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IMG’s IMaGe

CAA may be the new IMG as it has gained the latter’s best agents and team-players.

For many years, IMG has been the staple of the Sports Agent world. It has represented some of the best football players (Peyton Manning), baseball players (Derek Jeter), etc. When Ted Forstmann bought the company for $750 million, Peter Johnson was fired, IMG’s team-sports division was scrapped (bye bye Manning and Jeter), and its top agents (Casey Close and Tom Condon) moved on to CAA.

It is definitely true that IMG was previously viewed primarily as a sports service firm. It has been reinvented under Forstmann to focus more on its media and entertainment services. Whether or not Forstmann was aware of a stipulation in Close’s and Condon’s contracts, which allowed them to leave IMG with their clients if Peter Johnson was ever fired, IMG profits are about three times higher now than when Forstmann bought it [Why Did IMG Let All Those Stars Walk?]. It seems like Close and Condon made out well by selling their services to CAA, and that IMG faired fine with an increase in profits since Forstmann’s moves.

There is something to be said for those of you interested in working in the field of sports, however. IMG is definitely still a major international corporation with many opportunities for employment. Potential employees should realize that the philosophy behind IMG has changed, though. With more of a focus on entertainment and media, an internship in CAA may be more rewarding for a future Sports Agent than an internship with IMG. At the same time, IMG continues to be a leader in representing individual-sport athletes (Tiger Woods, Roger Federer), so if you are interested in that area, IMG is still a great place to work.

-Darren Heitner

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.

2 replies on “IMG’s IMaGe”

[…] I have mentioned before that IMG is no longer interested in delving into the team sports arena, and will instead focus on representing athletes in individual sports (i.e. tennis and golf) along with buying every sports and entertainment company that it can get its hands onto.  Focusing on the sports side of the company, IMG has just signed Spanish golfer, Pablo Martin, the day that he turned pro [Pablo Martin Signs With IMG].  This is another big signing for the company.  Martin holds the title of being the only amateur to ever win an event on the European Tour. […]

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