The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly

Volleyball is the world’s most popular female sport and it’s the top team sport for high school girls in the U.S., but the professional opportunities have not reflected that popularity. Until now, with the recent launch of two professional volleyball leagues: Major League Volleyball (MLV) and League One Volleyball (LOVB).
Kerri Walsh Jennings – one of the most decorated beach volleyball players in the sport's history – joined MLV as a founding partner when the league officially launched early in 2025, and is now a Founding Owner and the Chief Impact Officer of MLV’s NorCal team. In this episode of The Deal, she tells Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly how she’s converting her Olympian and World Champion star-power into team ownership, and what she thinks MLV needs to do to win the war of the leagues.
You can also watch this interview on the Bloomberg Podcasts YouTube page.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sports bars are a $2 billion industry, and women’s sports overall are now a $3 billion global industry. But there was a major gap in the market where the two intersected: Until 2022, there weren’t any dedicated sports bars solely dedicated to playing women’s sports on the TVs. Jenny Nguyen set out to change that.
In this episode of The Deal, Jenny tells Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly how she founded The Sports Bra in Portland, Oregon, and why she decided to open the business to franchising across the country. They also talk about what she’s doing to create new fans from the barstool and how she was able to get major investors like Alexis Ohanian and Renee Montgomery on board.
You can also watch this interview on the Bloomberg Podcasts YouTube page.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the U.S. Open gets underway in New York City, the tennis world is abuzz to see the Williams sisters back on the court. Serena Williams’ return to the Open’s doubles tournament got us thinking back to an earlier episode of The Deal, recorded shortly after her retirement from the sport when she had moved on to the world of finance and started her own venture capital firm, Serena Ventures. We revisit that conversation, with Williams telling the hosts how she thinks about the “business of Serena” both on and off the court.
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Ryan Howard spent more than a decade as one of baseball’s most feared hitters. Since retiring, he’s built an interesting second act as an entrepreneur and investor, with bets spanning everything from the “Topgolf of baseball” to youth sports and professional soccer.
In this episode of The Deal, Ryan tells Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly how he transitioned from playing baseball to investing in ventures like Batter Up that will help more people play baseball, why making deals can feel like playing baseball, and which issues he thinks could shape the labor fight between the MLB and the players' union.
You can also watch this interview on the Bloomberg Podcasts YouTube page.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vanderbilt is having a moment. The university has transformed from a respected southern institution into one of the country’s most selective and sought after schools. Athletics has become an increasingly important part of that rise. At the center of it is Vanderbilt University’s Vice Chancellor for Athletics and University Affairs and Athletic Director.
In this episode of The Deal, Candice Storey Lee joins us to discuss what it takes to build a winning culture, and how athletic success can amplify a university’s broader ambitions. They also talk about the forces reshaping college athletics, from NIL and revenue sharing to conference realignment, and what those changes could mean for athletes, universities, and fans.
You can also watch this interview on the Bloomberg Podcasts YouTube page.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.