Latest news with #BenGrubbs
USA Today
03-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Countdown to Kickoff: Ben Grubbs is the Saints Player of Day 66
The Pro Bowl guard didn't miss a snap in his three-year Saints career There are 66 days that remain before the New Orleans Saints start their 59th year of NFL existence and 2025 regular season. Kellen Moore will be the team's new head coach this year as the Saints look to improve on a 5-12 record from a year ago. There are no current New Orleans players wearing No. 66. With that in mind, former standout offensive lineman Ben Grubbs is our choice for Saints Player of the Day. Here's a closer look at Grubbs' background and career. An attendee of Elmore High School in Alabama, Grubbs was a star linebacker and fullback on the football team as well as a basketball standout. He was recruited to Auburn as a defensive end but redshirted in 2002 as he added bulk for a move to the defensive line. During his 2003 season, Grubbs was moved from the defensive side to tight end, where he played sparingly in nine games. Grubbs changed positions again at Auburn, this time kicking inside to guard during the 2004 offseason. The Tigers went undefeated that season, with Grubbs starting all 25 games during 2004 and 2005. Grubbs capped off his Auburn career in 2006 with a first-team All-SEC selection and second-team All-American accolades. It was enough to make him the 29th overall choice in Round 1 of the 2007 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens. He was the only interior offensive lineman to be drafted in the opening round. Grubbs was instantly a starter on the Ravens front line, earning a spot on the 2007 All-Rookie Team. He'd play five years with the Ravens, playing in 74 of 80 games and making 70 starts. His 2011 season in Baltimore earned him the first Pro Bowl honors of his career. During free agency in 2013, Grubbs was signed by the New Orleans Saints to a five-year contract for $36 million. He played every snap at left guard for New Orleans in 2013, earning his second Pro Bowl in the process. Grubbs remained with the Saints for three seasons. Over that span, he never missed a start or even a single snap while logging over 3,300 offensive plays. During the 2015 offseason, New Orleans traded Grubbs to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a Round 5 draft choice. Grubbs would play the final season of his NFL career that year, starting seven games until a season-ending injury and getting released at the end of the year. Ben Grubbs played a total of 48 regular season games for the Saints. It is the second most for any New Orleans player that has worn the No. 66.
Business Insider
21-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
A YouTube alum's next move: turning viral cartoons into big business
An early architect of YouTube Kids has launched a new startup aiming to turn animated characters born on social media into global franchises. Visional Pop will invest in and partner with animation creators, including those making comic-style and short-form videos on X and Instagram. It plans to help creators cultivate a presence on YouTube and other platforms and monetize mostly via consumer products, including toys and apparel. Visional Pop was founded by Ben Grubbs, a YouTube and Turner Broadcasting alum and longtime investor in the creator economy. A firm he cofounded, Creator Sports Capital, recently led a $45 million investment into Good Good Golf. Shortly after Visional Pop was founded late last year, it acquired YoBoHo — a 15-year-old, Mumbai-headquartered YouTube network that owns and operates over 150 channels in the kids' space. Grubbs declined to share the acquisition price, but said YoBoHo will play a key role in the company's mission. Visional Pop will harness YoBoHo's content distribution and audience development expertise, as well as its production infrastructure, to build YouTube channels for the creators it's working with. YoBoHo reaches more than 200 million unique viewers monthly. In addition to incubating its own channels, it has developed YouTube channels for third parties, said founder and CEO Hitendra Merchant. Selling products is one way creators can turn their content into a big business. Many influencers make money from the sales of items like T-shirts, keychains, and chocolate bars. However, Trump's tariffs have squeezed some pockets of the creator merch industry, such as plushies, and they have had to adapt. Visional Pop will be based in Los Angeles, but Grubbs said he's assembling a team in Japan focused on product design and manufacturing. Visional Pop will announce the first slate of creators it's investing in in the coming months. Grubbs said it's seeking family-friendly characters that appeal to children and adults alike. Grubbs said he's been particularly inspired by the animated character IP market in Japan. One example is Chiikawa — a character that originated on X and has spawned dedicated retail stores in Tokyo. "Our aspiration is to have IP that we develop and that we partner with and invest in that's going to be recognized by our grandkids," he said.
