Chapter 919: A Critical Assignment

Jed York, Roger Goodell, and Gideon Yu.

These were most likely the three names that Sophie Brook mentioned.

Jed is the CEO of the team and the owner who is most frequently in contact with the team. Roger is the NFL commissioner, and his appearances at Candlestick Park have been increasing this season. As for Gideon, he’s a familiar name but a new face.

Gideon Yu is the new team president of the San Francisco 49ers.

Gideon is a first-generation Korean immigrant who was born in Seoul. He came to the United States to study in the 1980s, attending Stanford University for engineering management and Harvard Business School. He started his career in engineering management and then transitioned into venture capitalism. He became a self-made billionaire.

Last year, the 49ers began preparing to build a new stadium. Because the cost was so high, the York family and the city of San Francisco couldn’t bear the full burden alone. After much thought, they decided to bring in investors. This offseason, Gideon won the bid and became a new co-owner by helping fund the new stadium.

Currently, the three members of the York family and Gideon are the only four co-owners. However, Gideon’s shares are still much smaller than any of the Yorks’, so he’s only a minority owner. But he was still named the team president, even though he won’t interfere with Jed’s daily work.

After joining the team, Gideon’s name became very well-known. Because of his Asian heritage and Lu Ke’s presence, many people speculated whether Gideon’s arrival was related to Lu Ke. He was a hot topic of discussion in everyday life. But so far, Gideon had never made a public appearance, and even his news photos were scarce. To the players, he was a familiar stranger.

Today, three bigwigs gathered in the VIP room, and Sophie said there were other guests. What could it be for? Was it just to get a glimpse of Lu Ke?

Lu Ke didn’t think so.

But what was with Sophie’s attitude? It was completely baffling. After thinking about it, he still had no clue. Just as he was about to give up, he heard a voice in front of him. "Bambi, did you get the news?"

He looked up and saw Leigh Steinberg walking toward him.

Well, now there were three bigwigs and his agent. The plot was getting more and more interesting.

Leigh noticed Lu Ke’s daze and pointed behind him. "Did you offend Sophie just now? She looks like a lit powder keg. Are you sure you didn’t go on a date with her and then not call her back?"

Lu Ke laughed awkwardly at Leigh’s joke. "I’m not as charming as you think." He quickly changed the subject. "I know something happened, but I don’t know the details. Now that you’re here, I’m even more clueless. What did you hear?"

Leigh got straight to the point. "Let’s talk as we walk." Because Leigh walked slower, they couldn’t waste any more time. "The whole thing is a bit complicated, but to put it simply, the league wants you to be a public figure to promote the NFL to more female fans."

"Me?" Lu Ke blinked, unable to believe his ears. "But... why me?" His mind slowly cleared up. "Wait, something’s not right."

First, there were many players on the 49ers who were more experienced, more famous, and more suitable than Lu Ke. And in the entire league, there were countless players who could do the job. Lu Ke wasn’t the most suitable choice, and he might not even be in the top fifty.

He wasn’t being humble; he was being realistic.

"Because you are the most suitable," Leigh said with absolute certainty. "Pay attention. The target audience is female fans. In the entire league, there aren’t as many players as you think who have a good public image, fit the female aesthetic, and also have good on-field performance. After all, there’s only one David Beckham."

Being compared to Beckham made Lu Ke laugh. "Why does that sound like an insult when you say it here?" He giggled to himself.

Leigh also chuckled and added, "The league chose four players in total. Julius Peppers, Arian Foster, J.J. Watt, and then you. Overall, this is the most suitable and complete arrangement. Later, they’ll see how the campaign goes and make subsequent plans."

Four players: two from the offense, two from the defense, two from the NFC, and two from the AFC. Two veterans and two young guys. Even their skin colors were taken into consideration. The plan covered different ages, positions, regions, and social classes. It was indeed a very well-thought-out plan.

In fact, this wasn’t the first time the league had tried to develop the female fan market.

