Wrexham have grown rapidly on and off the pitch in recent years thanks to the impact of Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.
Wrexham sit second in the League One table with hopes of securing promotion to the Championship in May.
Phil Parkinson’s side sit just one point ahead of Wycombe Wanderers, with a real battle for second place coming in the final four games.
Wrexham fans will hope to see a third promotion in a row, especially with a new series of ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ on the way.
Season four of ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ is coming in May as Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds return with more of the hit documentary series.
Exeter City CEO discusses ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ impact
We will see all the ups and downs from another eventful Wrexham season, with fans no doubt wanting to learn a little more about just why Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer are out of favour.
Some big wins will be featured in season four, potentially including Wrexham’s 2-0 win at Exeter City in March.
Ollie Rathbone and Jay Rodriguez found the net in a big win for Wrexham, continuing the improved away form in 2025.
Exeter City CEO Joe Gorman has now commented on the impact of ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ – and how it has been discussed inside the club.
Speaking on the Business of Sport podcast, Gorman admitted that Exeter had been contacted about March’s clash potentially being featured on ‘Welcome to Wrexham’.
Gorman suggested that he wants Exeter to try and take advantage of the extra exposure Wrexham have provided in League One.
The interest from US TV companies means Gorman has actually considered the avenue of signing American players in order to appeal more in the United States.
Gorman added that Wrexham’s rise and the interest overseas is making him think ‘slightly differently’ about how to grow Exeter.
“The documentary people have definitely been in touch,” said Gorman.
“It’s these moments where you go to staff and say ‘okay, how do we take advantage of this? What do we move in to? What doors does this open for us? And that’s the great thing about League One and, to be fair, the EFL commercial deals.
“We were at the EFL conference and had CBS coming over. I think I was texting our technical director going ‘okay, we need to sign an American player’ or these kind of things, and it makes you think slightly differently,” he added.
Green Bay Packers connection eyed by Exeter City chief
Wrexham’s model is relatively unique in English football.
J.J. Watt and Tom Brady are involved at Burnley and Birmingham City respectively, but hold relatively low shares in the clubs.
McElhenney and Reynolds are at the forefront of the Wrexham project and their sheer name value has brought so much interest – and money – into the club.
Wrexham’s sponsorship money was enormous in League Two, putting some Championship clubs to shame in the process.
Unless a celebrity turns up and buys Exeter, the Grecians can’t really match Wrexham’s model like-for-like.
Instead, Gorman hopes that the US interest in League One football actually opens doors to potential collaboration with teams like NFL powerhouse Green Bay Packers.
Exeter’s fan-owned model is very different to how Wrexham are currently operating, but Gorman believes their story can be sold in the United States – just like Wrexham’s.
“Now it’s up to us to take advantage of it – that’s what I try and reiterate to the staff all the time,” said Gorman.
“We could sit there and complain that we increase our playing budget and we don’t move up places in the league, or we could smell the opportunity.
“What could we do? For my mind, we talk about Wrexham and Birmingham, our model is completely different to all other 92 football clubs – Wimbledon probably slightly closer to us – so why can’t we sell that? Who are we engaging with? What employee-owned companies are we engaging with? What companies that have similar values to us are we engaging with?
“We have a genuine USP that we can sell or try and commercialise. I go back to when the CBS guys come back, the Green Bay Packers – kind of member-owned, fan-owned – does CBS open up a door for us to go and talk to the Green Bay Packers? There’s loads of football clubs in the US with the European model in terms of the 50+1 ownership,” he added.
The EFL landscape has completely changed since McElhenney and Reynolds bought Wrexham.
Celebrity investment is on the rise and many want to emulate what McElhenney and Reynolds have done at Wrexham.
That won’t be possible for many clubs, but it’s fascinating to hear that other clubs are looking at how to change their approach due to the Wrexham rise in recent years and want to try and take full advantage of extra exposure brought by ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ and more eyes on the League One product as a whole.