ESPN's John Skipper Tops SBJ's List Of Most Influential Execs In Sports Business

ESPN President JOHN SKIPPER tops SportsBusiness Journal's annual "50 Most Influential People In Sports Business" list. Skipper this year took over for GEORGE BODENHEIMER, and ESPN "hasn't skipped a beat." He has cut "huge rights deals" with the NFL, MLB, the BCS, the ACC and Big 12, and invested "more money in the content side of the business through the launch of Grantland, the hiring of two Pulitzer Prize winners and the expansion of '30 for 30.'" Below is the complete list of this year's honorees (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 12/10 issue).

MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN SPORTS BUSINESS
RANK	EXEC
1	ESPN President John Skipper
2	NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell
3	MLB Commissioner Bud Selig
4	NBA Commissioner David Stern
5	AEG Chair Phil Anschutz and AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke
6	Fox Sports co-Presidents & co-COOs Eric Shanks and Randy Freer
7	The Kraft Group Founder, Chairman & CEO Robert Kraft
8	Dodgers Chair and Guggenheim Partners Founder & CEO Mark Walter
9	CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus
10	Turner Broadcasting President of Sales, Distribution & Sports David Levy
11	PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem
12	NBC Sports Group Chair Mark Lazarus
13	NASCAR CEO Brian France
14	IMG Chair & CEO Mike Dolan and IMG Sports & Entertainment President George Pyne
15	NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman
16	Nike Brand President Charlie Denson and Nike Inc. President Mark Parker
17	IOC President Jacques Rogge
18	Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones
19	NHLPA Exec Dir Don Fehr
20	NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver
21	F1 President & CEO Bernie Ecclestone
22	Time Warner Cable Exec VP and Chief Video & Content Officer Melinda Witmer
23	Wasserman Media Group Chair & CEO Casey Wasserman
24	MLB Exec VP/Economics & League Affairs Rob Manfred and MLB Exec VP/Business Tim Brosnan
25	NCAA President Mark Emmert
26	Lakers Owner Jerry Buss and Exec VP/Business Operations Jeannie Buss
27	SEC Commissioner Mike Slive
28	MLS Commissioner Don Garber
29	Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany
30	A-B InBev CEO Carlos Brito and VP/Global Connections Maarten Albarda
31	CAA Sports co-Heads Michael Levine and Howard Nuchow
32	Under Armour CEO & Founder Kevin Plank
33	USOC Chair Larry Probst and CEO Scott Blackmun
34	ESPN Exec VP/ Sales & Marketing Sean Bratches
35	Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott
36	NFL Exec VP & General Counsel Jeff Pash
37	adidas Chair & CEO Herbert Hainer
38	MLB Giants President & CEO Larry Baer
39	Coca-Cola Senior VP/Marketing Alison Lewis and Senior VP/Sports & Marketing Partnerships Sharon Byers
40	Fenway Sports Group Owner John Henry
41	MillerCoors CMO Andy England and MillerCoors President & CCO Tom Long
42	NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith
43	Comcast-Spectacor Chair Ed Snider and President & COO Peter Luukko
44	MLBAM President & CEO Bob Bowman
45	StubHub CEO Chris Tsakalakis
46	NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and Proskauer Partner Bob Batterman
47	Octagon President & CEO Rick Dudley
48	NFL Giants co-Owner, President & CEO John Mara
49	Ticketmaster CEO Nathan Hubbard
50	ATP World Tour Exec Chair & President Brad Drewett

HOW THE LIST CAME TOGETHER: SBD/SBJ Exec Editor Abraham Madkour writes about how the list is created: “As we have stated, this isn’t a list of the most powerful executives or those who had the most productive or successful years. Instead, it’s a ranking of the decision-makers who change the way sports is valued, consumed, presented and produced. … As you’ll see, influence doesn’t always yield a feel-good result or story, and some may view certain individuals as being a detriment to the overall success of sports. But the names here represent, from our point of view, the people who are driving sports at this moment in time. The list inevitably leads to head-scratching, disagreements, sometimes angry phone calls and more than its share of Monday morning quarterbacking.” Madkour lists “some of the names and rankings that may surprise you” (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 12/10 issue).