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Joe Pompliano

Oct 13 • 11 tweets • 4 min read

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney paid $2.5 million for the world's third-oldest football club.

But the team is in the 5th division of the English football pyramid and has almost no chance of making it to the Premier League.

Still, it was a genius move.

Here's why 👇

1) American investment in English football isn't new.

Half the Premier League now has American owners, including Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, and more.

And the upside is clear:
• Global game
• Increasing media rights
• Lower valuations than NFL, NBA, etc.

2) But Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney purchased Wrexham AFC, a 5th-tier club located in a blue-collar town ~25 miles outside Liverpool & Manchester.

Why?

Well, this wasn't about Premier League promotion — it was about creative storytelling & marketing genius.

Let me explain.

3) Wrexham is owned by the fans, so Reynolds & McElhenney met with 2,000+ supporters (on Zoom) in 2020 and made an offer.

They agreed to invest ~$2.5m in the club's players and facilities & even signed a 25-year stadium lease in Wrexham so fans knew they wouldn't move the team.

4) But the real play was a "Netflix-style" docu-series that tracked their purchase, investment in the club, and the team's journey back to prominence.

It's called "Welcome to Wrexham."

And here's the best part — the first season was a massive success, on-and-off the pitch.

5) Welcome to Wrexham debuted on FX in August.

The show received a 97% audience score & was immediately greenlit for season two.

The club probably made good money on the deal:
~$400k per hour of content
+ 8-part series
= ~$3.2m in revenue

But that's just part of their success.

6) Wrexham is now in 2nd place in the National League standings, and their social accounts have exploded:

Twitter: 45k to 209k (+364%)
Instagram: 27k to 208k (+670%)
TikTok: 0 to 459k

And most importantly, Wrexham has turned this increased attention into tangible revenue.

7) Wrexham AFC has signed kit sponsorship deals with several companies:

• TikTok
• Expedia
• Vistaprint
• Aviation American Gin

And the number of fans buying season tickets has nearly tripled:

2019: 2,609
2021: 5,892
2022: 6,820

So the local community is also buying in.

8) This strategy has also provided the club with global reach—something Wrexham AFC would have never achieved.

For example, Wrexham’s FA Cup qualifier versus the Blyth Spartans on Saturday will air on ESPN2 & ESPN+

That means it will be available in ~100m households globally 🤯

9) This is the perfect example of someone taking a local sports asset and using strategic marketing and creative media to make it global.

But this didn't just benefit Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney — it benefited Wrexham AFC fans too.

And that's the best part.

10) If you enjoyed this thread, you should:

1. Follow me; I tweet cool stories like this every day.

2. Subscribe to my free daily newsletter where I break down the most interesting stories in sports business.
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Joe Pompliano

@JoePompliano

Sep 7

Frances Tiafoe just beat Rafael Nadal and is now the last remaining American male at the US Open.

You may not know who Frances is, but once you hear his inspirational story, you will always root for him.

Let me explain 👇

1) First off, tennis is an expensive sport.

Between training, travel, and tournaments, a youth career could cost $400,000.

And even if you turn professional, only the world's top ~150 players end up turning a profit after expenses.

That's what makes Frances' story so special.

2) Frances Tiafoe's parents, Constant & Alphina, were born in the Western-African country of Sierra Leone.

They immigrated to the United States after a civil war broke out back home, and eventually met in a suburb outside Washington, D.C.

That's where Frances was born.

Read 13 tweets

Joe Pompliano

@JoePompliano

Aug 31

One of my favorite sports business stories involves an athlete that turned his $350,000 salary into a net worth of $600 million.

He's one of the best athlete entrepreneurs of all time, and you have probably never even heard of him.

Here's the incredible story 👇

1) Ulysses Lee “Junior” Bridgeman was born and raised in Chicago and was selected in the 1st round of the 1975 NBA Draft by the LA Lakers.

But his time in LA didn't last long.

Bridgeman was immediately traded to Milwaukee as part of a package to bring Kareem Abdul Jabbar to LA.

2) Bridgeman wasn’t a superstar, but with a career total of over 11,500 points and almost 3,000 rebounds, he certainly wasn’t a slouch either.

He played ten years with the Milwaukee Bucks and two years for the Los Angeles Clippers, excelling in his role as the sixth man.

Read 10 tweets

Joe Pompliano

@JoePompliano

Aug 21

Manchester United is one of the world's most iconic sports franchises.

But they haven't won the Premier League in a decade, and the ownership group has taken more than $1 billion off the table while saturating the club with debt.

It's a wild story.

Here are the details 👇

1) First, some history.

The Glazer family isn't new to sports ownership—they bought the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995.

TB Buccaneers Valuation
1995: $192 million
2022: $3.3 billion

That's a 1,618% gain, and it led them to complete a takeover of Manchester United in 2005.

2) But rather than use a healthy mix of cash & debt, the Glazer family funded the billion-dollar purchase via a hostile takeover & leveraged buyout.

That plunged the club into $1.2 billion of debt.

MUFC Debt
2005: $0
2006: $1.2 billion

But debt isn't inherently bad, right?

Read 14 tweets

Joe Pompliano

@JoePompliano

Aug 16

Shaq is an incredible businessman.

He reportedly still makes $50 million annually through endorsements and even invested in Google's Series A at a $100 million valuation (now worth $1.5 trillion).

But one business deal stands far above the rest.

Here's the awesome story 👇

1) Let's start with some history.

When Shaq entered the NBA in 1992, signature shoe deals were all the rage — from Clyde Frazier and Puma in 1973 to Michael Jordan and Nike in 1985

So Shaq had a tough decision to make:

Nike or Reebok.

2) Shaq met with Nike first and made his desire clear:

"I wanted my own shoe."

But Nike declined, as they had just signed Alonzo Mourning.

"That pissed me off...they didn’t escort me out, but the meeting was short.”

Next up, Reebok.

Read 14 tweets

Joe Pompliano

@JoePompliano

Jul 7

LeBron James says he wants to own an NBA team in Las Vegas, and I think I know how he's going to do it.

It's a series of calculated chess moves that has seemingly been in the works for over a decade.

Here's the breakdown 👇

@KingJames

1) We all know @KingJames recently reached billionaire status, according to Forbes.

Net Worth Breakdown
• Spring Hill Company: $300m
• Fenway Sports Group: $90m
• Real Estate: $80m
• Blaze Pizza: $30m
• Cash + Investments: $500m

But that's not enough to buy an NBA team.

2) Because while the NBA is eventually going to expand & people expect Las Vegas & Seattle to get a franchise.

The expansion fee will probably be $3 billion-plus by the time that happens & LeBron won't be able to afford it by himself.

That's where Fenway Sports Group comes in.

Read 12 tweets

Joe Pompliano

@JoePompliano

Jun 30

The Jordan Brand just crossed $5 billion in annual revenue for the first time.

That means Michael Jordan made $150M+ from Nike last year alone—or nearly 2x his career NBA earnings.

The part you didn't know?

Without this man, it would've never happened.

Here's the story 👇

1) Let's start in 1981: Tinker Hatfield is an Oregon athlete under the legendary Bill Bowerman.

He graduated with a degree in architecture and went to work at Nike—designing office buildings & retail stores.

But his role changed in 1985.

2) Nike was struggling in the 1980s.

Reebok was selling more shoes, while Nike was firing employees and saw their stock drop 50%.

So they held a 24-hour design competition to shake things up.

The winner?

Tinker Hatfield—who joined the design team after begging to participate.

Read 17 tweets

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