The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly

Henrik Lundqvist isn’t just a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame, but he’s one of only 11 New York Rangers to have had his jersey retired. In this episode of The Deal, the Olympic and World Championship gold medalist tells Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly why he wanted to keep working at Madison Square Garden with Jim Dolan and how he developed business opportunities while still on the ice. 

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When K. Don Cornwell co-founded Dynasty Equity with Jonathan Nelson in 2022, investing in sports was seen as more of a vanity play than real business move. In this episode of The Deal, Cornwell tells Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly how he knew his thesis was strong, why he decided to invest in the Seattle Seahawks and the TMRW Golf League and the impact he sees private equity having on teams and leagues. 

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The world of track and field is quite unstructured, with each race coordinated by a different entity and paychecks few and far between. A new track and field league called Athlos is trying to change that. In this episode of The Deal, three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas tells Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly how she teamed up with entrepreneur and investor Alexis Ohanian to found Athlos, why she thinks it’s important to give equity to the athletes helping to build the league, and how good it felt to wear the Athlos champion crown at the end of a race weekend. 

You can also watch this interview on the Bloomberg Podcasts YouTube page.

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The Atlanta Braves are one of only a few publicly traded sports teams, which makes the argument for its sale a unique one in a year when two other MLB teams – the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Angels – were sold at record valuations. One investor says the time for a conversation about selling is now. In this episode of The Deal, the Founder and Portfolio Manager of Breach Inlet Capital Management, Chris Colvin, shares his investment thesis for the Braves with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly, and explains how a looming lockout over CBA negotiations plays a role in his sales pitch. 

You can also watch this interview on the Bloomberg Podcasts YouTube page.

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There are a lot of concerns surrounding artificial intelligence’s creep into all aspects of day-to-day life, but Jordy Leiser also sees a lot of opportunity for AI to help sports fans. That’s why he co-founded the AI-powered fan experience and ticketing platform Jump alongside Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez. On this week’s episode of The Deal, Jordy tells Alex and Jason Kelly how AI can help fans interact with their favorite teams and players, and how a new wave of team owners who made their money in tech are helping to power innovation in the sports industry. 

You can also watch this interview on the Bloomberg Podcasts YouTube page.

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Volleyball is the world’s most popular female sport and it’s the top team sport for high school girls in the U.S., but the professional opportunities have not reflected that popularity. Until now, with the recent launch of two professional volleyball leagues: Major League Volleyball (MLV) and League One Volleyball (LOVB). 

Kerri Walsh Jennings – one of the most decorated beach volleyball players in the sport's history – joined MLV as a founding partner when the league officially launched early in 2025, and is now a Founding Owner and the Chief Impact Officer of MLV’s NorCal team. In this episode of The Deal, she tells Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly how she’s converting her Olympian and World Champion star-power into team ownership, and what she thinks MLV needs to do to win the war of the leagues. 

You can also watch this interview on the Bloomberg Podcasts YouTube page.

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Sports bars are a $2 billion industry, and women’s sports overall are now a $3 billion global industry. But there was a major gap in the market where the two intersected: Until 2022, there weren’t any dedicated sports bars solely dedicated to playing women’s sports on the TVs. Jenny Nguyen set out to change that. 

In this episode of The Deal, Jenny tells Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly how she founded The Sports Bra in Portland, Oregon, and why she decided to open the business to franchising across the country. They also talk about what she’s doing to create new fans from the barstool and how she was able to get major investors like Alexis Ohanian and Renee Montgomery on board. 

You can also watch this interview on the Bloomberg Podcasts YouTube page.

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As the U.S. Open gets underway in New York City, the tennis world is abuzz to see the Williams sisters back on the court. Serena Williams’ return to the Open’s doubles tournament got us thinking back to an earlier episode of The Deal, recorded shortly after her retirement from the sport when she had moved on to the world of finance and started her own venture capital firm, Serena Ventures. We revisit that conversation, with Williams telling the hosts how she thinks about the “business of Serena” both on and off the court. 

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Ryan Howard spent more than a decade as one of baseball’s most feared hitters. Since retiring, he’s built an interesting second act as an entrepreneur and investor, with bets spanning everything from the “Topgolf of baseball” to youth sports and professional soccer. 

In this episode of The Deal, Ryan tells Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly how he transitioned from playing baseball to investing in ventures like Batter Up that will help more people play baseball, why making deals can feel like playing baseball, and which issues he thinks could shape the labor fight between the MLB and the players' union.

You can also watch this interview on the Bloomberg Podcasts YouTube page.

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Vanderbilt is having a moment. The university has transformed from a respected southern institution into one of the country’s most selective and sought after schools. Athletics has become an increasingly important part of that rise. At the center of it is Vanderbilt University’s Vice Chancellor for Athletics and University Affairs and Athletic Director.

In this episode of The Deal, Candice Storey Lee joins us to discuss what it takes to build a winning culture, and how athletic success can amplify a university’s broader ambitions. They also talk about the forces reshaping college athletics, from NIL and revenue sharing to conference realignment, and what those changes could mean for athletes, universities, and fans. 

You can also watch this interview on the Bloomberg Podcasts YouTube page. 

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