July 17, 2025 • 41 mins
In this episode of The Deal, Alex Rodriguez tells Jason Kelly about his experience at the MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta. Then, they speak with Sam Kennedy about his “bold decision making” as President and CEO of the Boston Red Sox. Kennedy tells the hosts how he handles tough decisions like trading Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants, why buying Liverpool FC is proof that “there's really no bad ideas,” and why he decided to invest in the PGA Tour.
You can also watch this interview on the Bloomberg Podcasts YouTube page.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome back to the Deal.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
I'm your host, Jason Kelly Longs on my partner Alex Rodriguez.
All right, Alex, a lot of baseball talk today. Coming
up on the show. We're gonna have Sam Kennedy, the
CEO of Fenway Sports Group, talking about the Red Sox.
You're in Atlanta, my hometown, where you've just completed covering
the All Star Game. I'm actually, in a strange way
(00:33):
in your og baseball town, Seattle, where you started your career.
It's wild to think back to those days. I'm sorry
to have missed you in Atlanta, but I had to
be out here for Bloomberg Green and we'll talk about
that in a second. But how was it like? What
was the vibe there at the Battery? I wish the
Braves were better, but it sounds like they at least
put on a good.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Party, a great party, And you're right, I think that's
the point. I wish the Braves had one of their
magical seasons they usually have to be able to celebrate
the first half. What I found here is what Atlanta,
Georgia is an incredible place. I really love it. The
people are wonderful, huge sports fans. That complex another John
(01:12):
Malone production, because Atlanta Braids are a public company under
John Malone's umbrella, just.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Like f One. They've done an incredible job.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
I mean, I had the Great Room in the seventh
floor overlooking right center field. It was the best hotel
room I've ever stayed in. And then there's great restaurants,
great vibe. And then we did the pregame show for
Fox pre and post out in the pavilion where you
have what's called the Battery, and it felt like it
was Alabama LSU. The people were going crazy, but most
importantly the people, the league, everyone was very hospitable here.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Yeah, it is amazing what they've done. And I think
we've talked about this on the show before. You know,
I've been a Braves fand forever I grew up there.
My parents are both from Atlanta, and you know, you
know them, and you know, there was a lot of
consternation when the Braves left downtown. They were going out
to Cobb County. No one really knew how it was
going to go. What I love about this for you
(02:07):
is like two of the things you love the most,
baseball in real estate like colliding in the most perfect way.
So I have to imagine, knowing how you think that,
Like you've got baseball on one side of your brain,
but then the rest of the time you're like.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Oh wow, okay.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
They put that retail there, and they did the residential
in displace, and the hospitality here and the hotel and
all that.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
So it must have been a feast for the senses
for you, Jason.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
I have two pages of notes, maybe three, but I
mean full notes on all the things that I found
that they'd write and unique that I hadn't seen before.
The one other shot I want to give out, Jason
is I thought MOLB did a fantastic job in honoring
one of my heroes, the great Hank Aaron, and they
did a great ceremony. The legacy of the Atlanta Braves
(02:55):
is awesome, and it's cemented by someone like Hank Aaron,
who I worried so much for people like myselves and others.
And not only was he a great player, but he
was just a great example for everyone who loves baseball.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
I have to say I love the recreation of you know,
the record setting home run. I thought that was just
incredible and listen. I think as any sort of sports fan,
there are certain moments, you know, if you had to
name sort of the five most important moments that you could,
like rewatch, and rewatch, and rewatch. Hank Aaron hitting that
(03:30):
home run is one of them. It's like miracle on ice,
you know. It's these things that you know are absolutely
indelible in the culture and to your point, sort of
remind us how how much sports can really influence the
broader conversation, the broader world. Yeah, I am very jealous
that you were there. I was here in Seattle actually
(03:52):
interviewing another owner in the sports world, Samantha Holloway, obviously
the owner of the Kraken, daughter of the late David Bonderman,
who you know, I knew through my private equity days
what she has done in Seattle with the Kraken and
Climate Pledge arena. I don't know if you've ever been
to Climate Pledge. It is incredible. This town has changed
a lot since you started your career here low those
(04:14):
many years ago.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
But it's a great sports.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Sound and they're hungry, and they're hungry. They love all
the sports. I remember they used to love the Sonics.
I remember sometimes sitting with Paul Allen, one of the
co founders of Microsoft with Bill Gates. He was said,
right behind the court, right there, right behind the hoop,
and they sold out I think like fifteen years in
a row. So they missed their basketball. They love their football.
They're incredible baseball fans. And what people forget, Jason is
(04:38):
you don't own that market. You own, like the whole
Northwest is yours, including yes, Vancouver and parts of Canada.
We had tons of fans that will come from Canada
all the time, especially in the summertime. But you're right,
is a vibrant city. They love their sports, and because
they're so far in the Northwest, I think there's a
little chip on their shoulder, maybe a big chip, yep.
That makes him some of the best fans in the world.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Yeah, No, they are serious fans for sure. And Sam
was quick to point out that, you know, basketball is
still very much here in the form of Seattle Storm,
the WNBA franchise. You know, they play their games, all
their home games there at Climate Pledge Arena, which is
a really cool venue. And superd has been a guest
on this show. We know the power of the w here.
(05:21):
In fact, Interestingly enough, someone told me while I was
here that Seattle was the first. And this just happened
recently with the PWHL, the Professional Women's Hockey League, announcing
they were gonna have a team here. It's the first
city to have all three major women's professional sports franchises,
so hockey, basketball, and soccer, and a lot going on here.
(05:44):
As you know, like again, you are a young person here.
It's a young person's town. It's a tech driven town.
There's a lot of innovation. You know, people loved to
get outdoors, especially this time of year. I'm such a
rube sometimes it's like I sort of forgot where it
was in latitude. It's light until like ten to thirty
(06:05):
at night this end of the year.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
It's crazy.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
It must have been wild to play baseball here during
those times.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
It was so wild.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
You know what else was wild?
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Jason Is. I always think like I started my first
year as an eighteen year old I was in nineteen
ninety four, and if I just took every dollar I
ever made in Seattle and invested in Seattle based companies,
you know, Born just Boying, Starbucks, Microsoft, Amazon, my goodness,
I mean, they're on fire and they have been over
the last twenty years.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Yeah, it's been really cool. You know, I've been spending
time with colleagues out here. We obviously have a Bloomberg
Bureau here in Seattle with some unbelievable reporters and editors
and just the storytelling that they're able to do for
all the reasons you're talking about. You know, these big
companies that are here, but the sports are really off
the chain. So excited to get to know them a
(06:56):
little bit more. In fact, next week, the NHL is
having their annual business meetings here in part because of
what Sam Holloway and the Kraken have done.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
All right, So back to baseball.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Coming up on the show, Sam Kennedy, you know a
guy you've known for a while. I've gotten to know
him a little bit. I love the Yankees Red Sox
talk that we had with him. You know, your admiration
for Fenway Sports Group as an ownership conglomerate in a
lot of I mean, the sports conglomerate in so many
ways really comes through. So excited for everyone to hear that.
(07:29):
Coming up on the show, Sam Kennedy, welcome back to
the Deal. I'm Jason Kelly alongside Alex Rodriguez, and today
our very special guest, Sam Kennedy, the President and CEO
(07:51):
of the Boston Red Sox.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yep, the President and CEO of the Boston.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Red Sox on a podcast co hosted with one of
the greatest Yankees of all time. So I'm going to
start right there, Sam, How in the world are you
guys such good friends?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Alex? Do you want to start?
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Sure, I'll give it a try. Well, I did my part.
I wore pinstripes, Jason. I thought Sam would be wearing red,
but I mean, he's beat us enough over the years,
so he didn't want to rub it in. Sam is
just one of the most respected people in sports, and
every conversation is a top coe. Not only in sports,
but what they're building Fenway is truly phenomenal, and he's
become a north Star and a role model for a
lot of organizations, including ours with Mark Laurie and I
(08:28):
we we're trying to do with the Timbals and the Lynx.
But my rule was always like, I'm a little bit
of an old schooler and I never wanted to be
close with anybody in the Red Sox unless there were
grandfathered in like Big Poppy and Pedro and Manny. These
guys were Dominicans. I'm like, all right, that's different. But
I kept hearing about Sam Sam Sam, What a great guy,
What a great guy. And you don't want to like
(08:49):
any Red Sox, But I couldn't help it. Once I
met Sam, I quickly quickly liked him. And then when
I started doing something I baseball, he was so kind
it was invite me into his box, and I would
say hell to John Henry and Tom Warner, and you know,
the rest is history. Now we have a great common
friend and Ed Hurley, he who works at Walktel, who's
a great attorney and a great mentor of both of ours.
