Jordan Sherman of Gen.G Speaks on the Business Side of Esports

Earlier this month, former Major League Baseball (MLB) and Los Angeles Clippers front office member Jordan Sherman was appointed as the Head of Sponsorships and Revenue for the global esports organization of Gen.G. Bringing his experience from the world of traditional professional sports, Jordan Sherman has been tasked with helping Gen.G continue its success in connecting with esports fans from across the globe.

Twin Galaxies was able to sit down with Jordan Sherman of Gen.G and discuss his new role with Gen.G and how the influx of industry veterans from the world of traditional professional sports into the esports world will affect the evolution of the ever growing industry.

Twin Galaxies: What about the esports industry is attracting top talent from the world of professional traditional sports to the growing world of professional gaming? Such as yourself joining the Gen.G team after working with the MLB and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Jordan Sherman: "I’ve been extremely lucky to work with and learn from smart, hard-working people during my time at MLB Advanced Media and the LA Clippers. I’m fortunate to have this background and unique business experience within the world of traditional sports. Specifically, both organizations are always looking to improve themselves by leveraging technology, digital/social media and in-game presentation.

As a result, I’ve always kept my eyes open for new tech and trends. Over the past few years esports has been this awesome blend of technology, fandom, expansive business growth and uncapped potential. The world of esports is being built as we speak and every brand in the world has a unique window of opportunity to gain a competitive advantage in their respective industries by approaching this industry with full support. As a partnerships person – that’s a very exciting business to be in.

Once I identified that I was interested in esports the question became where should I get involved? There are so many different avenues into esports: franchise groups, individual leagues, media platforms, agencies, consultants, etc. My thinking was that I could bring a lot to a franchise group coming from an NBA team. Additionally. when I met the team at Gen.G I was really impressed with their backgrounds, experiences, vision for the industry and long-term plan for building the company. I’ve always wanted to be a part of building something special and to get involved in the early stages of the game. So, when you put that all together with my background plus Gen.G’s overall vision and the potential to truly write your own narrative within the esports industry, it became a truly unique and fun opportunity that I wanted to go for."

Twin Galaxies: What are the advantages of an esports organization acquiring the talent and experience of front office personnel that have worked in the world of traditional professional sports? Will the esports industry continue to see individuals, such as yourself, making the switch?

Jordan Sherman: "When you look at the Overwatch League, for example, you see the first major esports league built around location-based teams that compete in a regular season and playoffs format that closely mirrors that of a traditional sports league. As more and more leagues experiment with a similar league format then certainly I can see other front office personnel taking a serious look at moving in esports and starting to feel comfortable in the space. That said, I think esports can learn from the decades of experience that traditional sports have been through and use that to their advantage by creating new leagues with new revenue streams and other der various enhancements that can’t be duplicated by traditional sports for a myriad of logistical and cultural issues.

 So, now that we’ve established that esports can be similar to traditional sports (and maybe even with some unique enhancements) you then look at the landscape from a partnership perspective and realize that it’s wide open. You can write your own narrative as a brand, a league, a team, a media platform, etc. There’s going to be a few brands that do their homework, take what may be viewed as a risk in today’s terms and ultimately cash-in big by becoming an authentic partner in the space. With that amount of creative freedom and potential I think you’ll find that esports will begin recruiting individuals from industries all over the world – not just traditional sports."

Twin Galaxies: "What are your future plans for reaching the core audience of Gen. G across North America, Korea and China? Is there currently anything in the organization's pipeline that you are willing to or are able to give fans some information about?"

Jordan Sherman: "This is really exciting and it’s what makes Gen. G such a unique team in the esports landscape. It’s one of main reasons that attracted me to this position. Being new to the team I’ll need to work with our founders to get a better understanding of our long term and short-term strategy, but the elevator answer would be that having teams in multiple regions allow us to bring a unique flexibility to our message and platform. In the past if you’re a brand that wants to expand globally you’ll need multiple deals in multiple countries to get it done right. In fact, even within the big traditional sports leagues you’ll need to work with the various departments within the sports leagues themselves in order to get the global reach. It can be a daunting process.

With Gen.G it’s an opportunity to reach a global audience under one team umbrella with a consistent message that will resonate within each culture. I don’t think that exists in many other places and that’s what so exciting about this franchise group."

Twin Galaxies: What drew you to the Gen.G organization?

Jordan Sherman: "I’ve always kept my eyes open for new tech and trends. Over the past few years esports has been this awesome blend of technology, fandom, expansive business growth and uncapped potential. The world of esports is being built as we speak and every brand in the world has a unique window of opportunity to gain a competitive advantage in their respective industries by approaching this industry with full support. As a partnerships person – that’s a very exciting business to be in.

This is an opportunity for all brands of all sizes to make an immediate impact in this field. Whether you are a traditional brand, a new brand, or a revamping brand, esports your chance to gain a competitive advantage on your competition. All of that makes this opportunity really exciting and I can’t wait to get started.  

Once I identified that I was interested in esports the question became where should I get involved? There are so many different avenues into esports: franchise groups, individual leagues, media platforms, agencies, consultants, etc. My thinking was that I could bring a lot to a franchise group coming from an NBA team. Additionally. when I met the team at Gen.G I was really impressed with their backgrounds, experiences, vision for the industry and long-term plan for building the company. I’ve always wanted to be a part of building something special and to get involved in the early stages of the game. So, when you put that all together with my background plus Gen.G’s overall vision and the potential to truly write your own narrative within the esports industry...it became a truly unique and fun opportunity that I wanted to go for." 

Twin Galaxies: How do you envision the future of the esports industry evolving with top talent from other industries joining its ranks?

Jordan Sherman: "There are already smart and hard-working people in the industry! It’s been amazing to get going and have conversations because everyone is so thoughtful about the business and excited about the potential. I’m sure we’ll have many more smart people getting involved but I’m already really impressed with the foundation we have in the industry."

Twin Galaxies: With many traditional sports leagues beginning to enter the esports industry, such as the NBA and its NBA 2K League, do you believe that more leagues will heavily invest into creating their own esports leagues, or work to support already existing ones?

Jordan Sherman: "I’m really impressed by the NBA and very proud to have had the opportunity to work in the league. What they’ve done with the NBA 2K league is something special. Just like any esports league it’s going to grow and evolve and change but the NBA’s willingness to see an opportunity and take a risk is something I’ve always admired about the league. You see and hear about the NHL, NFL and FIFA taking a real good look into strategizing about the best way to get their own leagues going. What’s going to be really interesting to see is not only if/when the traditional teams will have esports leagues but if/when those leagues become successful and you see cross-pollination, i.e. NBA teams getting involved in OWL as a brand extension of their current NBA team and the inverse of OWL teams potentially getting involved in the 2K league, FIFA, etc."

Twin Galaxies: What do you believe the esports industry needs to do in order to compete with and surpass the likes of the NBA, NFL, MLB, etc.?

Jordan Sherman: "I don’t see the relationship between esports and traditional sports as a zero-sum game. For example, you’re going to be a LA Clippers fan or a Detroit Tigers fan (my hometown team) that’s great, and we aren’t trying to take anything away from your history and fandom in any of the professional sports leagues. What we are trying to do is two things: make our teams and leagues the best they can be for our existing audience; and find ways to bring new fans into the fold in an inclusive way by featuring all the benefits of being an esports fan and then growing alongside these fans as the industry evolves over the next decade."

You can keep up with the work of Jordan Sherman and Gen.G by following the organization's official Twitter account.