May 21, 2026 • 24 mins
Jess Pegula has spent her life around elite sports — both as one of the best tennis players in the world and as part of the family behind the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres. Beyond competing at the highest level, she’s become an influential voice in the future of professional tennis through her role as a player representative for the Women’s Tennis Association, giving her a rare window into both the business and competitive sides of the industry.
In this episode of The Deal, Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly sit down with Jess to talk about lobbying for change in professional tennis, balancing the interests of players and management, and what she’s learned from growing up around major sports franchises. Jess shares lessons from her parents Terry and Kim Pegula on leadership, team building and adapting to different personalities. She also discusses the unique culture of Buffalo sports and how her experiences in tennis and sports ownership have shaped the way she approaches business and competition.
You can also watch this interview on YouTube.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
My mom will kind of say if it's like, if
it's meant to be, it's up to me. And I
think that she was always very independent and she broke
all of these barriers in sport, but like it was
never a thing because it didn't even like cross her
mind that it was like a roadblock, you know, it
was just like you just did it. And so I
feel like that definitely stemmed with me as far as
people will say, like, oh, you're so sure of yourself
and like confident, and I'm like, well, because I guess
(00:29):
I don't even see like the roadblock. I'm just kind
of like, we'll just do it.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Welcome back to the Deal. I'm Jason Kelly and I'm
Alex Rodriguez on today's show.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
Jess Pagoula. Alex, I am so interested to talk to her.
She's one of the world's best tennis players right now.
She's also a chief architect around the business of tennis.
Speaker 5 (00:51):
Well, that's what I'm really excited about, and I really
want to dig in into all aspects of the business
of tennis and also how much of the pie are
the players getting.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
That is question that she is working on right now.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
Let's also not forget she's a member of one of
the most influential families in all of sports, the Pegoulas.
Of course, her parents, Kim and Terry own the Buffalo
Bills and the Buffalo Sabers.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Coming up next, Jess Pogoola.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Jess pool of really such a pleasure to have you
here with us. We love tennis. I'm going to confess
on both of our behalfs. We have a lot of
questions and we may ask you some really dumb questions
about the business of tennis. I would like to think
it's because we're just a proxy for our audience, but
maybe it's because I'm not as smart as I want
to be about this game, even though I love it
(01:39):
so much. We're talking to you a couple of days
removed from a tournament win in Charleston for you, congratulations,
Thank you, you played great. What I found so fascinating,
Alex was there's a really interesting business story behind the
Charleston Open. Remind us what was going on there with
(01:59):
the prize money and everything, because it's a really significant moment,
it feels like in the history of the sport.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Definitely so last year I was, you know, when the
tournament back to back years now. So last year, after
the finals, they announced that they're going to be equal
prize money, which was matching. So it's a WTA five hundred,
so we have like two fifties, five hundreds, one thousands
Grand Slams, so five hundred is you're usually very strong events,
not quite as big as a as a tour one
thousand event, but everyone kind of has this perception that
(02:27):
like men and women, it's equal prize money. It is
at the Slams, but it's actually not at a lot
of the other events, so there's a big discrepancy there.
And so the tournament owner, Ben Navarro, announced that he
was going to match basically the WTA five hundred prize
money along with that of the ATP five hundred level tournaments.
It's a big difference, and so it was an amazing
announcement and I kind of joked like, oh man, you
(02:49):
couldn't have done it this year, but I guess it
paid off because I was able to win the tournament
this year. So it was a big step and I
think set a standard very high for all the other tournaments.
And sometimes, you know, you just like that one person
to do something to kind of raise like that level
of commitment. So hopefully we start seeing some of the
other tournaments kind of you know, make their.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Way to that.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
So Jess speaking right on that point, and congrats and
the win back to back, that's pretty awesome. You know,
when you talk about the big three in America sports,
you talk football, NFL, MLB, and NBA.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Basketball overall, she's gonna say NHL is because she's an
NHL owner.
Speaker 6 (03:25):
Alex, come on, include the hfore before you know?
Speaker 5 (03:29):
Overall, I got your back pretty close to fifty to
fifty revenue of what the owners take home and what
the players take home.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Is there a position?
Speaker 5 (03:37):
And I know you've been a big advocate for the players,
where do you see this? Can you ever see this
one day getting to sixty forty?
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I think it's tough because when we don't really have
like a player's union, we don't really have anyone that
like represents the players. And in a way, I think
tennis we're very selfish because we're individuals. We play individually,
and I think to that part, it's really hard to
get all of us, as individual, independent people all on
the same page. As far as that and so don't.
(04:07):
I don't really know if you'll ever see like a
strike or like people agree to not play. There's always
been talks of it, but like in tennis, you know,
you make your money a lot by winning matches. You
don't have a set, you don't get paid a salary
or get paid anything for just the year, you know,
So I think that always changes everyone's mind as far
as like I have to keep playing. I'm not going
to take it. I'm not going to strike, I'm not
(04:28):
gonna boycott, I'm not gonna do all these things. So
I don't know if we'll ever truthfully, like looking now,
just knowing how tennis players are and how they have
to be, I don't really know if it'll ever quite
get there. But I've definitely been in talks with a
lot of the debutane ATP players as far as joining
together to just try to get a higher prize money revenue,
especially from the Grand Slams.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I think that's something that can be done.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
And quite frankly, we've never really had both the men
and the women on both sides actually come together, which
is super rare in any sport because when with that
really ever have But because it benefits both of us.
It's something that's been a topic, especially this year, as
far as just asking for a little bit more, you know,
And I think that's something that you have to you
have to ask, you know, you don't you don't know
(05:12):
unless you ask. So I think that's just kind of
something that we're headed towards. Hopefully it gets higher, but
it's definitely a work in progress, and I think is
going to take a lot of unity between a lot
of the top players from the ATP and the WTA
side well.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
And it's also I mean, I'm interested in geeking out
a little bit about the mechanics of this because in
addition to the independent contractors, there's also not a league
in the same way there is in the NBA, the NFL,
the NHL or what you know. The tournaments themselves have
different business models, which allows a Bennavarrow to say, I'm
(05:46):
going to do this in Charleston, but it's more of
a like people have to choose to follow him there.
