“Hey Fred, would you mind talking with my ______, (insert son, daughter, niece, cousin, next door neighbor’s kid, etc). They want to get into the sports business?”
Like many friends and colleagues in the business, I’ve been asked this question more times than I can remember. Make no mistake, this is not a complaint. I never say no and am always happy to do it. You can learn a lot talking to a young person and their curiosity and enthusiasm can be a good reminder why I got into this business in the first place. (Especially if I’m feeling disillusioned or beat up on that particular day.)
But most importantly, I’m a big believer in “paying it forward.” I had some terrific role models and mentors who helped me in my early years, at the very least I owe a debt to them to do the same thing for the next generation. As an aside, one of the coolest things about sports is the vast majority of executives I know feel the same way. There are a lot of good, generous people in the business.
Typically young people ask to hear about one’s career path and how you got started. Sharing personal stories is helpful but not always particularly actionable. No two journeys are, or ever will be, the same.
As result, over the years I’ve tried to develop a list of more practical steps for those seeking to start a career in sports. I can’t take credit for all of it. These steps are the product of countless conversations with friends and colleagues.
For what it’s worth, here they are:
Step 1: Broaden Your Horizons
Typically, a young person equates working in sports with getting a job at ESPN, the NFL, a professional team, or any of the big names in the business.
That’s all well and good, but focusing exclusively on the big sports brands likely will lead to disappointment. It’s a pretty small universe of potential employers. Sure, there are examples of people who rose to the top after starting out as an intern or some other ground floor job at a big brand, like Roger Goodell at the NFL or George Bodenheimer at ESPN, but landing one of those gigs is really hard. If that’s your plan, you’ll probably have better luck buying a lottery ticket.
The good news is there are thousands of companies engaged in sports. Watch your favorite team on television and you’ll see them hiding in plain sight. Car manufacturers, fast food restaurants, wireless providers, banks, insurance companies, soft drinks, beer, and snack food companies, the list goes on. All of these companies are in the business of sports. They have people responsible for making investments in sports and agencies who help them leverage these assets to drive revenue.
Broadening your horizons will dramatically expand the possible options for breaking into the business. Remember, where you start doesn’t determine where you’ll finish. The point is to break in and get experience.
Does this mean you shouldn’t chase jobs with the brand name networks, leagues or teams? Of course not. If you know someone on the inside who can help, by all means go for it. But you’ll greatly increase your chances if you take a more expansive view of the business.
Step 2: Become a student of the business
When I worked at ESPN we used to say that the absolute worst answer a job candidate could give when asked why they wanted to work there was, “I love sports.” No shit, everybody who applies loves sports.
What employers are looking for are people who have a passion and curiosity for the business itself. Because here’s the reality, entry level jobs in sports usually are a real grind. (That’s true for most industries by the way, so be prepared.) You won’t be sitting around talking sports with Scott Van Pelt or Stephen A., scoring field passes to hang on the sidelines or likely even get tickets to many games.
The people who succeed consistently seek to learn about the trends, innovations, ideas and people moving the business forward. Read the trade journals and newsletters. Listen to podcasts. Talk to senior people you meet in the business. Become as interested in the industry itself as you are about what happens on the field.
A corollary to this step is learn how companies make money from sports. It’s sounds so obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people in the industry don’t understand the core fundamentals. And to the extent possible, make sure you can connect the dots between your role and revenue generation. The more your job is associated with bringing in the bucks, the better off you will be.
Step 3: Understand the trends
A successful entrepreneur I know once told me that he looks for business opportunities related to major global trends. AI, sustainability or alternative forms of energy and similar wide-ranging trends drive a ton of capital investment these days. Where the money flows, so do the jobs. Aligning your career with the latest trends in the sports business will increase your prospects for growth.
That’s not to say you can’t have a great experience working in more traditional parts of the business. Pretty much from the moment I started in sports media the arc of history has been bending against television. Digital was going to kill it 20 years ago. Television was supposed to wipe out radio. The businesses many say will be dead in a few years likely will be around for longer than we think. But there’s no question that you will be more marketable if you’re riding the wave of the big trends.
Step 4: Be present
There are many places where you can live and work in sports. New York and Connecticut are home to most of the leagues and networks, but as I said before there are companies all over the country (indeed the world) involved in the business. As a young person, you need to decide where you are willing to go. Everyone’s personal and financial circumstances are different, but generally speaking you’re better off starting your career in a city. It’s easier to meet people and cities offer more employment options.
Also, you want to work somewhere that requires you to go to the office a few days a week. I’m a big fan of remote work but I think young people are better served early in their careers by the discipline and rigor of going to an office regularly and the opportunity to work more closely with senior executives.
Again, I’m sure all of us can point to examples of young people doing really well working remotely, but those are more the exception than the rule. You want to be present.
Step 5: Network, obviously
This needs no explanation. It is the way into any industry. The only reason I don’t mention it first is because I believe following the earlier steps will make you a better networker. Broadening your horizons creates more options for networking. Students of the business who know the trends will have more focused, intelligent conversations. Being present helps you to meet more people.
This is the last thing I’ll say about networking: when you’re starting out the people you meet and growing your network are much more valuable long term to your career than your salary. Everyone needs to get paid, but default as much as possible to jobs that allow you to maximize expanding your network. Trust me, your future self will be glad you did.
Step 6: Put yourself out there
Networking is putting yourself out there. But I’m talking about utilizing social media and technology to share more of yourself. A resume is very one-dimensional. Posting on LinkedIn, writing a blog, hosting a podcast – all of these are opportunities to raise your profile and help people get to know you. I realize this can be a scary proposition, especially if you haven’t done it before. So, start slow. Share an article you read with a quick synopsis and why you found it interesting. Raising your profile will help you stand out from the crowd and make you more attractive to potential employers.
Step 7: Stay patient and persistent
The final step and perhaps the most important. Even if you follow all these steps, it may not work out the way you want initially. Maybe your first job isn’t exactly what you dreamed. That’s ok. As I’ve written before, you should think of your career as a jungle gym rather than a ladder. You will need heavy doses of flexibility and patience. The old saying about success being a matter of holding on after everyone else has let go is true. Keep at it. Eventually something will break.
There you have it, my seven-step guide to finding a job in sports. It is by no means definitive and, as I said, you can always find examples of people who found success in the industry following a completely different path. But these steps have served me and many others well over the years. I hope it’s useful to you or someone you know trying to get into the business.
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