Revenue Above Replacement

Matt Powell

Matt Powell is the CEO of Moroch, a Dallas-based full-service marketing and communications agency known for helping multi-location brands grow by blending data, insights, technology, and creativity at scale. Matt is an evangelist for new platforms and emerging technologies and someone who got his start in media and built his career by weaving paid, owned, and earned media into integrated strategies that drive real business outcomes.
Across more than two decades with Moroch, he has led the agency through seismic shifts in the industry  from traditional broadcast media buying to data-driven, programmatic advertising and AI-informed creative strategies. Under his leadership, the company has embraced relentless curiosity and collaboration as core values, constantly evolving to meet the needs of today’s brands while fostering a culture where innovation thrives.
 
Matt’s deep understanding of client challenges paired with his ability to spot opportunities on the horizon makes him a sought-after voice on the future of marketing, media, and the convergence of technology and cultural trends. And if he’s not thinking about strategy, you might find him quoting 80s sitcoms with as much confidence as he talks about media platforms.

A.J. Edds

A.J. Edds is the Big Ten Conference's Vice President, football operations, moving into that position in July 2022, after previously serving as the conference’s assistant director (and later associate director), sports administration since arriving at the conference in October 2017. In his present capacity, Edds oversees the day-to-day operations associated with Big Ten football, as well as coordinating relationships with the conference's numerous bowl partners.
During his initial tenure at the Big Ten in the sports administration department, Edds served as a sport liaison, oversees the Olympic sport officiating program and was also a liaison to the Big Ten Sports Management Committee. Prior to joining the Big Ten, Edds worked as a regional manager at Rocksolid, LLC, in Chicago.
A former Big Ten student-athlete, Edds was a three-year starter at linebacker for the Iowa Hawkeyes and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors on three occasions. As a senior in 2009, Edds was named second-team All-Big Ten and served as a team captain on a Hawkeyes team that finished the year No. 7 overall in the Associated Press poll and earned a trip to the Orange Bowl. Following his collegiate playing career, Edds was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He went on to play in the NFL from 2010-15, spending time with the Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Edds graduated from the University of Iowa in 2010 with a degree in management and organizations. In 2019, he earned a master’s degree in sports administration from Northwestern University. Edds is the son of Anne and David.

Max Mitchell

In this episode, Adam Grossman sits down with Max Mitchell, a Northwestern MSA graduate student and teaching assistant, to unpack the findings from Max’s thesis research (and accompanying article) on NIL, the transfer portal, and player movement in college football. Using a novel, data-driven approach, Max challenges the popular narrative that NIL and transfers are chaotic and unsystematic. Instead, the data suggests something far more familiar: athletes are making rational, incentive-based decisions that closely resemble traditional labor market behavior.
Max walks through how his research journey began with a simple observation during a Clemson–Florida State game—and evolved into a multi-year project involving tens of thousands of recruits, thousands of transfers, and hundreds of hours of data cleaning, matching, and modeling. Along the way, he explains how structural barriers before college shape player outcomes, why transfer behavior changed so dramatically after 2018 and 2021, and how NIL fundamentally altered the incentives facing college athletes.
The conversation dives deep into what motivates players to transfer, why “upward” and “downward” transfers optimize for different outcomes, and how athletes balance short-term playing time with long-term professional upside. Perhaps most notably, Max shares a striking finding: NIL valuations are now a stronger predictor of NFL participation than high school star ratings—suggesting that dynamic, market-based signals may outperform static recruiting metrics when it comes to forecasting success.
The episode also explores what this means for programs, conferences, and the future of college football. From NIL spend correlating with wins, to roster mobility increasing as financial incentives grow, the discussion reframes NIL not as chaos—but as a market finding its structure in real time.
Whether you’re a student of sports analytics, a college athletics administrator, or just trying to understand how NIL is reshaping the game, this episode offers a rare, data-backed look at what’s really happening beneath the headlines.

