Under the Number

🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️ https://underthenumber.substack.com/🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edPKhKmK7GQ&t=450s🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts: Brian is a Partner at Ryan Sports Ventures and the Founder of Stretch 4 Advisory. Through Stretch 4 Advisory, Brian provides strategic business services to sports technology and data companies including Riddell Sports, Wilson Sporting Goods, Peak Performance Project (P3), and FastModel Sports.Brian was previously Partner and Group CEO of Phoenix Sports Partners, a sports investment and operating company. Before his role at Phoenix, Brian served as President of North America for Catapult Sports, a global provider of sports analytics and performance products. Prior to Catapult, Brian served as Senior Vice President of Sports Solutions for STATS LLC. At STATS, Brian was responsible for the revolutionary SportVU player tracking technology as well as building innovative analytics solutions for NBA, NFL and NCAA teams. Prior to his career in sports business, Brian worked in investment banking and private equity before transitioning into corporate strategy and M&A roles.Brian received his BA in Economics from Wabash College, where he played basketball. He also received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Brian resides in the Chicago area with his wife Rita and their five children.https://www.ryansportsventures.com/#Underthenumber #sports #venturecapital #vc #investing #startups #entrepreneurship #Tech #leadership #sportsbusiness #familyoffice

🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️ https://underthenumber.substack.com/ 🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A4O6sMc68gSeth Wickersham is a senior writer at ESPN whose primary focus is long form enterprise and investigative work on the National Football League. His stories have appeared across ESPN platforms.In more than two decades at ESPN, he has profiled the likes of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Bill Belichick, John Elway, Sean McVay, Andrew Luck, Odell Beckham, Jr., Bill Walsh, Jim Harbaugh, Alex Honnold, Gregg Popovich and Y.A. Tittle, among others, and he has written deep dives into strained relationships within the Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. Along with senior writer Don Van Natta, Wickersham has written critically acclaimed investigations on the NFL’s handling of the Spygate and Deflategate cheating controversies, the Rams and Raiders franchise relocations, the behind-closed-doors meetings on the inequality protests, the efforts by Jerry Jones to block Roger Goodell’s contract extension, the complicated tenure of NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, the efforts of Donald Trump to interfere with Senator Arlen Specter’s Spygate inquiry, and of Dan Snyder’s attempts to avoid being removed as owner of the Washington Commanders. A 2022 story about Snyder by Wickersham, Van Natta, and Tisha Thompson is widely credited with triggering the push for him to sell the franchise.In 2018, Wickersham was a finalist for the National Magazine Award for Reporting, and has been part of a staff that has three times won the NMA for General Excellence. His stories have been anthologized in the Best American Magazine Writing, the Best American Sports Writing, Next Wave: America’s New Generation of Great Literary Journalists, and in Words Matter: Writing to Make a Difference. He has won awards from the National Association of Black Journalists and the Pro Football Writers Association. In 2015, he won a Folio Award for Best Single Story – Sports, and received a second-place National Headliner Award in Magazine Feature Writing.In the fall of 2021, Wickersham’s book It’s Better to Be Feared: The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness was released. It was a New York Times bestseller and was named Nonfiction Book of the Year by Sports Illustrated and Sports Book of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.In the fall of 2025, Wickersham’s second book, American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback, was released. It was a New York Times bestseller.https://www.amazon.com/American-Kings-Quarterback-Seth-Wickersham/dp/1368099181A collection of his ESPN work, Be on That Hill, will be published in the fall of 2026 by Hyperion Avenue.He is credited as playing himself in the 2014 movie Draft Day, though he regrets to inform that the scene was cut before it was shot.Wickersham was born in Denver and raised in Boulder and in Anchorage, Alaska. He attended the Missouri School of Journalism, where he and ESPN writer Wright Thompson covered Super Bowl XXXIV for the Columbia Missourian. He was hired at ESPN The Magazine shortly after graduation in 2000. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and two children.Bio via ESPN#Underthenumber #sports #leadership #quarterback #football #leadership #sportsbusiness #espn #business

🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️ https://underthenumber.substack.com/ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PaHg_pPAQEkKyle Israel is a Managing Partner at Momentous Sports, a next-generation sports ownership and investment platform reimagining how teams and stadiums drive enterprise value and community impact. A former quarterback for the University of Central Florida (UCF), Kyle brings hands-on expertise from his athletic career—where he was a starter and team leader for the Knights—and from his past entrepreneurial, investment, and operational roles.Kyle draws on both Florida roots and international experience, combining an operator’s perspective with a commitment to shaping the future of sports as an asset class.https://momentous-sports.com/#Underthenumber #sports #realestate #venturecapital #vc #investing #startups #entrepreneurship #Tech #leadership #sportsbusiness #fundraising

🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️ https://underthenumber.substack.com/ 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/%24%24%24-from-drake-and-obj-to-reinvent-lost-found-skyler/id1730764733?i=1000735664034Skyler Logsdon is CEO & Co-Founder of Boomerang, a technology company on a mission to reinvent the way stadiums, arenas, airports, and hotels handle lost & found (item recovery). Prior to Boomerang, he was on the Founding team of Tatari and Co-Founder & CEO of MyKlips.https://thanksboomerang.com/

🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️ https://underthenumber.substack.com/ Ty Montgomery helps lead relationship development and investment support at Next Legacy. As part of both the network and investment teams, he focuses on building meaningful connections across the ecosystem, engaging athletes, LPs, GPs, and founders, while contributing to deal sourcing, diligence, and strategic community initiatives. Ty also plays an active role in advancing the firm’s signature programs and supporting athlete engagement across the platform.Before joining Next Legacy, Ty spent nine years in the NFL, beginning his career with the Green Bay Packers where he became widely known for his versatility on the field. During his playing career, he developed a deep passion for finance, sparked by the Parable of the Talents in the Book of Matthew. What began as angel investing soon evolved into a full-time calling.Ty graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Political Science. He grew up alongside more than 17 foster siblings and now serves on the board of Connections Homes, continuing his mission to support youth aging out of foster care through redemptive relationship, service, and mentorship.Outside of work, Ty is grounded by his faith and energized by adventure, sports, and helping others grow. He's always down for a trip, a conversation about Jesus, a round of golf, or discovering a new favorite restaurant.Bio via Next Legacy

Sean Clifford is currently a quarterback for the Green Bay Packers and a Penn State football legend, holding school records for passing yards, touchdowns, and wins. Clifford led Penn State to a 2023 Rose Bowl victory, in which he was named Offensive MVP.  Off the field, Sean co-founded Limitless NIL, a pioneering name, image, and likeness agency, which he successfully exited. He now invests alongside his brother Liam at Clifford Capital, leveraging his firsthand experience as an athlete and entrepreneur to spot and support innovative opportunities in sports, tech, and athlete-led businesses.

🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️ https://underthenumber.substack.com/ Wayne Kimmel is a sports tech venture capitalist, entrepreneur, podcast host, and author. He is the Managing Partner of SeventySix Capital, the venture capital company he founded in 1999 that invests in sports, media and entertainment companies.The Sports Business Journal named Kimmel a Sports Tech Power Player, Insider named him a Top Sports Venture Capitalist and was awarded the Most Admired CEO award from the Philadelphia Business Journal.Kimmel was an investor in VSiN, the sports betting media network (sold to DraftKings), Vigtory, an innovative sports betting tech platform (sold to FuboTV), C360, the pylon cam company (sold to Cosm), SeamlessWeb (sold to Aramark and now public as GrubHub), Take Care Health Systems (sold to Walgreens and became their healthcare clinics), and NutriSystem. He has also sold companies to Intel, IBM, and Yahoo.Kimmel also hosts the SeventySix Capital Sports Leadership Show, a podcast featuring the industry’s top entrepreneurs, athletes, and thought leaders.Kimmel is a graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park and the Delaware Law School. He is passionate about innovating the asset class of sports and working to make the world a better place.[Bio via SeventySix Capital]

🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️ https://underthenumber.substack.com/ Ben Gardner joined the Will Ventures team following a 5+ year stint at Andreessen Horowitz, where he built out the a16z consumer team’s go-to-market platform. During that time he worked as a strategic advisor for portfolio companies like Instacart, Lime, Sleeper, Substack, Levels Health, and Dapper Labs, among many others. He also built and managed a16z’s network of corporate executives and influencers across sports, media & entertainment, consumer brands, gaming, and talent agencies. Prior to his time at Andreessen Horowitz, Ben graduated from Stanford and was a captain of the Rose Bowl-winning football team. In 2014, he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys and played 3 years in the NFL with the Cowboys and Chargers.Bio via Will Ventures

🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️ underthenumber.substack.comLindsay Barnett is the Founder and CEO of Playground Productions, the company that owns the Backyard Sports Franchise. Lindsay founded Playground after she spent close to a decade teaching second grade in a Chicago Public School in addition to manufacturing educational products. She gained national attention, as a semi-finalist on Live with Kelly and Ryan’s Top Teacher Search. Now, she has curated a slate of IP in the children's space and collaborates directly with authors and writers to ensure that Playground’s content will make families proud and kids love learning.Barnett received her Bachelor of Science in Communications: Radio, Television, and Film as well as an Interactive Arts and Entertainment Module from Northwestern University. She then earned her Master of Science in Education in Elementary Teaching at Northwestern.Bio via Playground ProductionsFollow Under the Number on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UndertheNumberPod Follow Under the Number on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/underthenumberpod/Follow Under the Number on TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@underthenumberpod

🏟️ Get off the sidelines ➡️ underthenumber.substack.comChristopher “Chip” Paucek is a visionary leader and seasoned entrepreneur who has dedicated his career to revolutionizing education and empowering individuals to pursue life-changing opportunities. As the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Pro Athlete Community (PAC), Paucek spearheads connecting the biggest talent in sports with unparalleled educational resources, experiences, and vital personal connections, ultimately enabling them to passionately pursue and shape their futures.Prior to becoming co-CEO of PAC, Paucek served as Co-Founder and CEO of 2U, Inc. During his 16-year tenure, Paucek architected the education technology company into one of the world’s largest online education providers, led a successful IPO in 2013, and grew the company to nearly $1 billion in annual revenue. His contributions earned him multiple accolades including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Goldman Sachs’s Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs Award, and recognition as one of America’s best chief executives by Institutional Investor magazine.Paucek’s entrepreneurial journey began in 1993 when he co-founded Cerebellum Corporation, known for its award-winning PBS television show, Standard Deviants. He also served as CEO of Hooked on Phonics and managed the successful re-election campaign of U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski in 2004.With a BA from George Washington University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, Paucek is an active speaker on entrepreneurship and the global education and technology landscape. While Chip lives in Annapolis, MD with his wife (Gabbi), they stay closely connected to their two sons (Noah and Henry) at Syracuse University through a shared love of all things dogs, Florida, and the Miami Dolphins.Bio via Pro Athlete Community (PAC)

Cooper Manning is a Senior Managing Director at AJ Capital and is entering his 11th year as the host of “The Manning Hour” on FOX NFL Kickoff. He is the oldest son of former professional football quarterback Archie Manning, the older brother of Super Bowl champion quarterbacks Peyton Manning Eli Manning, and the father of current University of Texas quarterback Arch Manning.Manning was an all-state standout wide receiver at Isidore Newman High School in New Orleans. He accepted a scholarship to the University of Mississippi before his promising football career was cut short upon his diagnosis with spinal stenosis prior to his freshman season in 1992.Bio via FOX Sports

Marcus Elliott is the Founder & Director of the Peak Performance Project (P3). Dr. Elliott is a Harvard trained physician specializing in performance enhancement and the development of elite athletes. As Founder and Director of P3, he is dedicated to applying cutting edge science for optimal athletic achievement. He has trained some of the world’s best athletes including those at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, the Australian Institute of Sport, and the Sports Science Institute of South Africa. Since 1998, Dr. Elliott’s primary focus has been on peak performance and injury prevention in U.S. professional power-based sports, including baseball, basketball, football, and soccer. Recently, Dr. Elliott was appointed the 12th Annual Augustus Thorndike Lecturer at Harvard Medical School for his pioneering work in sports science. As the 2019 Thorndike professor, he joins a handful of other luminaries in sports medicine, including Dr. James R. Andrews (2012), Dr. Neal S. ElAttrache (2014), Dr. David W. Altcheck (2016).Starting in 1999 and continuing through their Super Bowl drive, Dr. Elliott was the physiologist and injury prevention specialist to the NFL’s New England Patriots. He was widely credited with reducing muscle injuries in the Patriots and has completed NFL sponsored research leading to recommendations on optimal conditioning and injury prevention strategies. He is also a sports science consultant for a number of professional organizations, and was Major League Baseball’s first-ever Director of Sports Science and Performance with the Seattle Mariners.Dr. Elliott is an internationally renowned leader in the field of sports science, a highly acclaimed speaker and serves on several boards in the sports and performance nutrition fields. He resides in Santa Barbara with his wife Nadine and three children.Learn more about P3 at www.p3.md Follow Under the Number on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/underthenumberpod/

