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

Mining for Partnerships in the Sports Industry

·41 min

Brian Clapp interviews Ryan Sanford, senior manager of partnership sales for the San Francisco 49ers, exploring how childhood baseball dreams transformed into a multi-sport industry career. Despite being a high school baseball prospect and initially landing his dream job with the San Diego Padres, Sanford advanced through emotional intelligence, strategic networking, mentorship leverage, and willingness to pursue unsexy opportunities. The episode challenges simplistic passion-following advice while revealing sophisticated networking philosophy applicable across industries.

As heard by us

EQ, empathy, and relationship building come through as real sports business skills, not soft extras.

Brian Clapp frames a familiar sports career choice: chase one specific passion, or take the opening in front of you and sharpen the lane later. The answer stays practical.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a smart, low-pressure entry point into sports revenue and partnership work.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify