The NFL's Most Important Unknown Job

Sign Up | Advertise | Sales System

In partnership with

👋 Good Morning. Every Sunday, one man's hand signals determine whether networks make or lose millions instantly.

Read time: 3 minutes | 599 words

STORY 

🏈 The NFL's Most Important Unknown Job

You've probably never heard of Dave Dare. But every Sunday, he stands on NFL sidelines wearing bright orange sleeves.

Not a coach. Not a referee. Not a player.

He's the timeout coordinator for Sunday Night Football.

His job sounds impossibly simple: tell referees when to cut to commercial. But here's what makes it heroic.

The Challenge:

Every NFL game requires exactly sixteen commercial breaks. Eight per half. No exceptions.

The NFL generates approximately $5.2 billion annually in national TV advertising. That's more than Netflix makes from subscriptions.

Miss a break? Millions vanish. Insert one poorly? You disrupt momentum and anger 20 million viewers.

The Complexity:

Most commercial breaks are chosen in real time as league executives, network producers and officials look for natural breaks in the action.

Every game unfolds differently:

• Long drives vs. three-and-outs

• Injury timeouts

• Coach challenges

• Scoring explosions

Dare must adapt instantly. He coordinates with production trucks. Signals referees with those unmistakable orange arms. Balances network revenue needs against game flow.

All while standing in the chaos of live NFL action.

Two mandatory breaks are fixed (quarter ends, two-minute warnings). The other fourteen? Pure improvisation.

He's threading a needle between competing stakeholders. Networks demanding their inventory. Coaches protecting game rhythm. Fans wanting uninterrupted action. Advertisers expecting perfect placement.

One wrong signal costs millions. One great read keeps everything flowing seamlessly.

Nobody watching at home knows his name. But broadcasters, advertisers, and league executives? They know exactly who Dave Dare is.

He's the silent operator managing the NFL's biggest revenue stream.

TOGETHER WITH DEEL

Hiring in 8 countries shouldn't require 8 different processes

This guide from Deel breaks down how to build one global hiring system. You’ll learn about assessment frameworks that scale, how to do headcount planning across regions, and even intake processes that work everywhere. As HR pros know, hiring in one country is hard enough. So let this free global hiring guide give you the tools you need to avoid global hiring headaches.

Download the free guide today

INSIGHT

🧐 Invisible, Yet Zero Margin for Error

Most critical business functions are invisible until they fail.

Dare's role teaches us something fundamental about value creation. The most important work often happens in spaces nobody sees.

Consider what makes him essential:

• He operates at the intersection of multiple stakeholders. Networks need revenue. Teams need rhythm. Fans need entertainment. Advertisers need eyeballs.

• He makes real-time decisions under pressure. No two games are identical. No script survives first contact.

• He protects revenue without disrupting experience. The $5 billion flows because viewers stay engaged. Break the flow, lose the audience.

This mirrors every great business operation. Your best salespeople manage competing client needs. Your top project managers balance scope, timeline, and budget. Your customer success teams prevent churn nobody else sees coming.

The pattern is universal: high-stakes coordination with zero margin for error.

NFL ads are 23x more effective than average TV spots. That effectiveness depends on perfect timing. Which depends on Dave Dare.

Value isn't always visible. But it's always measurable.

TOGETHER WITH BEEHIIV

Help us make better ads

Did you recently see an ad for beehiiv in a newsletter? We’re running a short brand lift survey to understand what’s actually breaking through (and what’s not).

It takes about 20 seconds, the questions are super easy, and your feedback directly helps us improve how we show up in the newsletters you read and love.

If you’ve got a few moments, we’d really appreciate your insight.

Take the survey.

ACTION

🎯 Your Dave Dare Moment

Identify your organization's "Dave Dare" moments. Where does critical coordination happen invisibly?

Ask yourself:

Who manages your high-stakes intersections?

• Client handoffs between sales and delivery

• Product launches requiring cross-functional sync

• Crisis responses demanding instant decisions

Are you measuring invisible excellence?

• Revenue protected, not just generated

• Disasters prevented, not just problems solved

• Relationships maintained, not just deals closed

Do you have real-time decision protocols?

• Clear authority when things go sideways

• Stakeholder balance frameworks

• Pressure-testing your operators before game day

Here's your next step:

Map one critical process this week. Identify who's wearing the orange sleeves. Ask them what keeps them up at night.

Then build systems that support them.

Because the most valuable work in your business? It's probably happening right now in someone's equivalent of NFL sidelines.

You just need to see it.

MEME