Jalen Brunson, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Michele Kang, Adam Silver and More to Headline WSJ Sports: The Next Sports Economy
The Wall Street Journal’s inaugural event will convene leading investors, team owners and executives shaping the future of sports business
Next week, Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal will host their inaugural event, WSJ Sports: The Next Sports Economy on July 15-16, 2026, an exclusive gathering of the sports industry’s most prolific league commissioners, team owners, business leaders and executives, for a highly tailored experience examining sports as a high-performance global asset class.
The event opens on Wednesday, July 15, with a cocktail reception, followed by an intimate seated dinner featuring culinary collaborations from Michelin-starred chefs. Guests will also enjoy headline entertainment and live performances by eight-time Grammy Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning singer, composer and pianist Jon Batiste, Grammy-nominated cellist Tina Guo and internationally acclaimed violinist Leah Zeger.
Hosted by senior editors and reporters from The Wall Street Journal, the full-day program on Thursday, July 16, will dig into the major shifts rewriting the sports business playbook, including how exploding franchise valuations are fundamentally reshaping the economics of every major league. Programming kicks off with New York Knicks NBA Champion Jalen Brunson and CEO of J.P. Morgan Wealth Management Kristin Lemkau discussing money, leadership and financial empowerment for the next generation of athletes. Conversations will also analyze the market forces shaping investment, dealmaking and growth in the industry, including how athlete brand equity drives institutional value and the operational reality of sports icons transitioning into executive roles.
Illuminating these conversations, the on-stage speakers include:
- Mark Attanasio, Chairman and Principal Owner, Milwaukee Brewers
- Jessica Berman, Commissioner, National Women’s Soccer League
- Jalen Brunson, NBA Champion and Captain, New York Knicks
- Gerry Cardinale, Founder and Managing Partner, RedBird Capital Partners
- Frank Cooper, CMO, Visa
- K. Don Cornwell, Co-Founder and CEO, Dynasty Equity
- Don Garber, Commissioner, Major League Soccer
- Guillem Gonzalez-Lomas, Sports Medicine Surgeon and Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, NYC Langone Health
- Zlatan Ibrahimović, Operating Partner, RedBird Capital Partners
- Michele Kang, Founder and CEO, Kynisca
- Ben Kennedy, COO, Nascar
- Marc Lasry, Chairman and CEO, Avenue Capital Group
- Kristin Lemkau, CEO, J.P. Morgan Wealth Management
- Alexis Ohanian, Founder, Seven Seven Six; Founder, ATHLOS
- Sam Porter, Chief Strategy Officer, Apollo Sports Capital
- Mark Shapiro, President and COO, TKO
- Daniel Sillman, Executive Chairman, Relevent
- Adam Silver, Commissioner, National Basketball Association
WSJ Sports: The Next Sports Economy is supported by presenting sponsors New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NYU Langone Health, Polymarket and Publicis Sports.
For members of the press interested in viewing the news programming virtually, please contact Jessica Mara at jessica.mara@dowjones.com.
Click here for more information on the programming and speakers for WSJ Sports: The Next Sports Economy.
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