- 6 weeks ago
Sam Porter began his career as a sports agent before making the leap to sports team owner. Today, he partners with celebrity investors like Ryan Reynolds, Rob Mac, and Eva Longoria to lead Club Necaxa. He joins the show to talk about his new FX/Hulu series Club Necaxa, his philosophy on building winning teams, and the most emotional moment of ownership he’s experienced so far.
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00:00It's an agonizingly stressful scene of me sitting, hoping that we score goals and just
00:06being on the edge of my seat until maybe we're up three nothing.
00:09And if we're losing, it's just a miserable scene.
00:12Other people might be, you know, drinking some tequila and talking and enjoying the
00:17match a little more.
00:18For me, it's pretty much just misery until we win.
00:26Hey, do you want to buy a soccer team?
00:28Because I got a guy.
00:30That guy is, in fact, today's guest.
00:33Sam Porter is the man when it comes to sports investment, with an emphasis on soccer or football,
00:42depending on which part of the world you're listening to this.
00:45Sam co-owns Club Nacoxa in Mexico, Club Equidad in Colombia, and is the co-owner of the Brooklyn
00:53Pickleball team in Major League Pickleball.
00:56Now, he's led investment groups that involve all kinds of recognizable names that you've
01:03heard in the team ownership game.
01:05Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhaney, Eva Longoria.
01:08So let's find out how and why soccer is scoring with so many investors these days.
01:17Sorry for that pun.
01:18That was awful.
01:19Welcome, Sam.
01:20Thanks for having me, Dan.
01:21I really appreciate it and happy to be here.
01:24Great, great.
01:24So before we get into the weeds of how you got into this and where you started and where
01:31you are now, can you just give us an overview of this?
01:35Because as I said, we see this in the headlines a lot about celebrities investing in teams.
01:40I've spoken to some business people who are getting into those kinds of investments.
01:45Why is this gaining so much traction now?
01:47Yeah, I think that the ownership of teams in general, and speaking specifically about soccer
01:53or football, is that for a really long time, these clubs or assets were only available
02:02to the very richest people in society in any given country.
02:08And we have seen over the past decade or so, sort of a democratization or a sort of ability
02:16of Main Street type of investors to be involved in these.
02:20Now, typically still, your lead investor is pretty wealthy or has access to a lot of capital.
02:26And we are seeing more institutional investors come in and lead those investments and then
02:31have LPs or limited partners come in and be part of that.
02:34But I think what people have realized is you look at the entertainment world and sports
02:39is part of the entertainment world.
02:40And for years, Hollywood studios were publicly traded or had access to all different kinds
02:46of liquidity.
02:47And sports teams were more of, you have, it started off as one really wealthy family.
02:52Then it became these small groups of really wealthy people, many of which you've never heard
02:57of before.
02:57And then now we have seen this collectives of groups of, you know, could be a couple dozen
03:02different people, some of them you've heard of, some of them you haven't coming together.
03:07You know, you're sharing the risk, you're sharing the upside, and you're using the different,
03:12you know, elements that different investors bring to the table.
03:16So one guy could be a finance guy, a different guy could be a real estate guy.
03:20You could have a celebrity to help magnify your message or what you're trying to do.
03:24So I think that has become more popular as the scope and opportunity set around the sports
03:31teams as an asset class has continued to grow.
03:34So you're essentially building like an Avengers to buy a team where everyone has, or Ocean's
03:4111 or something like that, where everyone has like specific things that they're good
03:45at?
03:45No, it's a great comp.
03:46I think it, I think in some ways it was years ago starting to kind of happen like that
03:51when you saw the likes of like Will Smith investing in the Sixers, you know, quite a long time
03:56ago, or Justin Timberlake investing in the Memphis Grizzlies.
03:59And then I think it's become more and more refined where every time there's a major sports
04:03transaction, you're seeing like a hometown celebrity, a hometown hero of some sort, from
04:11some background, it could be sports, it could be music, it could be acting, come and join a
04:16group that also has business people of different elements.
04:20And then as the sports teams are sort of the focal point of a lot of times real estate,
04:26a lot of times retail, you know, hospitality, events outside of the core sports event that
04:34the team is working on.
04:36So what you're seeing is, you know, yes, finding strategic partners who can help you execute
04:41on those different potential revenue streams and growth opportunities.
