When Tom Brady walked into a room, Connor Clark ’19 knew the content he was about to help create could reach an entirely different level. For five years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Clark has helped shape how millions of fans experience the team. He has produced content featuring Brady, Rob Gronkowski and other NFL stars, captured touchdowns and big plays from the sidelines and created videos for fans, partners and VIP guests. Across his seven years in the NFL, he estimates his work has generated hundreds of millions of views, with potential reach extending into the billions.
His work puts him behind the camera for moments that become part of how fans experience one of America's most iconic pastimes. “It was a really cool era to be a part of,” Clark said of joining the Buccaneers in 2021, shortly after the team won Super Bowl LV. Brady and Gronkowski were still with the team.
For Clark, working with Brady was an opportunity to create content around one of the world's most recognizable athletes while learning to work efficiently in an environment where every minute matters.
That ability to anticipate what is coming and be ready to capture it started long before Clark reached the NFL. Growing up in Pine City, Minnesota, Clark loved computers and sports. He started playing football in third grade and became fascinated with footage his dad filmed of his games. He wanted to get the footage onto a computer and work with it himself.
At UW-Stout Polytechnic, Clark studied Entertainment Design and explored how he could combine his interests in technology, visual storytelling and production. Study abroad experiences in New Zealand and Iceland gave him opportunities to develop those skills. During an independent study in Iceland, Clark carried his camera equipment through the country for a month, sometimes hiking for 10 hours to capture only seconds of footage.
The experience taught him to be patient, observant and ready for the right moment, skills that would later become essential in his career with the NFL.
“It's kind of the same thing on the football field,” Clark said. “You don't know what play is going to happen. You don't know if it's going to be an interception or a touchdown. But you have to put yourself in the right position to capture those moments.”
Faculty members Keif Oss, Kevin Pontuti and Peter Galante gave Clark opportunities to work on production shoots, where he volunteered simply for the chance to be on set and learn. Ursula Murray Husted also helped him navigate academic changes that threatened to delay his graduation, ultimately helping him find a path to graduate on time.
After graduation, Clark applied for an internship with the Minnesota Vikings despite having no sports production in his portfolio. There, he learned the pace and demands of professional sports production while working on community events and Special Olympics programming.
He also helped beta test a live telestration system that allowed him to break down plays in real time using graphics displayed in the stadium. On game days, he had only minutes to analyze a play, create the breakdown and send it to the in-stadium director.
The experience taught Clark to make quick decisions without losing sight of the story he was trying to tell. It also helped him build the confidence to pursue a full-time NFL role. When an opening became available with the Buccaneers, Vikings Vice President Bryan Harper advocated for Clark and connected him with Tampa Bay.
Five years later, Clark is one of the Buccaneers' primary highlight shooters on game days, capturing cinematic footage of touchdowns and big plays from the sidelines. During the week, he produces short-form advertisements, promotional and hype videos and content for corporate partnerships. He also works on projects requested by team ownership, including videos designed to engage VIP guests.
The Buccaneers' production team is small by NFL standards, with Clark working alongside two other full-time producers and a director who also contributes to production. That means Clark has learned nearly every side of the operation.
“You kind of have to be a jack of all trades,” he said. “But it's super cool because you get hands-on and really every aspect of what the NFL is.”
His work has taken him into some of the NFL's biggest moments, but one of the experiences that has stayed with him most had little to do with producing content. When Hurricane Milton forced the Buccaneers to evacuate Tampa, the organization relocated to New Orleans for a week while staff worked to house roughly 300 people and continue preparing for the team's game. Clark watched people who normally worked on separate sides of the organization come together, sharing buses, planes and a ballroom.
“It was one of those moments where I knew I was a part of a team that's obviously bigger than football,” he said.
Today, the kid who once wanted to put his dad's football footage on a computer helps millions of people see the game through his lens. Whether he's capturing a touchdown from the sideline, a star athlete in a production or a moment fans never would have seen otherwise, Clark's work helps tell the stories that connect teams with their audiences and make the experience of football bigger than what happens on the field.
That impact, and the people and experiences that helped him find his direction, is what makes Clark #StoutProud.
“As students, we felt special being on that campus and like we all were going to do something special in the future,” he said. “The time I spent at Stout, I wouldn't have changed it for anything.”
