📈 Meet the 28-Year-Old Upending a $5 Billion Industry

Brodie isn't your average rec league, it's a multi-million-dollar business.

Author

Tyler Webb
July 30, 2025

In partnership with

Happy Wednesday,

Rec sports are quietly becoming one of the most interesting categories in the fitness and sports economy.

Participation is up. Team sports are growing faster than solo workouts. And for a generation that grew up with travel teams and tournaments, a post-college return to pickup leagues feels less like a hobby and more like a lifestyle.

The problem is, most of the industry hasn’t caught up.

Games are still disorganized. Facilities are outdated. And most leagues feel like an afterthought.

That’s what made my conversation with Connor Renton, the founder of Brodie League, so compelling.

He didn’t just build a better version of adult rec sports. He built a different business entirely—one powered by community, content, and custom infrastructure across 34 markets in North America.

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5 Takeaways from Brodie League’s Model

Connor Renton, Founder of Brodie League

1. Brodie started with frustration, not a business plan.

Connor wasn’t trying to build a startup. He just wanted a league that didn’t suck.

“I didn’t make the NBA. I just wanted to play in something that felt structured.”
“Turns out, a lot of other people did too.”

That clarity—solving for a problem he was personally living—gave him a sense of what players actually wanted: something to care about.

2. Rec leagues don’t scale unless they care.

Every Brodie game night has two community managers on-site. Not just to keep the games running—but to know names, remember teams, and create continuity.

“I’d rather make less and sleep better at night,” Connor said.
“If someone walks in, I want them to feel like they’re exactly where they’re supposed to be.”

It’s easy to say you're “community-first.” Brodie actually bakes it into the operations.

3. Brodie’s edge is being high-tech and high-touch.

Most companies pick one: software or service.
Brodie doesn’t.

The experience is personal and hands-on. But it’s also fully supported by internal tooling, automated stat tracking, and a custom app that cost over $1M to build.

“We didn’t build the tech first. We built the experience—and then figured out how to scale it.”

It’s rare to find a business that executes both sides well. That’s what makes Brodie hard to copy.

4. Content isn’t a funnel—it’s part of the loop.

Stats, graphics, videos—every player gets something worth sharing.

“You don’t want to post your Strava time—but you want to.”
“We give you something worth posting.”

Brodie publishes over 500 pieces of content per week, and every one of them comes straight from a game night. It’s not content about the league. It is the league.

5. Brodie isn’t competing with other leagues.

Most rec leagues are run by volunteers or underfunded city departments.

Brodie?
- It has 25 full-time staff.
- 100+ part-timers.
- A media team. A dev team.
- And a brand that players want to belong to.

“No one else even knows they’re competing with us,” Connor told me.
“And that’s our biggest advantage.”

Why It Matters:

  • Rec sports is a $5.57 billion industry—and growing.

  • 52% of 18–29-year-olds say they’re likely to join a league this year.

  • Team sports are growing faster than solo fitness, cycling, or yoga.

But most of that demand is still met with paper signups and no referees.

Brodie is showing what happens when someone finally treats rec sports like a real business—with real tech, real operations, and real expectations for what it can be.

đŸ“© And don’t forget: Bottom of the Ninth is back this Friday with the top three stories in sports and business from the week.

See you then,
—Tyler & Jake

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