Jaylen Brown—And His Sneaker Brand, 741—Enter a New Era

This story was originally published in On Background with Mark Stenberg, a free, weekly newsletter that explores the key themes shaping the media industry. You can sign up for it here. After a decade with the Boston Celtics, Jaylen Brown’s career suddenly looks very different. The five-time NBA All-Star was abruptly traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in July, an unceremonious send-off for a player who had helped deliver the franchise a championship in 2024 and earned a Finals MVP distinction in the process. As Brown attempted to adjust to his new surroundings, the transition was made more surreal by the addition of LeBron James, a superstar in the twilight of his career who joined the team following a summer of speculatory frenzy. Brown, a soft-spoken pragmatist, navigated the public scrutiny with his characteristic calm. Privately, he had a wholly separate set of concerns to attend to, ones that he shared with no other player in the league. Two years prior, just months after winning the NBA Finals, Brown had launched 741, an independent performance apparel and sneaker brand. Anchored by the Rover, a $200 sneaker silhouette designed by Brown himself, the collection has since expanded to include a full line of clothing and accessories. In opting to launch his own brand, Brown turned down more than $50 million in traditional endorsement offers, funding the venture himself in order to retain full ownership and creative control. The decision marked a historic departure from standard practice, setting Brown apart from nearly every athlete of his caliber and all of his contemporaries, the vast majority of whom opt for sneaker deals with companies like Nike, Adidas, and Reebok. In creating 741, Brown joined a rare cohort of professional basketball players to have launched their own sneaker brands, a class that includes Patrick Ewing, Stephon Marbury, and Shaquille O’Neal. While the shooting guard is not the first player in league history to have made such a bet on himself, Brown is the first to do so in this new era of social media fandom, direct-to-consumer marketing, and a retail landscape newly unshackled from the dominance of legacy brands. That 741 is a risk is self-evident. The economics of sneaker retail are unforgiving. For Hoka and On, two relative newcomers to the space, it took eight and 11 years, respectively, to top $500 million in sales, according to Matt Powell, senior advisor at BCE Consulting and author of the blog Sneakernomics. In its first two years, 741 has sold 16,000 pairs of shoes and grossed low seven figures in sales, according to a company spokesperson. The realities of professional basketball are even harsher. Brown had the best statistical season of his career last year, averaging 29 points, seven rebounds, and five assists per game. In the absence of Jason Tatum, the Celtics’ longtime ringleader who had been sidelined for months with a ruptured Achilles tendon, Brown led the team to the playoffs, an improbable run that underscored his overlooked talent. But after a first-round exit, he was nonetheless dealt to Philadelphia. There, he will play alongside James, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and V.J. Edgecomb, one of the most talented starting lineups assembled in recent history, a Frankensteinian dream team stitched together from disparate parts. On paper, the group looks unstoppable; in practice, its cohesion remains an open question. As a result, Brown is staring down a career-defining crucible. On a team of superstars, what role will he play? Following the ignominy of his departure from Boston, what sort of season will he produce in response? Amid these existential concerns, Brown also has a brand to run, an enterprise that both demands his attention and serves as a direct extension of his identity. As his career goes, so goes his apparel line, making this a moment equally freighted with uncertainty and opportunity. The Brown brand Ever since he joined the NBA in 2016, Brown has taken an unconventional approach to his off-the-court ventures. The 29-year-old, who has delivered guest lectures at Harvard Business School, has a litany of intellectual pursuits outside of basketball, including committed interests in chess, astrology, and philosophy. He has spoken at The Players Technology Summit at Harvard University and MIT, and was named an MIT Media Lab Fellow in 2019. He is likewise an advocate for racial and socioeconomic equality. He founded The 7uice Foundation shortly after joining the Celtics, an organization that teaches entrepreneurship and financial literacy to underserved youth in Boston and Atlanta. He also partnered with MIT to launch and operate Bridge, which for the last five years has connected students from Boston public schools with opportunities in science and technology. Brown is also an avid livestreamer, routinely taking to his