Playing the Game: How This Agency Is Transforming Athlete Partnerships
The Rec League was launched by former 72andSunny-ers and athletes who were determined to shake up the game.
From their collective experiences directing big-name athletes like LeBron James and brands like Nike and Samsung, they saw an opportunity that, in their eyes, no other agency had wholeheartedly tapped into:
- On one side, there were athletes and creators making their own content that their fans enjoyed, but lacked a strategic point or larger idea.
- On the other, were brands and agencies making big idea campaigns that were ultimately missing the connective tissue of the culture they were marketing to.
The Rec League was born. The crew works at the cross-section of brands and athletes - bringing a strategic point and big creative idea to athlete content, while helping marketers leverage athletes and their personal POVs in the realest way possible that fans won't call BS on.
Much like a 'rec' sports squad, The Rec League brings together a heady collection of utility players from different backgrounds, skill sets, and corners of the industry; from sportswriters and former college athletes, to ESPN brand marketers, Nike creative directors, Hollywood film producers, and TV show editors.
Jack Jensen is the co-founder and creative director behind all of this. Jack grew up in the Chicago suburbs in the heyday of the Jordan era, playing as much basketball as humanly possible.
Jack's first job out of college was as a staff writer at Dime Magazine, an American basketball magazine. A few years later he broke into advertising, landing a gig as a senior writer at 72andSunny before heading to R/GA as a creative director on the Nike Basketball campaign. Jack founded The Rec League in 2018 because he believed there wasn't a better creative option out there that actually loved, breathed, and knew sport and sport culture, inside and out.
Basketball is not only Jack's passion, it's also a business pipeline for The Rec League. Years ago, Jack somehow made his way into a celebrity basketball league in LA. The connections made on the court with executives across entertainment, sports, and marketing, ultimately led him to open The Rec League and continues to be a networking and business development tool to this day.
To find out more, LBB's Addison Capper chatted with Jack.
LBB> You launched The Rec League as a sports-focused agency after working on campaigns with the likes of LeBron James. What was the lightbulb moment that led to the agency? What void did you believe you could fill?
Jack> There were a ton of mini lightbulb moments that built up over the years, but from the jump, we knew we wanted to build something around the power and community of sports. Having experienced the industry from a ton of angles, we really felt there weren’t a lot of people with the same depth of understanding and unique backgrounds actually making the creative work in sports. We knew clients and athletes both needed a place they could trust, who could actually make and deliver on the impactful work they promised.
Earlier in my career, I learned a lot from being in the room with some prominent sports brands and saw just how quickly strong cultural insights and ideas could be ground into brand jargon mush. Sport is a vertical that inspires and connects with people on a deeper level, so it demands those making the work understand that. Too often, it felt like agency layers were more interested in the advertising ideas than what was right for the brand or audience.
Look, you don’t need to be a D1 athlete or former pro scout to gain clearance to work in sports, but I do believe to my core that if you’re tasked with trying to inspire and connect with fans, you better at least fucking love it. I fucking love it. For a while, that feeling was just post-work fodder with my friends, but it took on new meaning once I found a few other co-workers who felt the same. That shared realisation back in 2018 sparked the idea of creating something different, and we just felt there was a ton of opportunity to take on a new approach to a creative and production company.
LBB> Using athletes is one of the oldest forms of brand partnership. With that in mind, what do you feel the advertising industry isn't doing so well when it comes to engaging with athletes for branded projects?
Jack> The industry often overlooks the best parts of why athletes can be effective brand partners. I think every athlete with a positive following can be marketable. There’s a reason that fans like, resonate with, and/or root for their success, and it’s unique to each individual athlete. So, then why are almost all of them used the same way to sell a respective brand’s vision? Why would I employ an athlete – who often has a bigger social following than the brand itself – only to create work that feels completely off-base to both them and their fans?
Fans love athletes because they’re authentically themselves, and the moment a brand uses them in a way that feels at odds with that, it's an uphill battle. Brands often wonder why a certain athlete partnership wasn’t effective when they tried to shoehorn in a name to fit their own narrative. Brands need to collaborate with athletes who will elevate their message and build a real connection to why they're involved. If you trust them with your brand, trust that they know their audience too.
LBB> How do you operate differently from a more traditional agency, and how does this positively impact the work that you do?