It's not a set I don't have to saying, right,
they don't have to. So let me ask you this.
When it comes to equal pay, the perception is it's
like equal pay as you said, yeah, and that that
is the case. But where are we in that evolution
(06:08):
because you've worked a lot on that in terms of
actual equal pay across the board for men and women
in tennis.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Yeah, you mean in slams or in just like all
the other ternaments, all the other tournaments. Yeah, I think
in the WTA one thousands, we've seen a lot of
them match equal prize money. Now, I think Madrid is equal,
Miami's equal, Indian Wells is equal. And again, it's just
been something that's been continuously starting to happen and grow.
But I think a lot of the lower level tournaments
are still not there, and that's still a lot of
(06:33):
players that aren't really getting paid the same. And I
think where we just want to see like the ecosystem
of the sport kind of continue to grow, because that
means our sport is going to continue to grow and
get better and evolve.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
And I hope that with Ben doing what he.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Did kind of sets the standard because I do think
it creates like a healthy competition. I'm on a WTA
player council, so I see more of the tournament side,
and I think setting the standards very high and investing
in your event is like a really big deal because
that's how you get players to play, That's how you
get them to come back. And then hopefully you're making
more money and so on and so on, and you
(07:08):
can make that equal prize money because it's it's a process.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
And it's an interesting thing.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
I mean, I think about it from the perspective of
the players of the product, you know, So I like,
if the best players aren't showing up, the revenue is
not going to be as high for the turnament. I mean,
it's just not because people aren't going to tune in,
they're not going to buy tickets, they're not going to
spend their money there.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I think like it's gotten so much better because one
I think players are starting to see that. I do
think our sport is a little bit more open as
far as like talking to each other about this stuff.
I think sometimes in tennis you're like in like selfish.
Of course, I don't mean in like a bad way,
but you're in your own little world, you know, because
like you said, you're not part of an organization or
a team like you are, Like I run my own
(07:48):
team basically, Like who's my team? I control that. It's
the same with every other player. So I do feel
like that I've been able to talk to a lot
of players about it and they're all for it. It's
just kind of getting everyone to be all for it
at the same time, on the same page, and then
also not kind of burning out with it. I think
keeping that narrative going constantly is something that's hard because
(08:09):
you know, I think sometimes it can get kind of
tiring to talk about it all the time. Players still
want to focus on like their careers and their results
and stuff like that, and so I think you get
a little burnt out. And I think that's kind of
what they hope happens, right, Like they play the long game, and.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
So they're going to wear you down, Yeah, wear you down.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
And I think that's where we've been trying to be
a little bit more open with keeping that narrative going.
And it also goes into like our season is way
too long, and so that's been a whole nother discussion.
I mean, we play like I mean baseball, you guys
play a lot of games too. We play all years essentially, Yeah,
and so sometimes tournaments get a little upset. But you
(08:47):
can't play every single week like with the travel. You're
traveling every single week. You're going to different places, different conditions,
different countries, depending on how you do, if you're hurt.
There's so many factors. So I think that's also like
a big part of it that we're trying to change
is like, how do we condense the season a little
bit because these players can't keep up with this and justin.
Speaker 5 (09:05):
If you're not careful, you're making one hella compelling case
for the players. And Jason, I'm wondering if, like you,
being one of the great players and one of the
leaders of the sport, first of all, all your teams
would benefit because the more money you guys make, the
more there is for your team as well. And I
think all the teams were aligned around that. But I'm
wondering if Billy Jean King, if you approached us said
how do we go about this and can you set
up a little committee you know, of both men and women.
(09:27):
I mean, she likes a good fight, Yes, trusted.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Billy is very supportive. She's we're definitely not lacking any
support from Billy. I think she was one of the
first people I think we talked to as far as
like there's a lot of issues, but like she was
like one of the first ones, and she's great at
her andalana, Like they text me all the time and
they're they're all for it. So she's set the standard
in the bar very high for us. So I think
she's definitely someone where we're like, you know, do you
(09:52):
have her vax you support this, and she's like, you know,
all gung ho.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
I mean, she has so much energy still.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
It's time she's I mean, she's unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
I don't know if I've ever encountered a force of
nature that quite like like Billy gene King, you've been
very interested and vocal about the business of tennis for
a long time.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
You don't have to be, you know, you could just
go out and play.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
So what is that process like where you make a
decision to really advocate and to be a leader truly,
like in the lineage of Billy and others who've really
advocated not just for themselves but for their players.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
It's been interesting.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
I don't think when I first got asked to just
be on like WTA Player Council, like I only did
it because a girl retired and they're like, we need
someone to fill the spot, and they kind of convinced me,
and I was like, I don't know if this is
for me, but I think when this I've been on
council like almost four years now, I think like right
after COVID or right, yeah, somewhere.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
In your late mid to late twenties, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
And I had no idea about anything.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
And so I actually think that really helped, because all
of a sudden you understand more about how things work
and how there's definitely two sides too, because I think
that's important. I think I also learned that from my
parents too. There's the player side and there's also like
a business side, and sometimes it isn't as black and
white as people think, and so I think when you
learn that process, it becomes much more clear. And I
(11:24):
think the fact that obviously I'm still a player advocating
for that, I gained a lot of respect I think
from a lot of different players. I'm just, I guess,
trying to be somewhat of a voice, and I think
it just naturally kind of happened. I don't know if
it's my personality a bit, maybe my parents obviously what
they've done, and just being able to think about things
pretty clearly. I think from both sides, because you definitely get,
(11:46):
you know, one side where they're all pushing what they want,
and then you get the player side or they don't
want to hear anything else they want to They just
want what they want. And so yeah, it was interesting.