04:44So let me ask you this, because I think, uh, you know, obviously there's, there's huge
04:49financial, uh, uh, things to be gained here, but like, do you often step back and be like,
04:56holy crap, I own sports teams.
04:59Like, did you see that coming in your life?
05:01It is, it is surreal at times because you, you, you put the match on television and you
05:06see a stadium filled with people, uh, at our, our Mexican soccer team.
05:10And the coxa will play club America.
05:13If we play it at their place as, as tech a stadium, there could be 60,000 people there
05:18live.
05:18There could be, you know, 8 million people watching in Mexico, 2 million people watching
05:23the United States.
05:24And it is a little bit surreal to think, wow, like, are you, I own this, we own this.
05:29And this is a thing that so many people are engaging in right now.
05:33It's, it's, it's, it's really cool.
05:35It is, it is not something that I like, you know, from a young age was like, this is what
05:40I'm going to do, but it is something that as time went on, it was like, this does make
05:46sense.
05:46And, and, and, you know, some, somebody's got to do it.
05:49So, um, so we always ask, uh, people on this show for their personal definition of success.
05:57What does that word mean to you and, you know, has it evolved for you over the years?
06:04Well, I, I don't look at success as some specific number of economic, uh, you know, dollars in
06:12my pocket or economic activity.
06:14I look at it as really specific to each individual product.
06:20So, or each individual project, I should say.
06:22So at Nacoxa, for instance, the club is 102 years old.
06:27So our, and has won multiple championships in Liga MX.
06:30So our, our definition for success there, or my definition for success there is, can we
06:35be a team that makes the city of Aguas Calientes, where, where the club is based proud?
06:42Nacoxa moved from Mexico city to Aguas Calientes around 20 years ago.
06:45So we have fans and people who are really dedicated to the club in Mexico city.
06:50And then, and then obviously throughout the U S and the rest of the world.
06:53So for us, success at Nacoxa is, are the fans of the club feeling like the club is directionally
07:02going where it's supposed to go competing at the highest level?
07:05It's really tough.
07:05If you're going to say my, my definition of success is to win a championship.
07:08Then, then, you know, maybe you get a championship at some point during the tenure of your ownership.
07:13Maybe you don't.
07:14That's that would, that would certainly be successful, but I think there are other ways
07:18that you can be successful.
07:19And that means that the club is fulfilling its, its sort of duty as a civic institution,
07:24making the fans proud of their club.
07:28Having a really good environment for the staff and the players and everybody who's around
07:32the club to feel like I'm happy to come here and work here every single day.
07:36And then also our investor group to feel like I invested in something that yes, is going to
07:41have financial returns or is having current financial returns, but is also something that I'm
07:45proud of to tell other people that I'm part of that.
07:47So, so that's the goal in the coxa, uh, to be successful at the Brooklyn pickleball team.
07:53That is one where we're in our third year.
07:56We are, we are really pushing to try to win the championship every single, every single
08:01year there.
08:02Uh, there aren't as there, you know, in league MX, again, the, the, the, the club's a hundred
08:07years old.
08:07There's multiple hundred year old club, year old clubs in the league.
08:11You're competing against some really major heavyweights, the playing field of major league
08:15pickleball.
08:15It's a little more equal.
08:16So we're like, Hey, this is a space where we can be more successful, but still there.
08:21The definition of success is, are we generating sponsorships and partnerships that are going
08:26to help us grow the brand?
08:27So I look at it as, as really hard to say black and white, like this is successful and
08:31this isn't, for me, it's a very gray area that you have to kind of, and it probably evolves,
08:36you know, what was successful for us last semester at NACOXA is going to be a little different
08:42than what's success for us.
08:43It's probably going to go up a little bit.
08:45And so you're always, to me, it's amorphous and you're kind of always refining it, but,
08:49but there are certain things that are important to us as it relates to that word.
08:53Like, so when you are, when you are, are you always kind of on the, on the lookout for
09:01new opportunities and what, what, you know, what drew you to NACOXA, for example?
09:06Um, you know, there's a lot of teams out there, like, how do you scope out these opportunities?
09:12And then I guess the second part, as you mentioned, you know, this, these fan bases
09:16been around for a long time.
