The Work in Sports Podcast - Insider Advice for Sports Careers · Brian Clapp - Work in Sports

Living the NFL Dream w/Los Angeles Chargers' Chad Jessop

·31 min

1. The Work in Sports Podcast episode centers on Chad Jessop, the Los Angeles Chargers' assistant equipment manager, and his path through pro football equipment work. 2. Brian Clapp hosts Chad Jessop, while Jessop matters because he has spent 10 years in pro football, including the Dallas Cowboys and the LA Chargers. 3. The episode asks what it takes to turn an unpaid internship and local high school work into a full-time NFL equipment career. 4. Jessop starts at Mission Viejo High School under Bob Johnson, whom Brian calls the winningest coach in California high school football history. 5. He says Mission Viejo put him around Mark Sanchez, Jets West camp, and other athletes who had reached the highest level of the sport. 6. Jessop says those people told him, “if this is something you want to do, I believe you could do it,” which made the work feel like a real job. 7. A major turning point came in 2014, when Jessop landed an equipment assistant role at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and a training-camp internship with the Dallas Cowboys. 8. He credits Bob Johnson, Greg McElroy Sr., Greg McElroy Jr., and Joey Roberts for opening doors through alumni and work relationships. 9. Jessop describes his early NFLPA work as “an Aaron boy, a gopher,” before he started hanging around the Chargers equipment staff and shagging balls in slacks and dress shoes. 10. Brian and Chad emphasize that the opportunity only mattered because Jessop had the skill and attitude to make the introductions count. 11. Jessop says his seasonal internship grew into more responsibility, including setting up practice fields and laying out gear exactly as coaches requested. 12. He explains that drills change quickly, so an equipment assistant has to be early, ready, and able to hand over a hand shield or other gear on demand. 13. Jessop traces his technical knowledge back to Mission Viejo, where he sat in on vendor meetings, saw Nike and Under Armour orders, and helped fulfill equipment needs. 14. He says real experience matters more than classroom theory because “the best thing in this industry is experience.” 15. Jessop’s move to the Chargers in 2017 brought him back to Los Angeles, where the team was entering a new market and asking assistants to step up. 16. One of his favorite tasks is prepping footballs with mud, oil, a heat gun, and brushing, which he says changes the feel of the ball in a noticeable way. 17. He says quarterbacks and kickers each have their own preferences, and the prep process keeps evolving instead of following one fixed recipe. 18. Jessop also describes the draft-day jersey process, explaining that nameplates are heat pressed on backstage while seamstresses prepare player jerseys and sizes in advance. 19. The conversation stays interview-driven and practical, with Brian pressing for concrete examples and Jessop answering in a steady, explanatory style. 20. Listeners interested in sports operations, equipment work, and early-career networking will get the most from this episode, while people wanting game analysis or celebrity stories may skip it.

As heard by us

Small jobs can lead somewhere real when the work is handled well.

Chad Jessop’s run with the Chargers lands as a quiet reminder that early work can matter when it is treated with care. The piece moves from an unpaid internship into a seasonal job with more responsibility, showing the steady kind of progress that comes from setting up practice…

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Why you'd press play

Learn how an unpaid Chargers internship can turn into a real sports career.

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