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State Of The Sports Agent Industry

It was not all that long ago that IMG was known for its Client Management division, which included many talented athletes not named Tiger Woods.  Jonathan Blue was focused on investing in non-sports businesses and Creative Artists Agency (CAA) was known as one of the best Entertainment agencies in the world.  Today, IMG only manages athletes in individual sports (i.e. tennis and golf), while Blue Entertainment Sports Television (BEST) and CAA are two of the largest athlete representation firms in existence.  CAA represents LeBron James, Peyton Manning, and Ryan Howard. BEST represents John Wall, Reggie Bush, and Chris Johnson.  While CAA has a slightly better roster of talent at the moment, BEST may make a push to take over the top spot.  Lagardere Unlimited, a large French talent-management company, is expected to buy BEST in the near future, which may create a new World War between mega worldwide sports and entertainment agencies.

Meanwhile, Casey Wasserman’s Wasserman Media Group (WMG), is taking notice, but it is doubtful that the company fears the change in the sports agency landscape.  Year after year, WMG’s Arn Tellem defies all odds by continuing to manage clients in the double digits in both basketball and baseball, while finding the time to serve on the Board of Directors for a couple of basketball-related philanthropic events and also write a weekly column for the Huffington Post.

WMG does not represent football players.  CAA, through Tom Condon and Ben Dogra have the most successful football agency, and it is only a division of a larger agency.  It is very rare for an agency to involve itself in another sport in conjunction with a practice in football.  CAA does it, as does BEST, Octagon, and Mark Bartelstein’s Priority Sports, but Drew Rosenhaus and David Dunn of Athletes First are not venturing outside of football any time soon (although Dunn does represent some coaches).

What can be concluded?

  1. It is very difficult to manage athletes in more than one sport, especially when the agency has a football division.
  2. WMG and Arn Tellem will survive no matter how much other companies grow through acquisitions.
  3. CAA’s utter dominance may be threatened.

Roughly a year ago, I suggested that CAA’s dominance may be threatened by a merger.  At that point in time, I made that assumption based on the merger of Endeavor and William Morris Agency.  I presumed that the new mega-agency would develop a sports practice to rival CAA.  Fortunately for CAA and the rest of the industry, that new practice never took shape.  Instead of WME, CAA needs to take note of the potential buy out of BEST by Lagardere.

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.

3 replies on “State Of The Sports Agent Industry”

One thing that should not get lost is that IMG is still a great force in the sports industry. While the company may no longer represent baseball, basketball, and football players in their contractual negotiations with teams, the company is a powerhouse when it comes to representing some of the best players in those sports for marketing and branding purposes.

By Post Author

It’s my understanding that Athletes First represents about a dozen baseball players, which includes big leager Nick Hundley as well as some top prospects. Just based on the finances, it would seem that representing baseball or basketball players is a lot more lucrative than football players

That is true, but between all three football gives you the opportunity to grab more clientel and therefore with the huge signing bonuses be able to achieve the huge commisions that MLB and NBA agents have.

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