09:19So how do you assure the fan bases that you're, you're taking care of them, that, that you're
09:26not some outsider, but you're, you're very much want to be a part of this thing.
09:30So we are always on the lookout for things, but we're also very thematic.
09:36In what we're trying to accomplish.
09:38So the reason that soccer football is attractive to us is a lot of the same reason that, that
09:44pickleball is attractive to us, but from, from coming from kind of different ends of the
09:47spectrum, right?
09:48Soccer is the most popular sport in the world.
09:50Um, but the, the reason I say they're similar is the small D democratic, extremely accessible.
09:56Everybody can play soccer, especially at the youth level.
09:59You, it does not require a ton of equipment.
10:02It's not super expensive to have the opportunity to play soccer at some level.
10:06Or another, and the same with pickleball, every tennis court, you can easily, you know,
10:11play pickleball on, and there's not a ton of equipment.
10:14Yes.
10:14You've got to have some pickleballs.
10:16You've got to have a paddle, but for the most part, it is not a, uh, intense requirements
10:21to, to, to be able to get into the sport and just get started from a skill standpoint as
10:26well.
10:26So we like these things that have the opportunity to be very appealing to the masses are not
10:33niche sports that are just, you know, for, for a handful of people, for, for whatever
10:37reason, economic reasons or, or, or otherwise.
10:40And then, so, so we are always on the lookout, but we're looking for things that fit very specific
10:45kind of growth opportunity sets.
10:48So you asked about Nacoxo, what we liked about Nacoxo was, um, Mexico has approximately 130
10:54million people in Mexico.
10:56Liga MX is their NFL, meaning it's the cultural, every match is a cultural event where people
11:03are watching it.
11:04They're grabbing their dad, their kids, their neighbors.
11:07They're getting in the backyard.
11:08They're, they're watching it.
11:10They're going to the stadium.
11:11They over-index on passion.
11:12And it's a really important part of Mexican culture.
11:15And again, of the 130 million people in Mexico is larger than any European country by, by
11:20quite a wide margin.
11:21So then you have another, you know, call it, and I don't, I don't have the exact numbers
11:25in front of me, but say around 50 million Mexican Americans who are either first, second
11:30or third generation Mexicans living in the U S.
11:32So between those two population pools, you have approximately 180 million people who, who
11:38Liga MX is very likely the lead and the sport that they are most connected to.
11:44So it was just to me and my partner, Al from the get go, it was like, this is a place where
11:51there has not been a ton of external investment from outside of Mexico.
11:55And in fact, none up to the point that we came into it.
11:58And it was an opportunity where we saw just a real opportunity to take that demographic ride
12:05with, with Mexicans and Mexican Americans and try to do a little more.
12:09So an example of that is we have a show coming out on August 7th, uh, 2025, uh, Nakaxa, which
12:17is the same production team and the same group as welcome to Wrexham, uh, Ryan Reynolds and
12:22Rob Mack and Eva Longoria will all be in the show are all on the show.
12:26And it follows the inside of club Nakaxa and, and our story and what we're trying to do and
12:32what we're trying to accomplish, and I, I really don't think that up until us doing
12:36this, yes, there have been some shoulder programming and some, some content around, you can watch
12:42all the matches for sure.
12:43They're very accessible, but these, this kind of behind the scenes storytelling, I don't
12:47think that was really being created and catered to, for, uh, to the LATAM audience.
12:53So that's something that we wanted to bring to the table.
12:55So we look at opportunities like that, where you can come in, help a thing grow, shine a light
13:00on it, but also you have some, you know, tailwinds that are helping you do that just based on
13:06the natural situation.
13:08So, you know, I think one of the things that, uh, people who watched, uh, Wrexham, you know,
13:12got to know is that, you know, it is a passionate sport, uh, the players, the fans, and, uh, you
13:21know, as we've seen with Wrexham, sometimes the owners, as much as they might love a player
13:26personally, you know, it is a sport and it is a business and sometimes they have to
13:32trade or sometimes they have to say, you know, sorry, you're, you're, you're being
13:36cut.
13:37How, how has that been for you?
13:39What's that experience like?
13:42It's, it's, it's tough because, because you do, especially when you have success with
13:46players and obviously Wrexham has been promoted three straight times.
13:48So they've, they've had tremendous amount of success and, and you do, you were in it
13:52together because I go to a good amount of Nakaksa matches.
