Some of the biggest names of the NFL use Jamie Fritz as a branding agent. As Fritz explains, he doesn’t deal with the contractual obligations on the field, instead focusing on the athlete’s brand for corporate America. This is a new trend in the world of sports, as more athletes are focusing on their brand and how to best affiliate themselves with the right type of products. Fritz talks about the “suited and booted” mentality that he has for his clients during any type of public appearance and some of the pitfalls of athletes not taking their brands seriously, especially in the social media sphere.

One of the most exciting pieces of sports branding properties was announced in September 2013, as an Arena Football League team in Anaheim, California cemented plans to become LAKISS. This married the brand of Arena Football with the rock band KISS, showcased by co-owners Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. LAKISS President Schuyler Hoversten breaks down the ways that the AFL team will reflect the tradition KISS brand, but also extend beyond it to create its own brand identity. Hoversten talks about the culture of LA in terms of entertainment options, competing fans, and how the LAKISS franchise will meet those challenges. Twitter: @LAKISS_AFL

For a state worker, Keith Kizer has one of the more interesting jobs in the world. In one of the state’s largest assets, Kizer operates with a small staff of five in a nook of a large building and works out of a small office unrecognizable to the popular media image of what many think the NSAC is. Kizer, along with five NSAC commissioners, is in charge of overseeing the licensing, sanctioning and officiating of Nevada’s unarmed combat matches – kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and boxing. Not that it doesn’t come without controversy and what he considers slander when the NSAC’s integrity is questions, as Kizer mentions in the podcast. Kizer talks about the role of the NSAC, how its brand is extensive enough that those outside Nevada confuse the commission’s role in worldwide unarmed combat sports affairs. Kizer covers some of the hotter topics surrounding the NSAC, including Fallon Fox, Testosterone Replacement Therapy, health & wellness of fighters, controversial judging decisions such as the Hendricks v GSP fight as well as the extensive social media aftermath.