Raphael Summers

Professor Patricia Kleban

Introduction

Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, also known as RPTM, explores a multitude

of careers, some which student’s might not consider to be relevant to the major such as jobs that

are involved with professional sports teams. Adam Rudel, a Marketing & Football Outreach

Manager for the Baltimore Ravens, was the candidate that was interviewed. I was able to contact

Adam and conduct the interview on Wednesday October 16th, 2020 over a phone call. There

were a handful of reasons I chose to interview Adam, one reason was because he is currently

working in the career field I want to be involved in. I also aimed to gain insight into the work

environment to further understand whether I want to work for a professional or collegiate team,

as well as get advice on how to pursue a career in sports management. Adam was picked by and

has been with the Baltimore Ravens for 7 years now. He values the connections he had to get the

job he’s in now. Earlier in the year he had a different role in the organization, only six months

before the interview he had changed positions to Marketing & Football Outreach Manager.

While speaking with Adam, the topic of going back to college to get a higher degree was in

conversation, but he said that most vice presidents have a bachelor's degree, which is the degree

Adam has.

Mission/Purpose of the Agency/Department

Missions and goals of a company are its driving forces, it’s what keeps them doing what

they do. The Baltimore Ravens’ mission is to win their football games, serve and give back to

the fans, as well as be a positive force in the community. Adam had a brief comment on being
lucky to be picked up by the Baltimore Ravens since not every team can win a championship or

be a championship contending team with an MVP caliber player like the Ravens’ quarterback

Lamar Jackson. While the Baltimore Ravens have had consistent records over the past couple of

seasons, football is not their only focus. The Ravens have programs for fans and the community

which keeps the fans engaged and feel like they are a part of the team.

Clientele Served

The organization that is the Baltimore Ravens serves different types of clientele, some

being the fans who are season ticket holders, suite holders, and corporate sponsors or partners.

With fans being a part of the “clients” that the organization serves, age is not a big factor in who

they serve. Ages can range broadly when it comes to service from the Ravens and there are no

membership requirements for service for the most part, but there are membership-like services

that are provided or offered like season tickets or PSLs (Permanent Seat License). Age is not the

only demographic that ranges broadly, customers from different areas of the world participate in

the programs and services that are offered by the Baltimore Ravens. The typical demographic

does come from regional areas, but fans and customers from all over the nation, and even the

world, have participated as well.

Services and Programs Provided

The broad range of clients that the organization serves allows for different events,

programs, and services to be provided to all types of demographics. The Ravens have programs

such as the women’s club, a youth football program, and displaced a program. A professional

football team would be the organization to lean on for a facility since there are probably some

that can host events and programs for the fans and community. The facilities, however, are not
typically required to provide these services, this is because some events or programs are hosted

at the sites where the corporate partner is.

Staffing

A professional football organization simply cannot be run by a short staff, 250 people

work for this agency and about 43 work in the recreation department. The department is staffed

with 15 workers in marketing (which includes 3 people working as graphic designers), eight

employees working in Stadium Operations and Guest Experience, and 20 workers in the ticket

office. While football is a seasonal sport, the majority of the employees are full-time workers,

though this does open up opportunities for part-time workers such as gameday and event

workers, interns, volunteers, and seasonal employees. Having as many employees as possible

does help the organization. I asked Adam about his typical game day routine, but he said there is

no “typical day”. Each day is different, though they are always time consuming, tons of

preparation needed, lots of execution of events (pre-game and halftime), and management of

people and events. While game days are hectic, they can be rewarding and productive. When it’s

not a game day, Adam works and communicates with departments like ticketing, broadcasting,

digital media, sponsorship sales, and the football team.

Funding Source(s)

Football organizations primarily get their money from television, ticket revenue,

sponsorships, merchandise, and more. The Baltimore Ravens are no exception, as this is how

they manage to pay their employees, keep programs & their services running, and keep their

facilities in good conditions.

Working for a professional team seems to be quite an interesting career. For Adam, it

means something really special to him. He described the opportunity to work for an NFL team as

special since he feels like he’s a part of the team. As stated before, he once again comments that

only some employees can say that their team can compete for a championship, he feels fortunate

enough to be selected by the Baltimore Ravens. though it can be exhausting and difficult.

Moving with the team can be a bit hard to keep up with, but the majority of the time Adam

enjoys his job immensely and has fun doing what he does. Adam explains that there is a lot of

patience when it comes to sticking with one team, and it has its ups and downs, some being that

the VPs of the organization are young, in order to climb the ranks, there might have to be

sacrifice to move onto different positions or teams. Some other issues Adam talked about was

working with or for people who do not share the same passion.

Work Life During A Pandemic

With sports being canceled, seasons being postponed, and creative measures taken,

professional sports have been through it all during the COVID-19 pandemic. I was interested to

learn about what working for a professional football team was like because of the rules that are

implemented in order to keep the players, coaches, and team staff safe. For Adam, working

during the pandemic hasn’t helped him since he strives in a team environment. With social

distance guidelines and trying to prevent the spreading of the CoronaVirus, there have probably

been a major decrease of in person interaction and team oriented work might be more difficult to

accomplish. Something that did help was it gave Adam insight into what’s next for the sports

industry. This reminded me of a digging deeper discussion post that talked about the revival of
recreation and sports, how ideas from the pandemic might be implemented into (what would be)

regular sports games and recreation.

Conclusion

Professional football teams have many goals that they strive for, whether it is uniting a

community or providing entertainment, they aim for the better of their fans. Adam is grateful for

where he is and loves his job, the passion he has for his career is inspiring for all who want to

follow in the same path. This project helped me to gain insight and knowledge of what it is like

to work for one of these teams, though Adam praises the family-like environment that the

Baltimore Ravens exude. With the knowledge and advice I was given, it certainly will help me

when pursuing a career in the sports industry.