Brett Yormark was part of a new breed of sports executives who grew up in the business in the early 1990s, and the hard-wired New Jersey native was seemingly part of every major sports business conversation from that time on. We know, because his career — and those of his contemporaries — mirrored the development of Sports Business Journal/Daily.
From his start selling tickets at the New Jersey Nets under Jon Spoelstra to his role in selling NASCAR’s massive sponsorship deal with Nextel working under George Pyne to rejoining the Nets in 2005, Yormark was constantly in the news and in our pages. He accomplished a great deal, and as he steps aside after ownership of the Nets shifts to Joe Tsai, it’s timely to look back to his first days in January 2005, working out of a simple East Rutherford, N.J., office.
To me, his greatest accomplishment was the successful migration from New Jersey to Brooklyn. At his core, Yormark is a dealmaker, and the Barclays Center deal was the deal he’s proudest of. “It truly enabled us to move to Brooklyn and in many respects, it defined me and our organization,” he told me. The pinnacle was the arena opening on his 46th birthday in September 2012. “It was the most memorable moment of my life. It was everything coming together and sharing it with my family. What’s better than that?” he said.
That road to Brooklyn wasn’t easy. I interviewed Yormark in front of an audience of more than 300 people in early 2011, and asked them to raise their hand if they believed the Nets would ever relocate from Newark to Brooklyn. About 15% raised their hand — including Yormark and his PR person, Barry Baum.
At that time, the team was playing at the Prudential Center and the move to Brooklyn was delayed by lawsuits, protests and a rebuilding economy, and the overwhelming sentiment of sports observers was that the team would never relocate. But to Yormark’s credit, they got there.
Throughout his career, Yormark had his own, singular style, which became a major part of his identity. He had his detractors, as his knack for self-promotion, publicity and penchant for press rubbed some the wrong way. He and I had many phone calls or meetings where he strongly, yet politely, disagreed with our coverage or approach. He advocated fiercely for his organization, its approach and its people. He was part of the next-gen sports leaders of that day and age who were relentless, aggressive and committed to think bigger and out-work their predecessors.
It wasn’t just Yormark’s work that was noticed; it was his lifestyle that became just as familiar to the industry: morning workouts as early as 4 a.m. with calls to colleagues at 5 a.m.; a 24/7 and 365-day grind that many other young people tried to imitate and others dismissed. But he was adamantly unapologetic about his lifestyle and often told me he didn’t believe in “work/life balance, but work/life fit.” It didn’t fit everyone, but it fit Yormark, and has for a long time. I still recall the pride in his mother’s face, a single parent, when she saw her identical twin sons, Brett and Michael — now president at Roc Nation — accept an SBJ Forty Under 40 award at a black-tie event at The Pierre hotel in New York City in 2006.
Yormark had his missteps along the way — Islanders fans never warmed to him, as hockey never worked at the Barclays Center — but he stayed true to his character of going big, being first, establishing the market and ignoring the noise. Fourteen years running a diversified sports and entertainment operation in the nation’s largest market would take its toll on anyone.
There’s plenty of runway left for Brett Yormark. Now at 52, he’s mellowed and more introspective. He tells us he’s a better person and has no regrets from his 31-year journey in sports. “I became more patient, more thoughtful,” he said this month. “I am always going to be hard charging, but it is a different type of aggressive. I am more collaborative. I became more confident with the people around me. They helped me become a better me.”
We await his next chapter. Knowing him, he won’t stop to smell the roses or take a year to recharge his batteries. The batteries are always charged.
First Look podcast, with industry topics that Abe is keeping an eye on, at the 25:37 mark:
Abraham Madkour can be reached at amadkour@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
