By Lisa Zimmerman | Engagement Insider
In the world of sports today, it’s all about more; more access, more information, more insight. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates, linebacker Ryan Nece and offensive lineman Jeb Terry have partnered to provide some of that in a unique way.
Nece, who was signed by the Buccaneers as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2002 out of UCLA, and Terry, who was drafted by the team out of the University of North Carolina in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL Draft, have created Gridiron Grunts through their company, StraightCast Media.
With both traditional and social media now an ever-present part of following and covering sports in order to provide information to the fans, Terry and Nece came up with a platform to put some of the information distribution into the hands of the players themselves. After they both retired from the NFL, the plan was put into motion. Terry serves as CEO, with Nece as vice president. They have two other partners, Joel Cave and Brice Cave, who serve as CTO and Web Architect respectively.
Gridiron Grunts offers players the opportunity to have a business stake in some of their interactions with fans. Players create short videos of some of their off-the-field activities that other media don’t generally have access to. Whether it’s on the bus on the way to a game or in the pre-game locker room, fans get an insiders’ vantage point and the players control what they want seen and heard – and all they have to do is record themselves on their smartphones.
Nece and Terry want to provide fans with an authentic experience that can’t always be achieved via other media and social media outlets. They have also seen that the demand has grown along with the volume of information, but some of what makes its way into the public isn’t always productive or flattering.
“We don’t want guys to talk about the nonsense stuff,” Terry said. “As a professional athlete, you are one of the very few select people who are an unequaled expert at doing what you do. So let’s share that.”
Initially the app was intended to be more consumer-facing, but Nece and Terry quickly realized that the bigger impact would be if they were to make it a publishing tool and it has evolved in that direction. The app is free to the consumer and revenue is generated through advertising and licensing deals. They also realized that with the amount of content already available on the Internet, in order to succeed, they would have to provide something unique.
“We’re capturing content that no else has,” Nece said. “Places that cameras don’t go. Multi-billion dollar companies don’t have this content. We realized the only differentiating factor is your content. You need to have proprietary content that’s different.”
Venturing into the world of technology was not something either Nece or Terry had planned on. Nece had been privy to a small glimpse via his father, Hall of Fame defensive back Ronnie Lott, when Lott became an investor during the Internet’s early years. Nece was actually on a path toward a career in real estate, but then Terry presented him with the seed of the idea for Gridiron Grunts and things took off from there.
“It’s continued to grow,” Nece said. “As with most startups it’s frustrating at times, but we’re so much further along than we were.”
Now, in addition to being available on their website, straightcasemedia.com, this player-created content can be seen by millions on television segments such as, FOX On The Bus, NFL Network Behind The Helmet, and ESPN ProView.
Their business model is designed to address the multiple angles that all businesses must address. The idea engages the athletes because there is financial compensation for them. Because it’s based on mobile, smartphone technology, the product is easily created. Plus, the players know that Terry and Nece, as former players themselves, understand the full spectrum of what they are doing.
“The phone is ubiquitous,” Terry said. “It’s always on the player. And because they know that you as athletes built the company and we share all revenue back with the athlete they want to work with you.”
Now that they have a foothold in the NFL, they are preparing to branch out into other sports, including women’s soccer, all by providing unique distribution opportunities for content.
As Terry summed up, “We’re literally trying to meld sports, tech and media. We want to be the cog that connects it all, that drives value for the players, the fans and the media.”
For more information on Gridiron Grunts: www.straightcastmedia.com