470: How Mark Neifeld Made the Sport Fishing Championship ESPN-Worthy

Joe Favorito sits down with Mark Neifeld, the Founder, and current Commissioner & CEO of the Sport Fishing Championship (SFC), for a conversation about how an emerging league can scale into a global sports property. Neifeld explains how he went from working in the NHL, NFL, MLB, and collegiate athletics to identifying a massive opportunity hiding in plain sight: more Americans fish than play golf and tennis combined. Neifeld breaks down how SFC built a media-first, live-broadcast product by using modern technology to stream directly from the ocean. He discusses the league’s team-ownership model, featuring names like Scottie Scheffler, Raheem Mostert, Randy Moss, and Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley, as well as the structure of a season, from hospitality-focused events to hosting championships in Cabo San Lucas and beyond. He also reveals SFC’s global ambitions, including planned expansion into Australia and the Persian Gulf, the launch of a major new studio venture in Fort Worth, and why fishing’s massive participation base, loyal sponsors, and deep regional roots create a uniquely scalable product.Connect with Mark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markeneifeld/Mark’s Profile: https://www.sportfishingchampionship.com/mark-neifeldThe CUSP Show is hosted by Joe Favorito (@Joefav) and Tom Richardson (@ConvergenceTR) and produced by Sam Henry (@s_henry11), LJ Holmgren (@LJ_Holmgren), and Danny Hagenlocher (@DhColumbiaSPS), with social media efforts led by Sydney Cristall, Emily Kim, and Lissa Ruiz. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com