Earlier this month, prominent basketball agent Dan Fegan confirmed that he was no longer an employee at Lagardère Unlimited, but said that he was still involved in “active discussions” with the company. Based on what Sports Agent Blog has learned from multiple sources, those active discussions have come to a halt, at least to the extent that they focused on Fegan remaining at Lagardère.
Sports Agent Blog has learned, through those sources, that Fegan is likely to become a part of the newly created Relativity Sports, a basketball, football and baseball agency led by Happy Walters. In an industry where very few agents allow themselves to develop relationships with their competition, Fegan and Walters have managed to find a way to remain friends throughout their respective careers.
Fegan, who is known for wearing a Bluetooth headset but not being tremendously fond of computers, went to Yale Law School, founded the sports agency Fegan & Associates and sold that agency to Lagardère Unlimited. Roughly two years after that purchase, Fegan is already on his way out and likely set to join another company.
Walters has had a very successful career as not only a basketball agent, but also as a music supervisor and TV/movie producer. He is one of the few individuals who has been able to break into, and be successful, in both the sports and entertainment industries. A little known fact is that Happy Walters was the inspiration for Adam Sandler’s hit 1996 movie, Happy Gilmore.
Fegan represents Dwight Howard, John Wall, Ricky Rubio, Stephen Jackson, Shawn Marion, Nene, Kevin Martin, and many other high-end NBA players. Walters’ biggest client is Amare Stoudemire, but he also represents guys like Iman Shumpert and Moe Harkless. According to HoopsHype.com, combining Fegan’s clients’ salaries with Walters’ clients’ salaries would result in a total of $179,455,308 under representation, putting the combo in the #4 overall spot just behind Creative Artists Agency (which may see its position change based on the recent NBPA certification of Rich Paul).
If Fegan does join Walters at Relativity Sports, it will be a major acquisition for a relatively new multi-sport agency that was born through the efforts of Relativity Media and The Yucaipa Companies. The founding of Relativity Sports combined Walters’ pre-existing Rogue Sports agency with Maximum Sports Management and SFX Baseball. Maximum Sports Management, founded by NFLPA certified Contract Advisor Eugene Parker, represents many active NFL players including Greg Jennings, Steven Jackson, and Ndamukong Suh. SFX advised five players selected in the first and supplemental first rounds of the 2012 MLB Draft. Adding Fegan will either provide Walters with a powerful sidekick to run the basketball division or allow Walters to pass the torch of the leading basketball division to Fegan so that Walters can focus on other matters.
Messages left for Dan Fegan and Happy Walters have not been returned.
