Sports Business Journal Announces Second Annual Year-End Award Winners

CHARLOTTE — Sports Business Journal has chosen the winners of its Year-End Awards in 13 categories as it marks the conclusion of an unprecedented year for the industry. The Dec. 14 issue of the magazine, SBJ’s last of 2020, includes a special section that details the honorees. These awards celebrate achievements and impact in 2020 and supplement SBJ’s longstanding tradition of honoring winners each year with its Sports Business Awards.

The winners of the 2020 Year-End Awards include:

• Bests Hire: Jason Wright, president, Washington Football Team
• Sports Business Athlete of the Year: Patrick Mahomes, quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs
• Best Creative: NFL’s The Next 100 and Nike’s You Can’t Stop Us (co-winners)
• Best Deal: Steve Cohen buys the New York Mets
• Best Reinvention: Las Vegas Raiders
• Best Sports City: Los Angeles
• Best Content: The Last Dance (10-part Chicago Bulls documentary)
• Best Esports Content: NASCAR’s iRacing
• Best Pivot: Sports in a bubble
• Best Community Effort: Sports venues as polling places
• Best Fashion Statement: WNBA hoodie
• Best New Brand: Seattle Kraken
• Best Facility Debut: Globe Life Field

“This process allowed us to look back at an incredible period of change in sports business,” said SBJ’s publisher and executive editor, Abraham Madkour. “We were certainly challenged to pick just one winner in each category because there were so many outstanding candidates that speak to just how much innovation has taken place in sports during this challenging year.”

Led by Assistant Managing Editor Ted Keith, SBJ’s editorial staff spent several months creating the categories, choosing nominees, reviewing dozens of candidates and then casting multiple rounds of votes before winner were chosen. The selection process included SBJ’s entire editorial operation, as writers and editors offered new perspectives and challenged conventional wisdom.