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BusinessWeek’s 2008 Power 100 – SPORTS AGENT BLOG
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Sports Business

BusinessWeek’s 2008 Power 100

Around this time last year when BusinessWeek released its Power 100, documenting the 100 most influential people in the business of sports, I was interested to see various sports agent related names pop up on the list.  Tiger Woods once again tops the overall list, but how did our guys who were mentioned last year fare this year?

16. Theodore Forstmann Chairman, CEO, IMG (2007 – #26)

37. Scott Boras President, Boras Corp. (2007 – #12)

43. George Pyne President, IMG Sports and Entertainment (2007 – #59)

46. Casey Wasserman Chairman, CEO, Wasserman Media Group (2007 – #79)

70. Tom Condon NFL Agent, CAA (2007 – #90)

98. Arn Tellem President, WMG Management (2007 – #83)

Not ranked. Gene Upshaw Chairman, NFLPA (2007 – #33)

Not ranked. Mark Steinberg SVP and global managing director of golf, IMG (2007 – #72)

Observations

  • Similar to last year, I must say that IMG is getting mucho love from the voters.  Forstmann and Pyne received a boost; however, what the hell happened to Steinberg?  He gets his client, Tiger Woods, #1 for two consecutive years and has his name drop off the list?  Where is the justice in that?
  • Gene Upshaw, may he rest in piece, must have been left off the list due to his recent death.  Had he still been living, I would bet my money that he makes the list in 2008.
  • Wasserman jumps more than thirty slots but Tellem goes down fifteen?  Tellem absolutely tore it up this year with BJ Armstrong is his more than able wingman.  At least no basketball agent was positioned ahead of Tellem on the list.
  • Boras has had his fair share of bad moments in the media this year.  While he is still making a lot of money for his clients, I understand why voters have positioned him lower on the rankings.

Last, here is an interesting opinion from Darren Rovell of CNBC regarding agents in this listing:

The most glaring omission from a sector standpoint is the agents. Most notably, Drew Rosenhaus, who I had as No. 20 on my list, is even not in BW’s top 100. Agents Scott Boras (37), Tom Condon (70) and Arn Tellem (98) appear on the list, but I might have had Aaron and Eric Goodwin on the list this year, particularly because of the shoe deals they structured for Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard and Candace Parker.

I agree.  Rosenhaus above the Goodwins, but all of them deserve to be mentioned.  Next question…

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.