Athletes and Execs Join Forces at Variety’s Inaugural Sports and Entertainment Studio, Featuring Russell Wilson, Jimmie Johnson and Jay Williams
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- Variety held its inaugural Sports & Entertainment Studio on July 16 in New York City, with reporters Joe Otterson, Marlow Stern, and Brian Steinberg leading conversations with athletes and top marketing executives.
- Russell Wilson retired from the NFL in June and moved to CBS Sports as a broadcaster for the network's Sunday pregame show, telling Variety he's "the second Black quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl" and comparing a quarterback's responsibilities to those of a CEO.
- Jimmie Johnson, a seven-time NASCAR Cup Champion, joined TNT Sports as a studio analyst at age 50 while still racing select events, noting NASCAR "is a little behind" on digital storytelling and admitting the sport saw a significant popularity decline between 2010 and 2020.
- Jay Williams is pursuing an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas, competing against former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Thrive Capital CEO Joshua Kushner, while citing Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Grant Hill as proof that Black owners can succeed "on the merit of character" and capital.
- State Farm EVP Kristyn Cook credited the brand's sports marketing success to partnerships with Patrick Mahomes (NFL) and Chris Paul (NBA), saying "people really tune into the athletes."
- PepsiCo head of sports and entertainment Carolyn Braff warned that it's "becoming harder and harder to reach big groups of consumers at the same time," pushing brands toward tentpole events like the Super Bowl and World Cup for mass attention.
- Teads CMO Dani Cushion argued that most sports fans now watch games at home or on a second screen, making year-round brand storytelling more valuable than one-off ad buys during major tournaments.
Why it matters: With tentpole sports moments like the Super Bowl and World Cup growing more expensive to advertise around, both brands (State Farm, PepsiCo, Teads) and networks (CBS Sports, TNT Sports) are now chasing year-round fan engagement strategies instead of one-off event buys — a shift all six speakers at Variety's July 16 studio echoed.