I just kind of came into it, but I would
say being on that player council kind of started that.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Were you just you learn?
Speaker 4 (12:01):
Yeah, So just I wanted to talk about your parents
a bit in your family because, as we talked about earlier,
truly one of the first families of the NFL and
the NHL these days. At a great opportunity in twenty
twenty actually here in Miami to interview your mom and
just amazing insights into the family business. And you know,
(12:23):
we've been talking a lot about partnership and relationships with players.
There is something special about Buffalo, your hometown, you were
born there. What are the lessons specifically you've taken from
them as you've thought about your own business journey.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
I would say what my mom always says is that
it's just managing people. I think it's probably helped me
a bit in what I've had to do, just as like.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Sometimes you have to adapt.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
I think to people's personalities or just like know that, like, Okay,
this is how they are. They're really good in this role,
but like maybe they're not the best to talk about
the subject or maybe it doesn't go as well as
it should. And you have to like fit people with
what they're good at. And I think that's something that
I've learned with them, and I think it was a
learning process for them as well. Yeah, And I think
(13:10):
that's something also people maybe don't realize, is that like
owners of teams, there's only so many in the world.
There's no experience for that until it happens, and you
like learn by owning that team, Like you don't own
a team when you're growing up, and then like learn
about it, right, like you have to buy the team,
like you just get the team, and it's like here's
like I don't know, like figure it out.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
For those listening that that was a knowing nod from
Alex Rodriguez, But like learn on the job, Yes you.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Do, because if you think about it, like no one
else you don't own it.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
It's just it's a niche thing. You know, you're successful
in other things.
Speaker 5 (13:47):
But it's so speaking of that, let's go back to
when you first heard your mom and dad were.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Buying the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 6 (13:54):
Tell our audience your feelings. Was it more nervous excitement,
like here we go or mom and what are we doing?
Speaker 2 (14:01):
So yeah, the Sabers, it was like very fun. But
then I feel like when the NFL came around, it
was like so much bigger in a sense because now
nothing the NFL two teams and then the NFL, like
owning an NFL, Like it's just crazy.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
So I think it definitely kind of blew up our
world a little bit.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
I didn't feel it as much with the Sabers, but
I think when we bought the Bills, it definitely like
blew up.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
And your mom took such a strong role from the beginning.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
I mean my dad, I think, always looked at it
more as like he worked so hard all of his life,
like this is like an amazing thing that I get
to do. This is like I don't want to say,
a hobby that's not great to say, but like it's
it was fun. Like he loves sports, he loves athletes,
he loves learning from coaches and trying to like do
all these things. My mom was I think more of
the business side where she loved the business the fan experience,
(14:46):
Like she loved going to all these different games and
seeing what all these different teams did and how did
they make the fan experience like truly great for them.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
She loved that aspect of it.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
So, which is great, I mean because they were both
able to kind of take what they loved and maybe
not overstep each other in that sense of kind of
again learning how to run a sports organization.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
Do you see yourself, I mean your older sister Laura
I believe has like taken a bigger role in the teams.
Is that something you might eventually do? Like what do
you see down the road when it comes to the
family business and sport?
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Yeah, it was funny.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Actually, when I was like fifteen, I like got really
into hockey for whatever reason, like really into hockey, and
so I always wanted to be the first female GM.
I don't think that's gonna happen, but that was like
my whole thing, and so I've always wanted to be
involved in sports.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I love sports.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
I think it just like it gave me everything and
made me like who I am. It taught me so
many lessons and I couldn't imagine like not having sports
in my life. So I definitely think in some aspect,
whether it's tennis or hockey or football, I definitely would
love to be involved.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
I have no idea like what that entails. Yeah, I
think my.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Dad would definitely like me to be involved, but he
knows tennis is the priority right now, so I think
he's very cognizant of that and like he's always like, no,
you need to focus on what you need to focus
on now. But yeah, it's it's something I think that
I've wanted to do, and I think being an athlete,
I mean, I don't know, maybe you can relate like
I don't know, I'm definitely going to miss that like
competitive side, and I think I can channel some of
(16:16):
that through a different way, but I would love to
still be involved in sports.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Yeah, it's a pretty good channel I think. I mean,
i've seen you court side.
Speaker 6 (16:24):
It's spot on, it's spot on it and you're competitive.
Speaker 5 (16:26):
But I do think to Jason's point that there's no
better way to get a fix. When you're still competitive.
You just don't wake up a sore. It're just nice.
Speaker 6 (16:35):
You can just watch it and it gets easier when
you're not. You know playing, yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:39):
But I think you'll do great and it's pretty awesome
to have that, you know. Yeah, And it also brings
your family together. Like I have two daughters, you have
a sister, and my daughters thought I was crazy when
we bought these teams. My partner Mark has two daughters
as well, and his daughter's probably thought the same thing.
But now they're all enjoying it and it brings to family. Y.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
I think that is something to that we have when
we bought the Sabers specifically, Like we definitely came together
a lot more as a family because like it kind
of not don't want to say forces you, but in
a way like you're excited together, you're like sharing it together.
And I think, you know, that's my parents wanted as well.
They wanted us to like do this together and celebrate that.
So I think, again, it's something not everyone gets to do.
(17:19):
It's special, So I think we definitely appreciate that aspect
of it.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
I mean it's interesting because there's a shared mission about it.
That must be really fun for your family, I guess,
and stressful.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
I was gonna say definitely stressful, but it's a lot
of fun even when it gets stressful. I think you
always try to come back to that point that this
is fun and you're doing something special together.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
And I do appreciate that well, and I think, I mean,
Buffalo is a very special place that loves its teams
so much much so there is a great great fans unbelievad.
