Bloomberg Business of Sports

The world will (virtually) descend on Tampa in a couple Sundays and Tom Brady could add some more hardware if the home team can claim a win. With reigning champs in the NHL and a World Series runner-up (not to mention a recent NBA champion from Toronto camping out), the Florida city is taking the sports world by storm. Jason, Michael and Mike discuss the economic ups and downs of winning and hosting in a pandemic, an empty Hall of Fame ballot and some more barrier-breaking in both pro basketball and football.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a sports world of giants, few stood taller than the late John Thompson, Jr., long-time Georgetown coach, activist and agitator. Jesse Washington co-authored Thompson's critically acclaimed autobiography, published after the coach's death last year. Like the man whose story it tells, it's a complicated, funny, insightful and moving work. Jesse joins Michael, Mike and proud Georgetown Hoya Jason to explore the book's themes of education, race, loyalty and fairness and discuss little-known aspects of the coach's life, his work with Nike and his advocacy for his players.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the NHL back on the ice -- albeit realigned, geographically restricted and enforcing reams of health rules -- Commissioner Gary Bettman joins the show to discuss the economics of another strange season of hockey. New, novel sponsorship deals (naming divisions, helmet decals) are all about "revenue retention" as half the normal money is coming in -- since fans have to stay home. Still, the longest serving commissioner across the major sports -- who's seen revenue grow from $400 million to more than $5 billion during his tenure -- says growth is only interrupted, not evaporated.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a world awash with content but missing in-person sports, FITE has expanded beyond its combat sports roots into a broad array of pay-per-view content. Mike Weber, FITE's chief operating officer, joins the show to talk about leveraging his experience in pro wrestling and other sports. Streaming services have reintroduced the debate around who will pay how much, for what, and when, and the pandemic has accelerated some of the most disruptive elements of how we distribute and watch sports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To commemorate MLK Day, we go deep on The Players Alliance. It's a group formed by current and former Black baseball players to educate and mobilize around issues of social justice and economic inequality. Curtis Granderson, Chris Young and Chris Dickerson join the show to explain the founding values, the state of the game and reflect on their own experiences as pro athletes of color in 2020. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thirty Five Ventures is the very model of a major athlete's ambitions well beyond the court. Rich Kleiman, co-founder with Kevin Durant of Thirty Five Ventures. The day after Durant got a new partner on the Brooklyn Nets with James Harden, his long-time manager and business partner Kleiman joins for a wide-ranging conversation on where the Nets go from here, Kleiman's roots in the music business, learning from Jay-Z and building an empire.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Burns watches NFL a little differently: He's got a lot of business riding on the GOAT. The CEO of TB12 is building an empire around what makes Tom Brady keep going, bringing the secrets of training and nutrition underpinning an all-world, still-going career to the rest of us. Burns and Lynchie swap Brady stories and the group explores how the pandemic has made the wellness business both more difficult and more important.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We catch our breath after a weekend full of high-octane NFL playoffs, including the games that set the stage for next week's Drew Brees/Tom Brady showdown -- a network programmer's dream. On deck, the College Football Playoff championship, itself a product of business-driven negotiations that contemplated all the TV money, and Justin Fields' future prospects as a pro. Plus, the NBA postpones a game and the first real sports fallout from last week's violence at the Capitol -- the PGA says it won't play next year's championship at the President's club.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Few athletes have the perspective of Paul Rabil. The best-known lacrosse player in history has evolved into both an entrepreneur and activist, using his platform to elevate the game, its players and a new way of thinking about sports. In his latest visit to the show (where he first announced the creation of the PLL in 2018), Rabil talks about the recent historic merger with Major League Lacrosse (where he started his pro career before launching the PLL), what's next for the game, his philanthropic work and the age of the empowered athlete.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Less than a year into his tenure running the Arizona Coyotes, Xavier Gutierrez is on the cusp of another unusual season. The former private equity investor is applying lots of business metrics to ensuring a safe season -- with a limited number of fans as the NHL season looks ahead to the first pucks dropping next week. He talks to Jason, Mike and Michael about innovations in ticket sales, as well as leaning into his young, diverse market to find "fans in waiting."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.