Sportonomics

Uncle Charlie
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Sports
  • Updated Weekly

Two sports marketers (Jake Kranz and Tyler Webb) interview the most unique people in sports, business, marketing, and technology to learn about the ideas shaping the future of the sports industry.

  1. 4d ago

    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 Safety" to unpack the slow climb from 43 TikTok followers to a booming business, the brand deals he's turned down, and where exactly the line sits between sports betting content and selling out your audience. It's a rare, honest look at what it actually costs to build an audience...and what it costs to keep it. ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 — Intro 01:00 — The Glazing Segment 03:06 — Why boredom built his imagination 06:04 — VHS Confessions: Childhood home videos and a theory about creative kids 13:43 — The quiet start of an account with no face attached 16:24 — The Fantasy Football Weatherman Era 18:34 — 20,000 Followers: When it stopped feeling like a hobby 19:53 — The Song vs. The Business: Why the viral hit isn't what pays the bills 21:53 — The $50 Deal That Started It All 23:39 — What happens when passion turns into paychecks 26:05 — The Influencer Cliff: Falling off the edge of relatability 30:15 — Legacy Media's Blind Spot: Why ESPN can't say no to a sportsbook 34:51 — Closed Loop vs. Open Market 38:07 — Why nobody bets to actually win 45:10 — The DC Internship He Didn't Take 48:58 — The Pep Talk: Why there's no better time to go all in 54:38 — Outro

  2. Sep 2

    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 players and fantasy football, and Austin's bigger bet: turning fantasy sports into a legitimate profession with its own "pro card." It's part locker-room confession, part startup pitch, and a rare look at what an NFL career looks like the moment the cameras stop rolling. ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 — Intro: Meet Austin Ekeler 00:29 — Life After the Cameras Leave: What actually happens post-injury 01:34 — Time to Move On 02:47 — The Adrian Peterson Effect: Why "back in nine months" became the norm 04:51 — The Bell Curve of a Career 05:35 — Social Currency: Why Austin's staying in the game even off the field 07:01 — Learning Claude Code 08:04 — The Shovel Analogy 09:41 — From Website to App: Fixing the login complaints that started it all 11:26 — Where Fantasy Meets the Law: The $250 rule for active NFL players 13:31 — Drafting Himself... and Losing: The celebrity league story 17:29 — The Missing Pro Card: Why fantasy sports has no industry-wide "legit" status 19:13 — What a Pro Card Actually Buys You: Benefits, credibility, and bragging rights 21:41 — Inside the $100K Leagues: Gamblers, owners, and friend groups with deep pockets 23:20 — Why casual players might lead the whole industry 25:07 — How to join Fantasy Royale before the season starts 26:29 — The Austin origin story Tyler never told

  3. Aug 26

    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 podcast gig to a Photoshop tutorial learned in real time for a $100 graphic, before laying out the exact advice they wish someone had given them at 19. It's part confession, part career manual, and fully unfiltered about why "I'm passionate about sports" is the worst pitch you can make. ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 — Intro 01:30 — Pre-Med Dropout, Round One: Jake's chemistry class ends a medical career 03:57 — The LLC That Did Nothing: Starting a business with zero business to run 06:06 — $30 an Episode: The first time getting paid felt like winning the lottery 06:59 — Meet the Gopher: How a sports lawyer's errand-runner became a career launchpad 09:15 — Enter Tyler: A COVID-season baseball league, a cold call, and a new partner 12:20 — Patch Adams Did This: Why two guys both wanted to be doctors for the wrong reasons 16:38 — The $100 Graphic: Googling "How to Photoshop" mid-freelance-job 21:02 — Skip the Job Hunt: Why the real advice is "go work at a pizza place" 23:36 — The Worst Pitch in Sports: Why "I'm passionate about sports" gets you nowhere 26:09 — Get Paid Without a Boss: The new path that skips the job application entirely 29:31 — The College Loophole: Why four years of low stakes is your biggest advantage 34:26 — The Story of the Story: How people talk about you when you're not in the room 41:02 — Six Paragraphs Is Too Many: What actually makes a cold DM worth answering 43:16 — Outro

  4. Aug 19

    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 backstory to the six-figure value he says social reach can deliver instead of cash, this is a first-hand look at a deal that could change how creators and college programs do business. ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 — Intro 00:49 — Reunion Tour: Cullen's back, and he's got receipts 01:28 — A Photo, A DM, A Deal 03:33 — Why Cullen's paying zero dollars for a jersey patch 06:23 — Who's Really Winning Here? 09:05 — Butts in Seats: The real scoreboard Cullen's tracking for success 11:31 — Alumni reactions and a Miami Dolphins fan analogy 13:32 — Why the story might outshine the season itself 15:41 — Creative Freedom, No Committee: Cullen's non-negotiable 18:33 — Cullen's advice to creators 21:08 — Hiring His First Employee 26:31 — ESPN Vets Need Not... Actually, Apply 28:12 — Put a Price On It 30:23 — Outro

