The Scoop
One of the National Football League’s most notable podcasters is taking his show from ESPN a new media partner.
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward is moving his podcast and video show Not Just Football to Vox Media, the company confirmed to Semafor on Wednesday. The show will be a partnership with Vox Media’s long-running sports brand SB Nation, which will handle its marketing, ad sales, and distribution.
“Every week on Not Just Football, Hayden and I have unapologetic conversations with our friends about all the things we care about the most, whether it’s breakdowns of the latest Steelers games and sports news, or our love for reality TV and video games,” Heyward said in a statement first shared with Semafor. “We couldn’t be more excited to bring our show to Vox Media and SB Nation and partner with a company that offers a powerful platform and bold ideas – and matches the scope of our ambitions.”
Vox Media’s deal with Heyward is an acknowledgement of the company’s increasing reliance on a multi-platform strategy for its growing audio business. Like other podcast companies, Vox Media has in recent months increasingly focused on ramping up the video component to many of its chat shows to tap into the massive audiences for those on platforms like YouTube and TikTok.
“As a host, Cam brings not just the perspective of being an active player and a leader within his team and within the league, but also a leader in his community. And that just aligns so well with what we are focused on: finding the most authoritative, influential, relevant, and thoughtful voices across all of the different content categories that we cover,” said Ray Chao, Vox Media’s senior vice president and general manager of audio and digital video. “His expertise as a football player, as well as all of his different other passions and obsessions outside of football, which we are excited to work with him to dig into, make really great sense for our podcast network.”
Know More
Heyward is one of an increasing number of NFL players and other professional athletes who have turned podcasting into a successful side gig. Travis and Jason Kelce are still seeking a deal reportedly worth $100 million (though it’s unclear that even a large audience and the Taylor Swift connection will help the duo get that kind of money). The Buffalo Bills now have two professional podcasters on the team. And LeBron James’ NBA podcast with JJ Redick was so impressive to the Los Angeles Lakers that the organization hired Redick to coach James and the rest of the team next season.
It’s also the second major sports podcast deal that the company has inked in the last three months. In June, Vox Media announced that it was partnering with soccer star Megan Rapinoe and WNBA star Sue Bird to relaunch their sports and pop culture podcast A Touch More: The Podcast.