How a Carolina Panthers legend is elevating a football team he now owns
Charlotte remembers Ryan Kalil as the Carolina Panthers center — the man who snapped the ball to Cam Newton. Today, the retired NFL All-Pro player has traded his helmet and pads for the role of team owner.
Why it matters: American football is huge stateside, but passion for the game is growing in other countries, too.
Catch up quick: Earlier this year, Kalil and retired NBA All-Star Blake Griffin acquired Osos Monterrey, a professional Mexican football team playing in Liga de Fútbol Americano.
Context: Mexico's passion for football (soccer) isn't a secret, but its love affair with football, the type with helmets and pads, isn't as widely known.
Attendance ranges from 6,000-12,000 per game and it's a short season. Tickets range from $25-$50, Kalil says.
They rebranded the team and had roughly three months to figure out the business side, Kalil says.
Yes, but: The highest level of the sport in Mexico isn't a full-time job, Kalil tells Axios. Players are there because they love the game, but they still have day jobs.
The goal is to elevate their team and the league to a point where it can be a full-time gig — including everything from league exposure to fields and equipment.
The latest: That starts with outfitting players with better helmets. The team is working with LIGHT Helmets, which as the name implies, is a lighter helmet intended to keep players safe without impeding performance.
"We need better exposure for [players], more resources for equipment, and honestly, that's part of our partnership with LIGHT Helmets," Kalil says. "It's that first step."
Kalil says this is a sign for the players and the league as a whole that resources are coming.
What we're watching: Kalil and Griffin are working on a documentary (akin to "Welcome to Wrexham") on Osos. Details including the timeline for its release and where you'll be able to stream it are TBD. It's expected to be released in either late 2025 or early 2026.
The documentary will focus on Osos, but it will also look at the state of the league.
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One year from World Cup opener, FIFA leaves questions unanswered on tickets and security
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However, CBS broadcast just 26 of 189 Champions League matches on TV in 2024-25 and streamed the rest. MLS drew about 12.2 million fans last year, second to 14.7 million in 2023-24 for the Premier League's 20 teams, but MLS has largely disappeared from broadcast TV since starting a 10-year contract with Apple TV+ in 2023. Apple spokesman Sam Citron said the company does not release viewer figures. In a fractured television landscape, different deals were negotiated by FIFA, UEFA, MLS, the NWSL, the USSF and the five major European leagues. 'You basically have over 2,800 game windows per season aired in the United States and so that requires distribution largely on streaming platforms like Paramount+ or ESPN+, but it's difficult for new fan adoption and it makes reach kind of challenging,' said Gerry Cardinale, managing partner of RedBird Capital Partners, which holds controlling interests in AC Milan and Toulouse and owns a non-controlling stake of Fenway Sports Group, parent of Liverpool. 'Kids today are getting weaned on Premier League football and Serie A football, and when you watch that as a product, it's hard for MLS to compete.' The 1994 World Cup, a 24-nation tournament, drew a record 3.58 million fans for 52 matches. Ticket prices ranged from $25-$75 for most first round games and $180-$475 for the final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. FIFA, which has about 800 people working at an office in Coral Gables, Florida, says it will announce information on general tickets in the third quarter. 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Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. share
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