Loading…
sports
Hosted by BTPM NPR · sports · EN · 20 episodes
Sports are about more than what happens on the field. Skin in the Game takes you inside the deals, decisions, and trends driving today’s sports industry.Hosted by sports marketing expert John Cimperman and veteran sports business journalist Tim O’Shei, the weekly podcast features conversations with top level executives, athletes, journalists, entrepreneurs, and innovators from across the sports world. From NIL and media rights to professional leagues and youth sports, Skin in the Game uncovers the stories behind the scoreboard.Listen Tuesdays and 11 a.m. and Saturdays at 4 p.m. on BTPM NPR or stream anytime on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more.
Required Pod Score for this show. PitchCentric checks your profile against host openness, topical fit, and audience signals before you generate a pitch.
Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
30%
Guest openness
Selective
Sign up to generate a grounded pitch for Skin in the Game.
Signup to Generate a PitchSkin in the Game is a sports podcast hosted by BTPM NPR, with 20 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.
BTPM NPR hosts Skin in the Game, a sports show with 20 episodes published.
Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.
Episode #96
On this episode of Skin In The Game, John Cimperman and Tim O’Shei welcome psychologist and lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fan Dr. Patrick McElwaine to explore the psychology behind sports fandom and why our favorite teams can become such an important part of our identity.
Episode #95
Women’s sports are booming. But when investors look beyond the headlines, where are the real opportunities? On this episode of Skin In The Game, John Cimperman and Tim O’Shei welcome entrepreneur, investor, and author Chantell Preston, one of the owners and founders of the League One Volleyball San Francisco Signal, to talk about why she believes professional volleyball could be one of the next big growth stories in sports. Preston spent years evaluating emerging sports leagues before deciding where to put her own money. She explains why volleyball stood out, what she looks for before investing in a team or league, and why the sport’s enormous participation base and growing professional infrastructure caught her attention. The conversation also explores the broader surge in women’s sports, the importance of investing in female athletes and businesses, the opportunities — and risks — surrounding emerging leagues, and what athletes can bring from the court into the boardroom. Preston also shares lessons from her book, The Success Lie, including why she stopped defining success by money and titles, how sports helped shape her approach to leadership and resilience, and why success may have more to do with the journey than the outcome. It’s a conversation about money, opportunity, leadership, and what happens when you’re willing to bet on something before everyone else sees its potential.
Episode #94
Kids say they play sports for two main reasons: to have fun and to be with their friends. So why have youth sports become increasingly expensive, competitive, and difficult for many families to navigate? This week on Skin In The Game, John Cimperman and Tim O’Shei sit down with Jon Solomon, Research Director for the Aspen Institute’s Project Play initiative, to examine what the research tells us about the state of youth sports in America. Participation is rebounding after the pandemic, but Solomon says a troubling divide is growing. Children from the highest-income households are about twice as likely to play organized sports as those from the lowest-income households, while the average amount parents spent on a child’s primary sport increased 46% over five years. The conversation explores the commercialization and privatization of youth sports, the growing role of private equity, and why parents can feel pressured to spend thousands of dollars on travel teams, specialized coaching, and year-round competition just to give their children a chance to make a high school team. It’s a conversation about money, access, and whether youth sports are still serving the kids who play them.
Episode #93
College sports are changing at a dizzying pace. Athletes are getting paid, players are moving from school to school, and the possibility of college athletes collectively bargaining may be closer than many fans realize. This week on Skin In The Game, John Cimperman and Tim O’Shei sit down with sports and labor attorney Michael Elkins, founder of MLE Law, to examine the rapidly changing relationship between athletes, teams, schools, and leagues. Elkins, who represents college and professional athletes, makes a provocative case that despite all the criticism surrounding NIL and the transfer portal, college sports have never been better. He argues that athletes should have the same freedom to pursue better opportunities that coaches and other professionals have enjoyed for years. The conversation also moves into professional sports, including why the NFL Players Association faces a fundamental challenge that other sports unions do not: Most NFL players have short careers, and many never reach a second contract, making a prolonged work stoppage difficult for players to withstand. And Elkins explains why sports fans should be watching Major League Baseball, where another labor battle could threaten a sport he believes finally has momentum again. It’s a conversation about money, leverage, and the people fighting for their share of an increasingly lucrative sports industry.
Episode #92
The Buffalo Bills are about to open a state-of-the-art stadium in Orchard Park, ushering in a new era for one of the NFL's most passionate fan bases. But how did the deal come together, and what does it mean for the future of Buffalo? This week on Skin In The Game, John Cimperman and Tim O'Shei sit down with business leaders Bill Maggio and Jordan Levy, two trusted advisors who worked behind the scenes during negotiations for the Bills' new stadium. They discuss the relationships that helped move negotiations forward, the roles played by Governor Kathy Hochul, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Terry Pegula, and Erie County, and the difficult decisions that ultimately kept the Bills in Western New York. The conversation also explores one of the biggest questions surrounding the project: Should the stadium have been built in downtown Buffalo instead of Orchard Park? Looking back, both guests share their perspectives on that debate and explain why they now believe Buffalo's next major investment should focus on the Cobblestone District and revitalizing the area around KeyBank Center. It's an honest conversation about leadership, negotiation, public investment, and what Buffalo got right, what it may have missed, and what comes next.
Recent guests on Skin in the Game. Study who booked and why before you pitch.
Sponsor detection runs nightly. Check back soon.
Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:
Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.
Is this podcast yours and you'd like to remove or correct details? Request removal or email privacy@pitchcentric.com.
FAQs
If you have a concern about deliverability, AI quality, data privacy, or whether this will actually work for your specific situation, it's probably answered below.
Founder Solo gives you 50 AI pitches per month using the credit model (Standard pitches cost 1 credit, Enriched pitches cost 2). Founder Pro raises that to 200 credits per month and adds full Booking Probability access, unlimited Magic Match, Apollo enrichment credits, and data export capabilities. Both plans use the same credit system, so you can stretch your monthly budget further by using Standard-mode drafting.
Agency tiers have no base fee. You pay per managed client and per talent profile. Agency Standard is $199 per client per month; Agency Pro is $399 per client per month. Both add $39 per talent profile per month. Your own team's user seats are always free.
A talent profile represents one person (founder, executive, or spokesperson) you are booking onto podcasts. It includes their bio, topics, headshots, and outreach history. Team plans include 5 profiles; agency plans are pay-as-you-go.
Yes, at any time. Upgrades take effect immediately; downgrades apply at the end of the current billing period. Contact support if you need help migrating between plan families.
Every paid plan includes a 15-day free trial. Your card is saved at signup but you will not be charged until day 16. Cancel any time from your dashboard.
You keep access until the end of your current billing period. No charges after that. Your data is retained for 30 days in case you reactivate.
Yes. Select Annual on the pricing toggle and the discounted price is applied automatically at checkout. The annual price shown is the full year cost.
That is our Enterprise tier. Contact our sales team and we will build a custom plan with volume pricing, a dedicated account manager, and SLA guarantees.
