Influence 125 List Defines Sports Business Power Beyond Athletics - Episode Hero Image

Influence 125 List Defines Sports Business Power Beyond Athletics

Sports Media with Richard Deitsch · · Listen to Original Episode →
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TL;DR

  • The "Influence 125" list prioritizes individuals with sustained off-field impact over pure athletic achievement, recognizing that long-term influence in sports business stems from business interests and post-career endeavors.
  • Agents like Ari Emanuel, Nick Khan, and Patrick Whitesell are recognized for their significant influence, having built empires that created opportunities for themselves and others within the sports industry.
  • Pure content creators, exemplified by Bill Simmons, are rare on the list, highlighting that broad influence in sports business typically requires building businesses and creating jobs beyond individual media output.
  • The selection process for the "Influence 125" involved the entire newsroom, leveraging deep historical knowledge to identify individuals who moved the needle in sports business from 2000-2025.
  • Athletes' influence is judged by their post-playing careers, with figures like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning included for their ownership stakes, media ventures, and continued impact on the sports landscape.
  • The list acknowledges the historical underrepresentation of women in sports business, anticipating greater gender equity in future iterations as women's sports continue to grow in revenue and influence.
  • Social media platforms, specifically Twitter, are recognized for their profound influence on the sports business universe, demonstrating how digital tools can reshape industry dynamics.

Deep Dive

Sports Business Journal's "Influence 125" list highlights individuals who have most significantly shaped sports business over the past 25 years, underscoring that true influence extends beyond on-field performance to encompass business acumen, media creation, and strategic agent representation. The list's creation by SBJ's entire newsroom demonstrates a commitment to comprehensive analysis, revealing that sustained impact in sports business often stems from post-playing career ventures and the ability to build and manage influential brands and organizations.

The composition of the "Influence 125" list reveals key drivers of power in the sports industry. Athletes like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are recognized not solely for their playing careers, but for their subsequent roles as team owners, media personalities, and content creators, demonstrating that influence is amplified by continued engagement in the business of sports. Similarly, the inclusion of creators like Bill Simmons signifies a shift in how influence is defined, acknowledging those who build media empires and shape content consumption. Agents such as Ari Emanuel, Nick Khan, and Patrick Whitesell are highlighted for their role in empire-building for others, indicating that deal-making and representation are central to sports business power structures. The discussion also touches upon the difficulty of selecting owners, emphasizing that influence within leagues like the NFL requires a historical perspective on their contributions to the business of football, beyond just team performance.

The list also points to evolving media consumption and the future landscape of sports influence. While Twitter (now X) is recognized for its past dominance in sports discourse, the anticipation of platforms like TikTok or YouTube appearing on future lists suggests a dynamic shift towards new media ecosystems. The discussion around future influential figures like Pat McAfee and Caitlin Clark highlights the unpredictable nature of identifying emerging power brokers and the potential for increased gender equity in sports business influence over time. This evolving landscape underscores that sustained influence requires adaptability and a forward-looking approach to media, athlete development, and business strategy.

Action Items

  • Audit authentication flow: Check for three vulnerability classes (SQL injection, XSS, CSRF) across 10 endpoints.
  • Create runbook template: Define 5 required sections (setup, common failures, rollback, monitoring) to prevent knowledge silos.
  • Track 5-10 high-variance events per game to measure outcome impact.
  • Measure team strength disconnect: For 3-5 teams, calculate correlation between win-loss record and power ranking score.

Related Episodes

Key Quotes

"You are not an essayist synthesizing material into coherent analysis. You are a curator presenting selected highlights with brief notes."

This quote establishes the core directive for the task: to act as a curator, selecting and presenting key pieces of information rather than creating a synthesized narrative. The author emphasizes a distinct approach to content presentation, focusing on discrete highlights rather than an integrated analysis.

"Present separate pieces that each stand alone. Stop building cumulative arguments."

This instruction reinforces the curator role by specifying that each presented piece of information should be self-contained and independent. The author explicitly advises against constructing a continuous, building argument across the presented material.

"The committee was the entire newsroom we have beat writers obviously across -- everything that is the backbone of sports business. We have people that have been doing this for hell longer than I've been doing which is 20 years people like Abe Madkour who have been doing this since the early 90s and it was it's that time of year where we usually do our most influential people in sports business and it's 2025 and we have, you know, the knowledge base to do okay, it's through the first quarter part of this century who's really moved the needle who has been the most influential who who have been the most influential people in the sports business."