Twitch channel after games and in key moments to speak directly to his fans. The habit is part of a broader emphasis from Brown on ensuring he shapes the narrative that surrounds him, according to Daniel-Yaw Miller, author of the fashion and sports newsletter SportsVerse. This same priority would later inform his decision to launch 741, as Brown sought to avoid the contractual censorship associated with representing a brand. His history with sneaker endorsements reflects these priorities. Brown signed a standard rookie deal with Adidas after being drafted third overall, a relationship that lasted until the contract expired in 2021. He then signed with the Chinese brand Peak, but the sneakers fit poorly, which led to a hasty termination of the partnership. During the ensuing period of footwear free agency, Brown frequently played while wearing other athletes’ sneakers, including Nike Kobes and Adidas models, but would place tape over the logos, drawing attention to his endorsement availability. In 2022, he became the first NBA player to sign with Donda Sports, the talent agency started by Kanye West, positioning himself to become the face of a forthcoming Yeezy basketball line. But the plan collapsed that same year, when Adidas terminated its partnership with West over his antisemitic remarks. Two years later, Brown debuted 741, a brand whose name is rooted in his own personal mythology based on number theory: spiritual awakening, hard work, and new beginnings. No cushion The company started in October 2024 with four full-time staff, but has since grown to eight, including Que Gaskins, a former Reebok and NBA Players Association executive who joined as CEO roughly a year ago. The first product-development team Brown recruited struggled to execute his vision, which led to several rounds of delays, each of which lasted weeks, according to Brown. The early setbacks cost valuable time and money, but they impressed upon their founder the need for a team that could respond nimbly to his designs. “At the start, it was a lot,” he said. “I was probably doing 40 hours a week. I was the lead designer, the CEO, and the marketing [department].” Such challenges are common in the industry, as performance footwear is one of the most technical, complex products to bring to market, according to Powell. More so than standard footwear, athletic shoes are meant to perform under extreme conditions, with significant injury a real consideration. To have a standard variety of sizes on offer, a single shoe requires roughly 21 separate molds, and manufacturing costs alone typically run about 55% of the retail price. On a $200 shoe like the Rover, the build costs roughly $110, before accounting for design and development, according to Powell. As a result, there are only about two dozen real performance-shoe brands in the world. Most of the recent successes, like On and Hoka, were bankrolled by owners with pockets deep enough to lose money for the better part of a decade. 741 does not have the benefit of institutional capital to subsidize its burn rate. Likewise, it has no preexisting infrastructure, retail footprint, or marketing budget outside of what Brown has allocated from his own bank account. For scale, Nike spent more than $4 billion on demand creation in fiscal 2024 alone. Additionally, 60% of sneaker sales occur in retail outlets, per Powell, which Brown has deliberately sidestepped with his direct-to-consumer model. Without a wholesale partner, 741 is restricted to the roughly 40% of sales that happen online, which will make achieving profitability a challenge. The company has not turned a profit, according to Brown, and has few successful precedents to imitate. “You’re spending more money than you’re making to make sure everything is in place,” he said. “But I believe in the brand, and I believe in where it can go.” Indeed, few athletes attempt what Brown has for a simple reason, according to Powell: The math rarely favors it. Nike spends roughly between 10% and 11% of its sales revenue on marketing, according to public filings. That means an athlete making $19 million annually, in the range of a max endorsement with the likes of LeBron James, would need to move around $173 million worth of product at wholesale, or more than $300 million at retail, just for the math to break even, according to Powell. By his reckoning, no basketball player besides Michael Jordan has ever hit that number. As a result, nearly every marquee shoe deal in the league today functions as a loss leader, subsidized by brands chasing the cultural cachet that comes with having elite athletes in their gear, rather than a direct return on the shoes themselves. “Brands want to have athletes performing at a high level, wearing their products,” said Powell. “It gives them credibility and authenticity. But are they paying them more than they should be based on the return they’re getting? Absolutely.” Sizing up Despite