484: UPenn Wharton’s Ken Shropshire Examines NFL Hiring, Governance, and Power

Live from Super Bowl Radio Row, Scott Rosner welcomes Ken Shropshire, longtime sports law professor and leading voice on race, leadership, and governance in sports, for a wide-ranging conversation on the NFL’s hiring landscape and the broader business of the league. Shropshire reflects on the origins of the Rooney Rule, the research that helped shape it, and why recent coaching cycles, marked by minimal progress in Black head coach hiring, raise fundamental questions about whether process-based solutions are enough. He discusses the NFL’s decision not to hold its Accelerator Program this year, the political and cultural pressures shaping DEI initiatives, and why outcomes, not interviews, ultimately matter. The conversation expands to the evolving economics of the NFL, including ownership sophistication, valuation growth, media rights, and international expansion, as well as broader themes across sports such as women’s sports valuations, the shift from linear television to streaming, and the long-term importance of youth participation as a pipeline for fandom. Shropshire also shares his perspective on existential risks facing the sports industry, the league’s resilience through disruption, and what he’ll be watching for in the Super Bowl, from the quarterbacks on the field to the cultural impact of the halftime show.Connect with Ken: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenneth-shropshire-wharton/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