I mean, you know, Bill's Mafia is a real thing.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
They're everywhere, not get away from them. And I played
terments all over the world and there are still like
people in other countries that are like go Bills, goh Sabers.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
It's crazy.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
Well you but to be fair, you help feed it
a little bit too, because you know, was it that
the Australian you wrote that was a catch? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Yeah, I have to throw little things out there sometimes. Yeah,
I'm always in Australia during the playoffs, so I've had
some interesting Australia memories as far as the last couple
of playoff years. But yeah, I try to build that bridge,
especially because there's not a lot of tennis in Buffalo
virtually Nuns and I'm like me and Jimmy Arius are
like the only people from Buffalo that like play tennis
(18:32):
and to our level, so to be able to like
bridge the gap there and create new fans.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Is it's really cool?
Speaker 6 (18:39):
Well, here here's an idea. We are on the deal.
Speaker 5 (18:41):
You're building a new stadium in Buffalo. Maybe you can
host a tennis tournament inside your new building.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
I see that, But that would be actually really that
would be interesting.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
I don't know, it would be great.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Not in the winter, Yeah no, yeah, definitely not if
it's remotely cold out.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
All right, let's do our rapid fire.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
So this is just first thing that first things that
pops into your head will just bounce back and forth.
If you had to pick one to put one's surface
for the rest of your life, hardcourt, clay.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Grass, hardcourt.
Speaker 6 (19:20):
Favorite tennis player of all time?
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Oh, that's so tough. I think probably Roger Fetter.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Most memorable match of your tennis career.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
I would say when I qualified at the US Open
for the first time. Qualifying out of slam is really hard.
You have to win three matches to get into the
main draw. But you're there at the tournament playing, there's crowds,
there's people, all this stuff, good money, and I just
remember I won in three sets, and I wasn't feeling
great that day.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Whether it was nerves or the heat.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
I don't know, but I just remember I got through
that and it was like a very big, like mental
kind of break for me.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Because that's the show. The US Open is the show.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Yeah, And I was younger and I came back and
I won this match for the It was the last
round of qualifying, so to get to the main draw.
I just I think I had lost a couple third rounds,
like last round of qualifying before, so it was kind
of like monkey off my back, kind of a big
mental breakthrough for me.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
It was it was a lot of things.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
What's the most important storyline going into Roland Garros, either
for you or for tennis.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
For tennis, I just know that IgA Shian Tech has
been working. She hired a new coach he used to
work with Nadal, and then like there's all these videos
now of her and Nadal like on the court, and
all of us are like, oh, her clay is her
best surface. She's won the French rolling Garrols a lot
of times. So I would say that's like a big
storyline right now because we're all like, oh no, like
(20:34):
we're all in trouble.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Like the King of play Advice Lass, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
We're like kind of panicking. So yeah that I think
that'll be really really interesting. But hopefully I played good
tennis last year, so I'm I feel like I could
be a little underdog on the clay this.
Speaker 6 (20:51):
Year Grand Slam.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
You want to win the most, probably US Open.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
Who's is there an athlete whose business career has inspired
the most too? Is it?
Speaker 2 (21:01):
I would say Maria Sharapova is very interesting, Like she
was an insane competitor, like fierce on the court, loved fashion,
loved business like I thought it was cool how she
was able to kind of love all of that and
be super successful at all of it. And I think
she just has a really cool like confidence about her
with it. You know.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
I see her on Shark Tank, and I see her
doing all these other cool things.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
You see her on the Deal, Yeah she was on here.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Yeah, I see her like doing all these like really
cool ventures and always stuff that she's passionate about and
stuff that she likes, and just knowing her personality, I yeah,
I think she would be a little bit of an
inspiration there.
Speaker 6 (21:38):
And we've looked at the deals together, like she's the
real deal. She walks to walk. It is not her team.
When she shows up in a meeting as her by herself, she's.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Like very quietly, like confident, like funny too, like makes
like funny comments, like kind of dry, and I like
relate to that.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
So I like that he's very aware because she made
fun of his shoes.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Yes see, like yeah, I could see.
Speaker 6 (21:59):
Yeah, So go for it. Just all right, here we go.
Best piece of advice you've ever been given? And who
gave it to?
Speaker 2 (22:06):
I guess my mom will kind of say if it's like,
if it's meant to be, it's up to me. And
I think that she was always very independent and she
broke all of these barriers in sport, but like it
was never a thing because it didn't even like cross
her mind that it was like a roadblock, you know,
it was just like you just did it. Her kind
of sending that message to not just me, but like
our whole family and my brothers and sisters, I think
(22:26):
helped the most.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Yeah all right, So last question, what do the Bills
have to do to win a Super Bowl in twenty seven?
And what do the Savers need to do to win
the Stanley Go?
Speaker 1 (22:36):
Oh my gosh, that's a tough question.
Speaker 5 (22:39):
Marketing questions here.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Yeah, well the Savers honestly, they just need to keep
doing what they're doing.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
I like first Playoff appearance in years.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Like came out of kind of nowhere.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Everyone's kind of not kind of definitely freaking out, and
I think just so fired.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Up the bills.
Speaker 5 (22:55):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
I mean, we've put ourselves in good position. I always say,
just keep putting yourself in the same position and kind
of learning from I don't know whatever you think you
have to change. But Josh is an amazing leader, I
which is exactly I don't really think I would tell
him like anything different, Like he's the.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Man, that's Josh, Josh back of a Buffalo.
Speaker 4 (23:15):
My god, he's learning, he's learning every day. What a
lifelong learner you are. Alex Rodriguez, Jess, this has been
so much fun.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Thank you for joining me.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Thank you appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
The Deal's production from Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals. The
Deal is hosted by Alice Rodriguez and me Jason Kelly.
Shows produced by Alexis Hot, Stacey Wong, and Anna Maazarakas,
original music and engineering by Blake Maples, Booking by Paige Keffer.
