PODCAST · business
Sportonomics
by Uncle Charlie
Jake Kranz and Tyler Webb, co-founders of sports marketing agency Uncle Charlie, break down the biggest stories and trends in sports business and marketing every week. Knock-knock jokes not included...
Episodes
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They Weren’t Banned: The Real Story of the Nike MaxSight
Every year, photos of athletes in red contact lenses go viral, and every year the same rumor returns that they were banned for being too good. Tyler and Jake sit down with Dr. Alan Reichow, the vision scientist who helped build the Nike MaxSight and now runs its successor, to find out what those...
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The Cleat Startup That's Beating Nike Without Paying a Single Player
Jack Rasmussen couldn't read until he was 20, didn't play football until he was 23, and had zero background in footwear, yet somehow built the cleat technology now worn by 100 unpaid NFL players. Tyler and Jake dig into the wild origin story: a viral video, a 4 million-view overnight blowup, and…
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Why I Failed as a Content Creator for 14 Years
For the first time, Jake flips the mic around — putting Tyler in the guest chair to unpack the entire, occasionally chaotic story of how he became a full-time content creator. From basement Halloween-costume skits filmed straight into a webcam, to a scammy Wild West era of follow-for-follow…
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Bond Almand Biked To All 30 NFL Stadiums. Next, He Wants To Bike The Whole Planet.
Bond Almand just biked to all 30 NFL stadiums — 11,000-plus miles in 65 days — and it's not even his craziest idea. This week, Tyler and Jake sit down with the ultra-endurance cyclist who broke the Alaska-to-Argentina record; they learn what it actually takes to build a sport from scratch with…
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What Happens When AI Can Get More Views Than You?
There's a 23-year-old who ran over a hundred YouTube channels staffed by $26-an-hour Fiverr actors reading AI-written scripts...and collectively, they pulled more views than the New York Times. Jake came back from the woods with a new term for this corner of the internet ("ghost creators") and a...
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His First Brand Deal Was $50. The Rest Is History.
PeteTakes turned a fantasy football weatherman bit and a parody song into a career — but somewhere along the way, he learned the hard way that getting paid for something you love can quietly ruin why you loved it in the first place. Tyler sits down with the creator behind "Coop DeJean Is Not a...
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Austin Ekeler On Turning Fantasy Football Players Professional
Nine seasons in the NFL, one torn Achilles, and a newborn later, Austin Ekeler is rebuilding his career in real time — not on the field, but inside Claude Code. Tyler sits down with the former Chargers and Commanders running back to talk free agency at 31, the surprisingly firm rules around…
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The Real Advice for Breaking Into Sports
Two guys who both dropped out of pre-med, stumbled into sports by accident and somehow built a business anyway are finally answering the one question that won't stop landing in their inboxes: how do you actually get a job in sports? Tyler and Jake trade origin stories, from a $30-an-episode…
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Cullen Honohan Made College Sports History for Free
A local pizza-shop photo op with a coach's kid just rewrote the rules of college sports sponsorship. Cullen Honohan of All Hail BBall joins Tyler to break down how he became the first content creator with his own logo on a Division I jersey — without paying a single dollar upfront. From the wild...
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Surviving Shark Tank & Disrupting a $1B Equipment Market
From tutoring pre-med students to making custom 3D-printed mouthguards for NFL and NHL stars, TrueFit Customs founder Matt Hall reveals how he disrupted a untapped billion-dollar sports market. This week Tyler and Jake break down his journey pitching on Shark Tank, how he leveraged advanced...
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Inside the Times Square Glass Box: Did Fox’s Viral World Cup Campaign Work?
Out of 6,000 applicants, content creators Kevin and Austin were selected by Fox Sports and Indeed to receive $50,000 to sit in a glass box in Times Square and watch every single match of the FIFA World Cup. In this episode, the duo join Jake and Tyler to discuss their complete creative freedom,...
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Inside the $80,000 World Cup Content Experiment with Jack Settleman
What does it take to pull off a month-and-a-half-long sports content marathon across three countries, and is the massive financial risk actually worth it? In this episode, Jake and Tyler bring back Snapback Sports founder, Jack Settleman, for a fourth time as he breaks down the chaotic logistics,...
