🏟️🎙️ How a $10 Billion Family Invests in Sports: Brian Kopp, Ryan Sports Ventures | S2 E17

Inside family office sports investing

Dec 05, 2025

Sports are serious business.
On Under the Number, Brent Peus goes deep with the innovators driving the Sports Economy—from elite athletes and investors to visionary founders and executives.

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🏟️ Know someone trying to break into the Sports Economy? Do them a favor—share this episode and help them stay ahead of the game.

The Connection:

I first reached out to Brian on LinkedIn, mentioning our mutual friend, P3 Founder Dr. Marcus Elliott (check out Marcus’s episode here).

Quotes of the Episode:

“When we were first pitching [Ryan Sports Ventures] to the Ryan family, one of their questions was ‘Will there be enough deal flow?’ And that kind of made me chuckle because I knew that wouldn’t be the problem, the problem would be choosing the right ones.”

“How do you talk to, engage with, and eventually monetize and commercialize that next generation of fans? That’s a challenge for sports properties, for media companies, for sports sponsors—really anybody who touches the sports ecosystem and landscape is trying to figure that out.”

On Ryan Sports Ventures’ Investment in The Snow League: “There are more skiers and snowboarders globally than there are golfers. And yet, other than the Olympics, there have not been a lot of ways for them to engage in that sport at the highest level.”

Bet You Didn’t Know:

The Ryan family made one of the largest gifts in the history of U.S. higher education, a $480 million donation to Northwestern University that is helping fund the new Ryan Field.

Brian is a Partner at Ryan Sports Ventures and the Founder of Stretch 4 Advisory. Through Stretch 4 Advisory, Brian provides strategic business services to sports technology and data companies including Riddell Sports, Wilson Sporting Goods, Peak Performance Project (P3), and FastModel Sports.

Brian was previously Partner and Group CEO of Phoenix Sports Partners, a sports investment and operating company. Before his role at Phoenix, Brian served as President of North America for Catapult Sports, a global provider of sports analytics and performance products. Prior to Catapult, Brian served as Senior Vice President of Sports Solutions for STATS LLC. At STATS, Brian was responsible for the revolutionary SportVU player tracking technology as well as building innovative analytics solutions for NBA, NFL and NCAA teams. Prior to his career in sports business, Brian worked in investment banking and private equity before transitioning into corporate strategy and M&A roles.

Brian received his BA in Economics from Wabash College, where he played basketball. He also received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Brian resides in the Chicago area with his wife Rita and their five children.