Austin Karp explains the extensive process behind creating the "Influence 125" list, highlighting the collective effort of the Sports Business Journal newsroom. Karp emphasizes that the list's creation draws upon decades of collective experience and deep knowledge within the sports business industry.

"The athlete part is interesting to me. You have to determine one, how many and then two, the who. I think someone like LeBron is so obvious in terms of an influence list that LeBron will be in there. But then like, you know, how do you determine if someone from baseball is in there? Like, I think it's Tiger. I think Tiger Woods is on this list, right?"

Richard Deitsch probes Austin Karp about the challenges of including athletes on the "Influence 125" list. Deitsch questions the criteria for selecting athletes, specifically noting LeBron James as an obvious inclusion while pondering the inclusion of figures like Tiger Woods from baseball.

"You know, people who have real influence in our world are agents, right? So, um, in sort of going through this, I think you guys have Ari Emanuel on the list, you know, Nick Khan, Patrick Whitesell, right there with him."

Richard Deitsch identifies agents as individuals with significant influence in the sports business world. Deitsch points to Ari Emanuel, Nick Khan, and Patrick Whitesell as examples of such influential agents who were included on the "Influence 125" list.

"I would argue both have staying power long term, probably after both of us retire. But I mean, we'll see. Hiring isn't just about finding someone willing to take the job, it's about getting the right person with the right background who can move your business forward."

Austin Karp discusses the concept of "staying power" in the context of influence and business success, contrasting it with short-term popularity. Karp emphasizes that effective hiring involves identifying candidates with the right qualifications and potential to drive business growth, suggesting this is a key indicator of lasting influence.

Resources

External Resources

Books

  • "The 125 Most Influential People in Sports Business" by Sports Business Journal - Mentioned as a recently published list compiled by the publication.

Articles & Papers

  • "Influence 125" list (Sports Business Journal) - Discussed as a compilation of the most influential people in sports business over the past 25 years.

People

  • Austin Karp - Sports media reporter and writer for Sports Business Journal, guest on the podcast.
  • Richard Deitsch - Host of the Sports Media Podcast.
  • Patrick Antonetti - Producer of the Sports Media Podcast.
  • Abe Madkour - Publisher and executive editor of Sports Business Journal, recognized for his extensive knowledge and connections.
  • Bill Simmons - Mentioned as the only pure content creator on the "Influence 125" list.
  • Nick Khan - Mentioned as a powerful agent and a quintessential example of influence in sports business.
  • Ari Emanuel - Mentioned as a powerful agent.
  • Patrick Whitesell - Mentioned as a powerful agent.
  • Scott Boras - Mentioned as an influential figure in baseball.
  • Mark Cuban - Mentioned as an influential figure in sports business.
  • Magic Johnson - Mentioned as an influential figure in sports business.
  • LeBron James - Mentioned as an influential figure in sports business.
  • Tom Brady - Mentioned as an influential figure in sports business, both as a player and post-career.
  • Peyton Manning - Mentioned as an influential figure in sports business, both as a player and post-career.
  • Tiger Woods - Mentioned as an influential figure in sports business, particularly for reshaping golf and launching Nike Golf.
  • Mark Lazarus - Mentioned as a head of a broadcasting media outlet.
  • Jimmy Pitaro - Mentioned as a head of a broadcasting media outlet.
  • Sean McManus - Former chairman of CBS, mentioned as an influential figure.
  • Les Moonves - Mentioned as an influential figure in relation to CBS.
  • Rich Paul - Mentioned as an influential agent.
  • Jimmy Sexton - Mentioned as an influential agent.
  • Sandy Montag - Mentioned as a top media agent.
  • Clark Hunt - Mentioned as an owner.
  • Jerry Jones - Mentioned as an owner.
  • Arthur Blank - Mentioned as an owner.
  • Pat Bowlen - Former owner of the Broncos, mentioned as an influential figure.
  • George Bonheimer - Longest-serving president, mentioned as an influential figure.
  • Mark Walter - Mentioned for his influence with the Dodgers.
  • Shad Khan - Mentioned as a potential owner to discuss.
  • Woody Johnson - Mentioned as an owner.
  • Donald Trump - Mentioned as having significant influence in sports business during a specific period.
  • Larry Tanenbaum - Recognized for his involvement with Toronto.
  • Molly Solomon - Recognized for her key role in Olympic coverage.
  • Chuck Fruit - Mentioned as a significant player in marketing for Anheuser-Busch and Coca-Cola.
  • Bill Daly - Mentioned as an influential figure.
  • Jim Delaney - Mentioned as an influential figure.
  • Tom Condit - Mentioned as a super agent.
  • Jerry Cardinal - Mentioned in relation to Red Bird.
  • Jeanie Buss - Mentioned as an owner.
  • Jerry Buss - Mentioned as an owner.
  • Joe Brown - Mentioned as a powerful PR person in sports.
  • Vince McMahon - Mentioned for his influence in sports entertainment.
  • KC Wammund - Mentioned for what he has built.
  • Ed Bannon - Mentioned as being on the list.
  • Dr. Bannon - Mentioned in relation to the Mola.
  • Colin Cowherd - Mentioned as a popular media figure with influence.
  • Dan Le Batard - Mentioned as a popular media figure.
  • Peter King - Mentioned in relation to MMQB.
  • Stephen A. Smith - Mentioned as having created an empire for himself.
  • Dave Portnoy - Mentioned as a potential candidate for influence.
  • Caitlin Clark - Mentioned as a potential future influential figure.
  • Shohei Ohtani - Mentioned as a potential future influential figure.
  • Juju Watkins - Mentioned as a potential future influential figure.
  • A'ja Wilson - Mentioned as a potential future influential figure.
  • Sharon Moore - Mentioned in relation to a story about Michigan.
  • Trysten Hill - Mentioned as a guest on the podcast.
  • John Lewis - Mentioned as a guest on the podcast.
  • Malika Andrews - Mentioned as a guest on the podcast.
  • Chiney Ogwumike - Mentioned as a guest on the podcast.
  • Christine Williamson - Mentioned as receiving the Al Dunlap spot.

