Sports & Recreation  December 6, 2024

Ski champ, CU football star Bloom to lead X Games

Eileen Gu competes at the 2024 X Games Aspen at Buttermilk. Courtesy Trevor Brown Jr./X Games
By

NEW YORK — Jeremy Bloom, a Boulder resident who was born in Fort Collins and grew up in Loveland, was already the platonic ideal of a Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado “multi-hyphenate.” But the University of Colorado football standout-turned-world-ski-champion-turned-Olympian-turned-NFL-player-turned-entrepreneur-turned-philathropist can now add another hyphen to his biography: X Games CEO.

Bloom, 42, takes over leadership of the X Games as the 30-year-old premier action sports-event series prepares to launch the X Games League, a team-based format set to debut in 2026.

“The opportunity to lead the X Games is more than just a professional milestone — it’s a deeply personal honor. Returning to my roots in sports and action sports, in particular, feels like coming home,” Bloom said in a prepared statement. “The X Games is an iconic brand, and I have immense admiration and respect for our athletes, who are truly the best in the world.”

X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom. Courtesy X Games

An All-American kick returner for the Buffs, Bloom was a three-time world champion skier and an 11-time World Cup medalist when he earned his way onto the 2002 U.S. Olympic team to represent the nation in Salt Lake City. There, he finished ninth. In 2006 at Turin, Italy, he moved up to fourth.

Within the same week of failing to medal at Turin, he flew to Indianapolis for the annual NFL Scouting Combine — the tryout camp where young athletes display their abilities before the coaches and owners of NFL teams — and a month later, he was drafted in the sixth round by the Philadelphia Eagles. Injuries sidelined him there, and he ended up playing pre-season only. He moved on to the Pittsburgh Steelers and was ultimately cut before appearing in a game.

In his latest venture, Bloom said that he is “excited to work with the team to further elevate the X Games and build the largest action sports leagues in the world, creating platforms that celebrate our athletes and inspires our fans around the world.”

During his time at the NFL, he was enrolled at Wharton, the business school at the University of Pennsylvania, where his interest in business and technology grew.

Bloom then founded the Wish of Lifetime nonprofit, which fulfills wishes of senior citizens in their 80s, 90s and 100s, in 2008, and two years later embarked on his first private, for-profit venture: a business-to-business software firm called Integrate Inc.

“Jeremy’s unique perspective as both an athlete and a business leader gives him deep

understanding of what drives athletes and how to provide the best fan experience,” said Jahm Najafi, partner and chairman at MSP Sports Capital, an investment company that took over a majority stake in X Games from ESPN two years ago. “Jeremy’s vision and leadership will be pivotal in shaping the future of X Games and XGL, including fostering growth while staying true to the spirit and culture that make it so iconic.” 

Jeremy Bloom, a Boulder resident who was born in Fort Collins and grew up in Loveland, was already the platonic ideal of a Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado “multi-hyphenate.” But the University of Colorado football standout-turned-world-ski-champion-turned-Olympian-turned-NFL-player-turned-entrepreneur-turned-philathropist can now add another hyphen to his biography: X Games CEO.

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A Maryland native, Lucas has worked at news agencies from Wyoming to South Carolina before putting roots down in Colorado.
Categories: Boulder Fort Collins Loveland People on the Move Sports & Recreation Sunday Weekly Today's News Jeremy Bloom University of Colorado Boulder X Games
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