DENVER (AP) Jeremy Bloom is heading to the X Games to take over as the organization’s new CEO, not to compete for the first time, of course.
In addition to individual honors, the corporation announced Thursday that the former Olympic freestyle skier and Colorado football player will take on the managerial job and oversee the yearly summer and winter competitions as it moves into a new, team-friendly format starting in 2026.
The 42-year-old Bloom never had the opportunity to compete for gold at X Games during his career because the competition did not feature his hallmark event, Moguls.
However, this feels like yet another victory.
Bloom said in a statement that the chance to serve as the X Games’ leader is more than just a career achievement; it’s a profoundly personal honor. The winter X Games will take place in Aspen, Colorado, next month. It seems like coming home to my origins in sports, especially action sports. Our athletes are the greatest in the world, and I have the utmost regard and affection for the X Games, an iconic brand.
Bloom, who is well-versed in philanthropy and commercial endeavors, contributes an athlete’s viewpoint to X Games, a sports company in which MSP Sports Capital acquired a controlling stake from ESPN two years ago.
A great in two sports, Bloom pursued his NFL goals on the football field at Colorado and his Olympic dreams on the slopes teeming with moguls. Because Bloom wanted to play both sports and get sponsors to help pay for his Olympic aspirations, he found himself in the sights of the NCAA. After he received endorsement money to support his Olympic aspirations, the NCAA refused to allow him to resume playing football and skiing professionally.
Twenty years ago, things were different than they are now, when athletes may profit off their names, likenesses, and images.
Before turning to philanthropy, Bloom played for the Pittsburgh Steelers for a while after being selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2006 draft as a wide receiver/kick returner. He founded the Wish of a Lifetime foundation in 2008, which has fulfilled thousands of desires for senior citizens.
He was a co-founder of Integrate, a business-to-business marketing software company, two years later. He was also the CEO of the company when Audax Private Equity bought it. To take over at X Games, he resigned.
Jeff Moorad, an executive chairman of X Games and a partner at MSP, expressed his excitement at having Jeremy as the company’s head. His commitment, athletic background, and track record of creating and running profitable businesses will be crucial to the advancement of the X Games League and our X Games brands.
In June, X Games unveiled a brand-new idea: summer athletes competing as a team in sports like BMX, motocross, and skateboarding. The same is true for winter stars in skiing and snowboarding competitions. It allows snowboarder Scotty James and freestyle skiing sensation Eileen Guto, for example, to compete for both an individual title and team prize money.
Four international winter contests and four more in the summer are planned. Both leagues will use a points system and select players through a draft procedure. Athletes received almost $2.4 million from X Games last season.
Bloom, who formerly served on the board of trustees for U.S. Ski and Snowboard, expressed her excitement about working with the team to further elevate the X Games.
Regarding his discipline, Bloom texted, “They don’t have my sport, (asterisk)yet,” in reference to the moguls’ exclusion from X Games.
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