Brett Yormark

Yormark started his professional career working in various positions in sports and entertainment. In the early 90s, he began selling TV time to Upper Midwest sports teams at Katz Sports in New York, where he acquired and managed the broadcast sales rights for several NBA, MLB and AHL, which included the Admirals, Brewers, Bucks, Timberwolves, and Minnesota Twins.

Yormark then moved on to sell sponsorships for the Detroit Pistons and with Palace Sports and Entertainment as a senior account executive. In 1998, he was hired by NASCAR as a director of corporate marketing and helped open an office in New York to expand the sport nationally. With NASCAR, he went on to become vice president of corporate marketing and helped successfully negotiate a 10-year, $750 million sponsorship deal with Nextel Communications.[2]

In 2005, then Nets owner Bruce Ratner hired Yormark to help transform the Nets into a world-class organization and a more popular, modern, and contemporary brand. Yormark helped manage the franchise's transition from New Jersey to Brooklyn, and led the marketing and operations functions of Barclays Center, which opened in 2012. He spent 14 years with the Nets organization as CEO of Brooklyn Sports Entertainment. He negotiated several marquee deals for the Barclays Center, including with the New York Islanders, UFC, NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, ACC men's basketball tournament, and the Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament. Under Yormark’s leadership, the Barclays Center placed annually in the top ten of all entertainment venues world-wide for ticket sales.[3]

In 2019, Yormark left the Brooklyn organization amid the ownership change.[4]He was soon hired by a prior business acquaintance, Jay-Z, whom he knew from his time with the Nets, to become Roc Nation's CEO and President of Business Operations and Strategy.[5] At Roc Nation, he helped negotiate a long-term partnership with the NFL to serve as the league's official live music entertainment for events such as the Super Bowl.[6]

On August 1, 2022, Yormark left Roc Nation to become the commissioner of the Big 12 Conference.[7] On October 30, 2022, three months after his hiring, Yormark came to terms on a new media rights agreement for the Big 12 Conference with partners ESPN and Fox Sports. The six-year agreement, which is worth a total of $2.28 billion, begins in the 2025-26 season and runs through 2030-31.[8]

Yormark graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 1988 with a degree in business. He has two children and is married to Elaina Scotto.[9] His twin brother Michael Yormark is also a business and sports entertainment executive, who currently serves as President and Chief of Branding & Strategy at Roc Nation as well as former President & CEO of Sunrise Sports & Entertainment of the Florida Panthers organization.[10]

Named 40 under Forty, Crain's New York Business: 2000, 2006; 40 under 40, Sports Business Journal: 2006