Since 2009, the NFL has partnered with the American Cancer Society to launch a charity event called "Crucial Catch," advocating for women to get regular breast cancer screenings. They also officially designated October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

In the games during October, every player on every team had to wear a pink ribbon. Players were also encouraged to be creative and add pink elements to their uniforms: pink jerseys, pink shoes, pink wristbands, pink gloves, and some players even boldly dyed their hair pink.

The reason for this was that breast cancer was taking the lives of over 40,000 women every year, and over 230,000 women were diagnosed with it. The number of men getting breast cancer was also rapidly increasing. Through this awareness month, the NFL wanted to remind every player and fan to not only care about the health of their mothers, wives, and girlfriends but also to pay attention to every potential possibility of illness.

In the past three years, this event has gradually grown in influence and has also raised eighteen million dollars for the charity foundation. All the funds will be used for a project called "Change" that was launched in the offseason. The project aims to provide cancer education, screening, and early diagnosis for women in communities with poor medical services, hoping to prevent the disease before it starts.

Now, the league wants to go a step further and make the NFL more intimate and closer to female fans.

In fact, this plan was only a part of Roger Goodell’s comprehensive market expansion plan. The entire blueprint included Asian, European, female, and youth markets, and more. He was expanding football’s influence on a global scale, and the commissioner’s ambition had only just begun to show.

Objectively speaking, this was just helping the league and not a big opportunity. But it was undeniable that Lu Ke’s position in the league was becoming more and more solid and distinct. In this process, Leigh’s role was irreplaceable, and the rest was just a natural result.

Lu Ke nodded to show that he understood, but his first reaction was, "But it’s still the middle of the season. We have to prepare for the next game. If these promotional activities get in the way of training, can I refuse?"

Leigh didn’t answer immediately. He just looked at Lu Ke quietly.

Lu Ke was confused and looked back at him with a puzzled expression.

Leigh couldn’t help but laugh. "You know what? When J.J. received the invitation, his reaction was exactly the same as yours."

Lu Ke shrugged and laughed along. "That’s called mutual respect between heroes."

"But... you can’t." Then Leigh gave a firm answer. "This is an honor, but it’s also a responsibility. Did Sophie tell you? The team’s CEO and president are here today. It’s not for you, it’s for the league’s event. This is an opportunity to build a good relationship with the league. They won’t give you any room to refuse."

For team management, the team’s interests are the top priority. Now, he knew why Jed and Gideon had shown up.

Lu Ke’s mouth was slightly agape. He raised his hands in a gesture of helpless protest.

Leigh pointed a finger at Lu Ke’s nose, like an elder facing a junior, and smiled helplessly. "Don’t worry. It won’t affect your daily training. This event is just a first test. Tomorrow morning, in San Francisco, you’ll record a short talk show with a guest and do an interview. That’s it. It will take about three hours. I know you have a training schedule on your day off, but it shouldn’t have much of an impact."

Lu Ke nodded as if he understood. "But if we’re recording in San Francisco, what about J.J.? Are they flying over specifically for this? Won’t they protest?"

The regular season was still ongoing, and every player’s time was precious. Not to mention training, if their plans were disrupted for a league event—even their plan to do nothing but sunbathe on the beach—no one would be happy.

"They won’t come. They’ll do it at their own training facilities. The talk show and interview will be done in four separate cities." After Leigh explained, he noticed the confusion in Lu Ke’s eyes and continued. "A guest? Oh, the guest isn’t J.J. or Arian. There’s another spokesperson. Oh, you know her. Emma Watson."

"Who?" It wasn’t that he didn’t know her; he was just too surprised. Lu Ke had not expected that name to pop up.

"Emma Watson. She came to watch the home game last time, remember?" Leigh said matter-of-factly. "Right, are you sure you guys don’t have... a thing?" Leigh said meaningfully. "I heard the league invited her to be a spokesperson, and they gave her a list. They asked if there were any names she was familiar with or wanted to partner with, and she picked one name."

Leigh didn’t explain further. He just looked at Lu Ke with a smile.Second update of the day.

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