Brandon Crone

Brandon Crone's career in sports spans nearly every level of the game, shaped by deep Indiana basketball roots and a people-first approach to leadership. A Butler University graduate, Brandon was a four-year scholarship basketball player for the Bulldogs before continuing his playing career professionally overseas. During three seasons in Europe, he competed in countries including France, Sweden, Poland, Germany, and Hungary—experiences that not only sharpened his understanding of the game, but also broadened his perspective on culture, independence, and leadership.
After returning to the U.S., Brandon transitioned into college coaching, spending more than a decade on Division I basketball staffs in a variety of roles, including operations and assistant coaching. His time in college athletics gave him a front-row seat to the business of sports—recruiting, budgets, television deals, and, more recently, the evolution of NIL. He later served as Executive Director of All Good Dawgs, Butler’s nonprofit NIL collective, where he helped connect student-athletes with community service initiatives across Indianapolis while navigating the rapidly changing NIL landscape.
Today, Brandon serves as the Athletic Director of the Carmel Dads’ Club, one of the largest and most respected youth sports organizations in the country. Under his leadership, the organization supports more than 15,000 participants annually across 13 sports, powered by thousands of volunteers and a strong community-first mission. In this role, Brandon oversees everything from facilities and scheduling to program development and parent engagement, applying lessons learned from high-level basketball to grassroots sports.
A former player, coach, administrator, and now parent-coach, Brandon brings a unique perspective on how sports shape people at every stage—from youth leagues to professional arenas. His work today focuses on creating accessible, well-run, and values-driven sports experiences that emphasize development, discipline, and community over shortcuts and hype.

Ben Jaeger

Ben Jaeger returned to Northwestern University in October 2025 as Director of Olympic Sports Performance, bringing with him a broad, high-level background in building and leading performance systems across collegiate athletics.
Jaeger rejoined the Wildcats after previously serving on Northwestern’s sports performance staff from 2021 to 2023. Prior to his initial time in Evanston, he spent three years at Texas A&M University as an Assistant Sports Performance Coach, where he led annual training plans for swimming and diving and men’s tennis, while also providing temporary oversight for women’s soccer, women’s tennis, and men’s golf.
Before his tenure at Texas A&M, Jaeger spent four years at Boise State University as Associate Director of Olympic Sports Performance, playing a key role in the development and execution of comprehensive training programs for a wide range of Olympic sports. His career also includes stops at Southern Illinois University, Oral Roberts University, and Oregon State University, with experience supporting football, basketball, baseball, softball, tennis, golf, swimming and diving, gymnastics, volleyball, soccer, and track and field.
Jaeger holds a Master of Science in Education with a concentration in Kinesiology from Southern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Science in Health and Wellness from the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and is also certified by USA Weightlifting.

Brice Clinton

Brice Clinton is the Director of Solutions Engineering for CSG, a global interactive media company. He is responsible for international business development, technical evangelism, and translating technical capabilities into tangible business outcomes. In addition, Brice serves as the primary media liaison through writing and speaking. Since joining CSG International he has been responsible for client engagements across media, sports, and retail in North American, Europe, Asia, India, and Australia. 
Along with his work at CSG Brice is the Faculty Director of the Masters in Sports Administration program at Northwestern university where he teaches graduate level courses in The Technology of Sports and the programs practicum. Along with Adam Grossman he is the host of the Revenue Above Replacement podcast. 
Brice received a bachelor of the arts in Organizational Communication from Purdue University, and a master’s degree in Sports Administration from Northwestern University.

Best of Bruce Miller

In a quarter century of design work, Bruce has earned the trust and respect of countless clients, colleagues and industry peers. Along the way, he’s amassed a portfolio of high-impact sports projects across the United States including the likes of Twin City icons Target Field and Allianz Field. He’s a sought-after source on stadium design, having guest lectured at New York University and been interviewed by national and industry media alike.
Recruited to Populous upon his graduation from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in architecture, Bruce’s dedication to the firm has spanned the entirety of his career to date. Early in that journey, Sports Business Journal named him among the best young talent in sports business. His ability to manage complex projects showed in endeavors like Target Field, a beloved ballpark sitting on one of the smallest and most complex urban sites in baseball. More recently, he led the design of Minnesota United FC’s Allianz Field, a stunning soccer-specific stadium that raised the bar of the Major League Soccer match day experience.
Throughout his work as an architect, Bruce has shown a keen ability to motivate staff to excellence, both as a mentor to others and as a member of Populous’ regional and global leadership teams. He’s an active member of the American Institute of Architects and is a LEED Accredited Professional.