(09:09):
And yeah, that's our little Sam Abrot story.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Well, it is true. We've got a great relationship and
it goes back a long way for me. I actually
started my career as an intern for the New York
Yankees in the early nineties nineties. I had a lot
of friendships in the front office there. Brian Cashman and
I started just about the same time. And so obviously
on the field we've been battling for decades, but off
(09:33):
the field, there's a great respect and relationship and what
I've always enjoyed talking business with Alex and so impressed,
most impressed. I don't even know if he knows this,
but when he started to explain how the multi family
apartment business worked to me about fifteen twenty years ago.
The first time we met, I was like, Wow, this
guy is doing so much off the field. And then
(09:54):
after his playing days we got to know each other
through business. And I've always enjoyed the sports business and
in sports investing space, which is changing so rapidly and
it's just such an exciting time for our business, as
you guys know.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Yeah, so let's talk about that.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
I mean, you know, take us back to O two
because that's when you joined the Red Sox. You come
from the Padres, obviously a storied franchise, but yet things
aren't going great at that point for the Red Sox.
There's a long drought that you guys are facing at
that point. What did you see as the business opportunity
in taking that job.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Well, the most important thing was winning baseball games. And
you know we came in in two thousand and two,
our first press conference. I'll never forget John Henry, Tom Werner,
Larry Luchino, the late great Larry Luchino, you know, he
liked to mix it up with everybody in the media
and at other clubs. But we we announced that we
(10:50):
were going to win the World Series, and in fact
we were going to win multiple World Series and starting
to change the mindset early days about what we could
accomplish on the field was really important. Honoring traditions in Boston,
trying to preserve, protect, restore Fenway Park was really important.
And the third thing was being very active in the community.
(11:11):
And those are just words. As you know, stewards of
franchises and clubs come in and they say a lot
of things, but hopefully we've honored those words with our actions.
But the first order of business, Jason, was to win
baseball games, to get a World Cheries championship. At that
time it had been eighty four years. We finally got
over the hump in two thousand and four and that
(11:33):
really did propel us. It gave John and Tom and
myself in terms of the business of sports, the confidence
to say, wow, if we can do this, get the
right people in the right place, with theo Epstein as
our GM and Tito franconas our manager, perhaps these skills
could be replicable in other environments. And so it was
(11:53):
John who came to me in two thousand and five
and said, listen, we've done a great job. What else
can we do? And that actually led us to NASCAR.
So that was our first investment into rausch Fenway Racing
in about two thousand and six time period, and then
we've just sort of built from there with that entrepreneurial spirit.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
Yeah, I was just going to talk about your talent
because you know two thousand and two the firepower you
guys had. I mean, if you think about John, Henry,
Tom Warner, Larry Lukino, yourself, theo Epstein, and then you
go on the field and you have Shilling and Pedro
and Manny and Big Poppy.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
What was a secret sauce that worked so well?
Speaker 4 (12:29):
Because you go almost one hundred years without winning and
then you last twenty years you've won four titles.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
It's a mindset. I think there's a very very healthy
mindset around being paranoid that were not good enough, and
being paranoid that we're not pushing hard enough to make
sure that the right people are in the right positions.
We've made every mistake in the book, that every sports
team front office and ownership group has made with the
(12:57):
Red Sox, with Rausch Fenway, with Liverpool. We're now in
the PGA Tour where the Pittsburgh Penguins. We've made lots
of mistakes because you know this just in the sports
business and sporting success on the field, on pitch, on
the ice is really really hard. It's such competitive landscape.
But we have a real healthy paranoia that you know
(13:17):
someone's going to take this away from us. We're not
uncovering every rock to find the best and brightest people,
the most talented general managers, team presidents, people in every
position across the organization. It's such a cliche, but at
Fenway Sports Group it starts and ends with the people.
There is a really fun collaborative environment where John Henry
(13:42):
and Tom Werner and Mike Gordon set the tone of
like there's really no bad ideas, Like you want to
throw out an idea to buy Liverpool Football Club when
it's headed to bankruptcy in twenty ten. That idea came
from someone in our corporate sponsorship group. They read about
it in the Sports Business journal. They loved Liverpool Football Club.
They send us a note saying save our club and
(14:05):
that's how the conversation started. So there's this culture that
no matter where you sit within the organization, you can
bring a transformational idea to Fenway Sports Group. So being
a part of that is really really special and something
that I cherish being a part of this, this Fenway family.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
All Right, I want to get to Liverpool in a second,
but before we get to that, I just want to
do one more beat on the Red Sox because this
has been a very interesting season to say the least.
You know, you've been out and about talking quite a
bit about one very specific deal that you guys did
with the Giants. You know, talk to us about making
big decisions in the current environment and having the history
(14:47):
of you know, making bold decisions and then essentially having
to answer for them.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Well, I'll never forget when theo Epstein was named general manager.
Were the two of us grew up here in Boston together. Ironically,
we worked the padres together, we came back here when
his dad gave him advice back in two thousand and two.
When he took over as general manager, it was just
two words, be bold, and those two words have I
(15:13):
think stuck with us, Stuck with John, with Tom, with
everybody in the in the organization, and so bold decision
making doesn't mean you're reckless, but bold decision making means
sometimes you need to do things that are not going
to be perceived as popular. I can tell you a
lots of things that we've done from a business perspective
(15:36):
that have not been popular, lots of things from a
baseball perspective. The decision to trade Raphael Devers in the
month of June, on the day that we swept the
New York Yank he used to get back into this thing.
You know, it was timing that we could not control,
but a decision rooted in what we felt was best
(15:57):
for the organization in the near term and in the
long term because we couldn't find alignment. Just to be direct,
we've had an amazing relationship with Raffi. He grew up
in this organization. Probably a lot of mistakes that we
made along the way, but ultimately we made the decision
to move on, and that was really, really hard. I
(16:17):
could tell you my twenty two year old son was
not happy with me, My eighty four year old father
was not happy with me. With John, with Brez, with Todd,
with everybody in the decision making apparatus. But you've got
to be willing to make these hard decisions. They are
unpopular at times, and we recognize that, but it was
a decision that we felt was in our best interest.
(16:40):
I'm really proud of the group because we've had to
come together and you take that bat out of the
middle of the lineup. Nobody knows is better than Alex.
It's hard to see how that one individual move is
going to make you better in the moment. But this
was a deal that was bigger than that. Now we've
got a few players back in return. It does give
us some play ability here as we go into the deadline.
(17:02):
But that was a really hard one, a really hard one,
and it's an obligation of those of us in leadership
that you got to make really hard calls. And I
tell you they're painful. When you walk into Dunkin Donuts
in the morning and people know your name and they're
not happy with you. You hear about it. Alex knows
that one a lot better than I do. Sam.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
I want to take theo Epstein's dad the two words
be bold and talk a little bit about Fenway, because
I think what you guys have done it Fenway going
back to two. It's been extraordinary, and I know Larry
Lukeino and a lot of your team members over there
had a lot to do with it. But from a
playing perspective, from watching you can make an argument that
(17:41):
this is the greatest American sports venue to watch a
ballgame in. Where it sits in the neighborhood, those are
the best seats in the house. How do you keep
the integrity of such a great monument but yet make
it more modern and even a more fun place to be.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Well, having grown up here, we knew what Way meant.
I mean, really, you have two institutions, right, you have
the institution of the Boston Red Sox and you have
the institution of Fenway Park. And when we came in
in two thousand and two, we needed to study the
structure to make sure that it could, with proper investment,
(18:17):
withstand another thirty forty fifty years. We got comfortable with
that in about late two thousand and four, and then
we started to invest year in and year out. To date,
we've put nearly four hundred million dollars all private money
into Fenway Park to preserve it, protect it, enhance it,
but you said it Alice. Where it sits in the city,
(18:39):
it's walkable, it's accessible via public transportation, it's even accessible
relatively easily by car. So when you have a jewel
in American sports, you don't tear it down. You try
and preserve it and protect it. It is a place
night in and night out, whether we're I mean baseball
games or consert or English football matches or big time
(19:02):
Bowl games, where people want to come and they want
to gather. We've now over the last decade, started to
expand its footprint. We built a fifty five hundred person
music venue off of the back. We are now permitted
for two point two million feet of retail residential hotel
right here in the neighborhood. We move forward with the
(19:24):
music venue, but we've been slowed down by post COVID
construction prices and interest rates. Hopefully the tide will turn there,
but we really are starting to map out what the
future neighborhood looks like. And we're blessed to have Fenway
Park as our home. It's really really special, and as
we think about our investments in sports, that's sort of
(19:45):
really critical part and parcel to everything you do is
looking at where the team plays or where they may
play as you think about moving forward with a sports
franchise acquisition, really really important.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Let's talk about Fenway as a sports g and the
decision to expand it, and you know you mentioned John
Henry saying all right, what do we do next?
