Jason Kelly
Co-founder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks, a Boston-based synthetic biology company building autonomous labs and platforms for cell programming across biopharma, agriculture, industrial biotech, and biosecurity. He previously chaired the U.S. National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology and holds MIT degrees in biological engineering, chemical engineering, and biology.
Tracy McGrady Turns Bills Stake Into Broader Sports Business Platform
Tracy McGrady told Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly that his investment in the Buffalo Bills was the result of a long-running ambition to move from athlete to owner, not a celebrity stake in a franchise. The NBA Hall of Famer described ownership as a way into new rooms and relationships, while tying the same logic to his NBC role, his China business ties and Ones Basketball League, the one-on-one platform he is trying to build from his own experience as an overlooked teenage prospect.
Tennis Players Seek More Revenue Without a League’s Bargaining Machinery
Jess Pegula, speaking with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly on Bloomberg’s The Deal, argues that professional tennis players need more leverage in the sport’s economics but lack the league structure and union machinery that make collective bargaining familiar in major US team sports. Pegula says players are trying to organize across the WTA and ATP to seek a larger share of revenue, especially from the Grand Slams, while also pushing for fairer prize money and a shorter calendar. Her case is shaped by an unusual vantage point: current player, WTA Player Council member and daughter of Buffalo Bills and Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula.
Sixth Street’s Sports Bet Depends on Infrastructure and Global Growth
Sixth Street co-founder Alan Waxman told Bloomberg’s The Deal that sports investing only works if patient capital can stay in place long enough for media rights, global audiences, infrastructure and adjacent real estate to support rising team valuations. In a conversation with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly, Waxman argued that the firm’s stakes and investments across the Patriots, Spurs, Celtics, Bay FC and European football are built less around short-term private equity exits than around scarce assets, durable leagues and alignment with long-term owners.
Softball’s Growth Depends on Television Access and Player-Centered Storytelling
AJ Andrews argues on Bloomberg’s The Deal that baseball and softball can grow by giving fans more access to athletes’ personalities, backstories and identities, not by adding artificial spectacle. Andrews points to the World Baseball Classic as proof that visible pride and emotion can deepen fan attachment, while Alex Rodriguez makes a parallel case that baseball leaves value unused by hiding players’ preparation and personal stories. For softball, Andrews says the lesson is exposure: when games and players are put on television and treated as distinct, compelling stories, audiences have a reason to follow.