13:55I'm in the locker room before and after the match.
13:58I get to know these guys and, you know, for, for anybody, whether it's NFL, NBA, international
14:03football, any of these sports, I, there are, there are these personal relationships.
14:07And so when a, when, when the player has to move on to another club, it's always tough,
14:14but you, you, what you try to do on a human level is, you know, either explain the reasons
14:19why, why this is happening.
14:21And for us, it's kind of a, a double-edged sword, right?
14:26We, we've had a lot of success in Nakaksa in, in, in, in the recent history.
14:30And so we've had our coach who I developed a really close relationship with, uh, Nicholas
14:36LaCarmone.
14:37He got out of his contract with us to join a bigger club in the league, Cruz Azul.
14:42So he left us and, you know, the, the, the WhatsApp messages going back and forth between
14:46us were, you know, novels.
14:48And so that was, it was pretty emotional because we're like effectively the same age.
14:53We both have young kids.
14:54We're talking about how we're going to grow this thing together.
14:55And then I can't really blame him because at the end of the day, they made him a financial
14:59offer that was really significant.
15:00And he's as a, as somebody who understands business and I used to be a player agent and
15:05representing coaches as well.
15:06I know what it means to get that kind of increase in salary and what that kind of financial
15:10impact can have on a family.
15:12So I, I didn't begrudge him from a financial standpoint, but we had talked about how we
15:16were going to grow this thing together and then we have this tremendous season and he
15:19leaves and, you know, and then players who you also, we, so we've at Nakaksa, we've been
15:25in a little bit of a situation where, and this is the case in global football.
15:28And I don't, I don't know how much of your audience is familiar with it, but in global
15:31football, basically players sign contracts all the time.
15:35But when a bigger club comes in and makes an offer to buy the player's contract from
15:41you, a lot of times as the club that has, that is having the offer made to you for that
15:47player, you get, you don't have a ton of opportunity, you can negotiate for a higher
15:52price and you can work.
15:53But if the player is also coming to you and saying, I want to take that deal because that's
15:57going to be significant for me, you end up kind of, you know, selling the player against
16:02your, what you would want to do for the best outcome for your club.
16:06So you're asking about like, we're saying bye to players as we're cutting them.
16:10A lot of times now we're, we're having success in developing these players.
16:13And then they're leaving us when we were, we're kind of like, Hey, well, stay a little
16:16longer.
16:17And they're like, well, there's a lot more money over here.
16:19So it kind of goes, it's a two-way street in football, less so I think maybe in other
16:24sports, but it's a two-way street football for sure.
16:26Yeah.
16:26Right.
16:27Wow.
16:28Uh, that's intense.
16:30Uh, but getting to know, I'm curious too, like getting to know these elite, uh, players,
16:35you know, what, what have you learned about, you know, that drive, uh, you know, it's,
16:43it's beyond physical, I think, uh, what makes a champion, a champion, what have you learned
16:47from those conversations in the locker room or what you see on the, here on the sidelines
16:52or see on the field or pitch, I should say, sorry.
16:55Yeah.
16:56Yeah.
16:56Oh, I think the guys who are, who, who really get to that level of, of getting to the highest
17:04level, they're really, they're really consumed by it.
17:06They have the, they have a hunger that you can't teach, that you can't develop through
17:13sessions.
17:13Now there's going to be some players on the team who are maybe role players who, who
17:17maybe, who, who can do a certain job and do it well enough to help an entire team on
17:22in football and soccer.
17:23You've got 11 guys on the field.
17:24You can bring in five substitutes.
17:26There's 18 active players.
17:28So not every single player in a given match is going to have that absolute hunger, but
17:33you need to have a couple of guys who are just consumed by that need to win.
17:38And then you also, you know, you kind of need a little bit of luck on your side as well,
17:41that, you know, you're, that the injuries are, are with you and that you don't get a bad
17:46call from the ref at the wrong time.
17:47And these different things that can happen.
17:49And I actually went back and for the first time since the pandemic went back and watched
17:54the, the Jordan documentary, the last dance.
17:56And it was really, and I thought it was so good when I watched the first time and then
18:00going back and watching, it was just like, wow, seeing the way Michael Jordan was really
18:05made me as, as an owner think about like, how do you go and find those guys that had that
18:10level of hunger?
