NEW YORK (Diya TV) — The National Football League has named Sumit Varshney as its new senior vice president of corporate strategy and strategic investments, giving him a key leadership role in the league’s growing investment business and long-term expansion plans.
Varshney officially started this week and will oversee the NFL’s 32 Equity investment platform. The fund has become an important part of the league’s efforts to expand beyond traditional football operations and media rights.
The role had remained open since Dhruv Prasad left the NFL in September to join the PGA Tour.
The NFL created 32 Equity in the early 2010s. Each of the league’s 32 teams initially contributed about $1 million to the fund. Since then, the investment group has backed several sports, media, and technology ventures tied to the league’s business growth strategy. In a memo sent to employees, NFL Chief Financial Officer Christine Dorfler said Varshney will help guide the league’s long-term plans.
“He will partner closely with leaders across the organization to drive enterprise strategy, strategic investments, and long-term growth initiatives,” Dorfler wrote.
Varshney will report directly to Dorfler and oversee executives Manpal Arora and Will Deng. The position gained even more importance after former NFL Chief Media and Business Officer Brian Rolapp departed in 2025. Before Rolapp’s exit, Prasad reported to him. Dorfler later took control of the division.
The NFL remains the most financially powerful sports league in the United States. League executives and team owners continue to explore new business opportunities outside traditional broadcasting and sponsorship deals. 32 Equity has become one of the NFL’s main tools for pursuing those opportunities. The fund has invested in startups and business ventures connected to sports, entertainment, and technology.
Among its recent projects, 32 Equity helped fund the NFL’s partnership with TMRW Sports to develop a new professional flag football league. The fund also supported EverPass Media, which distributes streaming sports content to bars and restaurants. The NFL also used the platform to help spin out On Location Experiences, which later became part of TKO Group Holdings.
League officials have hinted that 32 Equity could expand even further in the coming years. Last fall, Dorfler publicly discussed the possibility of scaling the investment platform as the NFL searches for new revenue streams and business partnerships. Historically, the league distributed most of its profits directly to teams. However, some owners now support a more aggressive investment strategy that could position the NFL as a larger player in mergers, acquisitions, and sports technology investments.
Varshney joins the NFL with more than 15 years of experience in corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and technology investments. Before joining the league, he served as senior vice president at Warner Music Group. In that role, he led merger and acquisition activity across music, publishing, and technology businesses. He also held positions at Spotify, Revel, and Fluidity. Varshney said the NFL’s mix of sports, media, and technology aligns closely with his professional background.
“The NFL sits at a rare intersection of media, technology, global culture, and fandom, all of which is where I’ve spent most of my career,” Varshney said in a statement.
He added that he looks forward to helping shape the league’s future strategy and investment priorities.
“As the league continues to evolve, I’m looking forward to working with Christine and the broader leadership team to help shape its long-range strategy, strategic investment priorities, and next era of growth,” he said.
