Schaffer brings a depth of executive and legal experience to JGR with more than three decades of experience in the sports industry. He has a deep background in the NFL working closely with JGR team owner and Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach Joe Gibbs from 2004-2008 in Washington. He will report to JGR President Dave Alpern and his responsibilities will include oversight of the organization’s sales, marketing, communications, social and digital media, branding, licensing and retail departments.
“I have often said that you build a winning organization with people,” said Gibbs, who was also named to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2020. “Eric’s integrity, talent, and work ethic stood out to me during our time together in Washington and that gives me a great deal of comfort to have him join our leadership team. He is going to be a tremendous asset for us at JGR.”
Schaffer spent 17 years with Washington’s NFL team from 2003-2020, most recently serving as the organization’s Senior Vice President of Football Operations and General Counsel. Notably his responsibilities in Washington included serving as the organization’s salary cap architect and chief contract negotiator for all player contracts as well as the head of their legal department.
Prior to joining Washington, he spent 10 years with the International Management Group (IMG) in various roles, including working in their motorsports division where he sold corporate sponsorships for major motorsports events as well as endorsement deals for professional race car drivers. He then worked as Staff Counsel for IMG’s football division where he was a certified NFL player agent, working with over 100 NFL players on the representation side.
“It was a privilege to spend the early part of my career in the NFL working with and learning from Coach Gibbs. To now come full circle and have the chance to work with him once again is an opportunity I could not pass up. Whether it’s football or racing, Coach sets a culture and standard of excellence that permeates the entire organization. I couldn’t be more excited to get to work alongside such a talented and dedicated group of people at JGR led by Dave Alpern and I look forward to contributing to the team’s success”.
Most recently, Schaffer was a Senior Executive with Athletes First sports agency focused on their NFL and NCAA coaching and front office representation practice and launched CLB Sports Consulting in Virginia where he worked as a consultant and attorney to sports-related clients. He continues to serve as a senior advisor to the Fritz Pollard Alliance, a non-profit advocacy group supporting the hiring and promotion of minority candidates throughout the NFL. He is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, with a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Case Western Reserve University.
Greene, who joined JGR in 2017 as executive vice president of business operations will become Chief Strategic Officer working closely with owner Joe Gibbs on current and future partner relationships.
“Adding someone with Eric’s experience and background is huge not only for our race team but for our sport,” said Alpern. “He will bring a great perspective and a breadth of knowledge to our organization. I’m thrilled to have him on our team. I’m also very excited for Craig to expand his role of strengthening both our existing partner relationships and helping to develop new partnerships.”
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