Adam Grossman

Sports and Entertainment Real Estate Global Holdings (Seregh – pronounced “surge”) has acquired data and analytics firm Revenue Over And Above Replacement (ROAR), and in this episode we break down what that means for the future of sports-anchored mixed-use development.
Our guest, Adam Grossman, and cohost of this podcast — President of ROAR, A Seregh Company and newly appointed Chief Analytics Officer at Seregh — joins us to discuss the launch of Smart Districts as a Service (SmartDaaS), a new platform that uses AI, machine learning, and a customer data platform to help teams, developers, capital partners, and cities better plan, finance, and commercialize Sports and Entertainment-Anchored Districts (SEADs).
Adam, a leading voice in sports strategy, commercialization, and analytics, draws on his experience as founder of Block Six Analytics, his work with Excel Sports Management, and his role as a lecturer in Northwestern’s Master’s in Sports Administration program to explain how SmartDaaS can shape decisions around partnerships, leasing, fan engagement, and foot traffic. If you’re interested in how data is transforming the way sports districts are conceived and monetized, this conversation is a roadmap to what comes next.

Noah Henderson

Noah Henderson is the Director of the Sport Management Program and a Clinical Instructor at Loyola University Chicago’s Quinlan School of Business. A widely recognized voice in sport management, his work explores the intersection of law, economics, and the social consequences of college athletics –– with a focus on name, image, and likeness (NIL), athlete labor rights, and sports gambling. Through his teaching, Henderson prepares students to lead in a dynamic era where college sports are rapidly professionalizing.
Henderson was at the forefront of NIL implementation. He helped amend Illinois’ NIL legislation and played a direct role in establishing early frameworks that facilitated the legal payment of college athletes. He continues to advise athletic departments, brands, and sports agents nationwide on NIL policy, legal compliance, and best practices. He has also provided written analysis that has been entered into the public record, contributing to national discourse on antitrust, roster structures, and athlete access in college athletics.
He contributed extensively to Sports Illustrated’s NIL Daily, where his reporting and commentary helped shape public understanding of the evolving business of college athletics. His insights have been featured by ESPN, NPR, CNN, PBS, Sportico, the Chicago Tribune, and others. He regularly speaks at accredited seminars and national symposiums, offering expertise on athlete rights and the future of college athletics.
He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law and a degree in Economics from Saint Joseph’s University, where he was a four-year letter winner on the golf team.

Bruce Miller

In a quarter century of design work, Bruce has earned the trust and respect of countless clients, colleagues and industry peers. Along the way, he’s amassed a portfolio of high-impact sports projects across the United States including the likes of Twin City icons Target Field and Allianz Field. He’s a sought-after source on stadium design, having guest lectured at New York University and been interviewed by national and industry media alike.
Recruited to Populous upon his graduation from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in architecture, Bruce’s dedication to the firm has spanned the entirety of his career to date. Early in that journey, Sports Business Journal named him among the best young talent in sports business. His ability to manage complex projects showed in endeavors like Target Field, a beloved ballpark sitting on one of the smallest and most complex urban sites in baseball. More recently, he led the design of Minnesota United FC’s Allianz Field, a stunning soccer-specific stadium that raised the bar of the Major League Soccer match day experience.
Throughout his work as an architect, Bruce has shown a keen ability to motivate staff to excellence, both as a mentor to others and as a member of Populous’ regional and global leadership teams. He’s an active member of the American Institute of Architects and is a LEED Accredited Professional.