these obstacles, 741 has reason for optimism. For starters, the performance footwear landscape is more accessible than ever. Nike's share of the global athletic footwear market has fallen for three straight years, down to roughly 23% in 2025, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, challenger brands like Hoka, Asics, New Balance, and On accounted for 35% of the global market share in 2023 compared to the 20% they held over the period between 2013 and 2020, according to a 2024 report from RBC Research. This redistribution is proof that the dominance of incumbents has slipped, making it more feasible for new entrants like 741 to gain a toehold, according to Rich Kleiman, founder of the sports media brand Boardroom and business partner to NBA star Kevin Durant. “If there was ever a time to do it, a market where consumers are receptive to something different, now is the time,” Kleiman said. “For the first time in a generation, it’s no longer uncool to wear something other than Nike.” The marketing, media, and distribution channels have likewise transformed in recent years. On social media, professional athletes like Brown can connect directly with millions of fans, using their owned channels as free vehicles for marketing. Brown particularly, given his background in livestreaming, is keenly aware of the power of his audience base and what it can unlock for a nascent business. Using this lightweight model, keeping his team lean and capitalizing on his online presence, Brown can build momentum for 741 through a scarcity model, similar to the strategy popularized by streetwear brands like Supreme, according to Miller. By cultivating hype around the brand, Brown can parlay that consumer interest into a storefront presence, growing organically from startup to wholesale sustainably, according to Kleiman. “Direct-to-consumer is the perfect strategy to launch and market the product,” said Kleiman. “Then, when your drops sell out, that becomes the story when you go to retail.” Brown has also teased forthcoming plans for 741 that include bringing on other athletes as ambassadors and equity partners, as well as new products and further expansions. His primary focus, though, is on capturing his value, a goal that all too often eludes professional athletes and creators of his standing. In an industry beset by uncertainty, from collapsed endorsement deals to surprise relocations, achieving any element of self-determination is no small feat. “I don’t think we, as athletes and people of influence, understand the value that we bring,” Brown said. “To understand that and to take it into your hands may be riskier, but the reward is also so much greater.” Talking Heds The Paste Paterfamilias: On Monday, the cofounder of Paste Magazine, Josh Jackson, stepped down from the publication and its broader portfolio of brands. Jackson, who most recently served as its president, cofounded Paste in 2002 as an independent music blog. In recent years, its roster of brands grew to include the former G/O Media brands A.V. Club, Jezebel, and Splinter, although it faced challenges in incorporating them sustainably into the broader operation; in fact, in late 2024, G/O Media sued Paste for breach of contract. To his credit, Jackson cofounded and operated a digital brand that has survived more than two decades in an entirely inhospitable industry, all the while working to platform as many writers as possible. Print Programmatic: The founders of Spacely, a new startup aiming to revolutionize the buying of print advertising, take the inevitable jokes about their business model in stride. “Why print?” said David Coker, a cofounder alongside Beth Mach. “I never get that question.” But the company, which launched this week, has a compelling pitch. The process of buying print advertising has been frozen in amber, requiring a number of antiquated, manual processes. Despite that, it is still a massive business, with a total addressable market of $2 billion, per Coker. What if all that buying could be transacted on digitally, cutting out needless expenses and resources? The business could actually grow, Mach argues, and anecdotal evidence supports the argument. For the last two years, a growing number of publishers have relaunched or revamped their print offerings. Just last week, i-D CEO Michiel Steur told me print was 20% of its total revenue and growing. Print will never return to its pre-digital heights, but it could make for a handsome business catering to a niche audience, not unlike what vinyl has done for the music industry. All You Can Advertise Buffet: The food media startup formerly known as Gourmet, which nicked its title from Condé Nast in an act of intellectual property mischief, has settled on a new brand name after the Newhouse firm inevitably sued it. The company will henceforth be known as Buffet, editor Nozlee Samadzadeh told me, but that is not the only change afoot. Gourmet has