8
1st QUARTER 2014
WHAT’S THE SECRET TOMAKINGMONEY IN A CHANGING
SPORTS LANDSCAPE? ENGAGE FANS
Playbook
The Jets
T
he picture window in CFO
Brian Friedman’s office
frames a view of the New
York Jets players as they
limber up and run through drills.
On this cold November morning
under a cloudless sky, every color
seems brighter: the last remaining
golden leaves on the maples, the
carmine-red shrubs, and the Jet-
green grass of the practice field at
the team’s training center in Flor-
ham Park, NJ. And although these
athletes are the engine that drives
the Jets organization — and their
salaries are the single biggest ex-
pense line item—Friedman sits
facing away from them and gives
his attention to the fan experience.
The Jets CFO is intent on
investing in the people who will
touch the fan and the processes
that can make a great experi-
ence out of Jets football. When
Friedman was hired by Woody
Johnson in December 2009, he
says the first thing he tried to
do was stop the use of the term
“expenses.” Instead, he got people
thinking about investing in
something.
“If it’s spending, you’re not go-
ing to do it, but if you’re investing
in something, now let’s talk about
it, because investing in people and
resources and time, whatever the
case may be, to drive any of our
businesses, is a worthy discus-
sion,” says Friedman.
The revenue of a football
franchise now depends on fully
understanding the multiple ways
people interact with your team:
season-ticket holders, TV watch-
ers, buyers in the secondary ticket
market, users of Internet live chat
and live streaming, and purchasers
of memorabilia. Friedman knows
the organization’s profitability re-
lies on meeting every one of those
fans’ expectations.
With different types of fans on
many platforms and the desire to
interact and engage with them, “it
- BY JULIE BARKER -
Photography by David Yellen
COVER
STORY
