Brandau: The next ‘franchise players’

I encounter the superficial similarities between the franchising industry and sports nearly every day simply by checking my Google Alerts that help me report for 1851 Magazine. The top page of search results for the term “franchise” leads to stories about a sports team or its “franchise player” as often as it yields articles about businesses and brands. Then there is all the corporate-speak about the “early innings” of growth, coaching up “team members,” and my favorite: equating operations to “blocking and tackling.”

But for many entrepreneurs entering the franchise industry, those terms resonate because they actually are or were professional athletes, looking to put their considerable net worth to work in business so that their earning power outlives their playing careers. And when brand executives talk about the former athletes they have partnered with or hope to recruit, the franchise leaders’ respect for athletes’ work ethic to make it to the pros rings true, because it’s the kind of determination brands hope to replicate throughout their systems.

Bryon Stephens, president and chief operating officer of Toledo, Ohio-based Marco’s Pizza, said the pizza chain has certainly enjoyed the success of its former-athlete franchisees, even if Marco’s does not actively recruit from that pool of investors. In the case of Marco’s franchisees Brandon Gorin and Brian Cardinal, who played in the National Football League and National Basketball Association, respectively, the fortitude needed to succeed in professional sports translates well to the fortitude needed to succeed in business, he said.

“The work ethic that comes with being a professional athlete works well in our culture of accountability,” Stephens said. “They understand what accountability is, and we define that as a personal choice to rise above circumstances and achieve your desired results. If you think about athletics, when you’re down five points with a minute left on the clock, you’re reaching deep within yourself to overcome that and win.”

The sense of accomplishing more as a team also carries over into franchising, Stephens found. Gorin, for instance, won two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots before become a franchisee of two Marco’s stores in Fishers, Indiana. Through Gorin’s network of former athletes, Marco’s also met Cardinal, who knew Gorin from their time together at Purdue University. After winning a championship with the Dallas Mavericks and retiring from the NBA, Cardinal purchased the franchised location in West Lafayette, Indiana.

For many franchise brands trying to reach out to former athletes but lacking contacts or prior relationships, groups like the Professional Athlete Franchising Initiative can step in to help with recruitment and resources to put those new operators in a position to succeed.

PAFI executive director Michael Stone, an NFL veteran, said brands need to understand that the “athlete-entrepreneur” model, in which former pros try to go at it alone in retirement and start businesses with their nest eggs, carries more risk for athletes. But providing those operators with a system for opening and operating a brand, and connecting them with operator teammates, is a way for franchisors to ensure greater success for their brands and their athlete franchisees.

“Franchising gives former athletes the playbook, and they can relate to executing their role within a structure, a team and a game plan,” Stone said. “Athletes really relate to that, and brands can get a lot of value from that. Franchisors need to create an attractive model for the investor, and they’re doing a better job at it. The partnership model typically is the way to go, because it combines the capital and brand value from the athlete with the operations experience from brand partners.”

He added that interest in franchising has risen among active players currently in the NFL, NBA and other leagues, likely due to the high-profile success of stars like Peyton Manning growing his Papa John’s stores and Drew Brees opening more Jimmy John’s locations, all while their football careers are far from over.

“For athletes, franchising represents something very tangible,” Stone said. “They can walk into a store and know exactly what it is and how it works, and what it would be like to own it. It makes them very interested. The more franchisees like Peyton Manning and Drew Brees there are, the more that interest grows.”