Alex Rodriguez Says His New Podcast “The Deal ”is About America's 'Fourth Sport' — the ‘Business of Sports’ (Exclusive)

For his newest podcast venture, the former Yankee will explore the biggest and most daring moves in sports marketing and media, interviewing famous guests like Derek Jeter

With 696 home runs under his belt throughout his 22-year baseball career, it's safe to say Alex Rodriguez knows a thing or two about sports.

But he also has plenty of business and media savvy, after spending the past seven years as a sports analyst for FOX and ESPN. He's also been a guest judge on Shark Tank, is the current co-owner of the Minnesota teams, Timberwolves and Lynx, and the president of A-Rod Corp, his investment firm valued at $1 billion.

So it makes sense that his latest podcast venture, The Deal, is all about the most daring, innovative and exciting deals in the sports business world. Launching today, he hosts the series with Bloomberg Chief Correspondent Jason Kelly,

"The way that we see the world, at least my thesis is, is that growing up we had the three major sports: baseball, basketball, football," Rodriguez, 48, tells PEOPLE. "I think today the fourth sport — and probably as popular as any of them —  is the business of sports and media."

Related: Alex Rodriguez Teases 'I Am Dominican' After Fans Question His Dark Tan at NBA Game: 'Everybody Calm Down'

He continues, "I think there's a lot of interesting young people out there who love sports but have no opportunity to play in these three major leagues. But they all can participate somehow in the business — being a GM or president, marketing. There's room for males and females. Sports business is just growing tremendously year over year, and we really wanted to unpack it and understand it."

The original, 12-episode limited series will span both audio and video, and will explore the strategies and challenges behind some of the biggest business moves made by athletes, entertainers and executives across industries. Famous guests include Derek Jeter, Michael Strahan and Maria Sharapova.

Related: Who Is Alex Rodriguez's Girlfriend? All About Jaclyn Cordeiro

"We thought there was an opportunity to really talk to some of the best minds in sports and media," Rodriguez says. Of course, he says it also helps him learn more and more about business, which he loves doing.

"I'm a lifelong student," he says. "The minute I wake up, I'm learning something, I'm reading something, I'm hearing something and then I go really narrow and deep on things that I'm super passionate about."

His co-host agrees with that sentiment. "Alex is a total sponge," Kelly says of A-Rod.

"He asks a ton of questions, even off set, which is one of the reasons we decided to do the show," he continues. "I think I also underestimated how massive his ambition is for this part of his life and his business career. Even in an era where former athletes are building businesses, few are trying to build empires."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Rodriguez credits his love of business from watching his mom Lourdes, 89, work like crazy to support him and the family when he was a young kid living in Miami.

“She was a secretary in the morning and served tables at night," Rodriguez recalls. "She’d be gone from 8 a.m. until midnight. I knew early on that financial literacy was my way out, and a way to help my mother.” He also adds that as lifelong renters, he yearned for the day he could actually own something. "I thought, boy if I could ever trade places with a landlord, that would be nice!"

Later, as a professional athlete, he says he also observed plenty of mistakes. “I saw so many athletes go from rags to riches to rags,” Rodriguez notes. “I didn’t want that to be me."

To read more about Alex Rodriguez, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on stands now.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.