18:11Now, basketball five on five, one guy playing both ways can go in and take over and do a
18:15lot of stuff that he did, but he had great players around him, great coaching.
18:19And so what I've learned from these guys is they're laser focused, they're hungry and,
18:24you know, and the stars also have to align even for those guys, you can be the hungriest,
18:28you can be the most focused, but you know, some of those external factors, your, your best
18:32teammate can't have food poisoning or your, your, your coach, your coach can't be going
18:37through a divorce or something.
18:38You need everything to be growing in the same direction.
18:41And that's how championships happen.
18:43And how do you, uh, when you're, when you're meeting players for the first time, like,
18:48is it just a vibe you get?
18:50Are there certain questions that you always ask?
18:52Like, how do you, how do you, how do you feel out that if they've got that hunger?
18:57Yeah.
18:58So the player identification process is one where as, as the owner, I'm not somebody who's
19:02going through and watching tons of film.
19:06Cause we're, we're buying a lot of the players we're, we're acquiring for our clubs, um, are
19:1119 years old.
19:13Some of them are 17 years old.
19:14Some of them are in their twenties, but they're all relatively young.
19:17And I, I come from a, you know, legal agent operations, ownership management background.
19:24I don't come from a scouting coaching background myself.
19:28So I have, we have built teams at our clubs who, um, are, are recruitment teams, our talent
19:35identification teams.
19:35So by the time I'm talking to a player, it is, we're down to kind of this guy checks
19:42these boxes.
19:43This guy checks these boxes.
19:45Here's what, how we evaluate them.
19:46And here's how we think about them.
19:47So my, I, what, when it comes to the player acquisition element of things, I am very much
19:55sort of, I don't want to say hands off.
19:57Cause I've, I've hired a lot of the people who are doing these jobs, but I am empowering
20:01them to go and sign that now they may come to me and say, this guy's 23 and here's what
20:06his, it's going to cost to acquire him.
20:07And here's what his wages are going to be.
20:09This guy's 21.
20:11You know, his resume might not be quite as strong.
20:13We think his potential might be a little higher.
20:15And what do you think about how that fits into our overall strategy?
20:19But I'm not, uh, you know, we're not relying on my interview with a player who we're signing.
20:25Now, when it comes to managers and club personnel outside of players, I am spending a lot
20:30of time in that process, filling them out, having meals with them, deciding who we're
20:35going to hire.
20:35Cause then they are the ones who are going to pick the players.
20:38Right.
20:38Right.
20:39Got it.
20:39And is there, in those conversations, is there a, uh, is there a magic question that you're
20:47like, whenever they answer this, I know they're the person.
20:50And when they answer it this way, they're not.
20:52No, for me, it's kind of back to your question about like, how do you define success?
20:57It's, it's a case by case scenario.
20:58You know, it's going to be the, the aggregate of all the questions and conversations and
21:03things they ask me and things they say about their, their, their personal lives and their
21:07professional lives and how they got from point A to point B and what drives them.
21:11Um, I'm really, I, I really base a lot of it on what I feel people's hunger is because
21:18I, I think in sports, sports is a, you're working weekends, you're working late nights,
21:23you're working early things.
21:25This team can lose three or four matches in a row.
21:27Is your morale going to come down?
21:29Are you going to bring other, the people around you down?
21:31So for me, I need guys and women who are, who are hungry, who are, who understand that
21:40this is going to be a tough road, but who, who get the big picture.
21:44And so it's, it's really trying to find, find those people, people who are people who
21:48really want to be in this, in this world, because it's unique.
21:51You hear from a lot of people, I hear from a lot of people who want to work in sports,
21:55people whose parents I know say, Hey, my kid's graduating college or law school or grad school.
22:00They want to get a job in sports.
22:02Can you talk to them?
22:03And then, and then, and then also just people who want to, Hey, I've been a successful
22:07investment banker.
22:08I want to move into sports or whatever it is.
22:10And, um, I always try to convey to them just how unique and how it's, it's cutthroat and
22:15it's hard and it's a, and it's a lifestyle, you know, it's not, it's not nine to five
22:20Monday through Friday, you know, I can't remember a weekend where I didn't watch a match or speak
22:26to an agent or talk to somebody on my team.
