Cleveland Browns broadcaster Nathan Zegura’s got no Wiki
By Mike Lukas
Cleveland Browns broadcaster Nathan Zegura, for some reason has no Wikipedia page. If anyone ever wanted to create him one, here is some background info
Cleveland Browns senior media broadcaster Nathan Zegura has no Wikipedia page.
Weird for a guy who does all the TV sideline reporting for the Browns games and who has a radio show, Cleveland Browns Daily, on ESPN 850 WKNR. Strange that a guy at that level of Cleveland fame can’t be so easily bio-ed.
Who is this mystery man Nathan Zegura, and why should anyone care what he has to say about the Browns?
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Upon further digging (read: deep Googling), Zegura’s unique background begins to emerge.
In the few interviews he’s given, Zegura admits he’s not a Cleveland native but was born and raised in Hayward, CA, (which does have a Wiki page, BTW) in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay area. He went to Emory College in Atlanta where he earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in political science.
Impressive, yes, but what’s that got to do with the Browns?
Gettin’ to it.
After school, Zegura took a job as a serious business consultant at a prestigious Atlanta firm called McKinsey Co. He quickly grew tired of the long hours and travel the job demanded. Besides, he’d discovered something way more fun and personally satisfying to focus his time and energy on:
Fantasy football.
At that point, Zegura had been a dedicated fantasy football nut for over 15 years, but he wasn’t exactly sure how to turn that into a viable living. A story in The Chronicle (you know, Elyria, OH’s newspaper) says Zegura’s road to going professional came:
"“when his wife, Elissa, suggested he find a way to make money in something he spent so much time on. At a friend’s urging, he launched a fantasy football Web site…The result was TheFantasyConsultant.com. (TFC)” — AP via the Chronicle"
Zegura’s finely-honed skills of studying and analyzing business spreadsheet data combined with his knowledge of football statistics, love of the game, ease of communication and likable personality translated well to being a paid fantasy football consultant.
As the numbers (and success rate) of his site subscribers grew, so did his ability to spew football stats and wisdom comfortably, even in front of the camera or on the mic.
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Zegura’s slow march to the Browns had begun.
He hosted his own radio show in the Northeast Ohio area, The Fantasy Football Power Hour from 2005-2008 on ESPN 850 WKNR. Then in 2009, thanks to the heat from the TFC site, Zegura was featured on TV stations CBS 19 in Cleveland and Sports Time Ohio.
That same year he became one of the handpicked on-site experts for the inaugural Fantasy Football SuperDraft in Las Vegas and hosted That Fantasy Show on WMMS 100.7.
And Zegura’s fantasy kept right on rolling.
In 2009-2010, he joined Ashton Kutcher as the fantasy football authority on the Streamy-nominated online show, Fantasy Football Live, eventually selling half his TFC business to the Hollywood actor. They continue to work together to build up the brand.
In 2013, Zegura joined (then-host) Vic Carucci on Cleveland Browns Daily.
The front office must have been impressed, because when Carucci left for his hometown of Buffalo that next season, Zegura took over the reins as host of the daily, two-hour Browns talk show.
With ex-NFL-er / ex-Ohio State linebacker / Elyria Catholic High School creation (and man with his own Wiki page, BTW) Matt Wilhelm by his side, Zegura now broadcasts Cleveland Browns Daily from its $65,000 studio located inside the Browns’ Berea Headquarters.
Only it’s not so easy to cover the Browns objectively when the team pays your salary.
A 2015 BrownsDailyDose.com article accused Zegura and Wilhelm of taking daily shots at (then general manager) Ray Farmer and (then head coach) Mike Pettine on a show that has
"“usually been like any other team-produced radio show in that everything is made to look rosy, despite how bad it really is.” — Chronicle"
And by ‘daily shots’ they were referring to Zegura and Wilhelm being critical of the team’s decisions and schemes. In their solid defense, though, in 2015 (and 2016 and 2017 and … ) there were plenty of Browns choices and plans that desperately needed to be critiqued.
But Zegura and Wilhelm aren’t so critical of the Browns’ front office these days.
With the solid moves general manager John Dorsey has made so far in 2018, they don’t have to be, especially if those moves translate into wins.
Zegura’s fantasy expertise is still on display as host of the SiriusXM Fantasy Consultant show, and he also contributes articles and analysis to CBSsports.com every week and will appear as an on-air analyst for Fantasy Football Today every Friday and Sunday.
Plus he covered this year’s NFL combine and draft and he’ll be on the TV sidelines spittin’ Browns knowledge once again in 2018.
Zegura still lives in Cleveland with his wife and their two children Arden and Bryce. He’s no native to Ohio, but he’s become as big a Browns fan as anyone who is. Zegura’s no mystery, man, he’s a highly educated stats nerd turned pro fantasy football consultant turned Browns specialist and broadcaster.
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Nathan Zegura has spent his life making his own fantasies come true – now let’s hope some of that same magic rubs off on the Browns.
If it does, maybe someone could hook the poor guy up with a Wiki page.