  5. Aug 12

    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 material science and AI, and secured game-changing investments directly from professional athletic trainers. Discover how taking a player-first approach turned one of the most hated pieces of athletic gear into a high-tech equipment powerhouse. ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – Intro: Meet Matt Hall & TrueFit Customs 00:51 – From Pre-Med Tutor to "Tutor Pimp" 02:18 – Why 3D Printing Changes the Custom-Fit Game 04:44 – The Wild Early Days of Stone Models & Manual Labor 07:11 – Resins, Lasers, and Light: Modern 3D Tech Explained 08:20 – Spotting a $1B Untapped Sports Vertical 11:44 – The 1990 Japanese Dental Paper That Built TrueFit 14:56 – Surviving Shark Tank & Facing Mark Cuban 20:54 – Negotiating Valuations with Kevin O'Leary & Rashad Jennings 24:22 – Hacking the Pro Sports Distribution System 27:44 – Why Nike and Big Tech Missed the Mouthguard Loophole 32:07 – Securing Investments directly from Pro Athletic Trainers 38:05 – Scaling Custom Fit: AI, Material Science, & Scanners 41:00 – Protection vs. Fit: How Ultra-Thin Guards Work 44:09 – Outro: Key Takeaways on TrueFit's Category Dominance

  6. Aug 5

    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, surviving 14-hour days inside the box, and whether they fear getting typecast in their careers moving forward. Afterward, Tyler and Jake break down the true marketing ROI of the viral campaign and address any pushback regarding monetizing creator content. Timestamps 00:00 – Intro 00:53 – Pitching to Become Chief World Cup Watchers 03:32 – Long Leashes, Tattoos, and Total Creative Freedom 06:09 – Pure Joy vs. Expert Ball Knowledge 08:09 – Man-on-the-Street Marketing & Trial by Fire 11:08 – Seizing a Once-in-a-Lifetime Creator Opportunity 14:03 – Times Square as the Ultimate World Cup Cultural Hub 19:58 – Addressing the Fear of Getting "Typecast" 21:37 – Post-Interview Breakdown: The Hidden Costs of Viral Activations 28:20 – Did Fox’s $50,000 Bet Return Real Value? 34:11 – Shoulder Content vs. Main Broadcasts 41:41 – Outro: Pushing Back on "Intentionally Amateur" Content Creation

  7. Jul 29

    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, daily YouTube vlogging stumbles, and financial reality of sending his brother to 33 World Cup matches in 39 days. From scaling up content operations on the fly to walking away with a razor-thin profit margin of just $500, Jack offers an insanely transparent look at what it takes to build a modern sports media brand from the ground up. ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – Intro 00:36 – Clearing Up the Guest Record 01:19 – Why People Love Financial Transparency 02:20 – How the 33-Game World Cup Plan Was Born 03:30 – Selling a Mass-Scale Content Tour in Just 40 Days 08:38 – The SparkNotes Version: 33 Games, 39 Days, and $500 Profit 10:27 – Breaking Down the Return on Investment for a Media Brand 12:23 – Why Daily YouTube Vlogging Underperformed 23:36 – The $35,000 Ticket Problem and Missing Travel Sponsors 34:41 – Hotel Sharing, HR Violations, and Keeping Content "Hungry" 39:18 – Runway, Reinvesting Capital, and the Future of Underdog Deals 45:07 – Surviving "No Man's Land" as a Mid-Sized Creator Company 50:20 – The Annual Update: Seeking a College Football Jersey Patch Sponsor 55:35 – Outro

  8. Jul 22

    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 three months, how he negotiated an acquisition without ever naming a price, and what it actually took to convince 100,000 subscribers to follow him from one company to the next. Along the way: the "secret weapon" RSS feed that powers his daily grind, why AI can aggregate news but can't replicate taste, and an honest look at why newsletter advertising is still years behind podcasts. If you've ever wondered what it takes to build (and keep) an audience that opens your work every single day, this one's a masterclass. ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 — Intro 00:45 — The roundabout path into sports media 01:47 — Bleacher Report, ESPN, and finding his voice 03:31 — Trading TV glamour for newsletters 03:45 — The Skimm and the lightbulb moment 06:24 — Advice for starting a newsletter from scratch 08:59 — Newsletters vs. social media: the data problem 10:55 — Selling Sports Internet to Axios 13:56 — The power of a daily habit 16:22 — Kendall's process and his RSS "secret weapon" 19:45 — Standing out from AI aggregation 22:28 — Why newsletters are booming again 25:56 — What Yahoo actually is today 29:23 — Giving away ideas for free on Twitter 39:45 — Sharing competitors' work and building trust 42:11 — Why newsletter advertising is still so immature 46:50 — The newsletters Kendall actually reads 48:54 — Outro

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Two sports marketers (Jake Kranz and Tyler Webb) interview the most unique people in sports, business, marketing, and technology to learn about the ideas shaping the future of the sports industry.

Information

  • Creator
    Uncle Charlie
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    97
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Uncle Charlie
  • Show Website
    Sportonomics