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Top Athletes Are Building Content Studios
Star power // Illustration by Kate Walker
A growing number of sports stars have launched full-service media companies… only to realize they require a lot more work than just lending their name.
The Big Picture: Professional athletes are accustomed to the media dictating the narrative around them, with headlines, TV commentary, and social discourse shaping how they’re perceived. By owning a media company, athletes are taking back that power… while setting themselves up for a post-sports career.
Behind The Scenes: It’s now inevitable that, once you reach a certain level of athletic dominance, you’re going to want to start playing in Hollywood.
There are now 33 athlete-owned production companies, according to USC Annenberg’s Norman Lear Center.
That includes established giants like LeBron James’ SpringHill and Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, as well as recent additions like tennis star Coco Gauff’s iROC Media Group and Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s Out of Pocket Studios.
Many of these companies are incubated and launched via bigger sports-focused studios, including Religion of Sports, Skydance Sports, and Authentic Brands Group.
Day to day, these athlete-owned brands are run by a right-hand person, such as Maverick Carter (SpringHill), Jamie Horowitz (Omaha), and Erick Peyton (Steph Curry’s Unanimous).
Last Shot: According to THR, while coasting on the name of a superstar is a great way to launch a company, it’s not enough to sustain one — especially in a contracting Hollywood. Athletes are realizing that not only do they need to be involved in multiple formats (movies, TV, podcasts, short-form video, etc.), but they also need to move commercial endorsements and brand sponsorships under their banners.
That’s especially true when athletes, by and large, treat these companies as a part-time gig while trying to expand their content beyond stories about themselves. Investing more of the money they generate into their company’s growth is a bit like socking away funds into a 401(k) — it pays dividends down the road.
Coming Soon: Considering their access to their respective sports worlds, it’s only a matter of time before some of these top athletes start making fictional content that taps into their real-life leagues. That could be a game-changer.
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Polled and Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.