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Wasserman Media Group Wins 2012 Sports Business Award

Yesterday, SportsBusiness Journal hosted its yearly Sports Business Awards in New York City.  It has been reported that roughly 750 people attended the event.  Categories included Sports League of the Year, Sports Sponsor of the Year, and of course, Best in Talent Representation and Management.  This year’s winner in the latter category was the very deserving Wasserman Media Group.

Casey Wasserman accepted the award for his company.

Without a doubt, Wasserman Media Group was noticed for its entrée into the representation of professional football players.  It began with the company hiring Andrew Luck’s uncle and NFLPA-certified advisor Will Wilson, which also allowed Wasserman Media Group to sign the #1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.  Luck is Wasserman Media Group’s only football client (for team contract negotiations), but he is certainly a great person to build a new division behind.

Wasserman Media Group advised the #3 overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft and represents 7 players selected in the 2011 NBA Draft (including high draft pick Brandon Knight).  They were also involved in the process of bringing the talented Japanese baseball pitcher Yu Darvish to the Texas Rangers.

And all of this is just scratching the surface of what Wasserman Media Group has not only accomplished in the United States, but all over the world.  Congratulations to Casey Wasserman and the rest of his team.

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.