From ESPN to Twitter: How TJ Adeshola became one of the most powerful figures in the sports media industry

When the former Head of Sports at Twitter, TJ Adeshola, was inching close to graduating from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, he explored many ways of securing an opportunity for an internship. When he heard ESPN was organizing a College Game Day in Athens, he went out looking out for a contact who could offer him an opportunity to work at the sports media channel as an intern.

When his strategy turned out successful, Adeshola earned an opportunity to intern at the ESPN office in Bristol, Connecticut. His stellar work output later earned him a full-time job at the renowned sports network when he completed school, and a promotion to the position of digital account manager shortly after, according to UGA Today.

This presented him with an opportunity to work with many Fortune 500 companies which aided him to position ESPN’s digital ad products. This position also exposed him to dealings in the sports industry and enabled him to raise revenue to support the business, according to the boardroom.

His role at the organization thrust him into a world of limitless opportunity. Adeshola’s interest in the sports business at ESPN later made him the reference point for digital sports content and strategy among his peers and colleagues. While basking in this environment, he casually took to exploring job opportunities at Twitter.

He received an email from the Twitter office 48 hours after sending in a job application, which marked the beginning of his decade-long career at the Bluebird. He was employed as a senior account manager in 2012 and was later promoted to head the US sports partnerships division. Before resigning from Twitter, he had advanced to the position of head of global content partnerships.

While at Twitter, Adeshola was highly recognized and commended for achieving great feats, such as leveraging the power of social media to amplify business objectives. He spearheaded Twitter’s strategy to engage with new audiences, monetizing content, and innovation. In his 10-year career at Twitter, he built a brand that made him a credible authority in digital sports media, according to the tag board.

The Nigerian sports media expert interestingly had his own experience with familiarizing himself with the Bluebird; he never tweeted until he had 100 followers. Today, Adeshola’s followership has increased to over 10,000; however, he was able to grow Twitter sports numbers to more than 15.3 million followers.

He had the support of former Twitter boss, Jack Dorsey, who was motivated to continue to explore innovative ways to be impactful. Adeshola leveraged this to shift from his regular responsibility to work on new initiatives; and also held the door open for other black people to explore the possibilities in tech work and earn six-figure salaries.