Blake Griffin, Ryan Kalil Make the Jump From Pro Athletes to Producers

Andrew Wallenstein

9 August 2023 at 11:00 am·2-min read

Ryan Kalil and Blake Griffin are well known as professional athletes in the NFL and NBA, respectively, but they’re also making a name for themselves off the field with their own production company.

Griffin is a current Boston Celtic and Kalil is a former Carolina Panther. Together, they are partners in Mortal Media, a production company with a first-look deal at Sony Pictures and a packed portfolio of film and TV projects ranging from the “White Men Can’t Jump” reboot at Hulu to the Apple TV+ series “Hello Tomorrow.”

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Kalil, who spent 13 seasons in the NFL before retiring, understands that being a pro athlete helps his business, but makes it clear it can only take the banner so far.

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“It’s helped us get in the doors, but there’s still a level of talent that has to take place.,” he said on the latest episode of the Variety podcast “Strictly Business.” “We have an acumen for this that makes us good partners in finding the idea, either coming up with it in-house or collaborating with a writer or another producer, and seeing it from start to finish.”

Last week, Mortal Media announced it was leading an investment round for animation studio Swaybox Studios, a new animation technology and process for film and television production. Branching out has been key as the partners figure out how to navigate a strike-impacted Hollywood, which has opened up one natural area of opportunity for them that hits close to home.

“Sports unscripted is an obvious path for us, given our backgrounds,” said Griffin, who will enter his 15th season in the NBA later this year. “That’s been both fun, and also challenging, because there’s a huge market for it. But there’s also a really crowded market. And there’s a lot of stuff that’s been done already, and a lot of stuff that’s trying to be done.”

“Strictly Business” is Variety’s weekly podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. A new episode debuts each Wednesday and can be downloaded on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and SoundCloud.

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