Ten years ago, I started Locked On Heat with the Locked On Podcast Network. Our Heat podcast had existed for a couple of years before that, but in June, 2016, David Locke found his way to my inbox and offered my co-host David Ramil and me a chance to start a daily Miami Heat podcast.
I’ve been with the Network ever since. Last year, I added a new role as the host of Locked On NBA Daily. This week, I’m adding another. And it’s my most ambitious decision yet. Yesterday on X, I announced that I’m the new host of Locked On Dolphins Hit. I’m using this space today to explain why.
Wes Goldberg@wcgoldberg
🚨Career News🚨 Excited to officially announce that I'm taking on a new position with the @LockedOnPodcast Network as the new host of Locked On Dolphins Hit! 🐬 I'm still with Locked On Heat and Locked On NBA Daily, but I'm beyond thrilled to cross over into the NFL. Looking
2:02 PM · Aug 13, 2026 · 8.45K Views
20 Replies · 5 Reposts · 135 Likes
Wait, the Miami Dolphins?
Yes.
Like, the NFL team?
Yes.
But you don’t cover the NFL!
Correct. Well, until now.
Before I get into the why, let me explain the what.
What this is not is Locked On Dolphins. Kyle Crabbs hosts that and does a damn good job. Better than I could. He is to Locked On Dolphins what I am to Locked On Heat. We churn out 30 minutes of best-in-class content on the teams we cover. I’m great at my job and he’s great at his. I’m not looking to step on that, nor am I being asked to.
Locked On Dolphins Hit is a new and separate thing. You’ll see what I’m talking about if you follow along, but basically it’s short-form Dolphins content shared with Dolphins fans in the spaces they already spend their time – Reels, Shorts, X, TikTok, etc.
Instead of one 30-minute podcast every day, I’ll be churning out two 5-minute podcasts (available at the usual podcast places) and four shorts (on socials) about the Dolphins daily. I’m less Dolphins podcaster and more Dolphins influencer, according to the job description.
The question should really be: Why the NFL?
I’ve been wanting to cross over into the NFL for a while now and saw an opportunity with the launch of this Hits program. I could have done Hits for the Heat, but why double up on my Heat content? I’m aware of the pitfalls of oversaturation.
I’m also aware of the pitfalls of being a one-team or one-sport podcaster. Being beholden to the success and fan interest of one team is not good business. This is diversification.
(In case you haven’t been keeping up, I have a baby at home now. Dad needs to bring home the bacon.)
So, why the NFL? Because football is king. The NFL pays the bills. For ESPN, for Amazon, for NBC, for betting sites and, hopefully, for me.
But this is more than a money play. I grew up a die-hard Miami Dolphins fan. If I’m being honest, I was a bigger Dolphins fan than Heat fan. When Ricky Williams suddenly retired in 2004, I cried. Making it my job to talk about this team was the dream when I was 13 years old.
I could have launched a Dolphins podcast years ago, but there are already a ton of great ones. Breaking through wouldn’t be easy as a relative outsider who has spent the last decade-plus in the NBA media scene.
This allows me to create a niche in the Dolphins space. Less podcaster, more influencer. I’ll record on my phone and jam my takes into the most consumable parts of your doom scroll. Some will be prepared and produced. Others will be stream-of-consciousness. I’ll learn what works as I go, and I hope you’ll tell me what you like (and don’t).
I made a note in last week’s Friday Donuts that hinted at this announcement.
New ideas: I’m increasingly more convinced that content creators/podcasters are better off having multiple podcasts that cover a variety of topics. Basically, unless you’re Bill Simmons or Barstool, the lift is too heavy to build a general sports talk show. You’re better off taking all the topics you’re interested in and building separate feeds.
Thirteen-year-old Wes’ dream of being a sports radio talk show host is dead. Or outdated. People don’t want to sift through 3-4 hours of sports talk for the handful of minutes that they care about. Instead, they want to hear about the teams they love, when they want, where they want. Sports radio is a passive experience. Sports podcasting is active.
And even in the sports podcast space, you build a business with specificity. Only 10 of the top 200 podcasts on Apple are about sports…
Pardon My Take
Bill Simmons
Fantasy Footballers
Dan Le Batard
Double Coverage (UFC)
Fantasy Football Today
Pablo Torre Finds Out
The Ringer Fantasy Football Show
Fantasy Focus Football
Colin Cowherd
That’s 10 podcasts out of the top 200, or 5%. Four of those are general sports shows (PMT, Simmons, Le Batard, Cowherd). The other six are more specific (four of which are about fantasy football).
There are thousands of sports podcasts and only a handful make enough money on their own to be considered a lucrative business. According to the numbers, cracking that ceiling is harder than making the NFL.
Instead, the goal should be to diversify across streams and platforms. At least it’s mine. I’m still talking about the NFL and NBA, but on separate feeds/channels while monetizing social (where the numbers can dwarf actual listens if you go viral).
Sure, it looks like I’m busier than the average sports talk show host. (I have four podcasts between Locked On Heat, Locked On NBA Daily, RealGM Radio and Locked On Dolphins Hits. Three of those are daily.) But break it up into time, and that’s between 1.5- 2.5 hours per day “on air.” That’s a fraction of the length of your average drive-time radio show while still hitting the high notes and giving listeners what they want on demand.
This is my theory. I’ll report back.
You subscribe, and we do this together. The content starts Monday. Go Fins.
Subscribe on…
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.