Angel City FC grew out of its founder’s ambition to become the world’s most valuable women’s sports team. Getty Images
According to Stephen Douglas of SI, several athletes are listed among the 50 most influential people in sports. Notable individuals include owners, sports commissioners, and several executives. Some of the people who made the list include:
Fanatics Founder and CEO Michael Rubin
What started as a simple concept to dominate the licensed sports goods and apparel sector has quickly grown into a $31 billion business. With a strong position in sports gambling and iGaming, Fanatics is poised to continue its aggressive growth in the coming years.
Dodgers Chairman Mark Walter
Walter, who took over the franchise in 2012, “scored another prize” last December when he signed professional hockey player/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani to a record-breaking 10-year, $700 million contract. Walter already has “experience in women’s sports,” having founded the PWHL last year. While “previous attempts had failed,” the league’s inaugural season “was a huge success, setting a women’s hockey attendance record.”
Ownership of NWSL club Angel City FC
Los Angeles-based Angel City FC’s co-founders — actress Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Karla Nortman, tech entrepreneur Julie Urman, and Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian — have run a soccer club that “changed the way we think about how a women’s sports franchise should be run.” Revenues “account for about a third of the NWSL’s total revenue,” and the franchise “leads the league in attendance, season ticket memberships, sponsorships, and total revenue.” This summer, Willow Bay and her husband, Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger, bought a controlling stake for $250 million, making it “the most valuable women’s sports team in the world.”
Florentino Pérez, president of La Liga club Real Madrid
The club president “attracted” French footballer Kylian Mbappé this summer, and in addition to spending more than $1 billion to renovate the Santiago Bernabeu, the construction magnate “also knows how to build a dynasty.”
Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti
The former MLB executive took over running the Big Ten last year, and as commissioner, Petity “will play a key role in shaping the future of a rapidly changing landscape.” Petity and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey “will have the clout to lead discussions on revenue sharing, player employment, postseason expansion and conference realignment as leaders of the newly created ‘Power Two.'”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell
Goodell “hopes to have full-fledged international franchises” and “continues to expand” the NFL’s international schedule.
Lions Managing Owner Sheila Ford Hamp
During his four years at the helm, Hamp “helped transform the Lions from an object of ridicule to a Super Bowl contender.”
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer
The former Microsoft CEO “keeps spending.” In August, Ballmer, who is reportedly worth $120 billion, opened the Intuit Dome, a privately funded $2 billion arena in Inglewood, California.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert
Engelbert’s tenure has been marked by “a pandemic response, a landmark collective bargaining agreement, a major capital restructuring and, in recent months, rapid growth,” the player experience has “transformed” as the league “harnessed a new kind of cultural power,” and the next few years “may be the most important yet.”
Saudi Arabia’s PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan
Al Rumayyan “has played a key role in PIF’s other sports deals”, including stakes in Premier League clubs, a Formula One team and an MMA promotion, “with cricket potentially on the horizon”.
Jeffrey Kessler and Stephen Berman, attorneys for House v. NCAA
The two antitrust lawyers filed House v. NCAA, which forced a $2.8 billion damages settlement (plus a 10-year agreement for future payments) and “allowed the NCAA to share revenue directly with its athletes.” Berman and Kessler “simply served to corner the NCAA” and “force it to share wealth with its athletes.”
TV contract negotiators Rick Cordella and Jay Marin
The Chargers-Chiefs matchup last September was “the first Thursday Night Football game to be streamed live on Amazon.” The effort was led by Marine, the company’s head of global sports. After becoming president of NBC Sports in 2023, Cordella “helped NBC take a key position in the new NBA media rights package.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver
Silver “has proven himself to be a visionary and stable commander that the association may not have fully recognized before his promotion in 2014” (SI, Sept. 18).