In this episode I have the pleasure of talking with 30-year NFL executive and author Michael Lombardi.

Michael and I talk about his brand new book Football Done Right which you can order by clicking the link in these show notes. 

You can also listen to Michael on his podcast The GM Shuffle, and listen to him on the Pat McAfee Show and more!

Welcome to a brand new episode of  The Quarter Four Podcast! I’m Michael Elkins, labor and employment attorney, founder of the law firm MLE Law, and your host.

My guest this month is Andrew Donovan: Vice President of Collegiate Partnerships at Altius Sports Partners.

In this episode, we’re talking about the three biggest words in sports right now … Name, Image and Likeness. Altius is leading the NIL revolution, working directly with the most prominent universities in the country in developing comprehensive and compliant programs to equip all stakeholders to successfully navigate this new era in intercollegiate athletics!

Altius is unique in that their work doesn’t center on just what the universities can do, they’re also educating the athletes on a multitude of NIL-related issues including intellectual property, financial literacy, and how to leverage their brand in conjunction with their university.

Andrew and I discuss his transition from University employment to working with a cutting-edge start-up. We talk about the NIL revolution, discussing issues ranging from current athlete branding to potential future issues like collective bargaining for university athletes.

If you’re interested in the mesh between sports, business, the NCAA and athlete rights then this is the episode for you. So sit back and enjoy my conversation with Andrew Donovan.

You can follow the show on:

Instagram @melkins1, @mle_law
Twitter: @melkins31175
https://mlelawfirm.com

Welcome to a brand new episode of  The Quarter Four Podcast! I’m Michael Elkins, labor and employment attorney, founder of the law firm MLE Law, and your host.

My guest this month is golf executive and entrepreneur Elisa Gaudet.

Elisa has over 20 years of experience in the golf industry spanning across the United States, Europe and Latin America. In 2002, while working for the PGA Tour, she led the 2002 2002 EMC World Cup. She also headed up sponsorship, marketing and PR for the Latin PGA Tour.

After working for the PGA Tour, Elisa became an entrepreneur as the founder of Executive Golf International, a strategy driven golf marketing firm that was responsible for creating Women’s Golf Day.

Started in 2016, Women’s Golf Day is a global event held on the first Tuesday in June everywhere around the world. To date over 900 locations in 68 countries have participated engaging thousands of women worldwide through the game of golf thus creating a global movement. In a historically male dominated sport, Elisa has created an international movement that transcends language, culture, religion, politics and age.

Prior to golf, Elisa worked in the entertainment industry for over ten years as a model and actress, appearing on numerous radio and television programs as well as being a guest speaker on a variety of golf topics.

She’s also an author, writing a three-book series known as the Two Good Rounds book series. In her second book, Two Good Rounds SUPERSTARS– Golf Stories from the World’s Greatest Athletes, Elisa spoke to 54 of the top athletes in the world who shared ther passion for golf including Ray Allen, Wayne Gretzky and John Smoltz to name a few.

In this episode, Elisa and I talk about her rise in the sports business world, how she made the transition from the PGA Tour to owning her own business, the evolution of Womens Golf Day and A LOT more. There isn’t much Elisa hasn’t done in the world of business and sports, and we talk about it all!

So sit back and enjoy my conversation with golf entrepreneur, author and my friend, Elisa Gaudet.

You can follow the show on:

Instagram @melkins1, @mle_law
Twitter: @melkins31175
https://mlelawfirm.com

Thank you for listening and enjoy the show!

Welcome to the 2021 Season Premiere of The Quarter Four Podcast! I’m Michael Elkins, labor and employment attorney, founder of the law firm MLE Law, and your host.

In this season premiere I bribing you two 🐐s in the world of business and sports: Michael Lombardi and AJ Vaynerchuk. In conjunction with the Wharton School of Business Alumni Association, Michael and AJ take you inside the business of the NFL and sports in general.

In this episode they discuss common business issues such as: building culture, identifying needs versus wants, and contract negotiation. I can't think of two better individuals to kick off the 2021 season. They're both very generous with their time and I'm grateful that they're friends of the show!

You can follow the show on:

Instagram @melkins1, @mle_law
Twitter: @melkins31175
https://mlelawfirm.com

Thank you for listening and enjoy the show!

Welcome to a new episode of Game 7: The Sports, Business and Lifestyle Podcast. I’m Michael Elkins, labor and employment attorney, founder of the law firm MLE Law, and your host.

My guest this month is the Executive Vice President / Chief Marketing Officer for the Boston Red Sox , Adam Grossman.

 Adam leads marketing and communications efforts for the Red Sox and Fenway Park. Adam oversees all aspects of the team’s Marketing, Media Relations, Corporate Communications, Social Media, Advertising and Content, and Creative Service departments.

