You want to break into sports media and secure a full-time job. I can tell you how I did it.
It’s not an easy path, and circumstances aren’t at all in your control. But regardless, it’s the dream of many to work full-time in a field where they can create content around their passion.
Today, I share my story on how I became a full-time NFL Draft analyst and four key pieces of advice for aspiring sports content creators to turn their passion into a full-time gig.
4 Pieces of Advice For Aspiring Sports Content Creators
I previously spent the last four years of my career as a full-time NFL Draft writer. To achieve this professional dream of mine, I build a brand from the ground up where I learned a lot of valuable lessons along the way.
In college, I became a co-expert at Riggo’s Rag — FanSided’s designated Washington Commanders site. Writing became my part-time job while in school, and I learned quickly that you get out what you put into it.
Through a two-year stretch at Riggo’s Rag, I began to see the demand for NFL Draft content from around December to April, and I made a point to fill that demand with scouting content. Those months were always our most productive, and through that early scouting work, I began to form a niche.
Around the time my efforts at Riggo’s Rag were delivering returns, Pro Football Network was on the rise as a startup. PFN initially brought me on as a contractor editing content. Eventually, I filled in writing emergency NFL Draft stories. The demand for NFL Draft content remained, and my experience with scouting helped develop that opportunity into a full-time role.
My experience as a full-time NFL Draft writer was one I cherish. It was a dream of mine from an early age to be a sports writer, and I got to live that out — going to events, conducting interviews, and building a multi-platform presence.
Ultimately, when market disruptions severely impacted the search engine optimization (SEO) outlook in early 2024, I decided to move my focus elsewhere. But I hope, with my experience, I can pay it forward and show aspiring content creators how they can achieve the same.
1) Focus on Personal Growth to Strengthen Your Content
I didn’t realize how important self-development was until I was out of college. Your work and your content doesn’t define you, but it’s true that all of your essence trickles into the work you produce.
Your content isn’t all of you, but you are your content. And if you still have work to do on yourself, that may show — either in your efficiency, your comfort, or in other areas. So if you want to reach your potential as a content creator, you have to invest in personal development. Whether that comprises mentorship, journaling, or therapy, it’s something you can’t put off.
I’m transparent about my journey now. In college, I had severe social anxiety and self-image issues — to the point where even single one-off interactions were difficult. When I started sports writing, I was good at writing, but I vented my frustrations through negative social media interactions and toxic debates. When I produced my first video content at PFN, I was still dealing with those image issues, and lacked confidence.
Those are things I had to work through on my own, and I needed to go to therapy to catalyze change. Once I did, the progress over time was astounding. I was able to go on videos and podcasts and radio shows multiple times a week and be at my best — positive, authentic, and engaging. I could go to events like the Senior Bowl, the Shrine Bowl, and the NFL Combine, conduct interviews, and network.
None of that would have been possible without breaking that massive, deeply-rooted mental block, by introspecting and changing myself for the better.
Personal development is an ongoing journey, and you’re always going to be growing. That never stops. But if you can take action and get to a point where you’re comfortable, confident, and believe in yourself fully, that’ll improve your output tenfold.
I’ll also add: In the modern sports media industry, building a personal brand is essential to cultivating brand loyalty. This is where I failed. I built a degree of brand loyalty, but not enough to weather market disruptions.
If you want to build brand loyalty, being completely and authentically yourself is the best way. To do that, you have to prioritize personal growth.
2) Expand Your Skill Set for Stability and Growth
Odds are, you have a personal specialization that you tailor your craft around. Maybe you’re a prolific writer like I was, or maybe you’re a natural on video and audio.
We find comfort in our specializations, but my next advice is this: Diversify your skills as much as you can, because that increases your value, security, and productivity. And don’t be afraid to diversify with skills that aren’t traditionally intertwined with media and journalism.
When I went to college, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I ended up graduating with a marketing degree, but upon graduating, I ended up taking a full-time sports writing position at PFN. For a while, it felt like that marketing degree was worthless. But over time, I began to see its value.
As I carried on my self-development, and as I kept building my NFL Draft brand, I used my marketing background to market myself. I recognized that every radio and video spot, every written post, and every social media interaction was a way to promote my personal brand, and I used my marketing background to reinforce my value proposition.
An audience will take value from being informed and entertained. But there’s also value in a positive social media interaction. There’s value in community and feeling mutual respect. Almost everything you do beneath your brand profile traces ahead to value — value gained by your audience.
My marketing mindset allowed me to understand and apply that. Depending on how you diversify, you can apply your specialized knowledge to separate yourself as well.
Ultimately, market disruptions resulted in my decision to shift away from the sports media industry, and my diversification allowed me to land a new role as well. No matter what happens, diversification is always a smart — and necessary — choice for your career.
3) Commit to Continuous Learning and Craft Improvement
You have a craft. You have a passion. Never stop learning about it. If you stop learning, you’ll stop growing. If you keep learning and commit to learning, you’ll always have more room to climb.
When I first got into NFL Draft analysis, I took my place in the media industry — which was far smaller than I first realized — as validation of my perspective. I was over-confident in that perspective, and I was very results-oriented — sometimes choosing stances to plant my flag on without adequately researching and studying.
Eventually, I re-evaluated myself, and I learned to become a process-oriented person. What is my process, and how can it produce reliable, replicable results? From that shift, I was able to truly appreciate the value of constant learning.
Like any sphere, NFL Draft analysis is one that has countless layers. You can know what a wide receiver is and what defines success at that position. But do you know how many different types of releases there are? Do you know what the right footwork is for a foot-fire release? Do you know the different ways to track and attack the ball in the air?
Once you accept how little you truly know and embrace the learning process, you see how much more you need to learn. That revelation is daunting, but it’s also what fully unlocks your growth as a voice in your respective field. Be a lifelong learner, and you’ll soon be able to teach others.
4) Prepare Yourself to Seize Opportunities
No matter how you spin it, you need a little bit of luck to find your stride in an industry as chaotic and unpredictable as sports media. I was lucky that PFN was on the upswing when I was solidifying my presence at FanSided. The timing worked out. But I also put in the work to capitalize when the opportunity presented itself.
Luck is hard to quantify, but if you can strengthen your brand presence, network and create connections, and amass a track record of content production, you’ll open the door for luck to find its way to you.
