Rams Top Brass on Health of Franchise: Look At The Jerseys in the Stadium

Kevin Demoff, president of team and media operations for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE and is also in his 16th year as the team president for the Los Angeles Rams was invited to speak at the University of Southern California’s inaugural Next Level Sports Conference and the LAFB was on hand to catch his remarks.

Next Level Sports looks at what’s ahead at the intersection of sports, media, business, technology, fan engagement, and storytelling. Demoff was one of many speakers to attend, others included entrepreneur Maverick Carter, NBA Players Association executive director and four-time NBA Champion, Andre Iguodala, Pro Football Hall of Famer, Broadcaster, and Entrepreneur Michael Strahan, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

Rams Prez Talks Future of Fandom At USC Sports Conference

Demoff was on the panel discussing the topic “The Future of Fandom” and in it, he gave his tried and true heuristic for judging the health of a sports franchise. KSE contains several professional sports franchises including the Rams as well as the Colorado Avalanch and Denver Nuggets.

“[The] best way to judge the health of your franchise is to look at the jerseys of the fans in the stadium. Are they current players or past players?”

A glance around SoFi will provide your answers. Rams fans have gravitated toward the new stars of LA. The most popular jerseys for Rams fans are Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and the sophomore wide receiver Puka Nacua. Kupp tops all Rams jersey sales. His is the 39th most popular in the league.

While Mr. Demoff may see this as a point of success, the first glance at the stadium reveals, not the popularity of new players, but that it is still filled with the colors and player names of other teams. This suggests that there is still room for improvement in attracting and retaining fans. Demoff spoke to that as well.

“One of our journeys is we’re in a market where fans have cared more about fantasy football and betting outcomes than team results — how do we tell the stories that make the Rams part of the fan collective consciousness in the long term.”

Long-term is the right view for, particularly, the Rams fan base. The purchasing of current players ‘ jerseys isn’t because the fans like those players more than the players of the past, it’s because they have no connection with those players. The fan base is young, and its history doesn’t go back to Kurt Warner, Issac Bruce, Jim Everett, or Deacon Jones. The history starts in 2016 or more recently for a large chunk of the fan base.

The true test will be to see if the jersey of rookie edge rusher Jared Verse will become more prevalent than that of Aaron Donald. He is the first legend and future Hall of Famer that truly belongs to the LA football fan.

That is the only thing that will solidify the Southern Californian football fan. Fandom is and will always be about going through “IT” with your team and other fans. But how you get people to that point is still up to be innovated.

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