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đ„ Why the Highest Paid Center in Football Quit to Become a Farmer
And how he's doing something virtually no other business does...
Tyler Webb
January 31, 2025
In partnership with
I recently challenged myself to go to an NHL game and spend less than the average fan (per the 2024 Fan Cost Index).
My budget was $108, which needed to get me a ticket, parking, a game program, a beer, a hot dog, and a hat. Did you know they still charge for game programs?!
In todayâs newsletter:
đ The Big Story: How One Company is Solving the NFLâs Most Common Injury
đ Biggest Loser: Why the Highest Paid Center in Football Quit to Become a Farmer
đ Winnerâs Circle: The Most Innovative Cleats Youâve Never Heard Of
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đ The Big Story
A company youâve never heard of might have just discovered the solution to the most common injury in all of sports.
Background: Last year, I made a video about how the NFL spent $4 million to fund a study that aims to help athletes like Christian Watson find out why they suffer from so many hamstring injuries, which the league says is the most common injury its players suffer from.
@tyler.m.webb It seems so simple đ€Ż #greenbaypackers #nflfootball #christianwatson #widereciever #sportsscience #nflnews
In that video, I told you about how Christian Watson and some other Green Bay Packers went down to the University of Wisconsin to get their hamstrings studied for 8 hours, but it turns out I didnât tell you the whole story.
New Technology: Scientists at the University of Wisconsin used a relatively new software called Springbok Analytics to create 3-dimensional models of these athletes' bodies based on 2-dimensional MRI scans.
It only takes about 10-30 minutes to do the MRI and then within a few hours, Springbok produces a hyper-detailed 3D model for trainers and doctors to analyze.
These models are important because, unlike 2D images, they allow teams to detect early signs of injury, such as:
Muscle asymmetries
Fatty infiltrations
Muscle Asymmetry: In fact, it was only through these 3D models that the University of Wisconsin was able to find a 20% asymmetry in the hamstring muscle between Christian Watsonâs right and left legs.
This means that his left hamstring was 20% stronger than his right one, so as his weaker right hamstring tried to keep up with the explosiveness of his stronger left one, the weaker one became more easily fatigued and, in turn, injured.
After learning this, Watson said that he began working on closing that 20% gap to the point where this season, he was only at an 8-10% difference in strength, and while perfect symmetry is nearly impossible, he says his goal is to shrink the gap to around 6%.
Currently, Springbok works with 15 NBA teams, Major League Baseball, several EPL teams, and the University of Wisconsin to study injuries in football.
From their roughly 200 customers, the company expects to generate upwards of $5 million in revenue this year, according to Axios, with the goal of using their technology to help solve MLB pitcherâs arm injuries next.
đ Biggest Loser(?)
The once-highest-paid center in the NFL decided to retire in his prime to become a farmer, but now heâs doing something virtually no other business does.
Making History: In 2009, Jason Brown signed a five-year, $37.5 million with the St. Louis Rams, making him the highest-paid center in NFL history.
However, after a horrible 2-14 season in 2011, the Rams were looking to rebuild and decided to move on from expensive veterans like Brown.
Luckily, when the Rams cut Brown, he was only 29 years old and still very much in the prime of his career. In fact, as a free agent, he was fielding offers from the:
Baltimore Ravens
San Francisco 49ers
Carolina Panthers
Career Change: But then, seemingly out of nowhere, Brown decided to retire from football to get into farming, which he admits he knew absolutely nothing about.
Brown recalls his agent telling him, âYouâre making the biggest mistake of your life,â but he disagreed.
At 29 years old, Brown was the same age that his older brother was when he died serving in Afghanistan in 2003, which Brown says caused him to totally reassess how he was living his life.
Jason holding a photo of his late brother, Lunsford Bernard Brown II
At the time, he felt like he was being called to help his community in North Carolina, where he grew up, by growing food to donate to local food pantries.
There was just one problem: Brown knew nothing about farming.
But he didnât let that stop him. So, after selling his house to purchase a 1,000-acre farm in North Carolina and looking up tutorials on how to grow vegetables like sweet potatoes, corn, and cucumbers, Brown started First Fruits Farm.
Behind the Name: Itâs called that because Brown started by donating the first yield of every harvest to local food pantries, but as their harvests have increased, Brown and his family of 10 have started donating everything they grow to nearby charities â something virtually no other farm does.
As of 2024, the Browns have donated over 1 million pounds of food to people in need, and Jason says he has no plans to slow down anytime soon.
đ Winnerâs Circle
These cleats help prevent the most common injury in sports, but not in the way you might think.
Unchanged for Decades: For decades, every cleat across every sport has been designed to look as sleek as possible. And while technology in the spikes and material has changed, the general shape of a cleat hasnât⊠until now.
A few years ago, Jeff Goffâs kids started playing sports, and he realized that the only cleats available were tight and uncomfortable. He also believed that they constricted the natural (and broader) development of the human foot.
So he decided to do something about it and create his own cleat company called Natur Athletics.
Reinventing the Cleat: On the surface, the design of Jeffâs cleats makes a lot of sense. Instead of squeezing an athleteâs foot into an unnaturally narrow toe box, the Iron Lion cleat allows the toes to spread out.
This provides an athlete with a much broader support base for running, cutting, and jumping.
Not to mention, they also feature a patented cleat plate system that allows the footâs muscles and its 33 joints to have a full range of motion, while still providing grip and stability through the studs.
But how do they help prevent injuries?
Preventing Injuries: Jeff points out that the two most common injuries in sports have to do with the ankle and the knee, and he believes that this is largely caused by the narrow base athletes are forced to move on.
He also points out that most modern cleats arenât designed to use almost any of an athleteâs foot muscles to help stabilize the rest of their leg.
However, with Iron Lion cleats, an athleteâs foot can provide a much broader and stable base for cuts and deceleration, which is when these types of non-contact injuries happen most often.
Right now, you can pre-order a pair of these âbarefootâ cleats for $160, with orders expected to ship by the spring; I wonder if these will catch on.
â±ïž In Other News
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đđ» Happy Friday!
Spoiler alert: I completed that NHL challenge with $5 to spare, thanks to a clutch sales rack in the gift shop.
But I also ran the numbers on these game programs, and itâs a fascinating business. For starters, it makes way more money than I expected.
If you assume a team like the Minnesota Wild can conservatively sell 2,000 game programs per night across 41 home games at $5 each, thatâs $410,000 theyâre making right off the bat.
Now layer in the per-game ad revenue of around $15,000, and youâre up to over $1M in revenue.
And even when you consider the cost of printing ($1-3 per unit), design, and distribution, youâre still looking at a conservative profit estimate of over $800,000 per year.
If anyone works in this industry and cares to tell me how close my numbers are, feel free to email me!
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