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Is CSMG Still The Place To Be?

CSMG recently acquired Arizona Cardinals quarterback and budding actor, Matt Leinart, but the company has seen a big downsizing ever since. To put it plainly, and directly from the mouth of Liz Mullen at SportsBusinessJournal.com:

[CSMG] has terminated its CEO, laid off several employees, saw its founder step down as chairman of the board of directors and has a signed separation agreement with one of its major NFL player agents [Big changes at CSMG].

The founder/chairman is Alan Nero. He says that he has stepped down voluntarily. Who knows? What is certain is that CSMG wants to spare itself from any bad press.

Here is a little bit of what I was able to dig up. Apparently, Michael Hall (the terminated CEO) had a difference of opinion with Alan Nero. Hall wanted CSMG to become more marketing based, focusing more on the endorsement side of the business of sports. This is understandable if you think about the fact that Hall had more than 20 years of experience as an advertising executive at Leo Burnett prior to joining CSMG. The problem is that Nero did not follow Hall’s theory. This was one area of tension. In addition, CSMG has been investing a lot of money on grassroots projects lately with little return on investment.

Basically what we have here is a situation where there is a lot of money being spent on projects that aren’t amounting to anything while the company is split over whether to focus more on contractual negotiations or marketing deals.

With all this being said, the company hopes to remain as an important entity in the athlete representation business. They will be hiring more agents, looking for a new CEO, and trying to acquire new clients.

One thing that should really hurt CSMG is the departure of agent Kennard McGuire. He will be creating his own agency, and it will be interesting to see how many of his roughly 17 clients leave CSMG with him. If a majority of them leave with McGuire, it could substantially hurt the company.

-Darren Heitner

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.

6 replies on “Is CSMG Still The Place To Be?”

Can McGuire expect a lawsuit if the majority of his 17 clients leave CSMG to go with him? I know this happened in a similar case a couple of years back with a big NFL agent.

Some guys like McGuire have clauses in their contract that if certain execs leave the parent company, they can walk as well and take all the clients they wish.

Tom Condon had a clause in his at IMG that allowed him to walk and take every IMG client with him.

McGuire could be sued, but it wouldn’t stop him from taking clients, or clients following him.

I wonder if Fletcher is going to leave as well, Ken and Fleth were very close and I couldn’t see one leaving and one staying.

after reading the sbj article on it, it looks like he can walk and take what clients he wishes. they mention, on several occasions that he has a “seperation agreement” which likely spells out the terms of what he can do and can’t do…

It seems that McGuire will be ok with his departure. I don’t think we will be seeing another Steinberg/Dunn situation

I’m interested to see if McGuire stays “independent” or signs up with a larger firm (maybe Blue like Segal?).

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