Our managing editor is David Rivella. Our executive producers are
(23:51):
Jason Kelly Amy, Keane Nevill Dulette, Tray Shallowhorn, Regina Daleya,
Kelly Leferrier and Ashley Zingaro. Special thing to Rachel Carnivale,
Elena Los Angeles and Nick Silva. You can also watch
The Deal on Bloomberg Originals YouTube and Bloomberg Television, and
please subscribe to the Deal wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 6 (24:12):
Thanks so much for listening.
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
My mom will kind of say if it's like, if
it's meant to be, it's up to me. And I
think that she was always very independent and she broke
all of these barriers in sport, but like it was
never a thing because it didn't even like cross her
mind that it was like a roadblock, you know, it
was just like you just did it. And so I
feel like that definitely stemmed with me as far as
people will say, like, oh, you're so sure of yourself
and like confident, and I'm like, well, because I guess
(00:29):
I don't even see like the roadblock. I'm just kind
of like, we'll just do it.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Welcome back to the Deal. I'm Jason Kelly and I'm
Alex Rodriguez on today's show.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
Jess Pagoula. Alex, I am so interested to talk to her.
She's one of the world's best tennis players right now.
She's also a chief architect around the business of tennis.
Speaker 5 (00:51):
Well, that's what I'm really excited about, and I really
want to dig in into all aspects of the business
of tennis and also how much of the pie are
the players getting.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
That is question that she is working on right now.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
Let's also not forget she's a member of one of
the most influential families in all of sports, the Pegoulas.
Of course, her parents, Kim and Terry own the Buffalo
Bills and the Buffalo Sabers.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Coming up next, Jess Pogoola.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Jess pool of really such a pleasure to have you
here with us. We love tennis. I'm going to confess
on both of our behalfs. We have a lot of
questions and we may ask you some really dumb questions
about the business of tennis. I would like to think
it's because we're just a proxy for our audience, but
maybe it's because I'm not as smart as I want
to be about this game, even though I love it
(01:39):
so much. We're talking to you a couple of days
removed from a tournament win in Charleston for you, congratulations,
Thank you, you played great. What I found so fascinating,
Alex was there's a really interesting business story behind the
Charleston Open. Remind us what was going on there with
(01:59):
the prize money and everything, because it's a really significant moment,
it feels like in the history of the sport.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Definitely so last year I was, you know, when the
tournament back to back years now. So last year, after
the finals, they announced that they're going to be equal
prize money, which was matching. So it's a WTA five hundred,
so we have like two fifties, five hundreds, one thousands
Grand Slams, so five hundred is you're usually very strong events,
not quite as big as a as a tour one
thousand event, but everyone kind of has this perception that
(02:27):
like men and women, it's equal prize money. It is
at the Slams, but it's actually not at a lot
of the other events, so there's a big discrepancy there.
And so the tournament owner, Ben Navarro, announced that he
was going to match basically the WTA five hundred prize
money along with that of the ATP five hundred level tournaments.
It's a big difference, and so it was an amazing
announcement and I kind of joked like, oh man, you
(02:49):
couldn't have done it this year, but I guess it
paid off because I was able to win the tournament
this year. So it was a big step and I
think set a standard very high for all the other tournaments.
And sometimes, you know, you just like that one person
to do something to kind of raise like that level
of commitment. So hopefully we start seeing some of the
other tournaments kind of you know, make their.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Way to that.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
So Jess speaking right on that point, and congrats and
the win back to back, that's pretty awesome. You know,
when you talk about the big three in America sports,
you talk football, NFL, MLB, and NBA.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Basketball overall, she's gonna say NHL is because she's an
NHL owner.
Speaker 6 (03:25):
Alex, come on, include the hfore before you know?
Speaker 5 (03:29):
Overall, I got your back pretty close to fifty to
fifty revenue of what the owners take home and what
the players take home.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Is there a position?
Speaker 5 (03:37):
And I know you've been a big advocate for the players,
where do you see this? Can you ever see this
one day getting to sixty forty?
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I think it's tough because when we don't really have
like a player's union, we don't really have anyone that
like represents the players. And in a way, I think
tennis we're very selfish because we're individuals. We play individually,
and I think to that part, it's really hard to
get all of us, as individual, independent people all on
the same page. As far as that and so don't.
(04:07):
I don't really know if you'll ever see like a
strike or like people agree to not play. There's always
been talks of it, but like in tennis, you know,
you make your money a lot by winning matches. You
don't have a set, you don't get paid a salary
or get paid anything for just the year, you know,
So I think that always changes everyone's mind as far
as like I have to keep playing. I'm not going
to take it. I'm not going to strike, I'm not
(04:28):
gonna boycott, I'm not gonna do all these things. So
I don't know if we'll ever truthfully, like looking now,
just knowing how tennis players are and how they have
to be, I don't really know if it'll ever quite
get there. But I've definitely been in talks with a
lot of the debutane ATP players as far as joining
together to just try to get a higher prize money revenue,
especially from the Grand Slams.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I think that's something that can be done.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
And quite frankly, we've never really had both the men
and the women on both sides actually come together, which
is super rare in any sport because when with that
really ever have But because it benefits both of us.
It's something that's been a topic, especially this year, as
far as just asking for a little bit more, you know,
And I think that's something that you have to you
have to ask, you know, you don't you don't know
(05:12):
unless you ask. So I think that's just kind of
something that we're headed towards. Hopefully it gets higher, but
it's definitely a work in progress, and I think is
going to take a lot of unity between a lot
of the top players from the ATP and the WTA
side well.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
And it's also I mean, I'm interested in geeking out
a little bit about the mechanics of this because in
addition to the independent contractors, there's also not a league
in the same way there is in the NBA, the NFL,
the NHL or what you know. The tournaments themselves have
different business models, which allows a Bennavarrow to say, I'm
(05:46):
going to do this in Charleston, but it's more of
a like people have to choose to follow him there.
It's not a set I don't have to saying, right,
they don't have to. So let me ask you this.
