The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly

As the U.S. Open gets underway in New York City, the tennis world is abuzz to see the Williams sisters back on the court. Serena Williams’ return to the Open’s doubles tournament got us thinking back to an earlier episode of The Deal, recorded shortly after her retirement from the sport when she had moved on to the world of finance and started her own venture capital firm, Serena Ventures. We revisit that conversation, ...

Ryan Howard spent more than a decade as one of baseball’s most feared hitters. Since retiring, he’s built an interesting second act as an entrepreneur and investor, with bets spanning everything from the “Topgolf of baseball” to youth sports and professional soccer. 

In this episode of The Deal, Ryan tells Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly how he transitioned from playing baseball to investing in ventures ...

Vanderbilt is having a moment. The university has transformed from a respected southern institution into one of the country’s most selective and sought after schools. Athletics has become an increasingly important part of that rise. At the center of it is Vanderbilt University’s Vice Chancellor for Athletics and University Affairs and Athletic Director.

In this episode of The Deal, Candice Storey Lee joins us to discuss...

Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly recently had the opportunity to sit down again with David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle Group, to chat about his new book, “Inside the Owner's Box: Conversations on Power and Leadership in Sports.” That conversation got us thinking back to an earlier episode of The Deal, recorded shortly after Rubenstein's purchase of the Baltimore Orioles. We revisit that conversation, with Rubens...

With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, the Major League Baseball season is officially entering its final innings. So in this episode of The Deal, Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly break down some of the latest headlines, including what is happening with the negotiations over a collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players, the trade that may have guaranteed the Los Angeles Dodgers another World Series win...

Investors have poured money into youth sports in recent years, with some reports saying the industry is worth as much as $40 billion. It’s no surprise, then, that renowned investors David Blitzer and Josh Harris partnered with The Chernin Group in 2024 to start Unrivaled Sports, a growing portfolio of youth sports investments across baseball, softball, flag football, and more. Unrivaled’s chairman and CEO Andy Campion s...

The 2026 World Cup is done and the numbers are astounding. FIFA reportedly expects to bring in $15 billion in revenue, blowing past their original projection of $12 billion. This number isn’t surprising considering that almost 7 million people attended the tournament’s 104 games and 60 million people in North America tuned into Sunday’s final. 

In this episode of The Deal, we dig into the stories beyond these...

8AM Golf is a holding company whose portfolio includes 15 companies that touch nearly every aspect of golf. Started in 2018 by Howard Milstein, 8AM’s umbrella includes Golf Magazine, Miura Golf and a newly constructed course in Nashville built in partnership with Justin Timberlake. So, there is no one better to talk to about what is going on in the world of golf than the company’s CEO, Hoyt McGarity.

In this episode of ...

If you know nothing else about women’s hockey, you probably know Hilary Knight. The 5-time Olympic medalist has played the most games in U.S. Women’s Hockey history. She has also served as the captain of two PWHL teams and is one of the reasons the league exists in the first place. In 2019, Hilary was among several players who vowed to boycott any North American league that was not financially sustainable. In 2022, the ...

Lisa Bhathal Merage is very busy cementing Portland’s reputation as the global epicenter of women’s sports. In partnership with her brother Alex and their RAJ Sports venture, Lisa is the owner and governor of the NWSL’s Portland Thorns and the WNBA’s Portland Fire. They came to own both teams under pretty unusual circumstances. The Thorns were in turmoil after their previous owner was ousted and RAJ Sports a...

LIV Golf is known for doing it big: big player contracts, big worldwide events and big prize purses (an average of $460 million annually). It has also received big funding from one particular source. As of February 2026, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has pumped $5.3 billion into LIV. But this past April, the PIF announced that it would halt its funding of the league at the end of this year. The PIF’s exit ...

Here on The Deal we have interviewed  some of the world’s most famous athletes and some of the most powerful people in sports. But today we welcome our most important guests and probably our hosts’ biggest critics: their children.

In this special Father’s Day episode of The Deal, Alex and Jason’s kids join us to share some perspective on who their dads are off the air. First up, Natasha and Ella Rodriguez gi...

Not only have the Knicks brought New York City its first NBA title in 53 years, the team also brought their hometown a lot of money. An estimate by the New York City Economic Development Corporation puts the economic impact of the Knicks’ postseason run at $380 million. In this special NBA Finals episode of The Deal, NYC EDC Interim CEO Jeanny Pak joins Jason to break down the methodology behind the organization’s estim...

It’s the first day of the 2026 World Cup! Ticket prices, transportation, security, visas, Attorneys General investigations and water bottles are just a few of the issues threatening to distract from the play on the pitch. Now that it's time for the football to actually be played, we will finally get some answers to the biggest outstanding questions: Will FIFA’s controversial ticketing strategy mean empty seats? Will hos...

Jill Ellis has seen soccer from every angle: as an elite player, as the two-time World Cup champion coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team and as an NWSL team president. She is bringing this expertise to FIFA as the organization’s first Chief Football Officer. As one of the chief architects of the global game, she is the ultimate World Cup insider.

In this episode of The Deal, Jill tells Jason and Alex what is worrying...

Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady is considered one of the best shooting guards to ever play the game of basketball. His post-playing career is one of a multifaceted businessperson. T-Mac is one of the lead studio analysts on NBC’s nostalgic return to NBA coverage. And in December 2024, Tracy and his cousin Vince Carter were among 10 limited partners who joined the Buffalo Bills ownership group. Oh, and he started his own league, O...

Jess Pegula has spent her life around elite sports — both as one of the best tennis players in the world and as part of the family behind the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres. Beyond competing at the highest level, she’s become an influential voice in the future of professional tennis through her role as a player representative for the Women’s Tennis Association, giving her a rare window into both the business and...

Alan Waxman’s Sixth Street Partners has a deep conviction in sports. Over the past five years, Alan and his firm have taken a minority stake in teams in most major professional leagues, including: the Boston Celtics, the San Antonio Spurs, the San Francisco Giants and FC Barcelona. In 2024, Sixth Street became the first investment fund to take a controlling interest in an American pro team with the NWSL’s Bay FC. And as...

Baseball and softball are both having a moment. The 2025 Women’s College World Series was the most watched ever, with 2.4 million people tuning in to game 3. On the baseball side, almost 11 million people watched Venezuela beat the U.S. to take the 2026 World Baseball Classic title. The audience for both sports is growing, and LSU softball star and baseball media analyst AJ Andrews is one of their most enthusiastic ambassador...