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Wasserman Media Group’s Recent Promotions Indicate Strong Desire To Retain Arn Tellem

Casey Wasserman, Chairman and CEO of Wasserman Media Group has announced that Arn Tellem will become Vice Chairman of the company and basketball agents BJ Armstrong and Thad Foucher are promoted to Executive Vice Presidents of Basketball.  Together, Armstrong and Foucher will lead the group that manages the careers of over seventy-five professional basketball players around the globe.

The announcement was made in close proximity to the 2012 NBA Draft, where Wasserman Media Group represented the first overall pick (Anthony Davis) in addition to four other players (three others in the first round) selected by NBA teams.  Wasserman Media Group also recently took home the SportsBusiness Journal 2012 Sports Business Award for Best in Talent Representation and Management.

Tellem’s promotion may have been one of the wisest decisions Casey Wasserman and his company have ever made.  On May 8, 2012, Ailene Voisin wrote in The Sacramento Bee that, “longtime baseball/basketball agent Arn Tellem, who I have known since his days as general counsel of the (gasp) San Diego Clippers, told me it took about him about three weeks to emotionally recover from his group’s failed attempt to purchase the Dodgers. Tellem – like Kasten – is rooted in baseball.”  Typically, a promotion (and an increase in salary) goes a long way in speeding up emotional recoveries.

Suffice it to say that Casey Wasserman does not want Tellem, who joined Wasserman Media Group in 2006, leaving his company.  “Since Arn joined Wasserman in 2007, he has achieved great success in building out our athlete management division which is now the undisputed leader in our industry,” said Wasserman. “I believe that the company can greatly benefit as a whole from his experience, passion and leadership in his role as Vice Chairman and I look forward to continuing to work lock step with Arn to grow our business in new and important ways.”

Wasserman also has to desperately want the recent success of his company to continue.  Wasserman Media Group represents the most recent number one overall pick in the NBA (Anthony Davis), NFL (Andrew Luck), and MLB (Carlos Correa).

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.