Athlete-Owned Production Companies Are Everywhere — Which Ones Are Working?

The ultra-rich love nothing more than scrambling to acquire luxury items that their friends might not have yet. Sometimes it’s an Hermès handbag or a rare Ferrari, but for professional athletes in the age of streaming, the most coveted accessory to flaunt is a Hollywood production company.

The past decade has seen a massive influx of sports figures attempting to drift into film and TV: Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Peyton Manning, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Patrick Mahomes have all launched their own shingles since 2016. (LeBron James was ahead of the curve, as he technically founded SpringHill Productions in 2007, but his increased attention to Hollywood informed his decision to relocate to Los Angeles in 2018 and lumps him into this trend, too.) There’s even a boot camp that teaches NFL players about producing and an NBA Summer League Film Festival that showcases films produced by players.

The trend was inevitable. The combination of social media and streaming created a world where everyone consumes content at virtually every moment of the day. Sports figures often have larger followings than most movie stars, and almost every athlete dreams of becoming a “brand” whose business interests can remain lucrative after their finite playing careers end. Throw in the fact that the streaming wars created more buyers for shows and more opportunities to sign overall deals, and it’s a wonder that any athlete didn’t put out a press release about their excitement to develop a mix of scripted and unscripted content.

A decade later, the Streaming Boom has given way to a Great Contraction. As buying slowed down, the cream rose to the top, and we’ve learned a bit about what a successful athlete-led production company does (and doesn’t) look like. Success is not a given, and athletes are certainly not the first wealthy individuals to be surprised that their talent in one field does not always translate to the hyper-specialized work of making movies and TV shows. Nor would they be the first Los Angeles residents to announce a new company, order business cards, and then fail to produce anything — it sometimes feels like listing yourself as a Principal at a production company nobody has ever heard of is a prerequisite to living in the city.

But we’ve also seen some athletes turn their film and TV endeavors into real, lasting successes. Repeatable blueprints are emerging, and athletes eyeing a second career as Hollywood moguls would be wise to focus their efforts in one of these directions.

‘Chad Powers’Disney

The Sports Hub

Case Study: Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions
Major Projects: “Quarterback,” “Receiver,” “Chad Powers,” “WWE: Unreal”

It probably shouldn’t require professional analysis to see that focusing on sports content is a clear path to success for athletes trying to pivot into Hollywood. But it’s apparently less self-explanatory than you might think!

Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions is an admirable example of how focus and restraint can lay the foundation for a major business. Since its founding in 2020, the production label has quickly become the go-to shop for high-quality sports content. At first, it focused on ESPN projects like “Peyton’s Places” and the Monday Night Football “Manningcast,” before gradually expanding into more ambitious documentary fare like Netflix’s “Quarterback.” It wasn’t long before every high-quality sports program ended with the Omaha logo. The company, now valued at almost $1 billion, keeps expanding its reach. When it came time to dip a toe into scripted programming, it went with the most natural brand extension possible: “Chad Powers.” The college football show, an adaptation of a commercial starring Eli Manning, let Omaha stay within its areas of expertise while also proving it could work in a new format. It might not be long before the company’s scripted endeavors are as plentiful as its documentaries.

The lesson is clear: while many retiring athletes might dream of reading blockbuster scripts by the pool and having general meetings with Brad Pitt, there’s plenty of success to be had by focusing on sports first, then gradually branching out.

‘Mr. Throwback’David Moir/Peacock

The Voice Extension

Case Study: Steph Curry‘s Unanimous Media
Major Projects: “Mr. Throwback,” “Holey Moley,” “Goat”

Sometimes, an athlete’s public persona is so specific and beloved that you can build an entire company around monetizing a voice we already love. The perfect example is Steph Curry, whose pop-culture omnipotence owes as much to his wholesome charisma and family-friendly humor as to his basketball acumen. His production company, Unanimous Media, has done a remarkable job monetizing those very sensibilities, producing a variety of basketball-centric comedies and other faith- and family-based movies and shows that fit his brand like a glove.

This category might as well be called “Nice Work If You Can Get It” — if you’re the rarefied athlete who’s in the position to do this, you probably have a lot of other business interests figured out already. But when it works, it really works.

‘Man in the Arena: Tom Brady’

The Archivist

Case Study: Tom Brady’s 199 Productions
Notable Projects: “80 for Brady,” “Man in the Arena: Tom Brady,” “The Tuck Rule”

Not every production company needs four-quadrant ambitions. Sometimes, these companies exist just to remind you how great their founder was at playing sports. Consider Tom Brady’s 199 Productions — so far, the company’s output has almost exclusively been hagiographic documentaries and films about Brady’s illustrious football career. There’s plenty of material to work with, and the demand does not seem to be slowing; plus, it’s hard to think of anyone more invested in packaging Brady’s legacy than Brady himself.

While it’s unlikely to reach the billion-dollar valuations Omaha Productions has enjoyed, there’s no shame in running a smart, targeted business in a niche you can own. Unless they have a real overarching vision for bigger things, more athletes would be wise to follow Brady’s lead of focusing on the business of themselves, even if it comes at the expense of some Hollywood clout.