22:28You know, you're, you're, and I'm not complaining about it at all.
22:30I love it.
22:30But that is something that people coming from other backgrounds are not totally, I don't
22:36think totally understand.
22:37Like, yeah, uh, I, I could speak to that too.
22:40Uh, a while, many years ago, I worked, uh, at a sports site for a bit and, uh, there was
22:47one Sunday where I was like, Oh, wow.
22:49Like I have to be working right now.
22:51I can't be like sitting on the couch, watching a football game, drinking a beer.
22:55Like I'm working now.
22:56So it is, uh, it is an interesting thing.
22:58And I wonder, uh, you know, when we, when we mentioned you putting together these investor
23:03teams, what having been through this a couple of times, like, what do you tell, you know,
23:10an Eva Longoria or, or, or people like high profile people like, Hey, this, this is what
23:17to expect about being a part owner in a, in a football club.
23:21Yeah, I think we're very, I think the reason why we've had, I think we have really great
23:25relationships with Eva, Brian, Rob, uh, Justin Verlander, uh, the, uh, Sean Marion and,
23:33and, and rip Hamilton and different folks.
23:35I don't want to leave anybody out, but like, I think the reason why we have, we have really
23:38good personal relationships with these guys and ladies, and we also have really good per
23:43professional relationships with them in the investments because we're just very much the
23:48way we describe it to them is this can be, you can be involved to a certain degree, or
23:55you can, or, or you can be a famous person who, who never, whose names never, ever comes
24:01out. We have an NFL player who's in all these deals, who said, treat me like I'm not an NFL
24:06player. Treat me like I'm a dentist, a super successful dentist who invested in this. And
24:10his name's never been mentioned in anything, but he's an investor in our group.
24:14So, but you can reveal it now, right?
24:16No, I guess this guy wants to stay anonymous. So it's, it's one where, so, so with the Eva's
24:22of the world and these very, very, very famous people were, we say, Hey, here's, here's the
24:27plan. Here's what we're looking to do. Here's where we think you could potentially be helpful.
24:31We're all ears. If you think there's other things that you can be helpful with, and this
24:35can be very collaborative and we're just, you know, open book with all that stuff. And then
24:40the individual investor has to say like, this sounds great and I want to do it. Or they go,
24:45you know what, maybe this isn't the right fit for me, but we've had a really good track record
24:48with it because I think when people go into things like this, eyes wide open, it can be fun.
24:53You know, winning those games, watching and winning, going to fun trips. We've got the
24:58Leagues Cup coming up where we play three MLS teams. So we're playing Atlanta United.
25:03We're playing Inter-Miami against Messi and that should be a great event. And then we're
25:08playing Orlando City. And all of that is stuff that we'll have, you know, these people coming
25:14out to and engaging. And so it's, I just think it's fun. And I think that as long as you're
25:19very upfront with the celebrity investors or notable folks who are investing about what
25:25your expectations of them are, don't tell them, hey, you don't have to do anything. And then
25:28two weeks into it, say, hey, I need you to get on the phone with a potential sponsor.
25:33And then they'll be like, well, that wasn't the way you conveyed it to me. Just be, hey,
25:36we may call you for something. We may not, you know, I just think it's all about transparency,
25:41heading into it. And then also the personal relationship. So you build up equity that these
25:46people know you're going to do what you said you're going to do. And that goes a long way.
25:50And what's the scene like in the owner's box at a home game?
25:54It's a, it's a, it's a, you'll see in this in our upcoming show. Uh, it's a, for me, it's a,
26:00it's an agonizingly stressful scene of me sitting, uh, hoping that we score goals and just being on
26:06the edge of my seat until maybe we're up three nothing. And if we're losing, it's just a miserable
26:10scene. Um, other people might be, you know, drinking some tequila and talking and enjoying
26:17the match a little more. For me, it's pretty much just misery until we win.
26:21Got it. That's great. So we, uh, we ask our listeners to, uh, write in questions at, uh,
26:30how success happens at entrepreneur.com. And we have a question for you from Leo M who wants to know,
26:37uh, what was your dream job when you were younger? And then maybe you can expand on
26:43how you got to where you are now. It's a fun question. Cause it really
26:47actually brings it together. I, uh, I, I, I, I wanted to be a sports agent. I was never
26:54great at any sports. I wasn't, I wasn't the worst, but I was never great. And, but I love sports and I,
27:01I, but I was good at negotiating and contracts and kind of understanding the fine line of how to
27:09do those things. So I said, okay, I really like sports. I think I'm a good negotiator.
