Categories
Sports Agents

Expanding Your Client List

Over on the SportsAgentBlog.com Forum, there is a fairly recent thread that has been left unanswered thus far. To paraphrase the question, SportsAgentGuy asks how a smaller agency would they go about getting clients considering the heavy obstacles in signing a veteran athlete and little experience. It seems like an easy question, but is almost impossible to answer. Very few people have been able to take the nontraditional route of starting their own agency before working for somebody else in this industry. Glen Lansky wants none of that statement.

Glen’s company, Elite Sports Agency, was founded in 2005 and claims to be one of the fastest growing athletic sports agencies. With a little bit less than 20 listed football players as clients in that limited time, I cannot argue with Glen. But what was Glen’s tactic to establishing his agency from the ground up? First of all, he gained his first client, Terrance Royal, by promising to be a friend for life. Lansky’s does not pretend to represent any all-star caliber athletes, but that is part of the process of starting up your own company from scratch without taking along former clients that you represented at a major conglomerate after leaving. Glen goes after local kids, with local ties. Locality can play a major role in trying to sell your services when experience is not on your side.

Again, there is no correct universal answer to the question of how a smaller agency should go about getting clients considering the obstacles inherent in the industry. Find your strong points. What will you provide that cannot be offered by an IMG or a CAA. Sometimes it is just about going after players that the larger companies are not interested in and hoping one of them breaks out and has a successful career. That is part of what Greg does, but he also makes sure to bust his ass every day in order to do his very best for the clients that allows him to pursue his dream of being a sports agent.

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.