Adam is also head of marketing for Red Sox sister company Fenway Sports Management, a leading sports and entertainment agency that provides sales, marketing, and consulting services for Fenway Sports Group's elite portfolio of properties, including Liverpool FC, LRMR Marketing & Branding (a LeBron James company), NESN, and Roush Fenway Racing.

Beginning his career with the Red Sox in 2002 as an intern, Adam was named Special Assistant to President/ CEO Larry Lucchino in 2004, and promoted to Vice President of Marketing in 2008. Prior to assuming his current role, Adam served as Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for the Miami Dolphins from 2009 to 2011.

In this episode we discuss running a sports team during a pandemic, Adam’s rise through the sports business world, the differences between marketing in the NFL and major league baseball and a lot more!

So sit back and enjoy my conversation with Red Sox Executive Vice President, Adam Grossman.

Thank you for listening and enjoy the show!

You can follow the show on:

Instagram @melkins1, @mle_law
Twitter: @melkins31175
https://mlelawfirm.com

Welcome to a new episode of Game 7: The Sports, Business and Lifestyle Podcast. I’m Michael Elkins, labor and employment attorney, founder of the law firm MLE Law, and your host.

My guest this month is Nick Shaw, author and co-founder of Renaissance Periodization (RP)  a science-based nutrition and training company. In this episode, Nick and I discuss his newly released book, Fit for Success, which breaks success down to seven habits as learned from years of working with world class athletes such as CrossFit Games champion Rich Froning.

Nick places these seven habits — work ethic, internal locus of control, positive mindset, discipline, purpose, failure, and recharge — at the core of the book, and we discuss each in this episode.

Fit for Success dedicates a chapter to each habit, diving deep into what it means to, for example, work hard. Shaw takes what he’s learned in the past six years at the helm of RP, as well as research from books on topics like self-improvement and economics, then combines it with a real-life narrative to explain each habit. At the end of each chapter, he suggests ways to put the habit into practice.

Thank you for listening and enjoy the show!

You can follow the show on:

Instagram @melkins1, @mle_law
Twitter: @melkins31175
https://mlelawfirm.com

Welcome to a new episode of Game 7: The Sports, Business and Lifestyle Podcast. I’m Michael Elkins, labor and employment attorney, founder of the law firm MLE Law, and your host.

My guest this month is Jeff Darlington. Jeff is an American television reporter with ESPN Productions, where he’s a regular on such shows as SportsCenter and NFL Countdown. He is known for high-level interviews with NFL stars like Antonio Brown, Tom Brady and Jared Goff. Jeff is known for breaking the story that Tom Brady was leaving the New England Patriots (something we discuss in detail in the show). Jeff previously covered the NFL for the NFL Network and NFL.com. For six seasons prior to 2011, he covered the Miami Dolphins for The Miami Herald and in 2010, he was named South Florida's "Best Sports Writer."

Some of the things we discuss on the show:

1. Jeff’s road from print journalism to television;

2. The evolution of sports journalism from print media to social media platforms;

3. Maintaining journalistic integrity in the minute to minute sports news cycle;

4. The psychology of breaking the biggest player movement story in sports history; and much more.

If you’ve ever wanted an inside peek into the day to day of those that are breaking sports news at the highest level, then this is the show for you. So, with that, I bring you my conversation w/ ESPN NFL reporter, Jeff Darlington.

You can follow Jeff on Twitter: @jeffdarlington and Instagram: @jeffdarlington

You can follow the show on:

Instagram @melkins1, @mle_law
Twitter: @melkins31175
https://mlelawfirm.com

Thank you for listening and enjoy the show!

Welcome to a new episode of Game 7: The Sports, Business and Lifestyle Podcast. I’m Michael Elkins, labor and employment attorney, founder of the law firm MLE Law, and your host.

My guest this month is Chip LaMarca, a member of Florida's House of Representatives and the sponsor of Florida's nationally recognized Name, Image and Likeness law!

In this episode, Chip and I cover the intersection between sports and politics. Chip discusses the origins of the law, the process for getting the law passed and the law's immediate and future impacts.

Chip takes listeners inside the process of how an elected official recognizes a problem and then works to solve that problem through legislation. If you're a fan of politics and sports then this is the episode for you!

You can follow the show on:

Instagram @melkins1, @mle_law
Twitter: @melkins31175
https://mlelawfirm.com

Thank you for listening and enjoy the show!

Welcome to a new episode of Game 7: The Sports, Business and Lifestyle Podcast. I’m Michael Elkins, labor and employment attorney, founder of the law firm MLE Law, and your host.

