The Trak team (featuring Chip Reynolds and Jermaine Davis) made the trek to New York City for SportsPro New York and SportsPro AI USA. It was our first time participating in either event, rubbing elbows with SportsPro Media’s largely European demographic—primarily focused on broadcast, distribution, social media, and revenue channels tangential to the global business of sport.
Here were a few standout sessions and takeaways:
Unlocking the Power of AI in Sports & Entertainment (featuring John Nicastro, CTO @ MLS; Alon Cohen, SVP of R&D @ UFC; Bill Bailey, CRO @ Satisfi Labs)
Nicastro: Emphasized the importance of “infrastructure hygiene,” with vector databases supplementing data lakehouses to enable generative AI systems. Focused on middleware integration and identifying ROI through cost savings and quick value wins. Highlighted their mobile app, designed to strengthen DTC relationships using a generative AI flywheel (e.g., team wins → serve highlight clips of key moments). Also touched on conversational bots/virtual assistants—Satisfi’s area of focus.
Cohen: Discussed commercially licensing language models, risk assessment in code generation, and the challenge of defining a universal standard. Highlighted the unique case of UFC’s single-human foundation, which doesn’t translate to all sports. Spoke about workforce realignment in the "Industry 5.0" shift, including managing products via Google Sheets and encouraging lean teams to experiment with AI. Also mentioned an insights engine to support producers with content planning and pipelines.
Bailey: Shared how investor pressure from Google and MLB led to products like the MLB Game Companion, helping fans understand game mechanics (e.g., icing, offsides). Stressed the importance of building guardrails for addressing sensitive topics like concussions.
Driving ROI in Sponsorships: 6 Indicators for Optimizing Your Assets (Alex Kerr, CEO @ Trajektory; Ned Luke, Sr. Director of Partnership Service @ Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment)
Kerr: Cited a David vs. Goliath example—despite a market 6x smaller, the Padres generated 17x more value from their Motorola patch deal compared to the Yankees. Introduced six "Trajektory Indicators" to help brand partners maximize effectiveness:
Max out logo sizing within parameters
Limit text
Use secondary logos strategically
Limit text (again, for emphasis)
Prioritize contrast
Use controlled content—guide partners to capture assets properly with cameras
Luke: Described a challenge with RWJBarnabas Health's primary logo blending in too much. The team collaborated to create a higher-contrast version, now used across media and thousands of youth hockey jerseys—with great success. Also discussed challenges like finding the right away patch partner and stadium entitlement sponsor renewals in a 20-year-old arena, aided by ongoing upgrades.
AI-Powered Revenue: Ticketing & Sponsorship in Sports (Shripal Shah, Chief Digital Officer @ Next League)
Helped attendees understand AI's role in sports business revenue generation—breaking it down into predictive (forecasting outcomes, e.g., revenue projections) and generative (content/pattern creation, e.g., ChatGPT for emails).
Shared adoption stats: AI is used by 75% of organizations for CRM & analytics platforms, but only 20% for AR experiences (see graphic).
Highlighted tools like SponsorUnited’s SPND, which analyzes 50k+ deals for valuation insights, and Trajektory for digital analytics.
Described AI applications in fan loyalty programs, asset matchmaking, sponsor targeting, and maximizing revenue through smarter asset valuation.
Like much of the world, Trak is actively exploring how to incorporate AI into our business practices to stay ahead. It was a thrill to gather with a global community of solution providers in a thriving entertainment capital to share ideas and chart a path forward.
