Ball is life... and so is quality

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When I say the phrase “triple-headed monster”, what comes to mind?

Russell Westbrook? Yeah, same. But no… the NFL is the correct answer.

One of my favorites things to do is listen to stories about how successful brands and businesses are built.

Whether that is a consumer brand, media company, or sport.

In the case of the NFL, it’s a very beautiful mix of all three of those concepts.

I listened to a 3.5-hour podcast from “Acquired” on the history of the league and how the sport of football became a media powerhouse that American consumers just cannot get enough of.

FOOTBALL IS KING!

Yes, I know I wrote about Football last week and you’re probably like stfu with the ball talk. But sorry, not sorry. Ball is life.

ICYMI - The football podcast I produce with New England Patriots legends David Andrews and Brian Hoyer is partnering with NBC Sports Boston for Season 2. We will air the show on TV on NBC Sports Boston Wednesday at 6pm ET.

As I was saying ball is life, and there was ONE major lesson and that I learned from listening to the story of how the empire of the NFL was built.

And this one episode covered A TON in a 3.5-hour show covering 70 years of pro football, but only one thing stood out…

INVEST IN QUALITY!

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One Big (Quality) Thing

So let’s talk about this beautiful story of how the NFL was built.

It starts in the early 1960s, when the NFL was nowhere near “KING” like it is referred to now by “experts” in the media industry today.

Oddly enough, baseball ruled back then. America’s pastime.

Plus, College football was way bigger than NFL football.

There just wasn’t much to the league’s product yet with small TV deals, meh talent, and no real “this is must-watch” feeling. I mean Tom Brady wasn’t born yet, so it makes sense.

But there was a different GOAT back then.

Meet Pete.

Pete Rozelle.

Pete took over as commissioner, and his whole mindset was: If the product isn’t great, nothing else matters.

For him, “product” meant two things:

1. The games had to be good. Competitive, dramatic, can’t-turn-the-TV-off type stuff.

2. The way it was presented had to be elite. TV angles, announcers, halftime highlights, and cheerleaders (maybe his smartest move ever) so it felt like a SHOW, not just a sport.

Rozelle made moves that were bold at the time, like revenue sharing for national TV deals so every team had a shot to compete.

He worked with the networks to make broadcasts feel big. Multiple camera angles. Better commentary. The story of how Monday Night Football and ESPN were the big innovators here is very interesting. They are responsible for transforming the sports TV broadcast.

If you were watching on your couch, it felt like the most important thing happening that day. The league moved away from focusing on tickets and was building a media empire.

Rozelle wasn’t thinking about making the “quick buck.”

He was thinking long game. Build trust with fans. Make the experience so good they come back every week.

Look at Sunday Night Football. Look at the NFL Draft. Look at how the schedule is built for drama.

But that obsession with quality is still why the NFL is untouchable.

So let’s fast forward to 2025…

• Sunday Night Football is the most-watched TV show in America

• The NFL Draft is a primetime event not even just for TV anymore but taking over cities with 100,000+ in attendance

• The schedule release - like why the hell do I get so fired up about the schedule coming out in the middle of Summer?

And this lesson from the NFL isn’t just a sports thing. It’s for everything.

If you’re building a company, a brand, a podcast, or even a weekly newsletter (👋), you can’t just put something out and hope people show up. You have to make it great, consistently.

That’s the real lesson: Quality wins championships.

Short and sweet this week because I want you to go re-invest your time into boiling something QUALITY!

The time and energy you put into it will pay off.

P.S.

Speaking of quality, how about this outfit I wore to the Saratoga race tracks on Saturday for a Bachelor party?!?

Pats Hall of Fame Jacket ✅

White fedora ✅

Idiot ✅