Another year over, a new one just begun.
It was 22 years ago today that we flipped the switch for the first time on the operation known officially as ProFootballTalk.com. I’ll defer the details on how this all got started to Wednesday’s edition of #PFTPM. For now, I’ll say this — for a one-time fee of $500 and $50 per month, we had a web destination that, over time, grew and grew and grew and grew.
The page views went from being counted in the hundreds to the millions. Along the way, I never quite knew where it was going. I’d been an intense pro football fan for nearly 30 years, and the Internet was the great equalizer. I could carve a niche in the business of covering the NFL (to the dismay of many in the business of covering the NFL) from the basement of home in West Virginia.
Through repetition and effort, I developed a voice. We also developed a following, with a high percentage of people in the football business reading on a daily basis.
There were three key moments in getting the site where it now is. First, I made the only New Year’s resolution that ever stuck for me as 2004 approached. I decided that, if PFT is ever going to become what it could be, I need to commit to working on it every single day, no matter what. Nearly 20 years later, I’ve honored that.
Second, Sprint became our first significant sponsor in January 2006. That was the moment I knew I would eventually ditch the law practice and do this full time.
Third, Rick Cordella called in January 2009 with a proposal to partner with NBC Sports. I said no. I didn’t want it. I resisted until our traffic fried our servers and I realized we needed a partner that could handle the demand. On July 1, our licensing deal with NBC began. More than 14 years later, it’s still going.
Many people have had a hand in the ability of this operation to last as long as it has. My wife, Jill, was supportive of the endeavor in the multiple years it made not a penny. My son, Alex, became more and more interested in football as he saw what we were building and the lifestyle it could provide, once it started actually making money. My business partner, Larry Mazza, has taken great care of many business issues and requirements and relationships while I focus on generating as much content as possible.
We’ve been blessed with a group of hard-working contributors who can be trusted with the keys to the car, and who tolerate my eccentricities without storming out. Michael David Smith was our first hire, back in 2007. He left for a better opportunity than we could provide (AOL’s Fanhouse), but the dominoes fell in a way that brought him back to us. He’s been the managing editor since 2012.
Josh Alper was an early hire who moved on (Fanhouse, again) before moving back and staying put, for an extended stretch. Charean Williams joined the team more than six years ago; she is one of the most respected writers covering the NFL, and it with great pride that “Pro Football Talk” appears under her name in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the roster of annual winners of the Bill Nunn award. Myles Simmons is the new kid on the block, even though he’s already been with us more than two years (and is learning gradually about movies from the ‘80s and Seinfeld, even if he has watched and will watch neither).
More recently, Alex has been working behind the scenes as he learns the business, because (news flash) I won’t be around forever and his eventual options will be to drive the bus or sell it.
I don’t plan to check out any time soon. Someone recently asked (with a hopeful tone) when I plan to retire. I don’t. After 22 years of making this the centerpiece of my day-to-day work life, what else would I do? As long as I can think coherently and type semi-competently, I’ll be here.
Thanks to you for being here as well. This never would have lasted if you didn’t decide to devote some of your valuable time to reading our content. My primary loyalty and duty is to you, the audience, collectively and individually. We’re here to serve you. We have been committed to being candid and honest and straight with you, at all times.
We also have been committed to making the sport as good as it can be. Sometimes we’re critical of the league and its teams. Sometimes it’s necessary to criticize. Sometimes that’s what it takes to nudge things toward being as good as they can be.
Some in the NFL don’t like it. Some appreciate it. Regardless, we’ll keep doing it. For the rest of my lifetime and perhaps well beyond.
