Confidence and Competence: Hannah Gordon’s Journey to the NFL
Once the first woman to cover football for the Daily Bruin, the UCLA alumna went on to become a barrier-breaking sports executive.
Hannah Gordon
By Jacqueline Jacobo | October 2, 2024
Sitting cross-legged on her bed, Hannah Gordon watched as ESPN sports journalist Hannah Storm hosted the NBA playoffs on her 13-inch TV. It was a small enough screen to fit in her freshman dorm, yet large enough to captivate Gordon and fuel her newfound love of sports.
“I was so struck by the fact that Storm was smart, funny and having a conversation about something fun like sports – and that’s a job!” said Gordon, who earned her bachelor’s degree at UCLA in 2003. “I thought, ‘How do I get that job?’”
As a reporter for the Daily Bruin’s sports section, Gordon became the first woman to cover UCLA football, setting a tone for the rest of her career to work toward breaking the glass ceiling. After falling in love with the people dynamics of the game, she decided to carve out her own place in the industry and establish a career in professional sports that has now spanned over two decades.
After graduation, Gordon clinched a role at the NFL Players Association as a digital content intern. She recalls the necessity of thinking entrepreneurially; she would spend her Monday mornings calling players and asking them about last Sunday’s game or their breakfast to write up “player journals” for the NFLPA’s website.
Three years later, while studying at Stanford Law School, Gordon clerked for the Oakland Raiders and learned more about law at the intersection of a franchise and their fanbase. She remembers working on requests to use the team’s logo on a tombstone, building upon her keen awareness of the impact that football has on people.
“The romantic relationship between the fan and the club – that’s what’s unique about sports,” said Gordon.
In 2011, Gordon was hired by the San Francisco 49ers, where she held roles in legal affairs, general counsel and advisory. Her fascination with the community surrounding sports that she developed at the Daily Bruin and Raiders continued throughout her 12-year-long tenure with the team – Gordon spearheaded the first-of-its-kind 49ers PRIDE fan club, allowing LGBTQ+ fans to engage with the team and move past an exclusionary culture that pervades the NFL.
“There was an outpouring of emails, tweets and personal stories of people saying ‘I’ve always loved this team, but I didn’t always know if this team loved me back, and now I know I’m safe here,’” said Gordon, who considers launching 49ers PRIDE one of the proudest moments of her career.
According to Gordon, young people interested in the sports industry can expect to work long nights and weekends balanced with a lively atmosphere. For people coming from underrepresented backgrounds, she emphasizes the importance of confidence in one’s own professional skills that can be backed up with competence shown in one’s quality of work.
“It’s a career full of fun, competition and also a commitment to excellence,” said Gordon.
Check out our latest installment of “Bruins You Should Know” and visit her website to hear more about her career, her newly launched consulting firm and her book, “SZN OF CHANGE.”
