COVER
STORY
12
1st QUARTER 2014
root for the Patriots. In some cases, you’re born
into a team, and that’s why expectations are so
high. Sports fandom is extremely personal.
So how does that impact the CFO’s job?
Friedman gives a twofold answer. First, you
have to understand the differences among
the ways your fans interact with the team,
and then, “be cognizant of where you need
to make investments across all areas, and be
sure you are investing time, resources, and
money into all the things that are having that
fan impact right now,” he says.
“Clearly I’m a big believer in the financial
function,” he says. “The purpose and benefit
that the financial function performs is bring-
ing a different sort of perspective to any and
every aspect of the business. When we’re
talking about a ticket strategy, what are the
financial implications of that? Not just what
are the costs and then writing projections,
but what are the overall business implications
on both a short-term and a long-term basis?”
Now more than four years in his role,
Friedman “can’t ask for more out of a career,
or out of a job. I’m doing everything I learned
about in college and I’m doing it in a job so
rare there are only 31 others like it in the
world. While Friedman faces many of the
same stresses that any company’s CFO would
deal with, he’s doing so in an atmosphere
that most people only dream of. Plus, his kids
love coming to games and getting their faces
painted. What could be better than that?
When asked about his most memorable
moments in the role, he laughs. “There was
my first meeting with Commissioner Roger
Goodell and other NFL executives, where
I was the key presenter on behalf of the NY
Jets; there was the first time attending a
league-wide meeting of the 32 owners; and,
most recently, walking on the field at Super
Bowl XLVIII.” A now-seasoned NFL execu-
tive, he says such moments have become
a normal part of his role — although he
admits, at times, despite the challenges, these
moments can make him reflect about how
much he enjoys the job.
As the team runs a few plays behind him,
Friedman has his eyes fixed on another in-
novative fan engagement initiative that has
just reached his desk. Like a signal-caller who
works to keep one step ahead of an oppo-
nent, the Jets CFO is thinking outside the
box once again to stay one step ahead in the
business of the National Football League.
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