🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️ https://underthenumber.substack.com/

🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A4O6sMc68g

Seth Wickersham is a senior writer at ESPN whose primary focus is long form enterprise and investigative work on the National Football League. His stories have appeared across ESPN platforms.In more than two decades at ESPN, he has profiled the likes of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Bill Belichick, John Elway, Sean McVay, Andrew Luck, Odell Beckham, Jr., Bill Walsh, Jim Harbaugh, Alex Honnold, Gregg Popovich and Y.A. Tittle, among others, and he has written deep dives into strained relationships within the Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. Along with senior writer Don Van Natta, Wickersham has written critically acclaimed investigations on the NFL’s handling of the Spygate and Deflategate cheating controversies, the Rams and Raiders franchise relocations, the behind-closed-doors meetings on the inequality protests, the efforts by Jerry Jones to block Roger Goodell’s contract extension, the complicated tenure of NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, the efforts of Donald Trump to interfere with Senator Arlen Specter’s Spygate inquiry, and of Dan Snyder’s attempts to avoid being removed as owner of the Washington Commanders. A 2022 story about Snyder by Wickersham, Van Natta, and Tisha Thompson is widely credited with triggering the push for him to sell the franchise.In 2018, Wickersham was a finalist for the National Magazine Award for Reporting, and has been part of a staff that has three times won the NMA for General Excellence. His stories have been anthologized in the Best American Magazine Writing, the Best American Sports Writing, Next Wave: America’s New Generation of Great Literary Journalists, and in Words Matter: Writing to Make a Difference. He has won awards from the National Association of Black Journalists and the Pro Football Writers Association. In 2015, he won a Folio Award for Best Single Story – Sports, and received a second-place National Headliner Award in Magazine Feature Writing.In the fall of 2021, Wickersham’s book It’s Better to Be Feared: The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness was released. It was a New York Times bestseller and was named Nonfiction Book of the Year by Sports Illustrated and Sports Book of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.In the fall of 2025, Wickersham’s second book, American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback, was released. It was a New York Times bestseller.https://www.amazon.com/American-Kings-Quarterback-Seth-Wickersham/dp/1368099181A collection of his ESPN work, Be on That Hill, will be published in the fall of 2026 by Hyperion Avenue.He is credited as playing himself in the 2014 movie Draft Day, though he regrets to inform that the scene was cut before it was shot.Wickersham was born in Denver and raised in Boulder and in Anchorage, Alaska. He attended the Missouri School of Journalism, where he and ESPN writer Wright Thompson covered Super Bowl XXXIV for the Columbia Missourian. He was hired at ESPN The Magazine shortly after graduation in 2000. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and two children.

Bio via ESPN

#Underthenumber #sports #leadership #quarterback #football #leadership #sportsbusiness #espn #business

🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️ https://underthenumber.substack.com/

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PaHg_pPAQEk

Kyle Israel is a Managing Partner at Momentous Sports, a next-generation sports ownership and investment platform reimagining how teams and stadiums drive enterprise value and community impact.

A former quarterback for the University of Central Florida (UCF), Kyle brings hands-on expertise from his athletic career—where he was a starter and team leader for the Knights—and from his past entrepreneurial, investment, and operational roles.

Kyle draws on both Florida roots and international experience, combining an operator’s perspective with a commitment to shaping the future of sports as an asset class.

https://momentous-sports.com/

#Underthenumber #sports #realestate #venturecapital #vc #investing #startups #entrepreneurship #Tech #leadership #sportsbusiness #fundraising

From Season 2 Episode 7 with Cooper Manning.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6zeCmtnNpdD96w0t5ybH9a?si=H8yfM62LQpWLU0FBeKsTDg

🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️ https://underthenumber.substack.com/

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/%24%24%24-from-drake-and-obj-to-reinvent-lost-found-skyler/id1730764733?i=1000735664034

Skyler Logsdon is CEO & Co-Founder of Boomerang, a technology company on a mission to reinvent the way stadiums, arenas, airports, and hotels handle lost & found (item recovery).

Prior to Boomerang, he was on the Founding team of Tatari and Co-Founder & CEO of MyKlips.

https://thanksboomerang.com/

From Season 2 Episode 6 with Dr. Marcus Elliott, the founder of the Peak Performance Project (P3).

🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️

https://underthenumber.substack.com/ Neil Schwartz is President of SBRnet, Inc., with over 25 years of experience in sports marketing and consumer research. A recognized expert in fan and market analytics, he leads the Sports Market Analytics Platform, a key resource for universities, brands, and teams tracking fan engagement, consumer behavior, gambling, sponsorships, and merchandise trends.

Previously, Neil directed research at the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) and SportScanInfo from SportsOneSource, collaborating with major financial firms, global brands, and retailers to interpret shifts in the sports marketplace.

He also co-founded the Get in the Game Sports Business Career Conference and hosts the My First Job in Sports Podcast, helping aspiring professionals enter the industry. A frequent conference speaker, Neil is known for translating complex data into clear, actionable insights across the sports business landscape.https://sportsmarketanalytics.com/

🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️ https://underthenumber.substack.com/

Ty Montgomery helps lead relationship development and investment support at Next Legacy. As part of both the network and investment teams, he focuses on building meaningful connections across the ecosystem, engaging athletes, LPs, GPs, and founders, while contributing to deal sourcing, diligence, and strategic community initiatives. Ty also plays an active role in advancing the firm’s signature programs and supporting athlete engagement across the platform.

Before joining Next Legacy, Ty spent nine years in the NFL, beginning his career with the Green Bay Packers where he became widely known for his versatility on the field. During his playing career, he developed a deep passion for finance, sparked by the Parable of the Talents in the Book of Matthew. What began as angel investing soon evolved into a full-time calling.

Ty graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Political Science. He grew up alongside more than 17 foster siblings and now serves on the board of Connections Homes, continuing his mission to support youth aging out of foster care through redemptive relationship, service, and mentorship.

Outside of work, Ty is grounded by his faith and energized by adventure, sports, and helping others grow. He's always down for a trip, a conversation about Jesus, a round of golf, or discovering a new favorite restaurant.

Bio via Next Legacy

Sean Clifford is currently a quarterback for the Green Bay Packers and a Penn State football legend, holding school records for passing yards, touchdowns, and wins. Clifford led Penn State to a 2023 Rose Bowl victory, in which he was named Offensive MVP.  Off the field, Sean co-founded Limitless NIL, a pioneering name, image, and likeness agency, which he successfully exited.

He now invests alongside his brother Liam at Clifford Capital, leveraging his firsthand experience as an athlete and entrepreneur to spot and support innovative opportunities in sports, tech, and athlete-led businesses.

🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️ https://underthenumber.substack.com/

Wayne Kimmel is a sports tech venture capitalist, entrepreneur, podcast host, and author. He is the Managing Partner of SeventySix Capital, the venture capital company he founded in 1999 that invests in sports, media and entertainment companies.The Sports Business Journal named Kimmel a Sports Tech Power Player, Insider named him a Top Sports Venture Capitalist and was awarded the Most Admired CEO award from the Philadelphia Business Journal.Kimmel was an investor in VSiN, the sports betting media network (sold to DraftKings), Vigtory, an innovative sports betting tech platform (sold to FuboTV), C360, the pylon cam company (sold to Cosm), SeamlessWeb (sold to Aramark and now public as GrubHub), Take Care Health Systems (sold to Walgreens and became their healthcare clinics), and NutriSystem. He has also sold companies to Intel, IBM, and Yahoo.Kimmel also hosts the SeventySix Capital Sports Leadership Show, a podcast featuring the industry’s top entrepreneurs, athletes, and thought leaders.Kimmel is a graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park and the Delaware Law School. He is passionate about innovating the asset class of sports and working to make the world a better place.[Bio via SeventySix Capital]

🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️ https://underthenumber.substack.com/

Ben Gardner joined the Will Ventures team following a 5+ year stint at Andreessen Horowitz, where he built out the a16z consumer team’s go-to-market platform. During that time he worked as a strategic advisor for portfolio companies like Instacart, Lime, Sleeper, Substack, Levels Health, and Dapper Labs, among many others. He also built and managed a16z’s network of corporate executives and influencers across sports, media & entertainment, consumer brands, gaming, and talent agencies.

Prior to his time at Andreessen Horowitz, Ben graduated from Stanford and was a captain of the Rose Bowl-winning football team. In 2014, he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys and played 3 years in the NFL with the Cowboys and Chargers.

Bio via Will Ventures