Dawn Aponte, whose hiring as senior vice president of football operations and strategy was officially announced on Friday, will have her hands in just about all aspects of the New York Giants football operation.
The Giants say Aponte will be “responsible for strategic planning for football operations, analytics, salary cap management, player contract negotiations, compliance, and working closely with the college and pro personnel departments.”
Aponte has worked in the NFL since 1994, when she began her career as an accountant with the New York Jets. Most recently, Aponte was chief administrator of football operations for the NFL from 2017-2026. During her career, she has worked for the league twice.
Aponte has also worked for the Jets, Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins. She was with the Dolphins from 2010-2016. Giants general manager Joe Schoen was also in Miami’s front office at the time, and Giants’ assistant director of player personnel was Miami’s general manager.
Per the announcement from the Giants, at the league office Aponte was responsible for driving football operations initiatives, facilitating communication and management of day-to-day football operations, and assisting in building relationships with club owners, presidents and executives. Aponte played a leading role on all health and safety-related initiatives, helping ensure alignment and integration between the league, the clubs, and external stakeholders in the pursuit of a safer game.
Aponte serves on the NFLUK Foundation Board, which aims to tackle inequality and a lack of opportunity faced by young people in underserved communities across the UK. She previously served on USA Football’s Board of Directors, where she helped guide the sport’s national governing body in leading the game’s development for youth, high school and other amateur football players.
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