474: Chris Pearlman Discusses How the Premier League Rights Model Inspired Aggregate Sports

Joe Favorito and Tom Richardson mark a milestone, 10 years of The CUSP Show, by welcoming Aggregate Sports CEO Chris Pearlman for a conversation on career-building, Olympic marketing, and the realities of the global soccer business. Pearlman retraces his path from early internships and sales roles at ESPN and ABC to working at Van Wagner, and a pivotal leap overseas as the Chief Operating Officer at Swansea City FC, where he learned firsthand how deeply clubs “belong” to supporters, and why American-style fan experiences don’t always translate in the UK. He also explains how Aggregate Sports evolved from a European football rights-aggregation idea into a fast-growing agency helping Olympic NGBs package, sell, and service sponsorships across events, broadcast inventory, and athlete-driven storytelling, while navigating the constant reach vs. revenue tradeoffs of a fragmented media landscape. Pearlman breaks down what “sports marketing” really means across property sales, consulting, naming rights, and media rights, and digs into why he created the Aggregate Academy, which has become a talent pipeline for young professionals in the sports industry. Pearlman closes with practical advice for young professionals, which is to network authentically, and reflects on the moments that have shaped his journey, from Swansea memories to Olympic-relationships that continue to shape where his business is headed.Connect with Chris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-pearlman-483b8b53/Aggregate Sports: https://aggregatesports.com/The 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 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