MLB’s Strategic Play with The Boardroom

The emerging connection between MLB and Kevin Durant’s Boardroom highlights that sports, entertainment, and media now meet and mingle in ways they never did before. They have come together to form what can accurately be described as the new “industry” that athletes belong to. 

This strategic partnership brings together many people, such as athletes, executives, and entertainers. They all work in very different areas, yet are connected by the fact that they are all seeking ways to expand their brands beyond their playing careers and even in-season through varying events. The alliance they have formed is a group with a high-powered platform that allows it to push its message and its members’ profiles well beyond the confines of their own industries or the reach of their virtual brand(s). 

Attendees of the “Dinner in the Desert” earlier this year, like Mookie Betts, Julio Rodríguez, and even non-baseball celebrities, are just one more sign of the vast array of influential people this partnership pulls into its orbit. Moreover, these key figures supercharge the plan and the possibilities it opens up for the players, not just solely funding a series of joint initiatives but building a new, player-centered architecture for the future of the sport.

Ultimately, MLB and Boardroom are constructing a story beyond traditional partnerships. They are erecting something much more elaborate. Their medium is a complex, multifaceted one that could reinvent what it means for an athlete to engage with society. What they are creating isn’t just about athletes being seen (though it is and will assuredly continue to be that, too). It’s about them being heard and understood within the world of sports and entertainment and well beyond the often-reductive tropes attached to that world. It’s about them establishing relationships with the fans, our communities, and even among themselves that go deep and last long beyond their careers on the field.