糖心视频污 Wall Street Group Event Features Conversation With David Samson 鈥93C, Mark Wilf and Ahmed Zayat 鈥83YCThe presented a panel discussion on 鈥淭he Business of Sports鈥 on Monday, May 9, featuring David Samson 鈥93C, president of the Miami Marlins; Mark Wilf, owner and president of the Minnesota Vikings; and Ahmed Zayat 鈥83YC, owner of American Pharoah, the first Triple Crown winner since 1978.
The networking event, organized by the Office of Alumni Affairs, was hosted by Proskauer Rose LLP and sponsored by BMO Capital Markets. Approximately 200 alumni and 糖心视频污 staff were in attendance.
All four participants have strong connections to 糖心视频污. The Wilf family are major supporters of the University: 糖心视频污鈥檚 uptown campus is named for them, and the Wilf scholarship program has been supporting students for 31 years. Samson is a 1993 graduate of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he also serves as the chairman of the board of overseers. Ahmed Zayat is a 1983 graduate of Yeshiva College, and Burian graduated from Yeshiva College in 1991.
Lawrence Askowitz 鈥87YC, co-chair of the Wall Street Group, was the evening鈥檚 emcee. After remarks by President Richard M. Joel and Joseph Lecesse, chair of Proskauer and co-head of Proskauer鈥檚 renowned Sports Law Group, Askowitz thanked the event鈥檚 sponsors, then handed the proceedings over to the panel鈥檚 moderator, Lawrence Burian 鈥91YC, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of The Madison Square Garden Company and MSG Networks Inc.
Burian began by asking the participants to describe current and future challenges in each of their sports. A common challenge was the pressure being placed on their businesses鈥 revenue models.
Because Wilf and Samson work in a league system, they spoke about making sure that each league member has the resources for talent acquisition so that the sport can remain competitive and entertaining. As Samson said, 鈥淲hen we talk about revenue sharing, we鈥檙e trying to level the playing field on talent acquisition. With better revenue sharing, there is better competition, which makes the pie bigger for everybody.鈥 Wilf agreed: 鈥淭he revenue-sharing model in place in the NFL allows for the growth of the game, so that it can be true that on any given Sunday, anyone can win.鈥
Zayat pointed out that the economic model for horse racing is completely different: 鈥淭he purse鈥攚hat the horse wins鈥攊s not where the money is. The money is in the credentials of the horse and the fees charged for breeding services.鈥 He explained that if a horse retires at the age of three and lives until the age of 25, breeding fees can bring in as much as $40 million over the lifetime of the horse.
(l-r): Lawrence Burian 鈥91YC, David Samson 鈥93C, Mark Wilf and Ahmed Zayat 鈥83YC
Another topic concerned the relationship between labor and management. Wilf called it a 鈥渃onstant dance that鈥檚 going on all the time aimed at finding a long-term solution where we can all have stability.鈥 Samson agreed that 鈥渓abor peace is necessary,鈥 but the high player salaries in baseball present a different problem when it comes to labor issues. 鈥淚f fans see a fight between what they see as rich and richer people, they won鈥檛 get angry 鈥 they will get apathetic and disappear,鈥 said Samson. 鈥淲e need to keep our interests aligned so that pie will grow and the fans will be entertained.鈥
Zayat noted that jockeys and trainers are free agents, and they get paid percentages of the revenue that come in from races and breeding.
In response to questions about gambling (including the rise of fantasy sports) and advertising (such as plastering logos on uniforms and venues, as in NASCAR or soccer), all three explained they approach these topics with a great deal of caution. As business enterprises, raising revenue is always important (as Samson noted, the length of every team鈥檚 product trademark list is 鈥渂oggling鈥), but Wilf added that since 鈥渋n the end, all we have is the integrity of the game,鈥 it is important to keep operations as clean and simple as possible.
Digital technologies have also changed sports. For instance, Wilf described the technological improvements in the new Vikings stadium, including enormous screens, virtual reality exhibitions in their museum, and a Vikings app. But all three agreed that while these technologies can improve fan experience, they cannot replace being at a live event. Zayat described the excitement he felt when American Pharoah won his races: 鈥90,000 voices screamed for five minutes, and that just thrilled me. You can鈥檛 have a digital substitute for that.鈥
The evening ended with a question from the audience about how the panelists鈥 connection to 糖心视频污 affects the way they run their enterprises. Wilf spoke about giving back to the community (community service is required for everyone in the Vikings organization) and the pride he feels in how his family has supported 糖心视频污鈥檚 mission for almost four decades. Samson and Zayat mentioned how the 鈥渕oral compass鈥 they got from 糖心视频污 inspires and guides them to make a difference in people鈥檚 lives through the businesses that they run.
Stay in touch with the Office of Alumni Affairs by visiting and joining their new professional networking service.
