134. Super Leagues & The Path Forward for College Sports
Navigating Sports Business
AJ Maestas and Charles Rolston are regularly advising conference commissioners, athletic directors, and other clients shaping the future of college athletics. They share their POV on various paths forward including revenue sharing, super leagues, athlete employment, and more. Timestamps: 0:30- Can athletic department budgets continue to rise? 4:30 - What would a college super league look like? 8:00 - How are ADs keeping track of the changes? 12:35 - 15:35 What does college athletics look like in ten years? 16:25 - Revenue sharing with athletes For more insights, visit...
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134. Navigating Sports Media: WBD, Netflix, and Paramount
Navigating Sports Business
Who will win the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery? Netflix announced an $82.7B deal for all of WBD's streaming + studio assets, but now Paramount is pursuing its own $108 billion takeover that will include cable and linear networks as well. Charles Rolston and Umar Hussain break down the biggest story in media. Timestamps: 0:50 - What do we know so far? 3:10 - 6:37 The difference between the Netflix and Paramount offers 6:35 - How does this impact sports rights holders? 12:20 - Netflix’s goal 17:50 - Which deal should WBD take? 21:35 - Predictions For more...
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Highlight: Donn Davis - PFL
Navigating Sports Business
Donn Davis – Chairman and Founder of the Professional Fighters League – explains what the UFC's most recent media deal means exciting things for the PFL in their upcoming negotiations with partners. UFC gets $25M per event, and PFL has ⅓ of the audience. Donn predicts they'll end up getting much more than the $1M/event they currently receive. Listen to the full episode here: For more insights, visit our or learn more about Navigate at .
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133. Dan Porter - Overtime
Navigating Sports Business
Navigating Sports Media: Dan Porter - CEO of Overtime - runs one of the biggest content platforms for the younger generation of sports fans. Overtime doesn't compete for sports rights, but they have added 35,000 followers per day for over nine years. They have also made two major bets: building out their own leagues for high school basketball and high school football. Dan explains how their decision to pay young athletes accelerated the implementation of NIL at the college level. Dan talks about the importance of giving young people a platform on social media and...
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132. Coaching Buyouts: Smart Strategy or Expensive Panic?
Navigating Sports Business
AJ Maestas and Charles Rolston break down the ROI metrics behind the (seemingly) crazy trend of expensive coaching buyouts in college football. They explore the economic and political factors at play that lead to these decisions for athletic directors and university presidents. The right coaching hire can yield an incremental $20M - $35M per year for a football program, so there's a lot to lose by keeping a losing coach on staff. However, would it make more sense to take the money you'd otherwise use for a buyout and invest it in NIL? Drawing on Navigate’s work advising ADs and...
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131. Jeb Terry - Cosm
Navigating Sports Business
Jeb Terry - President and CEO of Cosm - explains "Shared Reality" and what their venues add to the sports fan experience. Jeb describes Cosm as "the next best thing" to being at a live event, and gives a thorough breakdown of the business model that is in many ways similar to a traditional venue with tickets, concessions, and partnerships. He also explains the strategy behind expansion and how they are selecting new markets both domestically and internationally. Timestamps: 1:10 - Shared Reality 6:15 - Jeb’s background as an NFL player 10:40 - Cosm partnerships 16:10 -...
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Highlight: Eric Ratchman - FanDuel Sports Network
Navigating Sports Business
Navigating Sports Media: Eric Ratchman – CRO of FanDuel Sports Network – on the challenges of emerging from bankruptcy with a sustainable plan for the future, and how they were ultimately able to find success. He highlights the three-step process that his team employed, and the many stakeholders and creditors that had to be aligned in order to make it all work. Listen to the full episode here: For more insights, visit our or learn more about Navigate at .
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130. Donn Davis - PFL
Navigating Sports Business
Donn Davis - Chairman and Founder of the Professional Fighters League - has a long history of successful investments both inside and outside of the sports industry. He talks about the opportunity he saw in the MMA space, and why PFL has become such a valuable property as it looks to gain marketshare from UFC. He also shares lessons from some of the most (and least) successful deals of his career. Timestamps: 1:00 - The idea for PFL 5:20 - Donn’s endgame with the PFL 6:45 - Bellator deal - what went right and what went wrong? 11:35 - Why Donn avoids esports...
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Highlight: Drew Weatherford - Weatherford Capital
Navigating Sports Business
Drew Weatherford – Founding Partner of Weatherford Capital – has a novel idea for how private equity can get involved in college sports. Beyond varsity sports, athletic departments can also drive value by investing in club sports as an extension of the lucrative youth sports model that already exists across the country. Would parents be willing to pay thousands of dollars for their students to utilize high-level coaching and facilities? Drew thinks the answers is yes. He also advocates for a change in the rule that bars universities from hosting multiple teams in the...
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129. Eric Ratchman - FanDuel Sports Network
Navigating Sports Business
Navigating Sports Media: Eric Ratchman - CRO of FanDuel Sports Network - discussed the new era of the RSN model and how they're finding sustainable success after bankruptcy. He argues that no other media company offers the same combination of local penetration and national scale, appealing to advertisers wishing for year-round content in a given market or those looking to make a deal across markets in one or more sports. Timestamps: 1:40 - Eric’s day-to-day 6:50 - Getting out of bankruptcy and the next 5-10 years 10:40 - DTC 13:00 - Sports betting and their relationship...
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- 2:00 - AI in the Sports Industry
- 6:15 - What should you be doing right now with AI?
- 22:30 - Revolutionary tech beyond AI
- 25:40 - Rapid Fire Questions
- Bruce's favorite depiction of AI in fiction: Robot & Frank