When it comes to equal pay, the perception is it's
like equal pay as you said, yeah, and that that
is the case. But where are we in that evolution
(06:08):
because you've worked a lot on that in terms of
actual equal pay across the board for men and women
in tennis.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Yeah, you mean in slams or in just like all
the other ternaments, all the other tournaments. Yeah, I think
in the WTA one thousands, we've seen a lot of
them match equal prize money. Now, I think Madrid is equal,
Miami's equal, Indian Wells is equal. And again, it's just
been something that's been continuously starting to happen and grow.
But I think a lot of the lower level tournaments
are still not there, and that's still a lot of
(06:33):
players that aren't really getting paid the same. And I
think where we just want to see like the ecosystem
of the sport kind of continue to grow, because that
means our sport is going to continue to grow and
get better and evolve.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
And I hope that with Ben doing what he.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Did kind of sets the standard because I do think
it creates like a healthy competition. I'm on a WTA
player council, so I see more of the tournament side,
and I think setting the standards very high and investing
in your event is like a really big deal because
that's how you get players to play, That's how you
get them to come back. And then hopefully you're making
more money and so on and so on, and you
(07:08):
can make that equal prize money because it's it's a process.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
And it's an interesting thing.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
I mean, I think about it from the perspective of
the players of the product, you know, So I like,
if the best players aren't showing up, the revenue is
not going to be as high for the turnament. I mean,
it's just not because people aren't going to tune in,
they're not going to buy tickets, they're not going to
spend their money there.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I think like it's gotten so much better because one
I think players are starting to see that. I do
think our sport is a little bit more open as
far as like talking to each other about this stuff.
I think sometimes in tennis you're like in like selfish.
Of course, I don't mean in like a bad way,
but you're in your own little world, you know, because
like you said, you're not part of an organization or
a team like you are, Like I run my own
(07:48):
team basically, Like who's my team? I control that. It's
the same with every other player. So I do feel
like that I've been able to talk to a lot
of players about it and they're all for it. It's
just kind of getting everyone to be all for it
at the same time, on the same page, and then
also not kind of burning out with it. I think
keeping that narrative going constantly is something that's hard because
(08:09):
you know, I think sometimes it can get kind of
tiring to talk about it all the time. Players still
want to focus on like their careers and their results
and stuff like that, and so I think you get
a little burnt out. And I think that's kind of
what they hope happens, right, Like they play the long game, and.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
So they're going to wear you down, Yeah, wear you down.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
And I think that's where we've been trying to be
a little bit more open with keeping that narrative going.
And it also goes into like our season is way
too long, and so that's been a whole nother discussion.
I mean, we play like I mean baseball, you guys
play a lot of games too. We play all years essentially, Yeah,
and so sometimes tournaments get a little upset. But you
(08:47):
can't play every single week like with the travel. You're
traveling every single week. You're going to different places, different conditions,
different countries, depending on how you do, if you're hurt.
There's so many factors. So I think that's also like
a big part of it that we're trying to change
is like, how do we condense the season a little
bit because these players can't keep up with this and justin.
Speaker 5 (09:05):
If you're not careful, you're making one hella compelling case
for the players. And Jason, I'm wondering if, like you,
being one of the great players and one of the
leaders of the sport, first of all, all your teams
would benefit because the more money you guys make, the
more there is for your team as well. And I
think all the teams were aligned around that. But I'm
wondering if Billy Jean King, if you approached us said
how do we go about this and can you set
up a little committee you know, of both men and women.
(09:27):
I mean, she likes a good fight, Yes, trusted.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Billy is very supportive. She's we're definitely not lacking any
support from Billy. I think she was one of the
first people I think we talked to as far as
like there's a lot of issues, but like she was
like one of the first ones, and she's great at
her andalana, Like they text me all the time and
they're they're all for it. So she's set the standard
in the bar very high for us. So I think
she's definitely someone where we're like, you know, do you
(09:52):
have her vax you support this, and she's like, you know,
all gung ho.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
I mean, she has so much energy still.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
It's time she's I mean, she's unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
I don't know if I've ever encountered a force of
nature that quite like like Billy gene King, you've been
very interested and vocal about the business of tennis for
a long time.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
You don't have to be, you know, you could just
go out and play.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
So what is that process like where you make a
decision to really advocate and to be a leader truly,
like in the lineage of Billy and others who've really
advocated not just for themselves but for their players.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
It's been interesting.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
I don't think when I first got asked to just
be on like WTA Player Council, like I only did
it because a girl retired and they're like, we need
someone to fill the spot, and they kind of convinced me,
and I was like, I don't know if this is
for me, but I think when this I've been on
council like almost four years now, I think like right
after COVID or right, yeah, somewhere.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
In your late mid to late twenties, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
And I had no idea about anything.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
And so I actually think that really helped, because all
of a sudden you understand more about how things work
and how there's definitely two sides too, because I think
that's important. I think I also learned that from my
parents too. There's the player side and there's also like
a business side, and sometimes it isn't as black and
white as people think, and so I think when you
learn that process, it becomes much more clear. And I
(11:24):
think the fact that obviously I'm still a player advocating
for that, I gained a lot of respect I think
from a lot of different players. I'm just, I guess,
trying to be somewhat of a voice, and I think
it just naturally kind of happened. I don't know if
it's my personality a bit, maybe my parents obviously what
they've done, and just being able to think about things
pretty clearly. I think from both sides, because you definitely get,
(11:46):
you know, one side where they're all pushing what they want,
and then you get the player side or they don't
want to hear anything else they want to They just
want what they want. And so yeah, it was interesting.
I just kind of came into it, but I would
say being on that player council kind of started that.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Were you just you learn?
Speaker 4 (12:01):
Yeah, So just I wanted to talk about your parents
a bit in your family because, as we talked about earlier,
truly one of the first families of the NFL and
the NHL these days. At a great opportunity in twenty
twenty actually here in Miami to interview your mom and
just amazing insights into the family business. And you know,
(12:23):
we've been talking a lot about partnership and relationships with players.