Yogi Roth is a Big Ten Network college football analyst and the founder of Y-Option. He has been driven by the power of sports and story for over 20 years, as an on-air college football analyst, Elite 11 coach, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, and New York Times and Amazon best-selling author. A former Pitt wide receiver and USC coach, he is also a motivational speaker, tv and event host, and world traveler. To talk football, family, and storytelling, connect with him @YogiRoth.Subscribe to Y-Option on Substack at www.y-option.comFollow Under the Number on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/underthenumberpod/

This conversation was recorded in March 2025.Andrew Phillips is a former college football player (Stanford, 2006-2010) and the VP of Partnerships at Fanstake. Founded in 2024, Fanstake is the preeminent NIL team-building platform built by fans for fans to pledge money to recruit and retain athletes at their favorite colleges. Fanstake was founded by Greg Glass, Alex Boisvert, and Donnie Flood. The three were part of the founding and executive team of Bizo, an AdTech company that was acquired by LinkedIn in 2014 for $175M. They have since held senior leadership positions at multiple Unicorn companies (Alex Boisvert - former CTO of Headspace), (Donnie Flood - former CTO of Guild). Fanstake is based out of San Francisco. For more information, go to www.fanstake.com.Follow Under the Number on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/underthenumberpod/

Former NFL quarterback Christian Ponder opens up about his path from Florida State to being selected 12th overall by the Vikings, and his 6-year career in the league. In a candid conversation about life after sports, he shares why the hardest part of retiring wasn't leaving the game - it was losing the locker room culture and team environment. That insight led him to create The Post, a community helping elite athletes thrive in their next chapter. Ponder discusses the unique challenges athletes face post-career, why traditional networking falls short, and how bringing competitors together is creating something powerful beyond the game.www.thepost.coFollow Under the Number on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/underthenumberpod/

Austin Ekeler is a standout NFL running back known for his remarkable rise from undrafted free agent to star performer with the Los Angeles Chargers and now the Washington Commanders. Before his NFL breakthrough, he excelled at Western Colorado, where he posted elite production at the division II program. In this episode, Austin shares his journey from small-town beginnings to becoming one of the league’s most versatile and productive backs, earning a reputation for both his on-field achievements and off-field leadership.We dive into his latest venture, Eksperience, platform designed to help communities manage their content in order to maximize their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities and build their personal brands. Austin discusses how Eksperience empowers athletes to connect with fans, monetize their influence, and create lasting impact beyond the game. We explore how he’s leveraging his NFL experience and entrepreneurial mindset to support the next generation of athletes.We explore how he’s leveraging his NFL experience and entrepreneurial mindset to support the next generation of athletes. Tune in to hear how Austin Ekeler is redefining what it means to succeed as a professional athlete—both on the field and in the business world.www.eksperience.iohttps://www.instagram.com/underthenumberpod/

Marques Colston is a former NFL star best known for his legendary career with the New Orleans Saints, where he became the franchise’s all-time leading receiver and a Super Bowl champion. Before his NFL success, he excelled at Hofstra University as a standout wide receiver. In this episode, Marques discusses his journey from the gridiron to the business world, including his latest venture, Champion Venture Partners, a sports-centric holding company. We explore how he’s leveraging his experience to invest in and support innovative businesses. Tune in to hear how Marques continues to redefine success beyond the game.www.championventurepartners.comhttps://www.instagram.com/underthenumberpod/

Kenyan Drake is a former NFL running back who spent eight years in the league, spending notable time with the Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals, Las Vegas Raiders, and Baltimore Ravens. Drake was a standout at the University of Alabama from 2012-2016, where he was a part of two national championship teams. Drake finished his NFL career with 3,866 rushing yards, 1,655 receiving yards, and 41 total touchdowns. Tune in to hear Drake's insights on his journey from Alabama to the NFL, memorable plays like the "Kick Six" and the "Miami Miracle", and what's next after retiring from football in 2024.

Max Browne is a former 5-star quarterback from Skyline High School in Sammamish, Washington and was America's #1 high school football recruit in the class of 2013. Browne committed to the University of Southern California and played for the Trojans from 2013-2016. After being benched three games into the 2016 season, Browne transferred to the University of Pittsburgh. At Pitt, one week after a stellar performance that earned him ACC Offensive Back of the Week honors, Browne suffered a career-ending labrum tear in his shoulder. Today, Browne lives in Los Angeles where he now works in real estate while creating content and pursuing the goal of becoming a broadcaster.

Lewis Burik is the Co-Founder and COO of DubClub (www.dubclub.win) and a former Stanford linebacker. DubClub is an online ecosystem where sports cappers and their community Win More Together.