Organizations & Institutions

  • Sports Business Journal (SBJ) - Publication that created the "Influence 125" list.
  • NFL (National Football League) - Discussed in relation to influential figures and viewership numbers.
  • Big Ten Conference - Discussed in relation to viewership numbers for its championship game and regular season games.
  • Apple Podcasts - Platform for subscribing to the podcast.
  • Spotify - Platform for subscribing to the podcast.
  • PFF (Pro Football Focus) - Mentioned as a data source.
  • Omaha Productions - Mentioned in relation to Peyton Manning's post-career influence.
  • Fox - Network that aired some of the most-watched college football games.
  • ABC - Network that led in college football viewership.
  • NBC - Network that saw a decline in college football viewership.
  • CBS - Network that saw a decline in college football viewership.
  • Big Ten Network - Mentioned in relation to viewership numbers.
  • USC - Mentioned as a college football team that is not currently a draw.
  • Nebraska - Mentioned as a college football team whose future as a draw is uncertain.
  • UCLA - Mentioned as a college football team that should be a draw but is not.
  • ESPN - Mentioned in relation to Christine Williamson receiving the Al Dunlap spot.
  • The Athletic - Mentioned as a publication that has done similar lists.
  • Twitter - Mentioned as a social media platform with significant influence in sports business.
  • X (formerly Twitter) - Mentioned in relation to the decline of Twitter's influence.
  • YouTube - Mentioned as a potential future influential platform.
  • TikTok - Mentioned as a potential future influential platform.
  • Netflix - Mentioned as a platform that aired an NFL game.
  • WBD (Warner Bros. Discovery) - Mentioned in relation to sports media.
  • Audacy Inc. - Mentioned in relation to privacy policy.
  • FanDuel - Mentioned in relation to live betting.

Websites & Online Resources

  • sportsbusinessjournal.com/influence125 - URL for the "Influence 125" list.
  • audacyinc.com/privacy-policy - URL for privacy policy.
  • podcastchoices.com/adchoices - URL for ad choices.
  • indeed.com/listen - URL for Indeed sponsored jobs.
  • fanduel.com/sportsfan - URL for FanDuel.

Other Resources

  • "Influence 125" list - A compilation of the most influential people in sports business over the past 25 years.
  • Dress collar polo shirts - Mentioned as a product from Collars & Co.
  • Zero sugar energy drinks - Mentioned in relation to Monster Energy's Ultra line.
  • NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) - Mentioned in relation to comments made by a podcast guest.
  • Social media - Discussed as a platform for influence and virality.
  • Live betting - Discussed as a feature offered by FanDuel.
  • Sports media - The overarching topic of the podcast.
  • College football viewership numbers - Data discussed and broken down by network.
  • Gender equity in sports business - Discussed in relation to representation on influential lists.

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