27:13We'll find out. So I went to law school. Uh, I got it while I was in law school. I got an internship
27:20at a sports agency. Um, then that, which became a full-time job, which became running, uh, a division
27:25of the sports agency. And so my dream job was, was to be a sports agent, um, which, which I accomplished
27:33while I was a sports agent, I started meeting owners and just seeing that kind of like the, the,
27:41the food chain of the sports world is such that, uh, broadcasters, you know, the team owners and the
27:50leagues get money that comes into them from broadcast partners, sponsors, ticket sales,
27:56all that, all that way. And then the owners pay the players wages to play for them. And then the
28:04players pay the agents, you know, 3%, 4%, 5% to do the contracts. So when I looked while I was an agent,
28:12I kind of, I had some opportunities because I met some owners and had some opportunities,
28:17but I also looked at the food chain and I was like, wait, as an agent. And I I'm friends with
28:21a lot of agents and really respect the job they do and, and, and still really appreciate it.
28:25But for me, I was like, I'm kind of at the, the bottom of the food chain a little bit here where
28:30the, the, the properties are paying the teams and the leagues, the teams and leagues are paying the
28:35players, the players are playing agents. I'm at the bottom here. I think maybe I want to figure out
28:38a way to get up closer to the top of the food chain. So my dream job was to be an agent. Uh, I did that
28:44and then worked my agent job into team management, uh, being a, uh, chief strategy officer for DC
28:54United and Swansea city, and then using that experience and that opportunity to then launch
29:00my own, um, investments in, into owning sports teams. That's awesome. Wow. And it was just as
29:06easy as that. Just boom, boom, boom. Right. A lot of, a lot of years and a lot of work in between,
29:11but that was the, that was the overall kind of, uh, theme of it all. That's great. That's awesome.
29:17And thanks, thanks for the question, Leo. And if you've got questions for any of our guests,
29:22upcoming shows, uh, how success happens at entrepreneur.com. All right. Well, now we are
29:30going to head into the speed round, Sam, are you ready for this? I think so. I hope so. Okay.
29:35Okay. Okay. So here we go. What is a habit that you are happy to have and one you wish you could
29:43ditch? Habit I'm happy to have currently getting into the gym a few days a week. So I've got myself
29:50on that habit. So I'm getting into the gym and working out. Habit I wish I could ditch is probably
29:54offsetting the one that I'm happy to have, which is I'm a little bit of a late night snacker. So I'd
29:59like, I'd like, I'd like to ditch that habit. Any particular snack in, uh, salty, uh, you know,
30:05pretzels, uh, some nuts, something that you shouldn't really be eating before bed. So
30:09I'm trying to ditch that habit. I'm a, I've got, I've got a 40 year, 50 year cheese it addiction.
30:16So I know what's, I can cheese it. I'd be happy to have it. Yeah. You know, that's, that's a great
30:21example. That's the kind of thing that I'm, I'm snacking on late at night, but I need to ditch.
30:25Great. Uh, what is, uh, do you have any ways to turn off your brain?
30:34Yes. Uh, golf. So I, I like to golf when I golf, I, I do everything possible to just put my
30:41phone in a hidden pocket in my bag and just not look at the phone for the entire time that I'm
30:48warming up and playing around. Sometimes if I've got something going on, I will. And at the turn after
30:54nine holes, I will check the phone. I don't like to do it, but golf is the, is really the one time
30:59where I found that I can just turn, that I can turn off the work stuff and focus on each shot and
31:05try to play around a golf. That's great. So when is the last time that sports made you cry?
31:13Uh, well, Nacoxa, we had a match against, uh, we had a match in the, in the playoffs this past season
31:20against a T grace in Monterey. We came from behind to take the lead. We were winning with it. We would
31:26have advanced to the semifinals and a very controversial call. Um, God, other teams scored
31:34a goal in, in, in extra, extra stoppage time. And then, uh, they, on the field, they called the goal
31:40off and then they went to the VAR and then they awarded the goal and we lost. And I was in this,
31:45uh, tiny luxury luxury box in Monterey, Mexico at T grace away. And I just wanted to disappear
31:54shrink because we lost literally the last second of the match on a referee decision. So it was,
32:00it was agonizing. I went to go outside and just walk away for, I was just going to like walk out
32:06of the stadium. And the security people said, you can't, you got to get back into your box.
