Menu
2013 Year In Review

People Who Made Sports Business Headlines In '13, Part One

Many brands, execs and ideas caught our eye in ’13. Here are five that, for better or worse, made an impression this year.

Cano (l) represents the first major contract
for the agency started by rapper Jay Z (r)

JAY Z: ROC STAR
Jay Z entered the sports agent business with a splash by launching Roc Nation Sports and signing 2B Robinson Cano in a partnership with CAA Sports. Since then, the rap mogul has become certified to represent players in the NBA and MLB and added Thunder F Kevin Durant and Jets QB Geno Smith as clients.

BILLY HUNTER: A CHANGE AT THE NBPA
Billy Hunter’s 16-year reign as NBPA Exec Dir ended in February when player reps voted to fire him. A union-commissioned investigation alleged that Hunter acted in his own interests and against those of players. Hunter is now suing the NBPA while the union conducts a search for a new leader.

JOIE CHITWOOD III: WATCHING DAYTONA TRANSFORM
Int'l Speedway Corp. announced a $400M makeover of Daytona Int’l Speedway that rethinks the track experience. Under the watch of track President Joie Chitwood III, Daytona will be largely rebuilt, resulting in big-league amenities and a fresh approach to hospitality and premium areas. With other tracks looking to attract more fans, Daytona’s moves will be watched closely.

Gosbee's purchase of the Coyotes ended a long
stretch in which the NHL controlled the franchise
GEORGE GOSBEE: COYOTE GEORGE
After four years under league ownership, the Coyotes were purchased in August by George Gosbee and his partners. Gosbee immediately committed to keeping the franchise in Glendale, Ariz., long term. The news seemed to give the team’s players some extra pep: after the first third of this season, the Coyotes were one of the best clubs in the stacked Western Conference.

JAY BILAS: CALLING OUT THE NCAA
ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas used Twitter to become the loudest critic of the NCAA and its amateurism model. The former Duke star exposed how the NCAA used student-athlete names in its search function for jerseys. That spurred a flurry of stories about whether college athletes should be compensated and made Bilas the primary spokesperson for the athletes.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2013/12/18/2013-Year-In-Review/Newsmakers.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2013/12/18/2013-Year-In-Review/Newsmakers.aspx

CLOSE