| SBJ’s Top 10: |
| 1. Roger Goodell (NFL Commissioner) |
| 2. George Bodenheimer (ESPN/ABC Sports President) |
| 3. David Stern (NBA Commissioner) |
| 4. Bud Selig (MLB Commissioner) |
| 5. DeMaurice Smith (NFL Players Association Executive Director) |
| 6. Dick Ebersol (Chairman of NBC Universal Sports and Olympics) |
| 7. Chase Carey (Deputy Chair, President and Chief Operating Officer of News Corp.) |
| 8. Sean McManus (President of CBS News and Sports) |
| 9. Robert Kraft (Founder of The Kraft Group and owner of the New England Patriots) |
| 10. Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys owner) |
The Sports Business Journal has come out with their 2010 version of their annual “Top 50 most Influential people in sports business” and the region is very well represented.
We start at No. 37 with the only NBA and NHL owner to make the list — and new to the Top 50 — Ted Leonsis.
The publication had this to say about Leonsis: “When the NBA board of governors unanimously approved Ted Leonsis’ purchase of the Wizards in June; the longtime media executive became one of an exclusive group that owns two major professional sports teams and an arena in a top-10 market. Even though Leonsis’ TV rights are tied up in a long-term deal with Comcast SportsNet, he is looking for ways to dive further into the media business. Leonsis is at the starting point of turning around the Wizards’ franchise, using a blueprint similar to the one he used to turn around the Capitals.”
Right behind Leonis on the list at No. 38 is another local sports titan. Under Armor CEO and founder Kevin Plank. The magazine describes the Under Armor boss this way: “The 14-year-old apparel and footwear brand is close to cracking the billion-dollar sales figure, and it has grown on the back of Kevin Plank, a brand zealot who has built an apparel juggernaut. But to achieve its stated goal of challenging Nike, which has annual revenue in excess of $19 billion, Under Armour must make more headway in footwear and overseas.”
Rick Dudley of McLean-based Octagon — a marketing and athlete management giant who represents superstar athletes and major events — rated No. 49. According to the publication: “Under Rick Dudley’s steady leadership, Octagon remains a quiet leader with an international presence. It’s best known for its corporate consulting practice, which falls under Jeff Shifrin’s leadership, but it also has a strong seat at the table in athlete and personality management under Phil de Picciotto. While it may lack the relentless PR machine of others, Octagon is routinely cited by peers for its intelligence and execution — which is the best PR one can get.”
Also of note is that Washington based National Football Players Association head DeMaurice Smith came in at #5. SBJ was high on him stating: “He will be in the national spotlight next year as he leads the biggest sports union in the most popular sport in America through its biggest challenge in 20 years — the NFL collective-bargaining agreement. The NFL CBA expires March 3, and Smith has been the point person in publicly unifying the players and standing firm against any reduction of the salary cap without financial justification. How strongly he’ll hold that stance has the entire industry on edge.”
Examiner columnist Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this!
