How Jesse Cole Turned the Savannah Bananas Into a $500 Million Business

How Jesse Cole Turned the Savannah Bananas Into a $500 Million Business

From The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly by Bloomberg

April 2, 2026 · 28 min

About this episode

Jesse Cole discusses how he transformed the Savannah Bananas into a $500 million entertainment business.

Jesse Cole is the Walt Disney of baseball. As the founder and CEO of the Savannah Bananas and its parent company Fans First Entertainment, Jesse rewrote the rules of baseball to build an entertainment juggernaut. There are no bunts, walks or mound visits in Banana Ball, but there are dancing umpires, trick plays and choreographed dance numbers. But the Savannah Bananas are more than just a zany take on America’s past time, they are a $500 million business.  In this episode of The Deal, Jesse tells Alex and Jason the tale of how the Bananas went from a struggling Coastal Plain League team to a multi-team league that sells out NFL stadiums. He also shares why he doesn’t charge his fans taxes or ticket fees and why Bananas games stream free on YouTube- despite the league having a deal with ESPN. Jesse also explains the details of a mistake that cost him $6 million and why he is inspired by both Dana White and Lorne Michaels. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Alex Rodriguez, Jason Kelly

Guest: Jesse Cole

Topics covered

  • baseball
  • entertainment
  • business strategy
  • sports innovation
  • fan engagement

Keywords

  • Savannah Bananas
  • Banana Ball
  • entertainment
  • business
  • sports
  • fan experience
  • NFL stadiums
  • YouTube streaming
  • mistake
  • revenue

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Savannah Bananas, Fans First Entertainment, ESPN

More episodes of The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly podcast page.