Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, Gotham FC Co-Owner & Governor, 'Building a Billion Dollar Sports Franchise' (Ep31)

Carolyn is the co-owner and Governor of current NWSL champions Gotham FC. The NWSL is the flourishing women’s football, or soccer, league in the US. Much like the MLS, franchise slots for the league have become a coveted asset to own, with former Disney CEO Bob Iger reportedly paying $250m for Angel City last month.

Carolyn and her family’s ownership stake in Gotham was announced in 2023. They also own the NFL’s New York Giants. Carolyn also ran Peloton’s marketing department as the company rose from promising start-up to multi-billion fitness empire.

The success of women’s sport is a hot topic and while there are concerns over the structure and commercial viability of football in Europe, the US seems to have found a solution. In this show, we find out how.

In today’s show, we discuss:

How to own a team:

• What is the process like to become the owner of an NWSL franchise?
• Why the skills and experiences of owners are increasingly valuable as sports assets become more than ‘performance’ organisations.
• Learnings from building Peloton into one of the leading brands in an increasingly competitive fitness industry.
• Carolyn’s family are owners of the NFL’s New York Giants. What are the similarities between owning an established franchise in a developed league and an emerging team in a developing system?

The NWSL: an emerging player?

• Women's football has been a driver of women’s sport in the US for many years, but a developed and successful league is key to building value into the industry.
• What does the league do well and where are there areas for improvement? How easy is it to implement change?
• Ensuring engaging competition from top to bottom is crucial to the competition’s success. How do you maintain that level of competitiveness and equality within the system?
• Can NWSL teams become billion dollar franchises? What needs to happen to build value across the league to elevate the standing of the assets?

Women’s sport on the rise:

• In recent history, women’s sport was not part of modern culture; the importance of changing the profile of various sports to propel female athletes into popular culture.
• Female athletes have a major role to play in society outside of the sporting environment they operate in.
• Building on the success of women’s football in the US to drive increased brand exposure and experiential opportunity for communities.
• 99% of investment in sport went into the men’s industry, but that is starting to change and the results are beginning to show.