The Line - PRWeek's sports podcast - Episode 1: How big player transfers became a marketing storyHosted by Danny Rogers and Richard GillisWith special guests:Amanda Docherty, Director of Dial Square and former head of comms at Arsenal Football Club and the FAJim Dowling, Managing Director of Cake, the Havas sport and entertainment agencyTariq Panja, The New York Times journalist and author of Football's Secret TradeThe Line is supported by Cake.This week's topic: How big player transfers became a marketing storyPremier League clubs spent over £1.5bn in the summer transfer window as across Europe, the market for football talent skyrocketed.Neymar went from Barcelona to PSG for a record €222m fee and the Spanish club then chased and failed to lure Liverpool’s Coutinho for not much less.Spurs fans chuckled as Man City paid over £50million for their full back Kyle Walker and Chelsea manager Antonio Conte tore his new hair out as the Blues missed his targets.Meanwhile, journeyman defender Jonny Evans’ became one of the most sought after players in the Premier League, and nobody quite knew why.But beneath the headline numbers, the football’s transfer economy is a story about media, marketing and the future of the communications industry.How have social media platforms changed how football communicates?What is the potential and the limits of player brand power?Are the lines between sponsor and rights holder still relevant?And what do big brands want from players, teams, leagues and the game of football itself?Danny Rogers and Richard Gillis pose these and many more questions to an invited group of experts on The Line, the first PRWeek sports podcast, available for download.