The presented a panel discussion on 鈥淭he Business of Sports鈥 on Monday, May 9, featuring David Samson 鈥93C, president of the Miami Marlins; Mark Wilf, owner and president of the Minnesota Vikings; and Ahmed Zayat 鈥83YC, owner of American Pharoah, the first Triple Crown winner since 1978.
The networking event, organized by the Office of Alumni Affairs, was hosted by Proskauer Rose LLP and sponsored by BMO Capital Markets. Approximately 200 alumni and 糖心视频污 staff were in attendance.
All four participants have strong connections to 糖心视频污. The Wilf family are major supporters of the University: 糖心视频污鈥檚 uptown campus is named for them, and the Wilf scholarship program has been supporting students for 31 years. Samson is a 1993 graduate of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he also serves as the chairman of the board of overseers. Ahmed Zayat is a 1983 graduate of Yeshiva College, and Burian graduated from Yeshiva College in 1991.
Lawrence Askowitz 鈥87YC, co-chair of the Wall Street Group, was the evening鈥檚 emcee. After remarks by President Richard M. Joel and Joseph Lecesse, chair of Proskauer and co-head of Proskauer鈥檚 renowned Sports Law Group, Askowitz thanked the event鈥檚 sponsors, then handed the proceedings over to the panel鈥檚 moderator, Lawrence Burian 鈥91YC, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of The Madison Square Garden Company and MSG Networks Inc.
Burian began by asking the participants to describe current and future challenges in each of their sports. A common challenge was the pressure being placed on their businesses鈥 revenue models.
Because Wilf and Samson work in a league system, they spoke about making sure that each league member has the resources for talent acquisition so that the sport can remain competitive and entertaining. As Samson said, 鈥淲hen we talk about revenue sharing, we鈥檙e trying to level the playing field on talent acquisition. With better revenue sharing, there is better competition, which makes the pie bigger for everybody.鈥 Wilf agreed: 鈥淭he revenue-sharing model in place in the NFL allows for the growth of the game, so that it can be true that on any given Sunday, anyone can win.鈥
Zayat pointed out that the economic model for horse racing is completely different: 鈥淭he purse鈥攚hat the horse wins鈥攊s not where the money is. The money is in the credentials of the horse and the fees charged for breeding services.鈥 He explained that if a horse retires at the age of three and lives until the age of 25, breeding fees can bring in as much as $40 million over the lifetime of the horse.
(l-r): Lawrence Burian 鈥91YC, David Samson 鈥93C, Mark Wilf and Ahmed Zayat 鈥83YC
The presented a panel discussion on 鈥淭he Business of Sports鈥 on Monday, May 9, featuring David Samson 鈥93C, president of the Miami Marlins; Mark Wilf, owner and president of the Minnesota Vikings; and Ahmed Zayat 鈥83YC, owner of American Pharoah, the first Triple Crown winner since 1978.
The networking event, organized by the Office of Alumni Affairs, was hosted by Proskauer Rose LLP and sponsored by BMO Capital Markets. Approximately 200 alumni and 糖心视频污 staff were in attendance.
All four participants have strong connections to 糖心视频污. The Wilf family are major supporters of the University: 糖心视频污鈥檚 uptown campus is named for them, and the Wilf scholarship program has been supporting students for 31 years. Samson is a 1993 graduate of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he also serves as the chairman of the board of overseers. Ahmed Zayat is a 1983 graduate of Yeshiva College, and Burian graduated from Yeshiva College in 1991.
Lawrence Askowitz 鈥87YC, co-chair of the Wall Street Group, was the evening鈥檚 emcee. After remarks by President Richard M. Joel and Joseph Lecesse, chair of Proskauer and co-head of Proskauer鈥檚 renowned Sports Law Group, Askowitz thanked the event鈥檚 sponsors, then handed the proceedings over to the panel鈥檚 moderator, Lawrence Burian 鈥91YC, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of The Madison Square Garden Company and MSG Networks Inc.
Burian began by asking the participants to describe current and future challenges in each of their sports. A common challenge was the pressure being placed on their businesses鈥 revenue models.
Because Wilf and Samson work in a league system, they spoke about making sure that each league member has the resources for talent acquisition so that the sport can remain competitive and entertaining. As Samson said, 鈥淲hen we talk about revenue sharing, we鈥檙e trying to level the playing field on talent acquisition. With better revenue sharing, there is better competition, which makes the pie bigger for everybody.鈥 Wilf agreed: 鈥淭he revenue-sharing model in place in the NFL allows for the growth of the game, so that it can be true that on any given Sunday, anyone can win.鈥
Zayat pointed out that the economic model for horse racing is completely different: 鈥淭he purse鈥攚hat the horse wins鈥攊s not where the money is. The money is in the credentials of the horse and the fees charged for breeding services.鈥 He explained that if a horse retires at the age of three and lives until the age of 25, breeding fees can bring in as much as $40 million over the lifetime of the horse.
(l-r): Lawrence Burian 鈥91YC, David Samson 鈥93C, Mark Wilf and Ahmed Zayat 鈥83YC