Speaker 2 (20:06):
How do we do more?
Speaker 3 (20:07):
Let's talk about Liverpool because that is not an obvious
deal to do. You know, we live at a time
now where you know, Brian Reynolds and Rob McIlhenny are
buying Wrexham and it's this huge success. But there were
a lot of people who looked at English football and
European football back in the day, back when you were
looking at it and said hard pass like there's no
(20:29):
way where we're going to do this. You were intimately
involved in that. What do you recall from sort of
those key decisions to get that deal done well.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Our purpose at Famway Sports Group is to elevate brands
and clubs and institutions that really matter. Liverpool Football Club
matters to its global supporter base as much as any club,
and so we thought our experience in Boston with really
a public trust, you know, not a sports franchise or
(21:01):
even a club. It's a public trust. And what do
I mean by that? We have an obligation to doing
everything in our power to win games at Fenway Park
and to win matches at Anfield. After we got that
famous save my Club email, we started to study Liverpool,
we started to study the English Premier League, and things
(21:22):
just started to click and really made sense. And I'll
never forget one of the first meetings we had with
the investment bankers for the deal, and they were describing
what needed to be done at Anfield, because Anfield needed
a lot of investment and improvement, and they actually raised
the idea of a new stadium, and I pulled the
(21:44):
guy aside and I said, listen, don't ever bring that
up ever again. We've just spent a decade preserving and
protecting the Mona Lisa of baseball parks in Fenway. If
we're going to go into Liverpool, the hallowed grounds of Anfield,
we're gonna want to preserve and protect it. So we
made that very clear. And then it was literally like
(22:06):
a light bulb went off with John Henry as he
started to get into it, and I remember him saying, well,
if we're going to do this like We're going to
have to be prepared to beat Manchester United like those
are the Yankees, like those are the Yankee We have
to get over the hump and beat the best of
the best. And so for John, it's always been about winning.
(22:27):
Little known fact, you know, Alex knows this. He's he
started his career. He was an LP with the Yankees.
He was an LP with George Steinbrenner in the New
York Yankees in the early nineteen nineties. And so while
they have very different personalities from what I remember about
mister Steinbrenner, the fierce competitor and the desire to win
(22:51):
is always there. And thankfully with unbelievable leadership from Mike Gordon,
who's the owner, who's here, who spends the most time
on it, Billygan, our CEO, Michael Edwards and the group
over there. On the football side, we've been really, really
good on the pitch. We won the league title this
year and it's just been a privilege to be associated
with Liverpool. But that's what we saw. We saw this
(23:12):
club that needed investment and it needed really professional management
to come in and help it achieve what it had
achieved decades prior. In sort of restoring the club back
to greatness.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Sam, I really admire John Henry and Tom Warner, and
I think they're both brilliant, but they're both very different. You,
as the CEO, kind of describe the cadence. How often
do you talk to them, How are they different, what
are their collective superpowers? And how do they kind of
check each other? Because it is a bit of a
gold standard the way the three of you kind of
work together.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Well, I have a fancy title as CEO of Fenway
Sports Group and CEO of the Boston Red Sox, but
really the CEO of the enterprise, you know, is this
collective superpower? As you say, John Henry, Tom Werner, I
would add Mike Gordon to that list. The three of
them manage the partnership. And you know, twenty twenty one,
(24:20):
Jerry Card now from Redbird came in and has been
an awesome partner as an institutional investor, bringing a different lens.
All four of those guys who I work for are
very different personalities. But I would say, if I had
to boil it down, you know, going back to John
and Tom, like who started this thing back in O two,
(24:41):
they have this incredible humility about them. It's always about
the team, the club, the employees, the players. They really
just have their priorities in order, and in terms of
their personal lives, their families, they just really really are
model citizens in their lives and so hopefully, as CEO
(25:06):
of the organization, we build teams of people that share
those common values. At the end of the day. John
Henry is our principal owner, largest shareholder. He is one
of the most fascinating people you'll ever meet. He's very introverted, quiet,
but when you sit down and you talk to him,
he's a business and sporting savant. He's been in so
(25:29):
many different businesses and had success at the highest level
wherever he's been. And you know, I kind of laugh
when he takes a lot of grief in the media
either Liverpool or in Boston or Pittsburgh when the teams
aren't performing well, because when you work with him every day.
To your question about cadence, we talk every single day,
three hundred and sixty five days, yeah, twenty four to seven,
(25:53):
And most of that, honestly is rooted in the passion
for what we're doing. And I'll tell you we focus
a lot on what's going wrong. You know, we don't
focus on celebrating this success. Maybe we've heard a little
bit more. So we're constantly pushing towards where can we
be better and what's next.
Speaker 4 (26:13):
So, Sam, I like to echo a little bit of
what you said and just share a quick story about
my experience with John Henry and why ended up liking
him and respecting him so much, to the point that
ninety nine percent of the people out there would never
know this part of John Henry that I got to know.
And of course, you know, but when Commissioner Busey that
gave us permission to talk to you guys, it was
(26:33):
John Henry who took the lead in recruiting me. I
went to boke Up and I spent three hours with him,
And the next week he drove down to South Florida
and spent three hours with Cynthiy and I and Cynthia
was over the moon. She said, I want to be
a Red Sox because of John Henry. But what stood
out was this humility. His passion for baseball was second
to none. That was quite surprising. How much he knew
(26:54):
about the history of the game. And really I knew
that the Red Sox had big things coming because the
way he articulated his vision and his passion to winning
and to bringing championships to the fans of the Red
Sox was infectious and from that day on, I've always
been a huge John Henry fan Well.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
It's an amazing recollection and just spot on. He's always
putting what's best for the organization first, which does lead you,
you know, Jason, back to your question, like at the
end of the day, he signs off on all the
big decisions, like as principal owner, the buck stops with him.
Our job in management is to make certain decisions that
(27:34):
we have the authority to make, but the really big
ones acquiring a football club or trading Ralphiel Devers obviously
we need ownership approval, and so he is involved in
every aspect of the business. It's really funny, dry with
you know, sarcastic. We do like to laugh at ourselves
and a word I can't say on the air, but
(27:55):
we always say we're going to write a book called
you can't make this stuff. As you know, the stuff
that happens every single day in sports is just it's crazy.
Just an anecdote the other day, right before we had
an off day in Washington. I was with my family
right before the fourth of July holiday. All right, it's
gonna be a chill day. I get a text from
our head of pr at the Red Sox did you
(28:18):
know this? And it's social media of our players strolling
through the Oval Office in the White House with President
John Like, first of all, it's awesome that they got
that experience. They're there, but there was a family day
with the club. They had the choice of going to
the White House with their families or going to the
zoo or a couple of guys play golf, whatever, but
they ended up. So you know, in sports, it's like
(28:40):
just when you think you're gonna have a quiet couple
of hours, the media is going crazy. You know, the
Red Sox are in the White House. What's going on?
So it's just day in and day out, you don't
know what's gonna happen, which is part of the beauty
of it.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Well, and to that point, Sam, I mean, that's only
magnified when you have different clubs across different sports, across
different geographies. And it's interesting to think about, you know,
this conversation the context of other members of what we
will affectionately call the deal cinematic universe. You know, we've
had Josh Harris on the show and David Blitzer, both
(29:11):
of whom you know well. We've had Ted Leonsis obviously
who you know well as well. There are different models
for this multi club ownership, and I do wonder from
your perspective the opportunities are clear in terms of rising
valuations and a lot that you can learn. But how
do you cope with sort of the challenges of a
(29:32):
different market of being able to sort of give the
time and attention to the clubs when they need it most,
knowing that you can never get it totally right, because
if you're seen as paying too much attention to the
Red Sox and not Liverpool or the Penguins or Nessen,
you know somebody's going to be mad.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
So how do you balance all that?
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Well, Number one, you do it with the best people
in the sports industry. And that's the best part of
our our industry is we are able to attract the
brightest minds, the best people who want to be in
this industry. But I'll tell you, and Alex will agree
with this, nothing nothing replaces winning. I mean winning on
(30:14):
the pitch. Winning on the ice, winning on the field.
We never get complaints in Boston about Liverpool Football Club
or the Pittsburgh Penguins or the PGA Tour if we're
winning ninety five games and we're you know, winning the
American League East and playing in the postseason and you know,
and so that really has to be our focus, is
investing the resources into the right player personnel and winning
(30:39):
games and everything everything fuels or runs off of that.