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The Michael Jordan of Newsletters: Kendall Baker's Playbook for Daily Email
From a college kid running the SportsCenter teleprompter to the newsletter that reaches over a million inboxes every morning, Kendall Baker has lived the entire boom-bust-boom cycle of email media — and he's not holding back. He breaks down why he sent 50 different newsletter formats in his first...
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Frank Michael Smith Vibe-Coded a Game in a Weekend...Now 100K People Play Daily
Six years into building a content empire with 3.5 million followers, Frank Michael Smith accidentally built something bigger during a hungover Sunday afternoon. In just 14 hours of "vibe coding" with Claude, he created GeoSports — a map-tapping sports trivia game with no app, no tutorial, and no...
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AI vs. Authenticity: The Sports Creative Showdown
In this head-to-head debate, Jake and Tyler go toe-to-toe on whether AI belongs in sports creative work — arguing everything from copyright theft and job security to "cognitive debt" and the soul of what makes sports fandom human. Producer-turned-moderator, Gabby, keeps the conversation on track,...
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The Missing Analyst: Why No One is Doing Sports Business Coverage Right
Two best friends who've known each other literally since before one of them was born — Sid Balaga and Suraj Peramanu of The 4th Quarter — join Tyler and Jake to talk about building a venture-backed sports business media company from a basement during knee surgery recovery. They break down what it...
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Your 9-to-5 Isn't as Safe as You Think
NFL content creator Matt King sits down with Tyler and Jake to pull back the curtain on one of the most relatable decisions in the creator economy: when — and how — to quit your day job. Matt walks through the exact mindset, numbers, and support system that led him to go all-in on content…
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Why the Best Sports Experience in America Might Be in a Colorado Ski Town
What started as a late-night FaceTime from a friend at a chaotic hockey game in Breckenridge, Colorado turned into one of the most unexpected sports business stories you'll hear. Rick Batenburg — venture capitalist, cannabis entrepreneur, and self-described "Jackie Moon of Breckenridge" — built…
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What 6 Years as a Creator Actually Looks Like
Lawson McDonald, co-founder of The Hockey Guys, returns to Sportonomics for the first time since S1 E2. He pulls back the curtain on what six years in the creator economy actually looks like — plateauing views, compounding networks, and why brand deals keep coming even when the algorithm doesn't...
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The Author Who Played Semi-Pro in Iceland Says American Soccer Is Finally Ready
In this episode, Tyler and Jake sit down with Mark Franek — author of American Soccer Nation and semi-pro soccer veteran — to trace the remarkable and often overlooked 150-year history of soccer in the United States. Mark breaks down what makes MLS's single-entity, no-relegation structure both...
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$50 a Month to 125 Million Followers: The Overtime Blueprint with Tom Weingarten
From skipping to page 50 of Google and earning $50 a month to helping build one of the most dominant sports media companies on the internet, Tom Weingarten's journey at Overtime is a masterclass in finding opportunity where no one else is looking. In this episode, Tom pulls back the curtain on…
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Audience First, Business Second: Cole Nevins' 5 Predictions for the Sports Creator Economy
Cole Nevins has been in the sports media space since he was eight years old; from blogging on an iPod Touch to building a high school creator network, running a content agency, and now leading creator partnerships at Yahoo Sports. In this episode, Tyler and Cole dig into the evolution of the…
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Why (Some) Athletes Shouldn’t Be Creators
Jake Miller, co-founder of Arvelo Media, joins Tyler to unpack what it actually takes to build a personal brand as an athlete or public figure in 2026. They dig into the "it factor" — why some people are natural content creators and others simply aren't — and how to tell the difference before...
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The Kid Who Bet Everything on YouTube...And Finally Won
Justin Leusner started making YouTube videos at age 10, built a 100-person student media company at Penn State, and recently pulled off visiting all 30 NBA arenas in 30 days — raising over $100,000 for Make-A-Wish along the way. In this episode, Justin opens up about the mental health lows that...
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The Most Iconic Two Minutes in Sports — On the Ground at Churchill Downs
Tyler and Jake are live in Louisville, Kentucky for the 152nd Kentucky Derby — and before the gates open, they're breaking down everything that makes this two-minute race a week-long American institution. From the fascinating origins of Churchill Downs and the "Run for the Roses" tradition to the...