Jack> We really try to operate from a place of actual collaboration with everyone – client partners, the talent, their teams. There are no siloes, and because of that, we’ve become a trusted resource and partner to the athletes and their internal reps directly. Athletes have a voice in the process, and since we work as both a creative/strategy agency and production outfit, we can think through solutions that still accomplish everything the respective brand is aiming for.
We're also built differently from the core – trying to thread the needle between a few different worlds. Traditional agencies are great with advertising ideas and strategies, but aren’t necessarily living and breathing sports culture, or able to connect as well with the talent. On the flip side, athletes have always had cool content creators who understand them and their audience but aren’t as adept at weaving that together for what brands are looking for. There was a trust gap on both sides that the other couldn’t seem to solve.
We built our creative department with copywriters and art directors, but also with sportswriters, athlete photographers, and lifestyle brand designers. We built our production company directly from Hollywood film studio producers. We built our post production side with people who've worked in both marketing and feature films. So, there’s no real traditional way to act when you all come from such starkly different backgrounds. We share a love for making great ideas come to life. That, and also everyone in the agency pretends to support the Denver Nuggets whenever I’m around. That’s where real success lives, I think – in a complementary team, and Nikola Jokic’s agreed domination.
LBB> Why is the agency called The Rec League?
Jack> I’ve been waiting for this question for six years, ha, so thank you for asking. We really think about the company, and name, on a deeper level when it comes to teamwork, idea creation, and the shared pursuit of 'greater.'
A rec league, or rec team, is a collection of individuals with diverse skill sets and backgrounds, coming together to achieve a common goal - to win. That’s why we started this Rec League; we embody the philosophy that as a team we can win something greater together than we could have accomplished alone. Every athlete, client partner, and collaborator we work with is an important part of that team. When they win, we all win, and that's awesome. Which I get is cliché, but also, life is better when you're rooting for someone else's success. I think you can learn a lot about a person by watching how they play sports. Do they know how to win and lose? Are they happy for others? Can they take the lead, share the spotlight, help the team? I think that principle is often true in this industry, especially in high pressure situations. We try to stay the same people no matter what happens.
LBB> You began working at 72andSunny about 13 years ago - how do you feel sports marketing has evolved since then? And how do you see the opportunities in it then versus now?
Jack> In many ways, it’s really opened up. When I started, it was a lot harder to get athlete buy-in with brands, and now it almost feels like a badge of honour for athletes to secure. The marketing side is more celebrated now, but then almost just as quickly forgotten. On to the next.
Brands today seem more open to being nimble, self-aware, and timely with content and ideas that play into current cultural narratives. When brands are aware of their place and moment in the world, fans respond; it stands out against the bland content they're used to seeing (and ignoring) in their feed. I also think the dynamics of younger fans have fundamentally changed. They consume and engage with sports differently than older generations, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to consume it. It just forces marketers to be smarter with their insights and ideas, and all I see when I think of that is opportunity.
In terms of my time at 72andSunny, I was incredibly lucky to have really started my career there under a group of super talented creatives who also made their names in this industry through sport. Getting reps there against that collection of talent, especially at that time, was so invaluable. They helped set the bar and showed me what it takes to make great work.
New Balance - This Is Coco
LBB> Advertising, at its core, is all about appealing to humans. When it comes to sports, those humans are fans. In your eyes, how is fandom changing right now? And how is the way gen Z generally acts as 'fans' impacting this?
Jack> It requires that the people behind the work are just as involved and interested as the fans are. This is just my opinion here, but I think most agencies and creatives tend to make work that they feel *their* younger selves would love, instead of actually being plugged into what audiences are interested in *now.* I don’t think it's intentional, I just think people get cemented in their own tastes and consuming habits. But you have to constantly evolve with this audience as a creative, and having a passion for it is the best place to start. You just can’t be precious about how that manifests itself in the work.
Creative ego and preciousness in both messaging and delivery will destroy a sports brand today. Like, gen Z isn’t sitting down to watch full sporting events anymore. They’re sitting down to watch 25-minute Mr. Beast content, but they’re not as interested in the full breadth of competition as prior generations were. That’s OK. They still crave good story, drama, validation, and authentic connection with athletes and sports culture. You just have to meet them where they’re consuming it. For example, one of our partners at Rec, Scott Swindler, is an enormous Georgia football fan. He probably gets 80% of his recruiting and team news from their TikTok during the year– 70% of which he feels is information that I need to know as an Oregon fan. I'm told they’ve got great left guard prospects in the wings for 2026.