There is something special about Buffalo, your hometown, you were
born there. What are the lessons specifically you've taken from
them as you've thought about your own business journey.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
I would say what my mom always says is that
it's just managing people. I think it's probably helped me
a bit in what I've had to do, just as like.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Sometimes you have to adapt.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
I think to people's personalities or just like know that, like, Okay,
this is how they are. They're really good in this role,
but like maybe they're not the best to talk about
the subject or maybe it doesn't go as well as
it should. And you have to like fit people with
what they're good at. And I think that's something that
I've learned with them, and I think it was a
learning process for them as well. Yeah, And I think
(13:10):
that's something also people maybe don't realize, is that like
owners of teams, there's only so many in the world.
There's no experience for that until it happens, and you
like learn by owning that team, Like you don't own
a team when you're growing up, and then like learn
about it, right, like you have to buy the team,
like you just get the team, and it's like here's
like I don't know, like figure it out.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
For those listening that that was a knowing nod from
Alex Rodriguez, But like learn on the job, Yes you.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Do, because if you think about it, like no one
else you don't own it.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
It's just it's a niche thing. You know, you're successful
in other things.
Speaker 5 (13:47):
But it's so speaking of that, let's go back to
when you first heard your mom and dad were.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Buying the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 6 (13:54):
Tell our audience your feelings. Was it more nervous excitement,
like here we go or mom and what are we doing?
Speaker 2 (14:01):
So yeah, the Sabers, it was like very fun. But
then I feel like when the NFL came around, it
was like so much bigger in a sense because now
nothing the NFL two teams and then the NFL, like
owning an NFL, Like it's just crazy.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
So I think it definitely kind of blew up our
world a little bit.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
I didn't feel it as much with the Sabers, but
I think when we bought the Bills, it definitely like
blew up.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
And your mom took such a strong role from the beginning.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
I mean my dad, I think, always looked at it
more as like he worked so hard all of his life,
like this is like an amazing thing that I get
to do. This is like I don't want to say,
a hobby that's not great to say, but like it's
it was fun. Like he loves sports, he loves athletes,
he loves learning from coaches and trying to like do
all these things. My mom was I think more of
the business side where she loved the business the fan experience,
(14:46):
Like she loved going to all these different games and
seeing what all these different teams did and how did
they make the fan experience like truly great for them.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
She loved that aspect of it.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
So, which is great, I mean because they were both
able to kind of take what they loved and maybe
not overstep each other in that sense of kind of
again learning how to run a sports organization.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
Do you see yourself, I mean your older sister Laura
I believe has like taken a bigger role in the teams.
Is that something you might eventually do? Like what do
you see down the road when it comes to the
family business and sport?
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Yeah, it was funny.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Actually, when I was like fifteen, I like got really
into hockey for whatever reason, like really into hockey, and
so I always wanted to be the first female GM.
I don't think that's gonna happen, but that was like
my whole thing, and so I've always wanted to be
involved in sports.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I love sports.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
I think it just like it gave me everything and
made me like who I am. It taught me so
many lessons and I couldn't imagine like not having sports
in my life. So I definitely think in some aspect,
whether it's tennis or hockey or football, I definitely would
love to be involved.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
I have no idea like what that entails. Yeah, I
think my.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Dad would definitely like me to be involved, but he
knows tennis is the priority right now, so I think
he's very cognizant of that and like he's always like, no,
you need to focus on what you need to focus
on now. But yeah, it's it's something I think that
I've wanted to do, and I think being an athlete,
I mean, I don't know, maybe you can relate like
I don't know, I'm definitely going to miss that like
competitive side, and I think I can channel some of
(16:16):
that through a different way, but I would love to
still be involved in sports.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Yeah, it's a pretty good channel I think. I mean,
i've seen you court side.
Speaker 6 (16:24):
It's spot on, it's spot on it and you're competitive.
Speaker 5 (16:26):
But I do think to Jason's point that there's no
better way to get a fix. When you're still competitive.
You just don't wake up a sore. It're just nice.
Speaker 6 (16:35):
You can just watch it and it gets easier when
you're not. You know playing, yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:39):
But I think you'll do great and it's pretty awesome
to have that, you know. Yeah, And it also brings
your family together. Like I have two daughters, you have
a sister, and my daughters thought I was crazy when
we bought these teams. My partner Mark has two daughters
as well, and his daughter's probably thought the same thing.
But now they're all enjoying it and it brings to family. Y.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
I think that is something to that we have when
we bought the Sabers specifically, Like we definitely came together
a lot more as a family because like it kind
of not don't want to say forces you, but in
a way like you're excited together, you're like sharing it together.
And I think, you know, that's my parents wanted as well.
They wanted us to like do this together and celebrate that.
So I think, again, it's something not everyone gets to do.
(17:19):
It's special, So I think we definitely appreciate that aspect
of it.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
I mean it's interesting because there's a shared mission about it.
That must be really fun for your family, I guess,
and stressful.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
I was gonna say definitely stressful, but it's a lot
of fun even when it gets stressful. I think you
always try to come back to that point that this
is fun and you're doing something special together.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
And I do appreciate that well, and I think, I mean,
Buffalo is a very special place that loves its teams
so much much so there is a great great fans unbelievad.
I mean, you know, Bill's Mafia is a real thing.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
They're everywhere, not get away from them. And I played
terments all over the world and there are still like
people in other countries that are like go Bills, goh Sabers.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
It's crazy.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
Well you but to be fair, you help feed it
a little bit too, because you know, was it that
the Australian you wrote that was a catch? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Yeah, I have to throw little things out there sometimes. Yeah,
I'm always in Australia during the playoffs, so I've had
some interesting Australia memories as far as the last couple
of playoff years. But yeah, I try to build that bridge,
especially because there's not a lot of tennis in Buffalo
virtually Nuns and I'm like me and Jimmy Arius are
like the only people from Buffalo that like play tennis
(18:32):
and to our level, so to be able to like
bridge the gap there and create new fans.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Is it's really cool?
