Game Changers: The Evolving Business of Youth Sports
Lunch: 12:30 pm
Conversation and Q&A: 1:00 – 2:00 pm
The Paley Center for Media, 25 West 52 Street, NYC
Youth sports in America has grown into a $40 billion industry, driven by the rise of early sport specialization and year-round play. The rapid evolution of technology, media, investor interest, and emerging opportunities for amateur athletes has added further complexity to the landscape.
With insights from industry leaders including youth sports tech GameUp Co-Founder Crystal McCrary and moderated by Boardroom CEO and Co-Founder Rich Kleiman, this panel will explore how factors like social media, NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness), high-profile tournament circuits, and investments in event operators and mega sports complexes are transforming the landscape. The conversation will also examine how digital engagement, innovation, and entrepreneurship are creating new revenue streams and redefining athlete development, as well as the key players impacting and shaping what’s next for youth sports.
In Person:
Crystal McCrary, Co-Founder, GameUp
Moderator:
Rich Kleiman, CEO and Co-Founder, Boardroom
Paley Next Big Thing Official Sponsor
Join Now to RSVP
This event is exclusive to Media Council Members. To find out more about Media Council Membership, contact mediacouncil@paleycenter.org.
Connect on Social
Crystal McCrary
Co-Founder, GameUp
Rich Kleiman
CEO and Co-Founder, Boardroom
Rich Kleiman is co-founder and CEO of Boardroom, a sports and entertainment company that includes the flagship media network, Boardroom.TV. Founded in 2019 by Kleiman and Kevin Durant, Boardroom covers the business of sports and entertainment, with a special focus on the ways that athletes, executives, musicians, and creators are moving the business world forward. Other projects under the Boardroom umbrella include the critically acclaimed scripted series SWAGGER in partnership with Imagine Entertainment and Apple TV+, the Academy-Award-winning short film Two Distant Strangers (Netflix), and Emmy-nominated documentary NYC Point Gods (Showtime). In March 2025, Kleiman and Boardroom announced Boardroom Members Club, an exclusive membership community designed to provide unparalleled networking and experiences for professionals across industries.
Kleiman and Durant are majority owners of Major League Pickleball’s Brooklyn Aces and have made minority investments in Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union, National Women’s Soccer League’s Gotham FC, Premier Lacrosse League, Athletes Unlimited, League One Volleyball, and TMRW Sports.
Kleiman has been Kevin Durant’s manager since 2013, as well as co-founder in 35V, which houses over 100 early stage investments across sports, technology, finance, media, and more.
Kleiman serves as the Executive Director of the Durant Family Foundation (fka Kevin Durant Charity Foundation), helping underserved and low-income families and youth across the globe. He also sits on the Board of Directors at New Heights Youth, Inc., a non-profit dedicated to sports-based youth development and education in New York City.
Previously, Kleiman helped launch Roc Nation Sports, where he served as Vice President of the agency founded by Jay-Z. Kleiman started with Roc Nation in 2008 as a music manager representing Mark Ronson, Solange, Meek Mill, Wale, and many others.
