James Ruth of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Creating Community in Sports

'From players to fans, we're all in this together'

James is the chief marketing officer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to joining the team in 2023, he was CMO of Austin FC and also worked in marketing at Major League Soccer.

We spent two minutes with James to learn more about his background, his creative inspirations and how he pays it forward.

James, tell us…

Where did you grow up, and where do you live now?

I grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, ended up going to high school in Arizona and then college in Dallas. I ultimately moved to New York and then Austin. Now I’m here in Tampa.

Your first job.

I was a stock person for Crate & Barrel, in the back, putting away Christmas ornaments and dishware. I can still tell you the difference between a cordial and coupe glass.

When you first realized you are a creative person.

I loved sports growing up and played sports, too. But where I really found joy was doing things like recreating team logos and uniforms. I was always so enamored with who I thought had the best logo.

A person you idolized creatively early on.

I grew up loving punk music, and one of my early idols was Iggy Pop. And Henry Rollins. They were the ultimate wild thinkers and people who turned things upside down.

What’s exciting about working in the sports world?

Creating community. That is the North Star of branding and marketing in sports.

Do you play sports?

I didn’t really play beyond middle school. I got bit by the skateboarding bug when I was in high school. I just fell in love with the culture that surrounded it.

Your favorite creative project.

We started this tradition where every time a new player signs with the team, we take a picture of them with the Buccaneers flag, and we say, “Welcome to the Krewe.” Then we launched a campaign where we invited fans and people representative of Tampa to do that exact picture with the year that they became part of this culture. It was a really cool thing to put everybody on the same pedestal. We’re all in this together.

A band or musician you admire.

When I was growing up, there was a band called Refused, which is a hardcore band from Sweden. My family’s Swedish. This group spoke to me. They’re doing their last tour now, and I flew to L.A. for the concert.

Something people would be surprised to know about you.

I’m a reformed investment banker.

A teacher or mentor who guided your career.

Camilo Durana, an executive at Major League Soccer. He was the first person who encouraged me to develop as myself rather than trying to fit some templated version of what I was supposed to be. The other is Matthew McConaughey [co-owner of Austin FC]. He is the ultimate creative.

How you pay it forward.

I try to spend as much time as I can taking meetings with young people who are early in their careers. I want them to understand that whatever advice I’m going to give, it’s colored by my perspective. And to be honest, if I would’ve listened to everybody that gave me advice at different junctures, I might not be in a great spot now. If you’re going to do something that’s really badass, unique, there’s not going to be a well-worn pathway. And there’s not going to be many people who can tell you how to get it done.