Daniel Sillman
Daniel Sillman (born 1989) is an American sports executive, entrepreneur and film producer. He is the CEO of Relevent Sports Group (RSG),[1] a live soccer events and media company that owns and operates the International Champions Cup (ICC).[2] Sillman was executive producer of the ESPN documentary about Ada Hegerberg, My Name is Ada Hegerberg;[3] and the Netflix docuseries about Brazilian soccer star Neymar, The Perfect Chaos.[4]
Career[edit]
Sillman founded Compass Management Group, while a student at the University of Michigan, which offered financial services to athletes and entertainers, including Brandon Graham, who later played for the Philadelphia Eagles.[5]
After selling Compass in 2014, Sillman joined RSE Ventures, a private investment firm owned by Stephen M. Ross. In 2017 he led the strategy to bring El Clásico, a soccer match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, to the US in pre-season for the first time, and outside of Spain for the second time in 100 years. Following the match, in July 2017 Sillman became the CEO of RSG.[2]
Sillman led the creation of the Women's International Champions Cup[6] and the International Champions Cup Futures tournament.[7][8]
In August 2018 Sillman negotiated a 15-year joint venture deal on behalf of RSG with La Liga, with the goal of promoting soccer in Canada and the US. In 2020, Sillman as part of the JV negotiated an eight-year, $1.4 billion broadcast deal between LaLiga and ESPN, the largest broadcast rights deal for a foreign league in US history.[9] Also in 2020, the JV expanded to include Mexico.[10]
Sillman is executive producer of the 2020 full-length documentary on ESPN about the Norwegian female soccer player Ada Hegerberg, My Name is Ada Hegerberg.[11][12] He is an executive producer on the Netflix docuseries about Brazilian soccer star Neymar, The Perfect Chaos.[13][14]
In June 2021, the JV between Relevent Sports Group and LaLiga announced an eight-year, $1.4 billion broadcast deal to stream all 380 La Liga matches on ESPN Plus, with some televised on ESPN's networks.[15] In November 2021, the JV reached an eight-year extension with Televisa to broadcast LaLiga in Mexico, worth $560 million.[16]
In February 2022, UEFA awarded Relevent Sports Group to act as UEFA and the European Club Association’s sales agent for US media rights of UEFA club competition.[17] In August 2022, Paramount reached a 6-year deal with UEFA valued at $1.5 billion, more than 2.5 times the value of the prior deal.[18]
Sillman was included on the Forbes “30 Under 30 2018: Sports” list,[19] Sports Business Journal's 2019 “Forty Under 40” list,[5] and Leaders Under 40 2022 list.[20]
Sillman is a long time business partner with 3-time NBA Champion Draymond Green.[21][22]
In September 2022, Major League Pickleball announced Daniel Sillman, along with LeBron James, Kevin Love, Draymond Green, Maverick Carter, Paul Rivera and SC Holdings had purchased a pickleball franchise.[23]
References[edit]
- ^ Shea, Bill. "ICC still plans to bring European clubs to U.S. venues in 2021". The Athletic. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
- ^ a b Thomas, Ian. "Sports Business: Daniel Sillman, Relevent's 29-year-old CEO, has bold plans". New York Business Journal. www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
- ^ "Streaming Now Exclusively on ESPN+: My Name is Ada Hegerberg Featuring Norway's Female Soccer Star". ESPN Press Room U.S. ESPN. 2020-11-19. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ "Neymar Jr. Official". Neymar Jr. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ a b "Forty Under 40: Daniel Sillman". SportBusiness Daily. www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
- ^ Das, Andrew (2018-04-11). "International Champions Cup Will Add Women's Event This Summer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
- ^ Feldman, Jacob. "Big ambitions for youth International Champions Cup". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
- ^ "Transcript of ESPN-LaLiga Media Conference Call". ESPN Press Room U.S. ESPN. 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ Beer, Jeff (2021-06-09). "Why elite Spanish soccer's La Liga is going to be your next streaming obsession". Fast Company. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
- ^ Novy-Williams, Eben (2021-06-03). "LaLiga's Joint Venture With Relevent Is Expanding to Mexico". Sportico.com. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ "Ada Hegerberg: 'I'm coming back to reconquer my position in football'". The Guardian. 2020-11-19. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
- ^ "Spain: Norwegian soccer star Ada Hegerberg fights internal battle". ESPN.com. 2020-11-19. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
- ^ Anderson, Justin (December 14, 2021). "Netflix, Uninterrupted prep Neymar docuseries "The Perfect Chaos"". RealScreen. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
- ^ Rama (January 11, 2022). "Key Art And Trailer For NEYMAR: THE PERFECT CHAOS" (Video). ramascreen. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
- ^ Beer, Jeff. "Why elite Spanish soccer's La Liga is going to be your next streaming obsession". Fast Company. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ "FOS PM: La Liga's $560M TV Deal". Front Office Sports. Retrieved 2022-08-29.
- ^ Cunningham, Euan. "UEFA, Relevent, and ECA launch club competitions' media rights tender in US". Sportcal. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ Weprin, Alex. "Paramount Wins Rights to UEFA, Including Champions League, in $1.5B Deal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ "Daniel Sillman". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
- ^ "2022 Leaders Under 40". Leaders. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ Haden, Jeff (May 30, 2019). "Why One of the Most Successful CEOs (and Entrepreneurs) You've Never Heard of Still Thinks He Has a Lot to LearnHe runs Relevent, has invested in a number of companies with high-profile partners, yet few know him. Which may be a secret to his success". Inc. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
- ^ Tracy, Marc (2015-09-25). "A Million Thanks: Pro Athletes Share the Wealth With Their Colleges". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
- ^ Golden, Jessica. "LeBron James is a pickleball fan. And now he's buying a team". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-09-28.