New York Jets Marketer Tim Kemp Scores New Role at Hard Rock

If having Aaron Rodgers on the New York Jets for two years left a lasting marketing memory, Tim Kemp should have a great time with Lionel Messi, Tiger Woods, and Max Verstappen in his new role at Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming.

After an “amazing journey” with the Jets over the last eight years, Kemp left the team three weeks ago to become Hard Rock’s svp of entertainment marketing and content. There, he’ll handle marketing for Hard Rock’s brand partners including Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium and Formula 1 team Oracle Red Bull—both of which will feature heavily at this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix—as well as its global entertainment portfolio, which has hosted a lineup of artists ranging from The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and Elton John to Post Malone, Ed Sheeran, and Kygo

By joining the company, Kemp also re-teams with his old Barclays Center boss Keith Sheldon—who’s now president of entertainment and brand for Hard Rock—in working on several high-profile tie-ups, including brand partnerships with Lionel Messi, Sports Illustrated Swim, Dale Earnhardt, Tiger Woods’ TGL, Audacy, the Miami host committee for the FIFA World Cup in 2026, and more.

Kemp, who is based in New York, noted that he’s acclimating to a company that hosts 35,000 events a year at 300 locations in 74 countries. The Miami Grand Prix has already featured prominently within his first few weeks on the job, but it’s just one of the acts of Hard Rock’s yearlong bill.

“This is a brand that kind of has no limits as it spans the globe, so there’s no shortage of learning moments and opportunities and getting to know everybody,” Kemp said. “It’s been a mix of preparing for all things at once and then getting my head around the pure magnitude of the Hard Rock brand.”

A Jet-setting career

Throughout a nearly two-decade career in sports marketing, Kemp’s travels have taken him to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, the New Jersey Devils’ home at Prudential Center, and marketing roles within the New York Jets organization. A lifelong Jets fan, Kemp ushered the team through organizational rebrands in 2019 and 2024—working with Nike and the NFL on new primary and alternate uniforms while tweaking the team logos.

The Jets didn’t make the postseason during Kemp’s seasons with the organization, but it gave Kemp and his marketing team an understanding of their place within the entertainment industry and encouraged them to provide Jets fans with experiences and access to the team and its storylines at MetLife Stadium and beyond. It was a mindset that served them well after quarterback Aaron Rodgers announced on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show in 2023 that he wanted to join the Jets.

“The NFL talks a lot about being championship ready, and that means if a team goes on a run for a Super Bowl, you want to be able to capitalize on that success… but it also means being in for big moments for teams and for us. That was the acquisition of Aaron Rodgers,” Kemp said. “When Aaron came on board…there was a huge opportunity for us from a revenue and engagement perspective.”

For Jets marketers, it meant touting the team on HBO’s Hard Knocks in 2023, watching record numbers of fans take interest in the organization, and sending Rodgers onto the MetLife Stadium field for a Monday Night Football game against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 11 with an American flag in his hands. Though Rodgers was injured for much of 2023 and left the Jets after 2024, Kemp looked back fondly on the initial days of what became a “pretty polarizing moment for the entire organization.”

Ready to rock

The Hard Rock brand encompasses its namesake cafes, casinos, hotels, live performances, and the memorabilia collection that fills them all, but it’s also a host of sports and entertainment partnerships spanning the globe.

Within the first few weeks at the company, Kemp’s team has created content around Eddie Vedder’s visit to Hard Rock’s memorabilia vault in Florida; built content plans for the Hard Rock social channels around this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix and with Oracle Red Bull Racing; and is preparing for the upcoming SI Swim cover reveal party at the Hard Rock Hotel in New York. On a team led by Sheldon, Kemp said he is looking to amplify its existing Hard Rock entertainment partnerships and its vast social media ecosystem to create unique content to serve each of the company’s partners and properties.  

“We’re thrilled to have Tim on board,” Sheldon said. “His track record certainly speaks for itself, having produced several award-winning social and brand campaigns, and we’re excited to have this unique blend of entertainment-focused business acumen, thought leadership, and creativity support new and innovative approaches to marketing the Hard Rock brand across all of our various platforms.”

It’s a large undertaking, but Kemp said his time with the Jets exposed him to the effort that NFL CMO Tim Ellis and the league’s head of social, influencers, and content, Ian Trombetta, put into creating the model he’s looking to emulate. By distributing content to platforms for not only the league, but its 32 teams and all of their varied accounts, the NFL is able to connect with fans around the globe on an individual basis by building “an unbelievable machine” that puts them all within reach.

“When I look at the social ecosystem of Hard Rock, I see limitless potential,” Kemp said. “There is no shortage of opportunities to tell these amazing stories and have Hard Rock show up in so many different places in authentic ways that can help develop our audiences and drive business.”