A rising Los Angeles Rams executive has been identified as a leading contender to become the NFL’s first female general manager.
With an undergraduate degree from Duke and her MBA from Stanford, Nicole Blake has gone from a coveted position in the NFL’s prestigious rotational program to a high-level job within the Rams front office.
Since March of 2025, she’s been the team’s Director of Scouting, Strategy and Analytics, and reportedly played a major role in the recent blockbuster acquisition of reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.
As reported by SI.com’s Albert Breer, Blake was part of a small contingent of Rams executives involved in the three-month negotiations with the Cleveland Browns – a group that included ownership, GM Les Snead, COO Tony Pastoos, president Devin Demoff and head coach Sean McVay.
And according to Breer, Blake has impressed her colleagues and now has McVay’s ‘full respect.’
One insider told Breer he expects her to become the league’s first female GM.
With a degree from Duke and MBA from Stanford, Nicole Blake went from a coveted position in the NFL’s prestigious rotational program to a high-level job within the Rams front office
As reported by SI.com’s Albert Breer , Blake was part of a small contingent of Rams executives involved in the three-month negotiations with the Cleveland Browns for Myles Garrett
Blake wasn’t discovered by an NFL executive, but rather ex-Sixers GM Sam Hinkie, who taught her at Stanford.
According to Breer, Hinkie invited Demoff to sit in on the virtual classroom during the COVID-19 pandemic on a day when Blake happened to be presenting a group project. Hinkie sent Demoff a message indicating her interest in working in the NFL, and although that private note accidentally went out to the entire class, the Rams exec still connected Blake with Snead and Pastoos.
‘[If] we’re a good organization, we should be able to figure this out,’ Demoff told Snead and Pastoos, according to SI.com.
Breer stressed that she’s not the only woman viewed as the league’s potential first female GM, but she is certainly getting noticed.
While the NFL does have a number of high-ranking female executives, like Detroit Lions co-owner Martha Firestone Ford and Cincinnati Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn, it has never had a woman lead a team’s football operations.
In fact, of the ‘big four’ major US team sports leagues, only Major League Baseball has had a female GM when Kim Ng served in that role for the Miami Marlins from 2021 until 2023.
Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead met Blake through the Rams’ team President
Of the ‘big four’ major US team sports leagues, only Major League Baseball has had a female GM when Kim Ng (pictured) served in that role for the Miami Marlins from 2021 until 2023
Exactly how much of the Garrett trade is owed to Blake is a mystery.
What we do know is that the Rams paid a considerable price for the 30-year-old All-Pro. In addition to 25-year-old former Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse, the Rams also surrendered a first-, future second- and a future third-round pick to the Browns.
Garrett has recorded an astonishing 51 sacks over the last three seasons alone, the most of any player in the NFL. And last year, he became the first player to have 12 sacks in six straight seasons.
The Rams already traded for Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie from the Kansas City Chiefs and signed one of his former teammates, fellow cornerback Jaylen Watson, to a three-year $51 million deal.
After losing to the Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship, the Rams will open their 2026 season against another division rival, the San Francisco 49ers, in Melbourne, Australia on September 10.