What it does: Manages the entire U.S. national football clubs.
Mission: We unite people and inspire communities in the joy of games by delivering the world’s most exciting sports and entertainment experience.
Size and presence: Approximately 3.500 employees
Best known for: One of the major North American professional sports leagues.
The good bits: Exposure to the sports industry. Great place to work for football lovers. Good internship experience and programs.
The not-so-good bits: Relatively slow career advancement.
NFL was once gone by the name of the American Professional Football Conference (APFC), founded in 1920, by several American football teams. The foundation was intended to improve the standard of professional football. APFC was then renamed the American Professional Football Association shortly after and finally used the name the National Football League in June 1924. Initially, NFL only has 14 clubs under its wing.
In its early years, NFL faced rivalry with other professional football leagues which challenged its popularity. Although during the 1950s, NFL effectively monopolizes the market. The rivalry between the American Football League, another professional league in the U.S., resulted in the merger between the two in 1966, which process will take its full effect in 1970. During the span of the process, both leagues hold a championship, Superbowl, four times before the merger finished. Later, Superbowl became a popular football championship for Americans.
At the moment, NFL’s headquarter is located in New York, manages 32 clubs that were divided equally between two other leagues that were merged with NFL, and partnered with five television networks in the U.S. to broadcast the game.
As a sports league, a family-feel vibe in each club is something you may expect to experience while working for NFL as it has a strong sports culture. It will give you good exposure to the sports industry. However, the work environment may be different depending on each department. Some former employees said that they’re having supportive co-workers, even from different departments. Jobs may be tough and packed during the games. Since NFL is a football league, the chance for career advancement is unavoidably selective. Those who work as professional athletes or in sports-related roles will have a higher chance to grow.
There will be job openings for each club. Details regarding the roles and the requirement will be published on the clubs’ websites. NFL did not disclose its hiring process in detail. The process is the same for internships and full-time position applications. Candidates are directed to find the information needed on the websites. However, some current and former employees claimed to have a common hiring experience, which consist of three rounds of interviews. The first one is a phone interview for screening purposes, then it proceeded with one on one interview with the hiring manager before it ended with a group panel interview. Some employees said that they had an interview with HireVue, a virtual interview method commonly used in companies. The process may take weeks up to months.
If you are interested in event management, football, or generally like to work in the field, then NFL may be the right place to start. Although, NFL surely has various departments to run the league. Common roles you may find outside the sport-related positions are event coordinator, business development, camera operator, content producer, and operation associate. Every department has various roles to fill in. Some notable departments you may want to consider to find the fittest role in accordance with your expertise are arts & entertainment (broadcasting), administrative assistance, management, marketing, media & communications, software engineering, information design & documentation, customer service, project management, tourism & hospitality, and many more.
NFL also offers three internship programs for students. NFL Summer Internship Program is dedicated to undergraduate seniors, MBA candidates, and law school students. While The NFL FILMS Internship Program is dedicated to those who are interested in advancing their studies or career in the television and film production industry. NFL also offers The Junior Rotational Program which is designed for undergraduate seniors. It is a two-year period internship with four rotations in selected departments.
NFL pays interns ranging from $2.000 up to $4.000 monthly. A public relations, field operation, digital media, and finance intern will likely receive $3.000, an agent-export operations intern will receive $2.000, and the same amount goes to marketing and project management interns.
A full-time and permanent employee receives a higher salary. A production assistant may receive $57.000 annually, a marketing staff receives $72.000, an applications developer may receive $122.000, and a sports analyst receives $71.000 annually. A professional player will receive a higher-than-average salary, starting from $170.000 up to $512.000 annually.
NFL is committed to making a social contribution through its various CSR programs. The initiatives mostly revolved around wellness efforts by empowering the youth and the community, in general, to stay physically active. However, NFL also carrying on an initiative for education. Through ‘Huddle At Home’, NFL created an accessible digital education resource for parents, teachers, and their pupils or children to stay active and able to learn despite the situation. Huddle At Home consists of several programs, such as; EVERFI, Character Playbook, My Future, Youth Development Toolbox, Inside Out Initiatives, and We School @ Home. Each program provides educational assistance and various education sources for children, parents, and teachers.
NFL’s controversies occurred around its players. For example, In the 2016 regular season games, San Fransisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the U.S. national anthem which players commonly stand throughout the session. It was a form of protest Kaepernick demonstrated against racial injustice and police brutality. Kaepernick soon reaped the consequence as NFL made him a free agent