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Johann Kroll's Guide to Not Going Broke
Tyler and Jake sit down with Johann Kroll — a former Ohio State and minor league hockey player turned CFA and CFP — who now runs Hockey Wealth, a firm dedicated entirely to financial planning for professional hockey players. Johann breaks down the most common financial mistakes he sees players...
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Justin Pugh + The Billion-Dollar Battle for the NFL's Global Future
Have you ever wondered why some NFL stars build lasting business empires while others end up broke just years after their final game? In this episode, 11-year NFL veteran Justin Pugh discusses his transition from an offensive lineman to the Commissioner of the Italian Football League, where he is...
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The $100 Batting Glove: How Gas Money Created a Baseball Empire
Bear Mayer took a teenage need for gas money and turned it into Bruce Bolt, the premium brand that turned batting gloves from an afterthought into a high-end status symbol. This week, Tyler sits down with the founder to break down the grit required to prototype 18 versions of a single glove and…
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Redefining Athlete Marketing: How Cullen Honohan is Becoming a Go-To Storyteller
Cullen Honohan has transformed a self-taught passion for graphic design into All Hail BBall, one of the most compelling sports media brands in the industry. This week, Jake and Tyler sit down with the former agency director turned creator to break down the transition from cold DMing for freelance...
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Jordan Rogers: Inside Nike, the Creator Economy & What Sports Marketing Actually Is
Jordan Rogers has worked inside one of the biggest brands in the world, and now helps others compete with it. This week, Jake and Tyler sit down with the former Nike brand leader turned creator and consultant to break down the shift from corporate marketing to the algorithm-driven era. They talk...
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The Voice in the Ring: Big Mo's Rise to the Biggest Stage in Boxing
Most ring announcers spend decades waiting for their moment. Kody 'Big Mo' Mommaerts didn't wait for anything. Tyler and Jake sit down with Kody "Big Mo" Bigmo, one of combat sports' fastest-rising ring announcers, to unpack how a college football player from Colorado built a global career in the...
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How 7-on-7 Took Over Football
7-on-7 started as an offseason drill. Now it's becoming its own sport. This week, Tyler and Jake sit down with Ty Thomas, founder of My7on7, to unpack how a Minnesota startup grew from 150 kids to nearly 8,000 players — and what that growth means for the future of football development. They talk...
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What the Camera Caught — Breaking Down an 11-Hour Day Inside Youth Hockey Officiating
🔗 WATCH THE FULL VIDEO: https://youtu.be/pbThK_e-yjg?si=c6DjHXh1i0m0kY6u Tyler spent 11 hours mic'd up at a youth hockey rink — and the parent interviews changed everything. After spending a full day together at a youth hockey rink, Tyler and Brandon sit down to unpack what came out of the day —...
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This YouTuber Just Spent $250K on Content, Was it Worth It?
Jack Settleman is nine years into building Snapback Sports — and it's starting to feel like a breakthrough moment. This week, Tyler and Jake sit down with the college football content creator to break down Season 2's numbers, unpack how he's approaching the newly-cleared NCAA jersey patch...
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Why Turnover Chains Became the Hottest Trend in Sports
Turnover chains started as a sideline celebration. Now they’re becoming a new category in sports merchandising. This week, Jake and Tyler sit down with James Helms, founder of PopChains, to unpack how a Houston startup is turning bold, customizable chains into marketing tools, fan collectibles…
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How Two Childhood Friends Built Strictly B-Ball
Joe Doerrer and Nolan Newberg didn’t set out to build a company — they just couldn’t stop making basketball content. This week, Jake and Tyler sit down with the duo behind Strictly B-Ball to break down how a childhood friendship turned into a full-fledged sports media business. They talk about…
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The Uncomfortable Middle of Broadcasting and Content with Max Browne
Max Browne is living in the overlap between two worlds that don’t fully trust each other yet: broadcasting and content creation. This week, Tyler sit down with the ACC Network analyst and former USC quarterback to talk about the “that’s cute” phase of being a creator, why digital fluency is...
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Meet the Strava of Fishing
A frustrating catch-and-release moment sparked an idea that turned into a full-fledged fishing tech company. This week, Jake and Tyler sit down with Lawrence, founder of Fishtechy and creator of the Proofball, to talk about measuring fish without harming them, turning a physical product into a...