But it is it is hard. It's a lot of
time on an airplane, and we do sort of divide
up our time and attention and energy. I mean from
the management group, within the ownership, those three guys, John,
Tom and Mike. No one has spent more time on
Liverpool Football Club than Mike Gordon. I mean, this guy
(31:02):
has just lived the last fifteen years of being the
Fenway Sports Group owner sort of in charge of the
day to day over there, bringing in Urigan Club, putting
in Billy Hogan as our CEO. And Tom spends a
ton of his time on English Premier League matters, but
also on Nessen because of his media background. And John
(31:25):
and I have probably taken the lead, I would say
on our golf investment the last year and a half,
so we find time. We have incredibly supportive families are
that are all in and look, I'll tell you John
and Linda Henry is an investor and very involved in
all aspects of Fenway Sports Group. John and Linda have
(31:46):
this amazing relationship. It is like a family. I mean,
last night was my birthday a Fenway. I have my
parents and my kids and friends and you never think twice.
It's like it is a family environment. I hope we
never lose that. Sam.
Speaker 4 (31:59):
I know how much you value relationships and what a
great reputation you've built over the last many decades. You
also value mentorship. Can you mention maybe a few mentors
in what lessons have you learned to help shape your
career so far?
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Well, I've been really, really fortunate, Alex. I appreciate you
raising that obviously. You know, beyond family members really close,
very very blessed, incredible mom and dad, and the people
that I've worked for here at Fenway Sports Group. We've
already mentioned them, but one in particular who stands out
is a woman named Anne Fanukin who ran Bank of
(32:35):
America for a long time and came in in two
thousand and two and I met her, so she's been
twenty four years a mentor and I said, in give
me some advice, you know, for coming into Boston, but
leadership in general, and she gave me the absolute best advice.
It was Listen, there are two types of people in
the world. There are people they give you positive energy
(32:56):
and there are people that suck the life out of you.
Stick with the energy givers and the energy providers. And
that's probably the best leadership and management advice that I've
ever gotten, because people that suck the energy out of
you just they have to go and they can't be
a part of an organization. You really need to be
(33:16):
a positive force. So Ann has been incredible. A guy
named Mark Flaherty who is the vice chairman of Wellington
here in Boston, good friends of another mentor at Hurleyhee
has been terrific. I think of Todd and Tim LEIWICKI,
who just have done amazing things in sports. Commissioner Manfred
has been incredible to me. Theoepsy and you know we're
(33:40):
the same age, but he I consider him a mentor.
So had this just incredible group that I've been fortunate
enough to be around, probably like you, Alex, different version
of a clubhouse, but just being around these people have
done amazing things in business and so lucky to be
exposed to different people in the sports industry. It's just
(34:00):
been great.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
All Right, We're going to move on in a second
to our lightning round, but before we do, I did
want to ask you. You mentioned it in passing a
little bit about golf. It is a fascinating time for
the game of golf.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
You know.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
I had a chance a year or so ago to
sit on a Bloomberg stage and interview Mark ott Anascio
and Tom Werner about SSG, this Strategic Sports group that
you're obviously a part of. Talk to us a little
bit about how that came together and what you see
happening next at this critical moment for golf.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Well, it's been a rather remarkable deal and investment and
partnership with hundreds of players. It's a very unique structure,
one that we're really proud of. And it started in
the summer of twenty twenty three. We had an amazing
relationship with Ed Hurlehy, who was the chair of the
(34:52):
board of the PGA Tour. I mentioned Mark Flaherty, Mary Meeker, Randall, Stevenson,
there was a group of people on the PGA Tour
Policy Board, and of course j Monahan, who was a
personal friend from Boston, he actually worked here at Fenway,
became PGA Tour Commissioner, and we watched what had happened
(35:14):
around the framework agreement and it just didn't add up
to us. It didn't make any sense. And what we
realized was that this was being reported as a merger
or a takeover of the PGA Tour by the Public
Investment Fund, but in fact that's not what it was.
It was a very smart deal that the tour had
done and the Public Investment Fund had done to drop
(35:37):
the lawsuits against each other and endeavor to work towards
a partnership. And so we thought at the time, maybe
we were crazy, but we thought that if we got
involved with a consortium of US based sports investors led
by John Henry and the Fenway Sports Group, we could
make progress and help out the PGA Tour. And what
(36:01):
do I mean by that, Well, if we've come in
shoulder to shoulder, provide capital, stand up a business, create
equity for the players, which we did, and offer advice
suggestions counsel on sponsorship, broadcasts, event management. We might be
able to help the management team and help the players
(36:21):
as we go forward. So we stood up a business
called PGA Tour Enterprises. It was close to a thirteen
billion dollar valuation at the time. We invested one point
five billion dollars from Fenway Sports Group, from Steve and
Andy Cohen, the owners of the New York Mets, Arthur Blank,
owner of the Atlanta Falcons, Wick grossback Mark, Lazri, List
(36:43):
goes on and on. Really blue chip sports team owners
that have a passion for golf, that want to be
long term partners with the players. We thought that that
might be a great path forward. We were very fortunate
to be selected. They had a lot of people who
are bidding and interested in helping them, and like with
our other investments, whether it's Red Sox, Liverpool, Pittsburgh, Rauch Fenway,
(37:06):
I'm sure we've made every mistake in the book as
we start here in the first couple of years, but
as we learn the business and get involved, hopefully we'll
be able to help improve the tour. We're incredibly excited.
We just hired Brian Rolapp as our new CEO. He
joins later in July, and you know, he's a proven
(37:26):
leader in the sports industry, great career at the National
Football League, and we think he's going to do great
things at the PGA Tour. So long, long way to go,
But that's the history in the background.
Speaker 3 (37:37):
Is the intention to get that framework over the finish
line and have some sort of commercial agreement and are
we closer to that than we were, you know in
the past couple of years.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
Yeah, you know, I would say it's still unknown. I
know that's not a very satisfying answer, but it's the truth.
We're really focusing on the PGA Tour and the strengths
of the PGA Tour in terms of the our mat
ins the markets, in terms of the product and the
players and what their needs are. We have built a
great relationship with the PIF and their conversations I think
(38:12):
will continue. It's just really unclear what the future will hold.
I think both parties have a very open mind and
now as I see it, you know, we're sort of
focusing on the PGA Tour what we have going on,
and the Live Tour are focused on their tour and
building this global platform, and so we'll see where the
(38:35):
conversations go. I think that the temperature has kind of
cooled down. It was rough there for a couple of years,
but I think things have calmed down and we're both
sort of moving forward focused on our own individual products,
and then we'll see where the future leads us.
Speaker 3 (39:02):
All right, so let's move to the lightning round. It's
five questions. It's just you know, whatever comes to your mind.
You're ready, ox Ready, I am here we go. Okay,
all right, Sam, what's the best piece of advice you've
received on deal making your business?
Speaker 1 (39:16):
Surround yourself with the absolute best people that are a
lot smarter than you.
Speaker 4 (39:22):
Okay, what's your dream deal making partner?
Speaker 1 (39:28):
Someone who is hardwired towards creating a win win, Not
someone who has to win every point in a negotiation,
but someone who really wants a win win, a fair
deal where both sides walk away from the table feeling
like they gave a lot, but they got a lot
as well.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
All Right, this is an interesting one for you.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
Which team do you want to see win a championship
more than any right now?
Speaker 1 (39:51):
The Boston Red Soxer. We're sitting there at midsummer at
Fenway Park, and we've had a rough couple of years.
Alex knows, we got to get back to where we belong.
Speaker 4 (40:00):
What's your hype song before a big meeting or negotiation?
Speaker 1 (40:05):
Well, thanks to THEO he turned me on to Pearl
Jam about thirty years ago, and so anything Pearl Jam
is good with me.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
All right?
Speaker 3 (40:13):
And finally, what's your advice for someone listening who wants
a career like yours?
Speaker 1 (40:19):
Work harder than anybody else, and live by the golden rule.
Just treat everyone how you would like to be treated yourself.
And no matter where you're from, whatever your background is,
the sports industry is a great, great place to be
and I could not recommend it more strongly as a
career path.
Speaker 3 (40:38):
All right, Sam Kennedy, you are the man. Thank you
so much, presidency of the Boston Red Sox and a
partner and CEO of Fenway Sports Group. Delighted to spend
some time with you.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
Great to be with you guys, Thanks so much, Jason,
Thanks Alex.
Speaker 2 (40:52):
Thank you, Buddy.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
The Deal is hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Meson Kelly.
This episode was made by Anamazarakus, Stacey Wong and Lizzie
Phillip Amy Keen is our editor and Will Connolly is
our video editor. Our theme music is made by Blake Maples.
Our executive producers are Kelly Leferrier, Ashley Hoenig, and Brenda Nonham.
