New York Giants Player Chris Bober Lends Advice to Felician Students About Careers in The Business of Sports

Lodi and Rutherford, NJ---New York Giants offensive lineman Chris Bober and NFL Management Council attorney Belinda Lerner visited Felician College recently to speak to students about careers in the business of sports. 

Dressed casually in a red polo shirt and NY Giants baseball cap, NY Giants #67 offensive lineman Chris Bober related with ease to his audience of students interested in sports and careers in sports management and marketing.  He talked about sports marketing and how everything revolves around the product on the field.  Football, he said, ranks as the most popular sport among Americans and is the biggest money-making venture among all sports.  Sports marketing, he said, is what brings the money in to support the sport.  “Players never make more money than is brought in through marketing ventures.”  Peeking the interest of those students interested in pursuing a career in the business of sports, Bober spoke of the varied jobs available in sports marketing including salary cap analysis, community relations, public relations, finance, field maintenance, and product endorsement.  Having attracted the attention of the Giants due to an outstanding collegiate career which earned him honors as a two-time All-American selection by Daktronics/SoSida and as a first-team All-American selection by both the American Football Coaches Association and the Football News, Bober signed as a free agent in his third year with the Giants.  With the recent release of veteran left tackle Lomas Brown, Bober is in a good position to earn the starting left tackle position this coming season.

Addressing the room full of student-athletes, NFL Management Council Attorney Belinda Lerner spoke of the vast array of opportunities available in sports management for both men and women.  “In football, opportunities may be limited on the field for females, but not behind the scenes,” she said.  Jobs, she said, can be found in public relations, marketing, publishing, law, licensing and trademark management.  She also spoke of growth areas in sports management including the use of the Internet to reach broader audiences and new marketing fields and licensing opportunities with corporations.  With courses in sports management and sports marketing being popular among its student body, Felician is considering a concentration in sports management within the management and marketing program.  As NFL Management Council Attorney since 1993, Lerner is the first female to hold that position.  She represents the NFL in arbitration cases and lends her expertise to NFL teams regarding collective bargaining and labor issues.  Lerner was recently appointed by NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue as a League Compliance Officer responsible for overseeing and enforcing the NFL’s employment policies, including its Ethics Policy and its Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Policy.

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