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The Most Interesting Sports Creator You’re Not Following (Yet)
Jack Appleby has spent 15 years building brands on the internet, and then used that same playbook to build two of his own. This week, Jake and Tyler sit down with the creator behind How to Hoop Forever and Future Social to talk about treating content like a business, why perspective matters more...
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How Sportsball Turned Data Into Art
Riley Martin doesn’t break news or argue hot takes — he explains sports so clearly that anyone can follow along. This week, Jake and Tyler sit down with the creator behind Sportsball to unpack how data visualization became his creative edge, why he designs content for casual fans first, and how...
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How a $65 Loan Became a $10M Football Glove Brand
Nathan Dorton started his football brand with a $65 loan, a Photoshop glove template, and a factory connection in Pakistan. Today, Phenom Elite is a $10M business redefining how football gear, culture, and IP intersect. This week, Jake and Tyler sat down with Nathan to talk about building an...
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How Four College Students Solved Sports’ Most Taboo Problem
Most sports innovation focuses on what fans can see. Almost none of it considers what happens when you can’t. This week, Jake and Tyler sat down with the founding team behind OneCourt, a startup using real-time player and ball-tracking data to turn live sports into a tactile experience for blind...
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Meet the Athletic Trainer Who Invented the Arm Sleeve (Lenny Currier)
A lot of people dream about playing professional sports. Fewer think about the careers built behind the scenes that make those games possible. This week, Jake and Tyler sit down with longtime athletic trainer Lenny, whose 50-year career spans high schools, minor league baseball, the NBA, and the...
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How Youth Sports (Accidentally) Became a $40 Billion Industry
Youth sports used to be simple — show up, play, go home. Today, it’s a fully developed industry with travel requirements, hotel contracts, massive tournaments, and real money flowing through every weekend on the calendar. This week, Jake and Tyler sat down with John D’Orsay, CEO of EventConnect…
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Meet the Guy Solving the Oldest Problem in Sports: Standing in Line
Stadiums track everything. Tickets, fans, sponsors, on-field performance, but one problem has quietly resisted innovation for decades: lines. This week, Jake and Tyler sat down with Sam Porta, founder of Queues, to break down how he went from hacking together queue data at Georgia Tech to helping...
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Why Does NFL Dominate Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving and football feel like they’ve always gone together...but the story behind that tradition is way stranger than most fans realize. This week, Jake and Tyler break down the full history of Thanksgiving football, from Yale vs. Princeton in the 1800s to the Detroit Lions’ radio-fueled...
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From Fidget Spinners to Fox Sports: The Rise of Jordan Green
Jordan Green isn’t your typical 22-year-old founder. He’s built meme pages with millions of followers, brokered NIL deals for brands like Fox Sports and Gymshark, and launched his own agency — Glacier — from a college dorm room. This week, Jake and I sat down with Jordan to talk about the…
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Meet the NFL QB with a $1M Side Hustle (Kurt Benkert)
Kurt Benkert and Matt Blakely are redefining what a football brand can be. After Kurt’s NFL career, they launched DimeLab, a direct-to-consumer company making game-ready footballs that feel perfect right out of the box. This week, Jake and I sat down with them to talk about building a product…
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The Man Behind the Titleist Pro V1 Is Disrupting Golf Again
Dean Snell has built golf balls for Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and thousands of weekend players, but his story is about craft, not fame. After decades at Titleist and TaylorMade, he launched Snell Golf to deliver premium performance without the price tag or tour hype. Jake and I sat down with...
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He Went From Making $11/Hour to a Nike Executive, Then He Quit (Brian Davison)
Brian Davison’s path into the sports industry wasn’t traditional—it was relentless. After leaving a college coaching job, he started selling sneakers at a Nike outlet for $11/hour. Over the next decade, he networked his way into corporate Nike, became one of the company’s elite EKINs, and...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Sportonomics have?
Sportonomics currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Sportonomics about?
Jake Kranz and Tyler Webb, co-founders of sports marketing agency Uncle Charlie, break down the biggest stories and trends in sports business and marketing every week. Knock-knock jokes not included...
How often does Sportonomics release new episodes?
Sportonomics has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Sportonomics?
You can listen to Sportonomics on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Sportonomics?
Sportonomics is created and hosted by Uncle Charlie.
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