Revenue Above Replacement

Adam Grossman

Mark Cuban sold a 72.3% ownership stake of the Dallas Mavericks to the Adelson family in December of 2023. While a substantial amount of money, the $3.5 billion that Cuban reportedly secured from the Adelsons potentially undervalued the team. When asked why Cuban sold the team when he did and for a “discounted” price, Cuban stated, “And so you see other teams in all sports…talking about doing real estate development. That’s just not me. I wasn’t going to put up $2 billion to get an education on building. If we’re able to build a Venetian-type casino in Dallas with an American Airlines Center in the middle of it, the valuation is $20 billion. But I own 27% of that.”
What Cuban is outlining is the growing importance of sports-anchored districts (SADs). Sports venues that “anchor” surrounding commercial, residential, retail, infrastructure, and community developments have the potential to fundamentally change the sports industry generally and sports teams specifically.
In a special episode Brice interviews Adam about his contribution to a paper he authored in conjunction with Klutch Sports Group and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) about The Rise of Sports Venue Builds and Sports-Anchored Districts.

Mike Walsh

Mike Walsh is the Senior Director of NIL Partnerships and Strategy at ONIT Athlete, a leading company reshaping the NIL landscape through innovative partnerships and collectible trading cards.
Mike brings a wealth of experience, having spent over a decade in collegiate athletics, notably at Boise State, where he was instrumental in building one of the nation's most successful NIL programs.
Mike's journey into sports began with a passion for journalism, evolving into leadership roles across sports information, media relations, and strategic communications at institutions like Washington State, University of Idaho, and Boise State.
Mike has a bachelor’s degree in communication and journalism from Washington State University and a master’s degree in education, curriculum, and instruction from Boise State University.

Lindsay Barnett

Lindsay Barnett founded Playground Productions after she spent close to a decade teaching second grade in a Chicago Public School in addition to manufacturing educational products. She gained national attention, as a semi-finalist on Live with Kelly and Ryan’s Top Teacher Search. Now, she has curated a slate of IP in the children's space and collaborates directly with authors and writers to ensure that Playground’s content will make families proud and kids love learning.
Lindsay received her Bachelor of Science in Communications: Radio, Television, and Film as well as an Interactive Arts and Entertainment Module from Northwestern University. She then earned her Master of Science in Education in Elementary Teaching at Northwestern.

Jenny Haskel

Jenny Haskel is a former Division One soccer player at Northwestern University whose lifelong commitment to athletics informs her professional approach and growth mindset.
Currently Jenny is the Knowledge and Insights Lead at Deloitte Sports Business group. In her role she works with investors, governing bodies, national associations, clubs and other sports organizations around the globe driving valuable and actionable insights.
Prior to her role at Deloitte Jenny was at Morgan Stanley where she led marketing and communication for a Wealth Management team leading their financial planning efforts. She also drove marketing for Morgan Stanley's Global Sports and Entertainment division, leveraging her deep industry relationships.
Previously, Jenny gained valuable experience at the Chicago Bulls (NBA) and Chicago Fire (MLS), managing comprehensive marketing strategies, digital content, and fan engagement initiatives.
Jenny did her undergraduate work at Northwestern where she has degrees in Economics and Journalism.

Best of John Brody

John Brody is a Board Member, Consultant, and Advisor to various Private Equity firms, brands, agencies, and start-ups. Prior to his current role John was the Chief Revenue Officer for Learfield who is a leading media, data, and technology services company with an unparalleled footprint in college sports and live events.
In his illustrious career John has held roles with the WWE, The National Football League, Wassermann Media Group, Major League Baseball, and the Boston Celtics.
In this conversation Adam and John discuss his career journey, hit on the key lessons learned at each stop, and John gives his insight on what it takes to grow a career in sports. Adam and John also hit on sales and marketing strategies in sports and delve into how technology, data, and analytics are shaping sports today.

Jordan Pink

Jordan Pink is the Strategic Development Manager at Tradable Bits - a role he recently evolved into. Tradable Bits is a fan data company that provides partners with tools to acquire, analyze and activate data.
Prior to his time at Tradable Bits Jordan was an account executive at Canuck Sports and Entertainment.
Jordan did his undergraduate work at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, has a certificate from the University of Houston in the math behind moneyball, and earned a masters of sports administration from Northwestern.

Jeff McDaniel

Jeff McDaniel is responsible for Basketball Operations at Superior Sports and also a member of the board of directors. Superior Sports is a boutique athlete representation agency.
Superior provides a holistic approach to building athletes brands while supporting on-court development. They focus on college athletes and provide NIL Marketing & Collective Negotiation, Professional Contract Negotiation, Endorsement & Sponsorship Marketing, Post-Career Management, Pre-Draft Training, and On-Court Performance Development.
Jeff did his undergraduate work at Chapman University in Southern California and has a masters of sports administration from Northwestern.

Mike Morris

Mike Morris is a seasoned technology leader whose impressive career has taken him from rigorous software engineering at EDS to consulting at PwC and transformative roles in sports technology.
Mike notably served as the Chief Technology Officer at Major League Baseball, where he played a critical role in driving the analytics revolution, centralizing MLB systems, and launching MLB Advanced Media and MLB Network—two game-changing initiatives that revolutionized how sports content is consumed today.
He also served as CIO at Legends Hospitality, navigating rapid growth and innovation in a fast-paced environment.

John Brody

John Brody is a Board Member, Consultant, and Advisor to various Private Equity firms, brands, agencies, and start-ups. Prior to his current role John was the Chief Revenue Officer for Learfield who is a leading media, data, and technology services company with an unparalleled footprint in college sports and live events.
In his illustrious career John has held roles with the WWE, The National Football League, Wassermann Media Group, Major League Baseball, and the Boston Celtics.
In this conversation Adam and John discuss his career journey, hit on the key lessons learned at each stop, and John gives his insight on what it takes to grow a career in sports. Adam and John also hit on sales and marketing strategies in sports and delve into how technology, data, and analytics are shaping sports today.

Jared Banner

Jared Banner is the Assistant General Manager of the Chicago Cubs - a role he assumed in 2023 after being promoted from his role as President of Player development.
Jared originally joined the Cubs in 2021 as the Vice President of Special Projects after serving as the Executive Director of Player Development with the New York Mets for two seasons.
Prior to his time with the Mets, Jared spent 11 years with the Boston Red Sox, working his way up the ladder within their front office and winning 3 World Series Rings.
Jared attended Amherst College in Massachusetts where he earned a degree in Psychology and was a key member of the baseball team. We are also excited to have Jared as the newest faculty member of the Northwestern MSA program.