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Sports Business

Acquisition Spree In The Football Agency Arena

Vanguard Sports Group Adds Veteran Agents.

Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Raleigh-based Vanguard Sports Group has added to its football division by bringing in veteran NFLPA Contract Advisors Tony Paige and Chitta Malik, who had co-founded agency Dream Point Sports. Those two agents will assist with the football operations at Vanguard and add many NFL clients including Pro Bowlers Von Miller, Keenan Allen, Cam Newton, James Bradberry, and Josh Sweat.

Vanguard, created by Joby Branion, also boasts baseball and basketball divisions, run by Keith Grunewald and Tony Dutt, respectively.

Priority Sports & Entertainment Acquires Element Sports Group

Chicago, Los Angeles, and Atlanta-based Priority Sports & Entertainment has announced the acquisition of football agency Element Sports Group (ESG). ESG founder Michael Perrett will be named President of Priority Sports’ Football Operations and work alongside Kenny Zuckerman.

The acquisition follows former Priority Sports agents Mike McCartney, Jaymeson Moten, and Kyle Dolan leaving the company earlier this year to work for VaynerSports.

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.