Sports Media with Richard Deitsch The 125 Most Influential People In Sports Business
Dec 13, 2025
Austin Karp, a sports business reporter for Sports Business Journal, dives into the Influence 125 list, highlighting the most impactful figures in sports business over the last 25 years. He explains how selections were made while avoiding recency bias, discusses powerful agents like Ari Emanuel, and celebrates Bill Simmons as a unique content creator. They predict potential future influencers for 2040 and discuss major viewership trends in college football, notably the Big Ten Championship's impressive 18.3 million viewers.
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Newsroom-Wide Consensus Powers The List
- SBJ’s Influence 125 was compiled by the entire Sports Business Journal newsroom using collective beat knowledge.
- The list aimed to identify who truly moved the needle in sports business from 2000–2025 rather than produce a ranked order.
Athletes Count For Business Impact, Not Just Playing
- SBJ prioritized long-term off-field influence when selecting athlete entries rather than only on-field fame.
- Players like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning made the list because of sustained postplaying business roles and media enterprises.
Creators Judged By Staying Power And Scale
- SBJ treated creator-driven media brands differently and found Bill Simmons uniquely influential among content creators.
- They judged staying power and empire-building, which is why Simmons stood out over newer entities like Barstool.