Russ Brandon is the CEO and President of the United Football League (UFL) and an Operating Partner at RedBird Development Group. At UFL, Russ oversees day-to-day operations of the league while directing strategic planning for business and football operations on both the league and team levels.
Prior to joining the UFL, Russ served as Managing Partner and President of the Buffalo Bills, President and Alternate Governor of the Buffalo Sabres, and COO of Pegula Sports and Entertainment (PSE), managing all aspects of the day-to-day business and administrative operations of the three entities.
For over two decades with the Bills organization, Russ earned several promotions. After joining as Executive Director of Business Development, he moved through the ranks to become Chief Operating Officer in 2008. In 2010, he was promoted to Chief Executive Officer before being named President and CEO in 2013. In 2014, Russ played a lead role in the sale of the Bills franchise from the Ralph Wilson estate to the Pegula family for a record-breaking $1.4 billion transaction, securing the Bills’ future in Western New York.
Russ and his team also architected the regionalization strategy to drive deeper economic and fan engagement by moving training camp to Rochester, NY, and preseason and regular season games to Toronto, Canada. He led several value-enhancing initiatives by overseeing multiple stadium/training facility renovations and lease extensions, securing the first-ever stadium naming rights in Bills history with New Era, and the first outdoor hockey game which assisted in the creation of the NHL’s popular outdoor series. He also led strategy to bring major events to Buffalo’s KeyBank Center and New Era Field including the NHL Draft, NHL Scouting Combine, NCAA March Madness, IIHF World Junior Championship, NCAA Frozen Four, and several concerts at both facilities.
Russ was a member of several league working groups, and in 2011, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appointed him to the NFL’s Business Ventures Committee, which oversees various business verticals of the league, including Consumer Products, Sponsorship, and Marketing.
He began his sports business career as a member of the Rochester Red Wings (then Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles), serving in many capacities, including Assistant General Manager. He also worked a four-year stint with the Florida Marlins and was a member of the 1997 World Series championship organization.
The East Syracuse, New York native received a bachelor’s degree in Communications from St. John Fisher College, where he was a four-year letterman in baseball and football. In 2004, he was inducted into the St. John Fisher College Sports Hall of Fame and was a recipient of Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal’s Forty-Under-40 award in 2001.