More morbid than fun fact: less than 2% of collegiate athletes turn pro. But, in theory at least, this should’ve been a mere statistic rather than a caution for Adam Breneman. Star ratings from recruitment services aren’t supposed to be indicative of how a player will do in College. 5-stars equate to a projected 1st round draft pick. 4-stars equate to a future pro, and so on. Coming out of high school as the top-ranked tight end in the class of ‘13, Breneman was destined for the big league. However, hypotheticals and projections only go so far when you take to a gridiron with contemporaries seeking to inflict pain upon each other. Injuries marred Breneman’s CFB career, and he couldn’t quite make it to the NFL. Has that deterred his passion for the game? Far from it. He’s thriving in a parallel career, a la football media. Simultaneously, Breneman’s building out The College Sports Company.
Adam Breneman’s tryst with greatness ended under adverse circumstances
Pennsylvania native Adam Breneman’s foray in College Football came about at Penn State. There was an air of excitement around the program, with Super Bowl-winning ex-Patriots OC Bill O’Brien at the helm. Breneman’s true freshman season was a microcosm of this excitement. He set school records en route to a freshman All-American nod. But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows during his stint in Happy Valley. His ascension was abruptly halted as he was forced into redshirting his sophomore year in 2014, owing to a knee injury. This remained a theme next season, as he played merely 2 games. This was now two full years of essentially being sidelined after the highs he’d experienced. Naturally, Breneman considered hanging his cleats up altogether. But he didn’t waver, willed through and reaped the rewards.
A grad transfer to UMass breathed life back into Adam Breneman’s career. In 2 seasons, he racked up All-American honors both times. Coming out of the ‘18 season he was widely considered a top prospect for the NFL Draft. However, Breneman had a bit of an epiphany. Self-realization is the mark of a shrewd individual and he knew his knee wasn’t quite reciprocating what was required of it. Breneman, begrudgingly, had to retire after all. It’s this shrewdness that’s since gotten him tracking towards being a bonafide sports media mogul.
Uber-talented players who have their careers cut short prematurely can tend to become preachy. But Adam Breneman’s ability to connect with his self-proclaimed Gez Z target demographic is at the crux of why he’s a pioneer in the College Football content space. Aside from broadcasting for CBS, Breneman’s got IG on lock. There are few, if any, creators providing value in short-form content like him. This, in tandem with his “Next Up” podcast, is how most fans identify Breneman. But scratch the conspicuous surface and look deeper. The content is a front for his entrepreneurial endeavors. Breneman isn’t just creating CFB content, he’s changing it for good through The College Sports Company.
Adam Breneman & The College Sports Company’s role in an NIL-driven landscape
The College Sports Company is, at its core, an athlete-driven media and NIL company. As somebody who’s seen the game evolve into the NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) era, Adam Breneman recognizes the potential avenues from a business perspective as well as a need in the space for an entity that can streamline operations for schools and collectives. That’s exactly where the company comes in. They partner with schools to create content and deliver it strategically. This helps the school increase its footprint as well as revenue. With the House Settlement and revenue sharing around the corner, The College Sports Company is more topical than ever. No surprises the venture has raised north of $5 million. Ex-Bleacher Report CEO Brian Grey, Tom Brady’s media company Shadow Lion and Kevin Love are bought into the vision. Both figuratively and literally.
The College Sports Company currently works with Adam Breneman’s alma mater PSU, alongside Louisville, Oklahoma and South Carolina. A host of other schools are in the pipeline as it continues growing. Breneman and his fellow co-founders, Porter Grieve and Andrew Spano, are building something that fills a void in the industry- a medium to connect fans to their favorite teams, athletes and stories. What’s great is the sheer quality of the content they put out. While universities and NIL collectives have dipped their toes into the content world on their own, a professional service such as this accentuates the entire program. Breneman spoke extensively about this leg of his career in collegiate sport and how far he sees it going.
A determined co-founder who’s shooting for the stars with a 10-figure goal
“Content is and has been driving the commercialization of sports now for some time, and it will be no different for the future of collegiate sports,” said Adam Breneman in an interview with Awful Announcing. The modus operandi of The College Sports Company is to serve the fan. Because of this, they don’t run subscription-based models for their content. Something schools like LSU, amongst others, have delved into in the past. Instead of being behind a paywall, the content they provide is free. It generates revenue organically for the stakeholders through advertisers who want to attach themselves.
“In today’s digital age, we want to meet consumers where they already are—on social media and free-access platforms. Attention spans are dwindling. Paywalls create friction and limit reach, and brands want reach. By generating millions of views and engagement, we build large audiences that brands want to attach their name to, which ultimately generates far more revenue than a subscription-based model could,” remarked Breneman. He even spoke about why he founded the company in the first place. In essence, it boils down to the fact that his shortened career removed him from football, but not football from him. “When I saw the power of building an audience through social media, I knew I could combine that with my entrepreneurial mindset to make an even bigger impact in media [than in coaching],” he said.
Adversity often leads you down paths that seem treacherous at first but turn out to be blessings in disguise. When Adam Breneman was forced from football at 22, he was at a crossroads. Rue over his misfortune, or shrug off the setback and embark forward in a different direction. He chose the latter, and is now impacting the sport than he perhaps ever would’ve on-field. “Our goal is to be at 10 schools soon and then take stock of the environment and industry and strategically grow from there..My focus is on growing The College Sports Company into a $1 billion-plus sports media company,” he resounded. Meanwhile, Breneman continues to give cogent analysis around the game over his many platforms.
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