Sage Bauman is the head of Bloomberg Podcast. Additional support
(41:20):
from Rachel Carnivale and Elena Los Angeles. Thanks so much
for listening to the deal. If you have a minute, subscribe,
rate and review our show. It'll help other listeners find us.
I'm Jason Kelly. See you next week.
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome back to the Deal.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
I'm your host, Jason Kelly Longs on my partner Alex Rodriguez.
All right, Alex, a lot of baseball talk today. Coming
up on the show. We're gonna have Sam Kennedy, the
CEO of Fenway Sports Group, talking about the Red Sox.
You're in Atlanta, my hometown, where you've just completed covering
the All Star Game. I'm actually, in a strange way
(00:33):
in your og baseball town, Seattle, where you started your career.
It's wild to think back to those days. I'm sorry
to have missed you in Atlanta, but I had to
be out here for Bloomberg Green and we'll talk about
that in a second. But how was it like? What
was the vibe there at the Battery? I wish the
Braves were better, but it sounds like they at least
put on a good.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Party, a great party, And you're right, I think that's
the point. I wish the Braves had one of their
magical seasons they usually have to be able to celebrate
the first half. What I found here is what Atlanta,
Georgia is an incredible place. I really love it. The
people are wonderful, huge sports fans. That complex another John
(01:12):
Malone production, because Atlanta Braids are a public company under
John Malone's umbrella, just.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Like f One. They've done an incredible job.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
I mean, I had the Great Room in the seventh
floor overlooking right center field. It was the best hotel
room I've ever stayed in. And then there's great restaurants,
great vibe. And then we did the pregame show for
Fox pre and post out in the pavilion where you
have what's called the Battery, and it felt like it
was Alabama LSU. The people were going crazy, but most
importantly the people, the league, everyone was very hospitable here.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Yeah, it is amazing what they've done. And I think
we've talked about this on the show before. You know,
I've been a Braves fand forever I grew up there.
My parents are both from Atlanta, and you know, you
know them, and you know, there was a lot of
consternation when the Braves left downtown. They were going out
to Cobb County. No one really knew how it was
going to go. What I love about this for you
(02:07):
is like two of the things you love the most,
baseball in real estate like colliding in the most perfect way.
So I have to imagine, knowing how you think that,
Like you've got baseball on one side of your brain,
but then the rest of the time you're like.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Oh wow, okay.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
They put that retail there, and they did the residential
in displace, and the hospitality here and the hotel and
all that.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
So it must have been a feast for the senses
for you, Jason.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
I have two pages of notes, maybe three, but I
mean full notes on all the things that I found
that they'd write and unique that I hadn't seen before.
The one other shot I want to give out, Jason
is I thought MOLB did a fantastic job in honoring
one of my heroes, the great Hank Aaron, and they
did a great ceremony. The legacy of the Atlanta Braves
(02:55):
is awesome, and it's cemented by someone like Hank Aaron,
who I worried so much for people like myselves and others.
And not only was he a great player, but he
was just a great example for everyone who loves baseball.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
I have to say I love the recreation of you know,
the record setting home run. I thought that was just
incredible and listen. I think as any sort of sports fan,
there are certain moments, you know, if you had to
name sort of the five most important moments that you could,
like rewatch, and rewatch, and rewatch. Hank Aaron hitting that
(03:30):
home run is one of them. It's like miracle on ice,
you know. It's these things that you know are absolutely
indelible in the culture and to your point, sort of
remind us how how much sports can really influence the
broader conversation, the broader world. Yeah, I am very jealous
that you were there. I was here in Seattle actually
(03:52):
interviewing another owner in the sports world, Samantha Holloway, obviously
the owner of the Kraken, daughter of the late David Bonderman,
who you know, I knew through my private equity days
what she has done in Seattle with the Kraken and
Climate Pledge arena. I don't know if you've ever been
to Climate Pledge. It is incredible. This town has changed
a lot since you started your career here low those
(04:14):
many years ago.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
But it's a great sports.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Sound and they're hungry, and they're hungry. They love all
the sports. I remember they used to love the Sonics.
I remember sometimes sitting with Paul Allen, one of the
co founders of Microsoft with Bill Gates. He was said,
right behind the court, right there, right behind the hoop,
and they sold out I think like fifteen years in
a row. So they missed their basketball. They love their football.
They're incredible baseball fans. And what people forget, Jason is
(04:38):
you don't own that market. You own, like the whole
Northwest is yours, including yes, Vancouver and parts of Canada.
We had tons of fans that will come from Canada
all the time, especially in the summertime. But you're right,
is a vibrant city. They love their sports, and because
they're so far in the Northwest, I think there's a
little chip on their shoulder, maybe a big chip, yep.
That makes him some of the best fans in the world.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Yeah, No, they are serious fans for sure. And Sam
was quick to point out that, you know, basketball is
still very much here in the form of Seattle Storm,
the WNBA franchise. You know, they play their games, all
their home games there at Climate Pledge Arena, which is
a really cool venue. And superd has been a guest
on this show. We know the power of the w here.
(05:21):
In fact, Interestingly enough, someone told me while I was
here that Seattle was the first. And this just happened
recently with the PWHL, the Professional Women's Hockey League, announcing
they were gonna have a team here. It's the first
city to have all three major women's professional sports franchises,
so hockey, basketball, and soccer, and a lot going on here.
(05:44):
As you know, like again, you are a young person here.
It's a young person's town. It's a tech driven town.
There's a lot of innovation. You know, people loved to
get outdoors, especially this time of year. I'm such a
rube sometimes it's like I sort of forgot where it
was in latitude. It's light until like ten to thirty
(06:05):
at night this end of the year.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
It's crazy.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
It must have been wild to play baseball here during
those times.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
It was so wild.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
You know what else was wild?
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Jason Is. I always think like I started my first
year as an eighteen year old I was in nineteen
ninety four, and if I just took every dollar I
ever made in Seattle and invested in Seattle based companies,
you know, Born just Boying, Starbucks, Microsoft, Amazon, my goodness,
I mean, they're on fire and they have been over
the last twenty years.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Yeah, it's been really cool. You know, I've been spending
time with colleagues out here. We obviously have a Bloomberg
Bureau here in Seattle with some unbelievable reporters and editors
and just the storytelling that they're able to do for
all the reasons you're talking about. You know, these big
companies that are here, but the sports are really off
the chain. So excited to get to know them a
(06:56):
little bit more. In fact, next week, the NHL is
having their annual business meetings here in part because of
what Sam Holloway and the Kraken have done.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
All right, So back to baseball.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Coming up on the show, Sam Kennedy, you know a
guy you've known for a while. I've gotten to know
him a little bit. I love the Yankees Red Sox
talk that we had with him. You know, your admiration
for Fenway Sports Group as an ownership conglomerate in a
lot of I mean, the sports conglomerate in so many
ways really comes through. So excited for everyone to hear that.
(07:29):
Coming up on the show, Sam Kennedy, welcome back to
the Deal. I'm Jason Kelly alongside Alex Rodriguez, and today
our very special guest, Sam Kennedy, the President and CEO
(07:51):
of the Boston Red Sox.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yep, the President and CEO of the Boston.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Red Sox on a podcast co hosted with one of
the greatest Yankees of all time. So I'm going to
start right there, Sam, How in the world are you
guys such good friends?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Alex? Do you want to start?
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Sure, I'll give it a try. Well, I did my part.
I wore pinstripes, Jason. I thought Sam would be wearing red,
but I mean, he's beat us enough over the years,
so he didn't want to rub it in. Sam is
just one of the most respected people in sports, and
every conversation is a top coe. Not only in sports,
but what they're building Fenway is truly phenomenal, and he's
become a north Star and a role model for a
lot of organizations, including ours with Mark Laurie and I
(08:28):
we we're trying to do with the Timbals and the Lynx.
But my rule was always like, I'm a little bit
of an old schooler and I never wanted to be
close with anybody in the Red Sox unless there were
grandfathered in like Big Poppy and Pedro and Manny. These
guys were Dominicans. I'm like, all right, that's different. But
I kept hearing about Sam Sam Sam, What a great guy,
What a great guy. And you don't want to like
(08:49):
any Red Sox, But I couldn't help it. Once I
met Sam, I quickly quickly liked him. And then when
I started doing something I baseball, he was so kind
it was invite me into his box, and I would
say hell to John Henry and Tom Warner, and you know,
the rest is history. Now we have a great common
friend and Ed Hurley, he who works at Walktel, who's
a great attorney and a great mentor of both of ours.
