Former Riot Games Global Head of Esports Communications David Higdon has joined NFL team the Kansas City Chiefs as its new executive vice-president of communications. The story was first reported on by Sport Business Journal NFL beat reporter Ben Fischer on Thursday. A formal announcement is expected on Friday.
During his tenure at Riot Games, Higdon changed the way Riot handled media and press at the company, particularly when it came to its competitive leagues for such games for its flagship title League of Legends as well as TeamFight Tactics, Valorant, and other games; how global partnerships were promoted, how players and teams interacted with the media during global and regional competitions, and in general, how the company organized its different media channels for games, esports, and entertainment over the last six years. Higdon also held several leadership roles on on councils that helped select and facilitate partnerships with globally recognized brands such as Mastercard, Louis Vuitton, Mercedes-Benz, and more.
The move back into professional sports isn’t a complete surprise to anyone who has paid attention to Higdon’s history working in professional sports; prior to joining Riot Games he spent more than six years as the vice president of integrated marketing communications at NASCAR, more than two years as chief communications officer at LPGA, more than a year as EVP of strategic development & communications at Champ Car World Series (formerly CART) and more than eight years as VP of communications at ATP Tour.