Kelly. See you next week.