I met Joel Feld by chance at a dinner in New York City.
We were sitting next to each other, two strangers in a loud room, and I noticed the wristbands first — one from a venue, one from a festival. I asked about them, and within minutes we were talking about music, production, and how New York never really leaves you, even when you’ve moved on.
He mentioned he was in a band that plays The Cutting Room and casually dropped that he’d once run production for ABC Sports. That’s when it clicked: this wasn’t just another dinner conversation — this was a guy who’d lived through the golden age of sports television and found a way to keep creating for the love of it.
So when we sat down for this episode of Money in the Bank with Franck, I wanted to know how someone who started in the truck-filled, cable-dominated world of the 1970s ended up leading broadcast operations for the National Lacrosse League, a fast-growing, digitally native league that runs 126 live games a year across ESPN and TSN.
And, just as importantly, how he still finds time to front a rock band on the weekends.
The Dual Life of a Sports Executive
When we talked, Joel described his career like a musician would describe a band: equal parts creativity, discipline, and negotiation.
He’s lived through what he calls “the golden era of broadcast” — when the only way to get a signal out of a stadium was to roll up with a satellite truck the size of a house — to now, where entire productions run through the cloud for a fraction of the cost.
“We used to spend hundreds of thousands just to deliver a program,” Joel said. “Now we can do it for about $350. The quality’s better, and we don’t have to fly 200 people to every game.”
That shift has opened the door for smaller leagues like lacrosse, pickleball, and women’s soccer to innovate faster than traditional sports ever could. And Joel’s team is using that to their advantage.
NIL Money, Education, and the New Business of Athletes
But the part of our conversation that surprised me most wasn’t about fiber optics or cloud production — it was about money.
Joel was among the first to point out that Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) deals have created a new class of earners: 18-year-olds with six- and seven-figure contracts, few of whom understand taxes, contracts, or compounding interest.
“You’ve got kids making millions,” he said, “and when the tax bill comes, they’re shocked. They think, ‘Wait — I spent it all already.’”
He sees it as both a challenge and an opportunity: a crash course in financial literacy that could either shape smarter professionals or bankrupt a generation before they ever go pro.
For me, it’s another reminder that education around money — how to manage it, invest it, and protect it — needs to start long before the paycheck hits.
From Cable to Cloud
As we moved into the future of media, Joel described where technology is taking live sports: remote production, distributed teams, and AI-driven graphics that were once too expensive for anything but the Super Bowl.
It’s a new ecosystem — one where YouTube, not ESPN, might become the next frontier for leagues like the NLL.
“When you’re on YouTube, you have full control,” he said. “You own your audience. You don’t need a network executive telling you what to cut.”
That democratization of production and distribution mirrors what’s happened in finance, music, and entrepreneurship. The barrier to entry is gone — but so is the safety net.
Why This Matters
Whether you’re running a fund, producing a podcast, or managing a team, Joel’s story is a case study in adaptation.
He’s lived through the era of three networks and thousand-button remotes, and now leads a sport that’s growing through streaming, data, and accessibility.
For me, the takeaway is simple:Technology will always change how we work. Financial discipline determines who survives it.
#SportsMedia #NIL #Finance #Streaming #AI #Innovation #Leadership #MoneyInTheBankWithFranck
