Hamilton native Tyler Kirby is now in his 18th season with the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.

“It’s been a fun ride,” he told the Journal-Pilot.

Kirby started as a ticket sales representative, and didn’t see himself still with the Chiefs as their first Chief Revenue Officer

“You’re kind of just in the moment, and the first half of my career, things weren’t very good on the field. We were struggling with team performance,” he recalled. “Which naturally can make the business side more challenging.”

You expect things will turn around, he said.

“But it was a great learning experience for me,” he continued. “You learn a lot during those times both about yourself and your job. You keep working and the seasons start to pile up and the next thing you know, the team is having the success that they are and 18 years have passed.

“So yeah, it’s been really fun.”

With the success came new challenges, he added.

“They are different challenges and expectations. You are dealing with more work in terms of playoff games or Super Bowl runs,” Kirby said. “But you know it is all that we sign up for. It’s what we want and so it’s a good challenge for sure.”

Kirby was at Illinois State University in Bloomington, when his career took flight.

“I was working for the athletic department, doing random things and I really became fascinated with the business side of sports,” he explained. “I played sports in high school at Hamilton. But there was never going to be a scenario where I was going to play in college or beyond.

“This was kind of a way to stay connected to something that I was really passionate about and liked,” he continued. “I genuinely liked the business side of sports, rather than being a coach or something like that. And then one thing kind of led to another and I had multiple different positions. You learn and grow and that is what got me to this point.”

For the last four years, Kirby has been the Chiefs’ executive vice president of business development, in charge of consumer revenues, ticketing, suites hospitality, performance marketing and all the revenue and operations tied to them.

“Being named the club’s first chief revenue officer, I will oversee more people and it’s more responsibility,” he noted.

Kirby is now focused on most of the team’s local revenue opportunities.

“The biggest change is the corporate partnership piece. We are always looking for that next pillar moment, whether that’s playoffs or Super Bowls. We have hosted the NFL draft and we will have the World Cup next summer,” he said.

The international game is a part of that, too.

“You are always looking for that next level event or success,” he added. “We have fortune to have a lot of it. It has been rewarding and humbling for me in a lot of ways.”

Tyler was named a Sports Business Journal “Forty Under 40” honoree in 2024, reflecting on his status as a rising star among sport business professionals. “That was a lot of fun and I was very appreciative to get that honor,” he said.