around 10,000 subscribers, nearly a third of which are paying readers. In the coming week, it plans to launch an advertising business, according to Samadzadeh. The outlet is working on a custom format for its newsletter inventory, which it runs using the email platform Ghost. We here at ADWEEK love when companies launch advertising businesses, so consider us thrilled. Howl Away (SCOOP): The affiliate commerce platform Howl has sold a portion of its business to Connexity, which is owned by Taboola, according to multiple sources. I could not figure out financial details, but Taboola is a public company and required to disclose substantial expenditures. Given that this transaction was publicized, the amount must be considered immaterial. The founder of Howl, Li Haslett Chen, confirmed the asset sale. The move is intriguing because Howl has a track record of shirking payment to its publisher partners, which include the biggest affiliate programs on the web. In late 2023, I reported on the situation, as the volume of non-payments had risen into the multimillions. In recent years, Howl pivoted from working with publishers to working with creators. But the asset it sold last month was its creator business, according to a person familiar with the matter, leaving Howl with the publisher business it had tried to move away from. According to two affiliate industry sources, Howl currently owes publishers money once again, so perhaps the funds from its asset sale are heading toward those accounts. Quote/Unquote Lidey Heuck is the new editor in chief of Food52, which was acquired out of bankruptcy in February by America’s Test Kitchen. Heuck, a longtime recipe developer and cookbook author, most recently served as an editor in residence at America's Test Kitchen. Heuck takes the helm as the company looks to revitalize its brand, which in recent years suffered through multiple rounds of layoffs and executive turnover that ultimately led to its $10 million firesale. Under the ownership of Marquee Brands and as part of the Culinary Media Group holding company, which also includes America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated, Food52 aims to reemphasize its signature editorial perspective, expand further into video, and lean into its roster of editorial talent. This interview has been edited. Mark Stenberg: Food52 has been through a challenging few years, having seen its valuation plummet from over $300 million to $10 million since 2021. How familiar were you with its past commercial struggles? Lidey Heuck: I’m not super familiar with its recent history, but I’ve been following F52 for ages. I’ve been in touch with Amanda Hesser, and I’m excited to be the steward of the brand that she’s created. I know I’m new, but the energy here is positive. Mark: What is your editorial vision for Food52? What do you want its content strategy to look like? Lidey: Currently there is a big focus on short-form video, but we want to expand to include medium- and long-form as well. We hope to launch on a FAST platform by early next year. We also want to dip our toe back into cookbooks, get further into podcasts and newsletters, and continue growing our events portfolio. Mark: Food media is a competitive space, and Food52 has lately been in a state of transition. What is going to distinguish the brand from its competitive set? Lidey: A lot of websites have recipes, which are really important to us, but our biggest differentiator is our holistic approach—that we are a lifestyle brand covering travel, restaurants, and design with food at the center. Mark: Commerce was once a core component of Food52, but its strategy on that front wavered in recent years, and the affiliate space is changing rapidly. Will that return as a focus? Lidey: Commerce was my first connection to Food52. Everyone loves our retail offering,and we are excited to bring that back, as soon as the fourth quarter. We are going to focus on products from small makers, things made with integrity that feel special. Pulled Quotes "I doubt the AIs actually did this, because we’d see the fires from space by now, but it’s crazy that it could have totally happened!"Platformer author Casey Newton, describing the cyberattack perpetrated by Hugging Face agentsREAD MORE "You know, if you subtracted the Gospels and the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence from my work, there wouldn’t be much left."Agrarian writer and poet Wendell Barry, who passed away on MondayREAD MORE "The diehard Letterboxd community is already on edge."Puck reporter Julia Alexander, on the fate that could befall the cinephile platform following an acquisitionREAD MORE "I was like, 'Dude, nobody wants to see a lawn care vlog!' But they were hounding me. 'Nobody’s vlogging about lawn care! Do a lawn care vlog!'"Lawn-care vlogger Greg Chism, whose YouTube channel devolved into the absurdREAD MORE

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