(09:09):
And yeah, that's our little Sam Abrot story.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Well, it is true. We've got a great relationship and
it goes back a long way for me. I actually
started my career as an intern for the New York
Yankees in the early nineties nineties. I had a lot
of friendships in the front office there. Brian Cashman and
I started just about the same time. And so obviously
on the field we've been battling for decades, but off
(09:33):
the field, there's a great respect and relationship and what
I've always enjoyed talking business with Alex and so impressed,
most impressed. I don't even know if he knows this,
but when he started to explain how the multi family
apartment business worked to me about fifteen twenty years ago.
The first time we met, I was like, Wow, this
guy is doing so much off the field. And then
(09:54):
after his playing days we got to know each other
through business. And I've always enjoyed the sports business and
in sports investing space, which is changing so rapidly and
it's just such an exciting time for our business, as
you guys know.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Yeah, so let's talk about that.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
I mean, you know, take us back to O two
because that's when you joined the Red Sox. You come
from the Padres, obviously a storied franchise, but yet things
aren't going great at that point for the Red Sox.
There's a long drought that you guys are facing at
that point. What did you see as the business opportunity
in taking that job.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Well, the most important thing was winning baseball games. And
you know we came in in two thousand and two,
our first press conference. I'll never forget John Henry, Tom Werner,
Larry Luchino, the late great Larry Luchino, you know, he
liked to mix it up with everybody in the media
and at other clubs. But we we announced that we
(10:50):
were going to win the World Series, and in fact
we were going to win multiple World Series and starting
to change the mindset early days about what we could
accomplish on the field was really important. Honoring traditions in Boston,
trying to preserve, protect, restore Fenway Park was really important.
And the third thing was being very active in the community.
(11:11):
And those are just words. As you know, stewards of
franchises and clubs come in and they say a lot
of things, but hopefully we've honored those words with our actions.
But the first order of business, Jason, was to win
baseball games, to get a World Cheries championship. At that
time it had been eighty four years. We finally got
over the hump in two thousand and four and that
(11:33):
really did propel us. It gave John and Tom and
myself in terms of the business of sports, the confidence
to say, wow, if we can do this, get the
right people in the right place, with theo Epstein as
our GM and Tito franconas our manager, perhaps these skills
could be replicable in other environments. And so it was
(11:53):
John who came to me in two thousand and five
and said, listen, we've done a great job. What else
can we do? And that actually led us to NASCAR.
So that was our first investment into rausch Fenway Racing
in about two thousand and six time period, and then
we've just sort of built from there with that entrepreneurial spirit.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
Yeah, I was just going to talk about your talent
because you know two thousand and two the firepower you
guys had. I mean, if you think about John, Henry,
Tom Warner, Larry Lukino, yourself, theo Epstein, and then you
go on the field and you have Shilling and Pedro
and Manny and Big Poppy.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
What was a secret sauce that worked so well?
Speaker 4 (12:29):
Because you go almost one hundred years without winning and
then you last twenty years you've won four titles.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
It's a mindset. I think there's a very very healthy
mindset around being paranoid that were not good enough, and
being paranoid that we're not pushing hard enough to make
sure that the right people are in the right positions.
We've made every mistake in the book, that every sports
team front office and ownership group has made with the
(12:57):
Red Sox, with Rausch Fenway, with Liverpool. We're now in
the PGA Tour where the Pittsburgh Penguins. We've made lots
of mistakes because you know this just in the sports
business and sporting success on the field, on pitch, on
the ice is really really hard. It's such competitive landscape.
But we have a real healthy paranoia that you know
(13:17):
someone's going to take this away from us. We're not
uncovering every rock to find the best and brightest people,
the most talented general managers, team presidents, people in every
position across the organization. It's such a cliche, but at
Fenway Sports Group it starts and ends with the people.
There is a really fun collaborative environment where John Henry
(13:42):
and Tom Werner and Mike Gordon set the tone of
like there's really no bad ideas, Like you want to
throw out an idea to buy Liverpool Football Club when
it's headed to bankruptcy in twenty ten. That idea came
from someone in our corporate sponsorship group. They read about
it in the Sports Business journal. They loved Liverpool Football Club.
They send us a note saying save our club and
(14:05):
that's how the conversation started. So there's this culture that
no matter where you sit within the organization, you can
bring a transformational idea to Fenway Sports Group. So being
a part of that is really really special and something
that I cherish being a part of this, this Fenway family.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
All Right, I want to get to Liverpool in a second,
but before we get to that, I just want to
do one more beat on the Red Sox because this
has been a very interesting season to say the least.
You know, you've been out and about talking quite a
bit about one very specific deal that you guys did
with the Giants. You know, talk to us about making
big decisions in the current environment and having the history
(14:47):
of you know, making bold decisions and then essentially having
to answer for them.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Well, I'll never forget when theo Epstein was named general manager.
Were the two of us grew up here in Boston together. Ironically,
we worked the padres together, we came back here when
his dad gave him advice back in two thousand and two.
When he took over as general manager, it was just
two words, be bold, and those two words have I
(15:13):
think stuck with us, Stuck with John, with Tom, with
everybody in the in the organization, and so bold decision
making doesn't mean you're reckless, but bold decision making means
sometimes you need to do things that are not going
to be perceived as popular. I can tell you a
lots of things that we've done from a business perspective
(15:36):
that have not been popular, lots of things from a
baseball perspective. The decision to trade Raphael Devers in the
month of June, on the day that we swept the
New York Yank he used to get back into this thing.
You know, it was timing that we could not control,
but a decision rooted in what we felt was best
(15:57):
for the organization in the near term and in the
long term because we couldn't find alignment. Just to be direct,
we've had an amazing relationship with Raffi. He grew up
in this organization. Probably a lot of mistakes that we
made along the way, but ultimately we made the decision
to move on, and that was really, really hard. I
(16:17):
could tell you my twenty two year old son was
not happy with me, My eighty four year old father
was not happy with me. With John, with Brez, with Todd,
with everybody in the decision making apparatus. But you've got
to be willing to make these hard decisions. They are
unpopular at times, and we recognize that, but it was
a decision that we felt was in our best interest.
(16:40):
I'm really proud of the group because we've had to
come together and you take that bat out of the
middle of the lineup. Nobody knows is better than Alex.
It's hard to see how that one individual move is
going to make you better in the moment. But this
was a deal that was bigger than that. Now we've
got a few players back in return. It does give
us some play ability here as we go into the deadline.
(17:02):
But that was a really hard one, a really hard one,
and it's an obligation of those of us in leadership
that you got to make really hard calls. And I
tell you they're painful. When you walk into Dunkin Donuts
in the morning and people know your name and they're
not happy with you. You hear about it. Alex knows
that one a lot better than I do. Sam.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
I want to take theo Epstein's dad the two words
be bold and talk a little bit about Fenway, because
I think what you guys have done it Fenway going
back to two. It's been extraordinary, and I know Larry
Lukeino and a lot of your team members over there
had a lot to do with it. But from a
playing perspective, from watching you can make an argument that
(17:41):
this is the greatest American sports venue to watch a
ballgame in. Where it sits in the neighborhood, those are
the best seats in the house. How do you keep
the integrity of such a great monument but yet make
it more modern and even a more fun place to be.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Well, having grown up here, we knew what Way meant.
I mean, really, you have two institutions, right, you have
the institution of the Boston Red Sox and you have
the institution of Fenway Park. And when we came in
in two thousand and two, we needed to study the
structure to make sure that it could, with proper investment,
(18:17):
withstand another thirty forty fifty years. We got comfortable with
that in about late two thousand and four, and then
we started to invest year in and year out. To date,
we've put nearly four hundred million dollars all private money
into Fenway Park to preserve it, protect it, enhance it,
but you said it Alice. Where it sits in the city,
(18:39):
it's walkable, it's accessible via public transportation, it's even accessible
relatively easily by car. So when you have a jewel
in American sports, you don't tear it down. You try
and preserve it and protect it. It is a place
night in and night out, whether we're I mean baseball
games or consert or English football matches or big time
(19:02):
Bowl games, where people want to come and they want
to gather. We've now over the last decade, started to
expand its footprint. We built a fifty five hundred person
music venue off of the back. We are now permitted
for two point two million feet of retail residential hotel
right here in the neighborhood. We move forward with the
(19:24):
music venue, but we've been slowed down by post COVID
construction prices and interest rates. Hopefully the tide will turn there,
but we really are starting to map out what the
future neighborhood looks like. And we're blessed to have Fenway
Park as our home. It's really really special, and as
we think about our investments in sports, that's sort of
(19:45):
really critical part and parcel to everything you do is
looking at where the team plays or where they may
play as you think about moving forward with a sports
franchise acquisition, really really important.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Let's talk about Fenway as a sports g and the
decision to expand it, and you know you mentioned John
Henry saying all right, what do we do next?
Speaker 2 (20:06):
How do we do more?