LBB> What mistakes have you personally made while working with athletes that have had a positive impact on how you work in the long run?
Jack> Early on, there was a tendency to overly fixate on details that, in the grand scheme, wouldn’t matter in the end. For instance, we would go back and forth on a specific line of dialogue for an athlete to read. We’d work and rework that line over and over to make it perfect, and we’d get attached to that line as if it were our own flesh. Then in about two seconds on set, the athlete might shrug and say they wouldn’t say it that way, and now everyone from the agency to the brand instantaneously agrees and moves on, never to be mentioned again. Often coming out of those exchanges, we’d end up with some improv and a line created on the fly that ended up being 10 times better anyways. It happens on every project. So, we push ourselves to constantly be thinking of outs and alts for everything. More importantly, it’s a reminder that no creative should ever be set in stone; there’s always another solve out there.
LBB> All athletes are different, but what are some key rules you follow to get the absolute best out of them on set (in what is often a very limited amount of time)?
Jack> Working effectively with athletes, and bringing out the best in them, is quite literally some of our secret sauce and a big differentiating factor, so I'll keep a few things close to the vest. But, as a general rule, everyone involved in anything we do must truly, honestly, and actually give a shit about why we’re there.
We have a rundown of every athlete for anyone who's coming in contact with them or their team whenever we're on set. It’s crucial that everyone is not only interested in who they are, but also aware of what they’ve done and what's going on in their lives. It’s a privilege to get to work and collaborate with talent, and we take that seriously, so we prepare and care relentlessly too. That’s actually a better way of putting it; you have to care relentlessly. When you care, they care. Also, don’t ask for autographs.
New Balance - Rein Over LA
LBB> Are there any particular sports in the US that are particularly interesting or exciting you at the moment in terms of opportunities for brands? It's interesting that there's going to be the first ever professional cricket league, for example!
Jack> Two sports come to mind immediately: soccer and golf. Not shocking anyone on the global stage with that answer, but it’s true. From a US audience perspective, the interest and growth in both soccer and golf nationwide, among those who weren’t previously interested, is real and it’s popping. The post-pandemic golf boom, both in fandom and participation, is crazy, and it’s only going to continue to grow. Between young, fresh lifestyle golf brands dropping all over the place, and TGL (https://tglgolf.com/) about to ignite its engines, golf is on fire.
And I don’t think we have enough time to go through my love for soccer, but between Euro broadcasts filling up US airways more and more, the MLS and US National teams, and content drivers like Wrexham, Messi and Inter Miami, and the David Beckham docuseries, soccer is exploding here. On that note, viva Barça!
LBB> Which projects do you feel best demonstrate how The Rec League works as a business and why?
Jack> I’m really proud of everything we were able to accomplish in our partnership with New Balance, which spanned over five years. If I had to single out a few campaigns, our first ‘We Got Now’ work with Coco Gauff, and the ‘Reign Over LA’ work with Kawhi Leonard both jump to mind. In terms of impact, insight, and making a statement, both achieved a lot. With the Kawhi output specifically, NB Basketball was still very much in its infancy at the time and that work helped jackhammer their flag squarely into the global hoops conversation. In terms of insight, clarity of the idea, and the easter eggs for core hoopers, it really demonstrated the fearlessness of NB, and the strategic, creative, and production chops of The Rec League.
I’m also very stoked on some more recent work with Underdog Fantasy, where we played a pivotal role in helping to launch its first major brand campaign. From the strategy direction and fan insights, to the ultimate creative execution and response, it’s been an incredible collaboration with their team. It's also just fun work for an awesome brand.
Underdog - The Dogs Are All Here
LBB> You started out as a sports writer - how did that lead you to advertising?
Jack> Outside of being paid to play sports, the only job I ever dreamed about growing up was around writing and directing. That could be sports, movies, whatever– it didn’t really matter. So, I am forever a writer first, and actually went to the University of Oregon in part to go to journalism school to do just that.