Speaker 6 (18:39):
Well, here here's an idea. We are on the deal.
Speaker 5 (18:41):
You're building a new stadium in Buffalo. Maybe you can
host a tennis tournament inside your new building.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
I see that, But that would be actually really that
would be interesting.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
I don't know, it would be great.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Not in the winter, Yeah no, yeah, definitely not if
it's remotely cold out.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
All right, let's do our rapid fire.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
So this is just first thing that first things that
pops into your head will just bounce back and forth.
If you had to pick one to put one's surface
for the rest of your life, hardcourt, clay.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Grass, hardcourt.
Speaker 6 (19:20):
Favorite tennis player of all time?
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Oh, that's so tough. I think probably Roger Fetter.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Most memorable match of your tennis career.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
I would say when I qualified at the US Open
for the first time. Qualifying out of slam is really hard.
You have to win three matches to get into the
main draw. But you're there at the tournament playing, there's crowds,
there's people, all this stuff, good money, and I just
remember I won in three sets, and I wasn't feeling
great that day.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Whether it was nerves or the heat.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
I don't know, but I just remember I got through
that and it was like a very big, like mental
kind of break for me.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Because that's the show. The US Open is the show.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Yeah, And I was younger and I came back and
I won this match for the It was the last
round of qualifying, so to get to the main draw.
I just I think I had lost a couple third rounds,
like last round of qualifying before, so it was kind
of like monkey off my back, kind of a big
mental breakthrough for me.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
It was it was a lot of things.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
What's the most important storyline going into Roland Garros, either
for you or for tennis.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
For tennis, I just know that IgA Shian Tech has
been working. She hired a new coach he used to
work with Nadal, and then like there's all these videos
now of her and Nadal like on the court, and
all of us are like, oh, her clay is her
best surface. She's won the French rolling Garrols a lot
of times. So I would say that's like a big
storyline right now because we're all like, oh no, like
(20:34):
we're all in trouble.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Like the King of play Advice Lass, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
We're like kind of panicking. So yeah that I think
that'll be really really interesting. But hopefully I played good
tennis last year, so I'm I feel like I could
be a little underdog on the clay this.
Speaker 6 (20:51):
Year Grand Slam.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
You want to win the most, probably US Open.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
Who's is there an athlete whose business career has inspired
the most too? Is it?
Speaker 2 (21:01):
I would say Maria Sharapova is very interesting, Like she
was an insane competitor, like fierce on the court, loved fashion,
loved business like I thought it was cool how she
was able to kind of love all of that and
be super successful at all of it. And I think
she just has a really cool like confidence about her
with it. You know.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
I see her on Shark Tank, and I see her
doing all these other cool things.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
You see her on the Deal, Yeah she was on here.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Yeah, I see her like doing all these like really
cool ventures and always stuff that she's passionate about and
stuff that she likes, and just knowing her personality, I yeah,
I think she would be a little bit of an
inspiration there.
Speaker 6 (21:38):
And we've looked at the deals together, like she's the
real deal. She walks to walk. It is not her team.
When she shows up in a meeting as her by herself, she's.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Like very quietly, like confident, like funny too, like makes
like funny comments, like kind of dry, and I like
relate to that.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
So I like that he's very aware because she made
fun of his shoes.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Yes see, like yeah, I could see.
Speaker 6 (21:59):
Yeah, So go for it. Just all right, here we go.
Best piece of advice you've ever been given? And who
gave it to?
Speaker 2 (22:06):
I guess my mom will kind of say if it's like,
if it's meant to be, it's up to me. And
I think that she was always very independent and she
broke all of these barriers in sport, but like it
was never a thing because it didn't even like cross
her mind that it was like a roadblock, you know,
it was just like you just did it. Her kind
of sending that message to not just me, but like
our whole family and my brothers and sisters, I think
(22:26):
helped the most.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Yeah all right, So last question, what do the Bills
have to do to win a Super Bowl in twenty seven?
And what do the Savers need to do to win
the Stanley Go?
Speaker 1 (22:36):
Oh my gosh, that's a tough question.
Speaker 5 (22:39):
Marketing questions here.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Yeah, well the Savers honestly, they just need to keep
doing what they're doing.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
I like first Playoff appearance in years.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Like came out of kind of nowhere.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Everyone's kind of not kind of definitely freaking out, and
I think just so fired.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Up the bills.
Speaker 5 (22:55):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
I mean, we've put ourselves in good position. I always say,
just keep putting yourself in the same position and kind
of learning from I don't know whatever you think you
have to change. But Josh is an amazing leader, I
which is exactly I don't really think I would tell
him like anything different, Like he's the.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Man, that's Josh, Josh back of a Buffalo.
Speaker 4 (23:15):
My god, he's learning, he's learning every day. What a
lifelong learner you are. Alex Rodriguez, Jess, this has been
so much fun.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Thank you for joining me.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Thank you appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
The Deal's production from Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals. The
Deal is hosted by Alice Rodriguez and me Jason Kelly.
Shows produced by Alexis Hot, Stacey Wong, and Anna Maazarakas,
original music and engineering by Blake Maples, Booking by Paige Keffer.
Our managing editor is David Rivella. Our executive producers are
(23:51):
Jason Kelly Amy, Keane Nevill Dulette, Tray Shallowhorn, Regina Daleya,
Kelly Leferrier and Ashley Zingaro. Special thing to Rachel Carnivale,
Elena Los Angeles and Nick Silva. You can also watch
The Deal on Bloomberg Originals YouTube and Bloomberg Television, and
please subscribe to the Deal wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 6 (24:12):
Thanks so much for listening.
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