My guest this month is Noah Ohlsen, the second fittest man on earth and a six-time competitor at the CrossFit Games, finishing second in 2019. In 2016, he finished number one in the world during the CrossFit Games qualifier known as The Open … that’s number one out of approximately 324,000 competitors!

In addition to his competitive accomplishments, Noah’s a leader in the CrossFit and fitness community at large, lending his voice to issues beyond just the sport of fitness and athletics.

In this episode, Noah and I talk about the social and practical issues facing not only his sport, but this country at large. We also talk about life, empathy, vulnerability, stoicism, business and much more.

Noah is candid, forthright, articulate and has an emotional EQ that is off the charts. What comes through most in this conversation is that Noah is so much more than an athlete. He is truly a good human being, and we need more public figures like him in the world today!

Whether you're a fan of sports, business or social issues there is something in this conversation for everyone. So sit back, and listen to my conversation with Noah Ohlsen.

For those wondering, yes, we talk about Maximus as well! 🐶

You can follow Noah and Maximus on:

Instagram @nohlsen; @maximusohlsen
YouTube

You can follow the show on:

Instagram @melkins1, @mle_law
Twitter: @melkins31175
https://mlelawfirm.com

Thank you for listening and enjoy the show!

Welcome to a new episode of Game 7: The Sports, Business and Lifestyle Podcast. I’m Michael Elkins, labor and employment attorney, founder of the law firm MLE Law, and your host.

My guest this month is 4-year NFL Veteran, turned tech entrepreneur Walter Powell. During his NFL career, Walter was a real estate entrepreneur, restoring damaged properties and opening them up for retired US Veterans. Walter actively works with other athletes and entrepreneurs to promote entrepreneurship, leadership and financial security to underprivileged communities.

In June of 2018, Walter turned down several NFL offers to pursue his tech start up, “Politiscope”. Politiscope is a news and information aggregator mobile app that allows users to register to vote, stay up to date with polls, learn recent legislation and donate to candidates.

With the 2020 Presidential election less than a year away, Politiscope is gearing up. In June, influencers Gary & AJ Vaynerchuk (a prior guest on this show) signed on as advisors and have provided services from their social and digital agency, VaynerMedia.

Walter is the first NFL player in history to become the founder of a tech startup then named to Forbes 30 under 30 for 2020 in a year.

In this episode we talk about Walter’s life as an entrepreneur, his advice for tech start-ups, his journey from the grid iron to the world of start-up fundraising and about having an intentional mindset.

This is the last of my series from podcast row at Super Bowl 54, and it’s definitely one of my favorites. So, sit back and enjoy my conversation with tech entrepreneur, Walter Powell.

Enjoy the show!

You can follow the show on:

Instagram @melkins1, @mle_law
Twitter: @melkins31175
https://mlelawfirm.com

Thank you for listening!

Welcome to a new episode of Game 7: The Sports, Business and Lifestyle Podcast. I’m Michael Elkins, labor and employment attorney, founder of the law firm MLE Law, and your host.

My guest this month is NFLPA Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs, Casey Schwab.

Casey is a leading up-and-coming executive in the sports media business, known as an innovative corporate and operational strategist skilled in aligning and executing successful strategy with anticipated changes in the sports, entertainment, media and technology landscape. 

In his role with the NFLPA, Casey leads negotiations on complex commercial transactions with partners in licensing, sponsorship, media, strategic investments and joint ventures in venture capital and private equity. He is also the union’s lead to the NFL on the commercial front, overseeing the development of the business side of professional football with the League. 

A zealous advocate of athletes’ rights, Schwab represents NFL players on issues of national importance. He is a founding board member of REP Worldwide, a group licensing agency owned by the athlete unions from the NFL, US Women’s National Team and WNBA. Internationally, Casey represents US-based athletes on the Commercial Sub-Committee of the World Players Association, the leading voice of organized players in the governance of world sport which represents +85,000 players in +100 countries. 

Prior to joining the NFLPA, Casey began his career at NFL Media, representing the League’s media business. Between his time at the NFL and the NFLPA, he served as Director of Business and Legal Affairs for FOX Sports. He is a sought-after public speaker and has keynoted topics including the impact of legalized sports wagering on athletes and integration of blockchain technology in sport.  

Casey currently teaches at Howard Law School in Washington, D.C. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Juris Doctor degree from the USC Gould School of Law.

In this episode, Casey and I discuss the evolution of the modern athlete and the role the NFLPA is playing in helping athletes beyond the playing filed including assisting athletes in business, branding and much more. 

This is a great episode for anyone interested in a behind the scenes look at what's happening with athletes off the field. So sit back and listen to my conversation with NFLPA Executive, Casey Schwab.

Enjoy the episode!

You can follow the show on:

Instagram @melkins1, @mle_law
Twitter: @melkins31175
https://mlelawfirm.com

Thank you for listening!