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David Samson’s life has always been governed by the clock. His career has been arranged around time to meet deadlines, closing bells, or business obligations. The experience of navigating a career from Wall Street to an MLB executive drew him into a love for sports media.
Since 2019, Samson has been the host of the sports business program Nothing Personal with David Samson. The program is designed to take the audience behind the scenes with an experienced look into how the world of sports business operates. Samson has kept a demanding schedule for years to provide daily content to the audience he has built. However, life disrupted Samson’s clock in early September when his daughter became ill.
“I just wasn’t able, after my daughter got sick, to give proper attention to the show,” explains Samson. “It is supposed to be a distraction, unfortunately it hasn’t ended up that way. There is not a moment during the show that I’m not thinking about my daughter or my two other kids.”
In May 2025, Meadowlark Media, the content company launched by Dan Le Batard and former ESPN President John Skipper, extended its relationship with DraftKings through a multi-year deal. As part of that arrangement, Samson’s program would continue to air live every weekday morning while also expanding by an additional hour.
Work/Life Balance
Samson knew the added hour would be difficult to manage but also felt he often left content on the table. The elements of the show remain simple. No prompter. Live. No edits needed. Samson embraces the concept of authenticity by allowing the audience to consume him exactly as he is.
When he learned of his daughter’s illness, Samson took a two-week hiatus from his daily program. Rather than taking an extended leave, he chose to return to work in a reduced role.
“I could no longer do a show every day, because my life has changed in a significant way in terms of the care my daughter needs,” said Samson. “Right now, I’m doing three days a week, but I miss the daily routine of the show. I feel like I’m letting down the audience, DraftKings, and Meadowlark Media. At the end of the day, the world I’m in now with my daughter is the opposite of routine.”
With a shortened schedule, Samson now had more time to focus on caring for his family. He noted that Le Batard and DraftKings have shown him considerable grace, consistently asking why he would not consider taking a leave from the program.
“The reason I haven’t taken a leave is the relationship that I have with the audience. I already feel like I’m letting them down not doing ten hours a week,” said Samson. “I don’t want my other two children to see I’ve stopped working. Additionally, I want them to understand that we have this tragedy to deal with, and all deal with it differently.”
Samson says he has often chosen work over family throughout his career and has been open with his family about that reality. He does not regret those choices and has always maintained honesty about how he balanced his professional and personal lives.
Relationship With Le Batard
He takes nothing for granted with his work on Nothing Personal. Samson understands that an audience’s time is the most valuable asset a content creator can receive. He cherishes the flexibility Meadowlark Media and DraftKings have provided. That freedom has eliminated any reckless desire to return to sports management, as he has no aspirations to make that move again.
Over the past two decades, Samson developed a relationship with Le Batard while serving as an executive with the Miami Marlins. During that time, the two discussed working together, though Le Batard expressed hesitation. According to Samson, his profile among Le Batard’s Miami-based audience was not a positive one. That reality left Le Batard navigating how to build a professional relationship while staying true to his Miami roots.
“What’s happened over time is his cast has come to realize how additive I could be to his show. They’ve come to respect what I’ve done with Nothing Personal, and as a bonus, they’ve actually gotten to know me,” explained Samson. “My job in Miami was not who I was.”
As those relationships strengthened, Samson also became a trusted resource for Le Batard. While he does not hold a reporting position with Meadowlark Media, Samson noted that Le Batard frequently seeks his business insight based on his background in sports and media operations.
“It’s normal to think and conclude that as anyone would. When you have a resource, you would use that resource. Has Dan spoken to me about the business? Of course,” explained Samson. “Are there decisions that are made and that he asks about and we talk them through? Absolutely. At the end of the day, it’s Dan and Skipper’s company. Being involved on air and helping them off air was always what I offered, and what they’ve taken me up on over the years.”
Samson noted that he was not personally responsible for any changes to The Dan Le Batard Show. However, the program underwent significant change over the past year with Jon “Stugotz” Weiner’s departure.
Cheering All Success
Following his exit, Weiner launched his own podcast network and later reached an agreement with FOX Sports Radio to host afternoon drive.
“I’m super proud of him [Stugotz]. It’s something he wanted to do, and thought about doing for the past several years,” said Samson. “I absolutely understand his desire to break free of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz and have it be the Stugotz Show with Stugotz.”
Samson expects Weiner to return at some point. He credits Weiner’s ability to quickly build a loyal audience as a key factor in his successful transition back to terrestrial radio.
“I want people to have success outside of me,” noted Samson, recalling others who advanced beyond his leadership with the Marlins. “I think it’s a compliment to your leadership when people are able to be successful outside of what they did for you.”
Success has always driven Samson, as it does for many creators. While wins and losses defined success in Major League Baseball, different metrics shape success for Nothing Personal. Downloads and sponsorship dollars matter, but engagement remains the priority. Samson welcomes it all, whether positive or negative.
“You don’t want indifference. It never bothered me when people hated me or the Marlins. It meant that they had emotion and were engaged. I feel the same way about the Nothing Personal audience,” explained Samson. “I am perfectly fine with people who hate listen. In fact, those people are just as important to me that love listen.”
Building For The Future
When crafting content, Samson does not focus solely on fans who love the show. Instead, he remains reactionary but genuine, drawing from his experience. As interest in sports business continues to grow, he is intentional about expanding the show’s reach.
“I want to expand to people who listen to the show that are not sports fans,” noted Samson. “You don’t have to be a sports fan to appreciate sports business. You can just be a person. There are stories that can do that… My goal is to engage with more people on Nothing Personal with issues that they didn’t know they were interested in. It’s up to me to do that.”
For now, his focus remains unchanged: producing quality content for a dedicated audience while prioritizing growth. Remaining live is essential to the program’s success, as is embracing mistakes and the human element they reveal. Despite the personal challenges of recent months, David Samson remains driven to be a guiding voice for sports media consumers.
“We all have the same 24 hours,” noted Samson. “The fact that the audience is willing to invest in me over the last six years, I don’t want to let them down and will continue to do the best I can.”
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.