32:10Then because we had cheered when we scored earlier, the, the fans who were below us knew that it was
32:17the Nacoxa ownership in the box that we were in. They started like throwing some water bottles
32:21and it's nothing really dangerous, but it was like, I couldn't walk. I couldn't walk out to
32:25leave the stadium. Uh, the security said we couldn't leave yet. We had to wait until some
32:28of the fans left. We couldn't like, we got stuff coming in this life and we just had the most
32:33agonizing loss I've ever suffered as, as an owner. Um, so I don't know if I actually shed tears,
32:39but I felt, um, really, really unhappy and very, very sad. I felt a lot of emotional turmoil.
32:46Yeah. Oh my God. That's wild. That it's like a little, literally trapped in hell. Like my God.
32:54Um, what, uh, you mentioned that you played sports. What is your personal greatest sports
33:00achievement that a moment that, that you are personally responsible for?
33:06No, honestly, I just, I don't have, I don't really think I have one where I'm like, I did
33:14this, I did this amazing thing. I mean, nothing that really, nothing that really stands out
33:21to me. I mean, I I've had some, some decent, uh, you know, pickup basketball games in my
33:26youth and some decent, uh, decent rounds of golf, but I don't have a hole in one and I don't
33:31have that, that one, uh, that one thing that I think is just, is just amazing. So I, I,
33:37I just have to punt on, on that one.
33:39All right. That's okay. It keeps you hungry for that hole in one. That's good. And then
33:42finally, what's the, uh, what's the best sports movie?
33:47Best sports movie. I mean, it's a little, maybe it's a little on the nose and I don't
33:52know when, when this airs versus when it's coming out, but, um, I, uh, just got back
33:58into watching, um, uh, happy Gilmore. And, uh, so we got happy Gilmore two is coming out
34:06any day now. And, uh, I have a 10 year old daughter and eight year old son who have been,
34:11who have taken up golf and they said, Hey, we heard at golf camp that there's this really
34:16a funny movie. Um, and so we, we put it on, I didn't know if it was going to be totally
34:21age appropriate or not, but it's, it's, it's, it's ultimately fine. And, uh, and now happy
34:26Gilmore two is coming out. So we've all, we've agreed that we're going to get together and I'll
34:30watch it, but it's a hilarious movie golf, Adam Sandler and his prime, uh, so much good stuff
34:34in there. So for me, at least at the moment, I think, uh, happy Gilmore is probably right
34:39there. That's awesome. That's great. I love it. Um, all right. Well, Sam, this has been,
34:45uh, so awesome and cool hearing about this, this world. Uh, it's, it's, uh, it does get
34:52you fired up from where I'm sitting. Where can people who are listening to this kind of
34:58keep up with, uh, other teams that you're involved with specific teams you're involved
35:03with? Yeah. So on, uh, on socials, so it's club NACOXA, N-E-C-A-X-A is our, is our Mexican
35:10club. Uh, club Ecuador is our club in Bogota. We are that, that club, uh,
35:15club is going, is going through a transition. Now we're, we're sunsetting the club Ekidad,
35:19uh, identity, and it's going to be relaunched as, uh, international day Bogota. So inter Bogota,
35:25uh, starting at the beginning of the 26th season and then Brooklyn pickleball team on all the
35:31socials. And you, you can follow the stuff. I'm not, I'm not personally super active on,
35:35on any social myself, but the clubs all have great updates. And then obviously I, you could
35:39follow, uh, Eva, Brian, Rob, they're all across these different teams. And I think,
35:47uh, the NACOXA show that's going to come out on August 7th, I think will be a great lens
35:51into a lot of this stuff. Awesome. Awesome. Well, I would ask for a spoiler, but I don't
35:55want to spoil it. I want to, I want to see what happens. I gave you for the, the, the T-Grace
35:59match. Yeah. Yeah. I guess that's the spoiler. There you go. All right, man. Well,
36:04thanks so much. This is, this has been really cool.
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