Speaker 3 (20:07):
Let's talk about Liverpool because that is not an obvious
deal to do. You know, we live at a time
now where you know, Brian Reynolds and Rob McIlhenny are
buying Wrexham and it's this huge success. But there were
a lot of people who looked at English football and
European football back in the day, back when you were
looking at it and said hard pass like there's no
(20:29):
way where we're going to do this. You were intimately
involved in that. What do you recall from sort of
those key decisions to get that deal done well.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Our purpose at Famway Sports Group is to elevate brands
and clubs and institutions that really matter. Liverpool Football Club
matters to its global supporter base as much as any club,
and so we thought our experience in Boston with really
a public trust, you know, not a sports franchise or
(21:01):
even a club. It's a public trust. And what do
I mean by that? We have an obligation to doing
everything in our power to win games at Fenway Park
and to win matches at Anfield. After we got that
famous save my Club email, we started to study Liverpool,
we started to study the English Premier League, and things
(21:22):
just started to click and really made sense. And I'll
never forget one of the first meetings we had with
the investment bankers for the deal, and they were describing
what needed to be done at Anfield, because Anfield needed
a lot of investment and improvement, and they actually raised
the idea of a new stadium, and I pulled the
(21:44):
guy aside and I said, listen, don't ever bring that
up ever again. We've just spent a decade preserving and
protecting the Mona Lisa of baseball parks in Fenway. If
we're going to go into Liverpool, the hallowed grounds of Anfield,
we're gonna want to preserve and protect it. So we
made that very clear. And then it was literally like
(22:06):
a light bulb went off with John Henry as he
started to get into it, and I remember him saying, well,
if we're going to do this like We're going to
have to be prepared to beat Manchester United like those
are the Yankees, like those are the Yankee We have
to get over the hump and beat the best of
the best. And so for John, it's always been about winning.
(22:27):
Little known fact, you know, Alex knows this. He's he
started his career. He was an LP with the Yankees.
He was an LP with George Steinbrenner in the New
York Yankees in the early nineteen nineties. And so while
they have very different personalities from what I remember about
mister Steinbrenner, the fierce competitor and the desire to win
(22:51):
is always there. And thankfully with unbelievable leadership from Mike Gordon,
who's the owner, who's here, who spends the most time
on it, Billygan, our CEO, Michael Edwards and the group
over there. On the football side, we've been really, really
good on the pitch. We won the league title this
year and it's just been a privilege to be associated
with Liverpool. But that's what we saw. We saw this
(23:12):
club that needed investment and it needed really professional management
to come in and help it achieve what it had
achieved decades prior. In sort of restoring the club back
to greatness.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Sam, I really admire John Henry and Tom Warner, and
I think they're both brilliant, but they're both very different. You,
as the CEO, kind of describe the cadence. How often
do you talk to them, How are they different, what
are their collective superpowers? And how do they kind of
check each other? Because it is a bit of a
gold standard the way the three of you kind of
work together.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Well, I have a fancy title as CEO of Fenway
Sports Group and CEO of the Boston Red Sox, but
really the CEO of the enterprise, you know, is this
collective superpower? As you say, John Henry, Tom Werner, I
would add Mike Gordon to that list. The three of
them manage the partnership. And you know, twenty twenty one,
(24:20):
Jerry Card now from Redbird came in and has been
an awesome partner as an institutional investor, bringing a different lens.
All four of those guys who I work for are
very different personalities. But I would say, if I had
to boil it down, you know, going back to John
and Tom, like who started this thing back in O two,
(24:41):
they have this incredible humility about them. It's always about
the team, the club, the employees, the players. They really
just have their priorities in order, and in terms of
their personal lives, their families, they just really really are
model citizens in their lives and so hopefully, as CEO
(25:06):
of the organization, we build teams of people that share
those common values. At the end of the day. John
Henry is our principal owner, largest shareholder. He is one
of the most fascinating people you'll ever meet. He's very introverted, quiet,
but when you sit down and you talk to him,
he's a business and sporting savant. He's been in so
(25:29):
many different businesses and had success at the highest level
wherever he's been. And you know, I kind of laugh
when he takes a lot of grief in the media
either Liverpool or in Boston or Pittsburgh when the teams
aren't performing well, because when you work with him every day.
To your question about cadence, we talk every single day,
three hundred and sixty five days, yeah, twenty four to seven,
(25:53):
And most of that, honestly is rooted in the passion
for what we're doing. And I'll tell you we focus
a lot on what's going wrong. You know, we don't
focus on celebrating this success. Maybe we've heard a little
bit more. So we're constantly pushing towards where can we
be better and what's next.
Speaker 4 (26:13):
So, Sam, I like to echo a little bit of
what you said and just share a quick story about
my experience with John Henry and why ended up liking
him and respecting him so much, to the point that
ninety nine percent of the people out there would never
know this part of John Henry that I got to know.
And of course, you know, but when Commissioner Busey that
gave us permission to talk to you guys, it was
(26:33):
John Henry who took the lead in recruiting me. I
went to boke Up and I spent three hours with him,
And the next week he drove down to South Florida
and spent three hours with Cynthiy and I and Cynthia
was over the moon. She said, I want to be
a Red Sox because of John Henry. But what stood
out was this humility. His passion for baseball was second
to none. That was quite surprising. How much he knew
(26:54):
about the history of the game. And really I knew
that the Red Sox had big things coming because the
way he articulated his vision and his passion to winning
and to bringing championships to the fans of the Red
Sox was infectious and from that day on, I've always
been a huge John Henry fan Well.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
It's an amazing recollection and just spot on. He's always
putting what's best for the organization first, which does lead you,
you know, Jason, back to your question, like at the
end of the day, he signs off on all the
big decisions, like as principal owner, the buck stops with him.
Our job in management is to make certain decisions that
(27:34):
we have the authority to make, but the really big
ones acquiring a football club or trading Ralphiel Devers obviously
we need ownership approval, and so he is involved in
every aspect of the business. It's really funny, dry with
you know, sarcastic. We do like to laugh at ourselves
and a word I can't say on the air, but
(27:55):
we always say we're going to write a book called
you can't make this stuff. As you know, the stuff
that happens every single day in sports is just it's crazy.
Just an anecdote the other day, right before we had
an off day in Washington. I was with my family
right before the fourth of July holiday. All right, it's
gonna be a chill day. I get a text from
our head of pr at the Red Sox did you
(28:18):
know this? And it's social media of our players strolling
through the Oval Office in the White House with President
John Like, first of all, it's awesome that they got
that experience. They're there, but there was a family day
with the club. They had the choice of going to
the White House with their families or going to the
zoo or a couple of guys play golf, whatever, but
they ended up. So you know, in sports, it's like
(28:40):
just when you think you're gonna have a quiet couple
of hours, the media is going crazy. You know, the
Red Sox are in the White House. What's going on?
So it's just day in and day out, you don't
know what's gonna happen, which is part of the beauty
of it.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Well, and to that point, Sam, I mean, that's only
magnified when you have different clubs across different sports, across
different geographies. And it's interesting to think about, you know,
this conversation the context of other members of what we
will affectionately call the deal cinematic universe. You know, we've
had Josh Harris on the show and David Blitzer, both
(29:11):
of whom you know well. We've had Ted Leonsis obviously
who you know well as well. There are different models
for this multi club ownership, and I do wonder from
your perspective the opportunities are clear in terms of rising
valuations and a lot that you can learn. But how
do you cope with sort of the challenges of a
(29:32):
different market of being able to sort of give the
time and attention to the clubs when they need it most,
knowing that you can never get it totally right, because
if you're seen as paying too much attention to the
Red Sox and not Liverpool or the Penguins or Nessen,
you know somebody's going to be mad.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
So how do you balance all that?
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Well, Number one, you do it with the best people
in the sports industry. And that's the best part of
our our industry is we are able to attract the
brightest minds, the best people who want to be in
this industry. But I'll tell you, and Alex will agree
with this, nothing nothing replaces winning. I mean winning on
(30:14):
the pitch. Winning on the ice, winning on the field.
We never get complaints in Boston about Liverpool Football Club
or the Pittsburgh Penguins or the PGA Tour if we're
winning ninety five games and we're you know, winning the
American League East and playing in the postseason and you know,
and so that really has to be our focus, is
investing the resources into the right player personnel and winning
(30:39):
games and everything everything fuels or runs off of that.