One of my college roommates was in the advertising track – he’s now one of the more accomplished writers in the game, Brock Kirby – and basically forced me to go to class with him. Between Brock and the optimism of Deb Morrison, head of the Oregon ad department, it felt like a window into the ad world really opened up. The school also has such a long history of big-time creative founders, especially in the sports space, from Nike to Wieden+Kennedy to 72andSunny. But when I graduated, I couldn’t find a path into a job for a while, so I hit every sports outlet I could find an email for. That’s when I was introduced to a trio of editors/writers at Dime Magazine, who undoubtedly changed the course of my career and life; Aron Phillips, Patrick Cassidy, and Sean Sweeney. They gave me an opportunity to work across nearly every lane of both their print and digital reach together. I was also shooting and editing a bulk of their video content with athletes whenever I could, and the guys let me get as creative as I wanted.
That experience at Dime helped me realise how my insights and storytelling skills could translate uniquely into the ad world and into creating work from a brand’s perspective. Thankfully 72andSunny LA agreed and let me intern. I started at $400 a month and probably ate $1200 a month in granola bars and Kirkland mixed nuts from the snack drawer, and I loved every minute of it. I worked my way up from there and out of a Kirkland-only diet. My now-wife and doctors both agreed it was for the best.
LBB> You still flex your sports writing muscles, penning articles for Slam Magazine. Why is it important for you to still do that?
Jack> Basketball has occupied a large part of my heart my whole life. I still play a ton and stay as locked into daily hoops culture as possible. So, being able to tap into that audience and tell stories from another POV is really important to me, and I’m grateful whenever someone as storied as SLAM lets me do it. Being able to put some pen to ink on the championship edition cover story when my hometown Denver Nuggets finally won a ring this past summer, for instance, was particularly special. I think it’s easy to get jaded sometimes, but getting to be a part of that moment, however small, meant a lot to me.
Advertising is also an art form that almost guarantees 99% of your work will die on the vine, forever lost in a hard drive and never to be seen by outside eyes. So, on some level, it’s gratifying to tell a story and put it out into the world as intended. That, and if we’re talking to clients about what’s authentic in sports culture, it’s good to continue being active and evolving within that culture in different ways yourself, too.
LBB> Playing basketball in LA has also become a fruitful networking exploit. Tell me more about that!
Jack> LA loves itself some pickup basketball, and so do I. For me, hooping out here has been the single best networking tool and gateway to both friends and business. By a mile. At least pre-pandemic, basketball was everywhere in the entertainment, marketing, and sports industries in the city, with games happening every night of the week. If I wasn’t working, I was bouncing from run to run.
One of the more unique setups was undoubtedly the ELeague, which was the premier celebrity basketball league in town. I was fortunate to play there for a few seasons, and that introduced me to so many amazing people, lifelong friends, and experiences that I’d otherwise never have an opportunity at. Working as both a director, and creative, I’ve gotten to collab with a ton of the connections that I made and hooped with over the years. It’s pretty awesome honestly; the sport has given me everything I’ve ever wanted - community, career, adventure, and celebrating a Kevin Hart game winner like we just won the NBA Finals.
LBB> Any parting thoughts?
Jack> One, that there is a ton of opportunity in this world, and in this industry. Sports and advertising both project an image that at times feels impenetrable. At least, it did to me. It seems so hard to break in, to network, and to get access to the type of jobs, briefs, and projects you want. But it’s attainable, and it sits firmly between persistence and luck. You want to write about sports? There are thousands of outlets to do so online. Start gathering clips, crafting your voice, and taking shots at it. You want to work for a team? Find what they need on LinkedIn and go after it. Get your foot in the door and introduce yourself to somebody and keep going. Same for advertising. Don’t get discouraged if people seem distant or a few doors shut; it only takes one. But if you send one email and then completely disappear, so will your name when an opportunity does arise. Persistence creates more chances for luck, and luck can happen at any time, so stay persistent.
And two, if you’re a brand or athlete feeling like you’re not connecting with your audience or aren't making the type of work you know in your heart you’re capable of making, come see us at The Rec League. We love sports because they are the great equaliser; between any given game or moment, we’re going to see who you are and what you bring to the team. Your creative partners should be no different. So, if you’re looking to make noise and make an impact in this world, we’ve got your back.
Or if you just want to hoop, we’re game for that too.
Or if you just want to hoop, we’re game for that too.
