Fox Sports MLB analyst and New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter is the latest athlete to launch his/her own production company.
The Captain is launching Cap 2 Productions, per The Hollywood Reporter.
The venture will explore sports-related content for linear television and streaming and expand beyond sports.
Jeter has shown intentionality with his media ventures in the past. In 2014, the shortstop launched the digital publication The Players’ Tribune alongside Jaymee Messler, which has become highly regarded as an athlete-first platform. “This is an extension of what has been built over the last 10 years,” Jeter told The Hollywood Reporter.
While sports, specifically baseball, will be Cap 2’s primary focus, the production company has already touched on topics entirely outside of sports. Cap 2 has already produced History’s Greatest Warriors for History Channel and Icons That Built America.
Jeter now joins a growing list of athletes that have started major production ventures. Among them, Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, LeBron James’ SpringHill, and Steph Curry’s Unanimous Media.
However, unlike other athlete-led production companies where the athlete simply lends their name to the venture but is otherwise hands-off, Jeter says he’ll be “intimately involved in everything and every decision.”
“Cap 2 is not going to be successful just because I’m a part of it,” Jeter continued, “it’s going to be successful because of the projects that we’re involved with.”
Those projects will include the upcoming 8-part ESPN docuseries Yankees Win and another World Series docuseries slated to air on Apple TV.
Even with seemingly every A-list athlete creating their own production company, there is still clearly an appetite within Hollywood to develop these shows and documentaries. In a period of austerity for most studios, athlete-led content continues to be greenlit and sold to streamers and legacy outlets. Jeter’s successful track record in media should undoubtedly help get Cap 2 off the ground, though how much help does he realistically need? It’s Derek Jeter.