Ryan Clark’s ‘Pivot25’ Media Company Backed By Starbucks Chairman Emeritus Howard Schultz

The former NFL star and ESPN personality is turning his next chapter into a larger business play.

Ryan Clark is turning a major career transition into a bigger business opportunity.

The former NFL star and former ESPN personality has brought Howard Schultz, the former Starbucks chairman and CEO, into Pivot25 Productions as an investor and strategic partner. The move gives Clark’s sports media company, Pivot25, access to capital, business expertise, and Schultz’s network as it looks to expand beyond a single show.

Pivot25, which Clark co-founded with Emmy-winning producer Alicia Zubikowski, recently launched The Pivot Sports with Ryan Clark in partnership with NFL Films on YouTube, which has more than 1.4 million subscribers and more than 480 million views. The weekly program features Clark alongside former NFL players Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor. The company also has a multiyear agreement with Netflix for video episodes of “The Pivot” podcast.

According to TODAY, Schultz reached out to Clark following his departure from ESPN and encouraged him to think beyond creating a single program. Clark said the conversation ultimately changed the scope of his vision for Pivot25.

“I told him that I wanted to do a show, and from there he was like, ‘Wait, why would we just talk about doing one show?’” Clark told TODAY anchor Craig Melvin on his podcast Glass Half Full.

In addition to funding the show, Schultz will provide Pivot25 with strategic counsel, commercial relationships, networking expertise, and access to capital resources as the company pursues opportunities in content, distribution, brand partnerships, live experiences, and licensing.

“I have always believed that the most enduring businesses are built at the intersection of great ideas, authentic leadership, and human connection,” Schultz said in a press release. “That is what I see in Ryan Clark, Alicia Zubikowski and the entire Pivot25 team.”

He added, “We are living through a profound transformation in media. Audiences are increasingly choosing people and platforms they trust over traditional institutions, and the barriers between sports, business, culture and entertainment are disappearing.”

In turn, Clark has credited Schultz’s experience building Starbucks into a global consumer brand as valuable to Pivot25’s next phase.

“That is exactly the kind of partner we want as we enter this next stage,” Clark said in the news release. “Howard respects what we have built, but he also sees possibilities for Pivot25 that extend far beyond where we are today.”

The partnership arrives as sports media continues to move beyond traditional television and into creator-led platforms, streaming, and direct-to-audience businesses.

“What excites me most is the opportunity to help build upon that trust,” Schultz said. “Pivot25 is already much more than a successful sports media platform.”