But it is it is hard. It's a lot of
time on an airplane, and we do sort of divide
up our time and attention and energy. I mean from
the management group, within the ownership, those three guys, John,
Tom and Mike. No one has spent more time on
Liverpool Football Club than Mike Gordon. I mean, this guy
(31:02):
has just lived the last fifteen years of being the
Fenway Sports Group owner sort of in charge of the
day to day over there, bringing in Urigan Club, putting
in Billy Hogan as our CEO. And Tom spends a
ton of his time on English Premier League matters, but
also on Nessen because of his media background. And John
(31:25):
and I have probably taken the lead, I would say
on our golf investment the last year and a half,
so we find time. We have incredibly supportive families are
that are all in and look, I'll tell you John
and Linda Henry is an investor and very involved in
all aspects of Fenway Sports Group. John and Linda have
(31:46):
this amazing relationship. It is like a family. I mean,
last night was my birthday a Fenway. I have my
parents and my kids and friends and you never think twice.
It's like it is a family environment. I hope we
never lose that. Sam.
Speaker 4 (31:59):
I know how much you value relationships and what a
great reputation you've built over the last many decades. You
also value mentorship. Can you mention maybe a few mentors
in what lessons have you learned to help shape your
career so far?
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Well, I've been really, really fortunate, Alex. I appreciate you
raising that obviously. You know, beyond family members really close,
very very blessed, incredible mom and dad, and the people
that I've worked for here at Fenway Sports Group. We've
already mentioned them, but one in particular who stands out
is a woman named Anne Fanukin who ran Bank of
(32:35):
America for a long time and came in in two
thousand and two and I met her, so she's been
twenty four years a mentor and I said, in give
me some advice, you know, for coming into Boston, but
leadership in general, and she gave me the absolute best advice.
It was Listen, there are two types of people in
the world. There are people they give you positive energy
(32:56):
and there are people that suck the life out of you.
Stick with the energy givers and the energy providers. And
that's probably the best leadership and management advice that I've
ever gotten, because people that suck the energy out of
you just they have to go and they can't be
a part of an organization. You really need to be
(33:16):
a positive force. So Ann has been incredible. A guy
named Mark Flaherty who is the vice chairman of Wellington
here in Boston, good friends of another mentor at Hurleyhee
has been terrific. I think of Todd and Tim LEIWICKI,
who just have done amazing things in sports. Commissioner Manfred
has been incredible to me. Theoepsy and you know we're
(33:40):
the same age, but he I consider him a mentor.
So had this just incredible group that I've been fortunate
enough to be around, probably like you, Alex, different version
of a clubhouse, but just being around these people have
done amazing things in business and so lucky to be
exposed to different people in the sports industry. It's just
(34:00):
been great.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
All Right, We're going to move on in a second
to our lightning round, but before we do, I did
want to ask you. You mentioned it in passing a
little bit about golf. It is a fascinating time for
the game of golf.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
You know.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
I had a chance a year or so ago to
sit on a Bloomberg stage and interview Mark ott Anascio
and Tom Werner about SSG, this Strategic Sports group that
you're obviously a part of. Talk to us a little
bit about how that came together and what you see
happening next at this critical moment for golf.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Well, it's been a rather remarkable deal and investment and
partnership with hundreds of players. It's a very unique structure,
one that we're really proud of. And it started in
the summer of twenty twenty three. We had an amazing
relationship with Ed Hurlehy, who was the chair of the
(34:52):
board of the PGA Tour. I mentioned Mark Flaherty, Mary Meeker, Randall, Stevenson,
there was a group of people on the PGA Tour
Policy Board, and of course j Monahan, who was a
personal friend from Boston, he actually worked here at Fenway,
became PGA Tour Commissioner, and we watched what had happened
(35:14):
around the framework agreement and it just didn't add up
to us. It didn't make any sense. And what we
realized was that this was being reported as a merger
or a takeover of the PGA Tour by the Public
Investment Fund, but in fact that's not what it was.
It was a very smart deal that the tour had
done and the Public Investment Fund had done to drop
(35:37):
the lawsuits against each other and endeavor to work towards
a partnership. And so we thought at the time, maybe
we were crazy, but we thought that if we got
involved with a consortium of US based sports investors led
by John Henry and the Fenway Sports Group, we could
make progress and help out the PGA Tour. And what
(36:01):
do I mean by that, Well, if we've come in
shoulder to shoulder, provide capital, stand up a business, create
equity for the players, which we did, and offer advice
suggestions counsel on sponsorship, broadcasts, event management. We might be
able to help the management team and help the players
(36:21):
as we go forward. So we stood up a business
called PGA Tour Enterprises. It was close to a thirteen
billion dollar valuation at the time. We invested one point
five billion dollars from Fenway Sports Group, from Steve and
Andy Cohen, the owners of the New York Mets, Arthur Blank,
owner of the Atlanta Falcons, Wick grossback Mark, Lazri, List
(36:43):
goes on and on. Really blue chip sports team owners
that have a passion for golf, that want to be
long term partners with the players. We thought that that
might be a great path forward. We were very fortunate
to be selected. They had a lot of people who
are bidding and interested in helping them, and like with
our other investments, whether it's Red Sox, Liverpool, Pittsburgh, Rauch Fenway,
(37:06):
I'm sure we've made every mistake in the book as
we start here in the first couple of years, but
as we learn the business and get involved, hopefully we'll
be able to help improve the tour. We're incredibly excited.
We just hired Brian Rolapp as our new CEO. He
joins later in July, and you know, he's a proven
(37:26):
leader in the sports industry, great career at the National
Football League, and we think he's going to do great
things at the PGA Tour. So long, long way to go,
But that's the history in the background.
Speaker 3 (37:37):
Is the intention to get that framework over the finish
line and have some sort of commercial agreement and are
we closer to that than we were, you know in
the past couple of years.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
Yeah, you know, I would say it's still unknown. I
know that's not a very satisfying answer, but it's the truth.
We're really focusing on the PGA Tour and the strengths
of the PGA Tour in terms of the our mat
ins the markets, in terms of the product and the
players and what their needs are. We have built a
great relationship with the PIF and their conversations I think
(38:12):
will continue. It's just really unclear what the future will hold.
I think both parties have a very open mind and
now as I see it, you know, we're sort of
focusing on the PGA Tour what we have going on,
and the Live Tour are focused on their tour and
building this global platform, and so we'll see where the
(38:35):
conversations go. I think that the temperature has kind of
cooled down. It was rough there for a couple of years,
but I think things have calmed down and we're both
sort of moving forward focused on our own individual products,
and then we'll see where the future leads us.
Speaker 3 (39:02):
All right, so let's move to the lightning round. It's
five questions. It's just you know, whatever comes to your mind.
You're ready, ox Ready, I am here we go. Okay,
all right, Sam, what's the best piece of advice you've
received on deal making your business?
Speaker 1 (39:16):
Surround yourself with the absolute best people that are a
lot smarter than you.
Speaker 4 (39:22):
Okay, what's your dream deal making partner?
Speaker 1 (39:28):
Someone who is hardwired towards creating a win win, Not
someone who has to win every point in a negotiation,
but someone who really wants a win win, a fair
deal where both sides walk away from the table feeling
like they gave a lot, but they got a lot
as well.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
All Right, this is an interesting one for you.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
Which team do you want to see win a championship
more than any right now?
Speaker 1 (39:51):
The Boston Red Soxer. We're sitting there at midsummer at
Fenway Park, and we've had a rough couple of years.
Alex knows, we got to get back to where we belong.
Speaker 4 (40:00):
What's your hype song before a big meeting or negotiation?
Speaker 1 (40:05):
Well, thanks to THEO he turned me on to Pearl
Jam about thirty years ago, and so anything Pearl Jam
is good with me.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
All right?
Speaker 3 (40:13):
And finally, what's your advice for someone listening who wants
a career like yours?
Speaker 1 (40:19):
Work harder than anybody else, and live by the golden rule.
Just treat everyone how you would like to be treated yourself.
And no matter where you're from, whatever your background is,
the sports industry is a great, great place to be
and I could not recommend it more strongly as a
career path.
Speaker 3 (40:38):
All right, Sam Kennedy, you are the man. Thank you
so much, presidency of the Boston Red Sox and a
partner and CEO of Fenway Sports Group. Delighted to spend
some time with you.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
Great to be with you guys, Thanks so much, Jason,
Thanks Alex.
Speaker 2 (40:52):
Thank you, Buddy.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
The Deal is hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Meson Kelly.
This episode was made by Anamazarakus, Stacey Wong and Lizzie
Phillip Amy Keen is our editor and Will Connolly is
our video editor. Our theme music is made by Blake Maples.
Our executive producers are Kelly Leferrier, Ashley Hoenig, and Brenda Nonham.
Sage Bauman is the head of Bloomberg Podcast. Additional support
(41:20):
from Rachel Carnivale and Elena Los Angeles. Thanks so much
for listening to the deal. If you have a minute, subscribe,
rate and review our show. It'll help other listeners find us.
I'm Jason Kelly. See you next week.
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