Brandon Sosna (born c. 1992–1993) is an American sports administrator and executive who is the senior vice president of football operations for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He leads contract negotiations for the team and oversees the analytics and health departments. Sosna has also worked as a chief of staff and assistant athletic director for the NCAA's Cincinnati Bearcats and USC Trojans and as an administrator for the NFL's Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions.
| Washington Commanders | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Senior vice president of football operations |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | 1992 or 1993 (age 31–32) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Sycamore (Cincinnati) |
| College: | Penn (2011–2015) |
| Career history | |
| As an executive: | |
| |
Early life
editHe was born c. 1992–1993 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Sycamore High School, where he coached students in a school-wide basketball league formed by himself.[1] During his summer vacations, Sosna worked as volunteer coach at Cincinnati Bearcats basketball camps.[1] He enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences in 2011 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science in 2015.[1]
Career
editShortly after graduation, Sosna was hired in the marketing department of the Cincinnati Bearcats athletic program.[1] He was promoted to chief of staff in 2016 at the age of 23.[1] The following year, he joined the NFL's Cleveland Browns as an assistant in football administration after being interested working with Browns executives Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta.[1] There, Sosna assisted in managing the salary cap, negotiating contracts, and developing free agent evaluations.[1] He was rehired by the Bearcats as chief revenue officer and senior associate athletic director in February 2019, overseeing ticket sales, media relations, and marketing under athletic director Mike Bohn.[2][3]
Sosna followed Bohn to the USC Trojans in December 2019 and worked as their chief of staff and executive senior associate athletic director focusing on their football program,[1] where he was considered key in the hiring of head coach Lincoln Riley in 2021.[4][5] Sosna was hired by the NFL's Detroit Lions in July 2022 as the senior director of football administration, serving as their primary contract negotiator.[4][6] He left in May 2024 to join the NFL's Washington Commanders as the senior vice president of football operations, handling contracts in addition to leading their analytics and football administration departments.[7][8]
Personal life
editSosna is Jewish.[9] He participated in the 2010 March of the Living trip to the Auschwitz concentration camp and co-founded an nonprofit organization in high school known as Project 6 Million that raised awareness for victims of the Holocaust.[10][11] Sosna served as president of Penn's Zeta Beta Tau fraternity chapter.[12] He was named to the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 list for his work as chief revenue officer with the Bearcats.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h Morales, Antonio (May 14, 2020). "The breakneck rise of Brandon Sosna, USC's 27-year-old chief of staff". The Athletic. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ "Brandon Sosna Named Chief Revenue Officer". gobearcats.com. February 5, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Mitchell, Madeline (December 21, 2019). "Former UC chief revenue officer named to Forbes 30 under 30 list for sports". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
- ^ a b Kartje, Ryan (June 9, 2022). "Brandon Sosna, instrumental in Lincoln Riley hiring, leaving USC for Detroit Lions". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
- ^ Zemek, Matt (June 9, 2022). "Brandon Sosna's legacy at USC can be summed up in two words: Lincoln Riley". Trojans Wire. USA Today. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
- ^ Rogers, Justin (March 27, 2024). "Meet Lions exec Brandon Sosna, Brad Holmes' contract negotiating wizard". The Detroit News. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
- ^ Bergman, Jeremy (May 19, 2024). "Commanders to hire Lions executive Brandon Sosna as senior VP of football operations". NFL.com. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
- ^ Fortier, Sam (June 25, 2024). "A new head of analytics takes over as Commanders shake up front office". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
- ^ "Brandon Sosna's commencement speech for Sycamore High filled with Jewish values". The American Israelite. 157 (46): 1. June 9, 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
- ^ "Applications due for 2012 'March of the Living'". The American Israelite. 158 (16): 4. November 10, 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
- ^ Necco, Deidra (April 24, 2012). "Cincinnati teens launch viral campaign for Holocaust memorial". soapboxmedia.com. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
- ^ "Student Leaders at the University of Pennsylvania Support a Strong U.S.-Israel Relationship". The Daily Pennsylvanian: 3. January 17, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2024.