According to a press release from the agency, CAA Sports announced a new leadership structure for its NBA athlete representation practice. Veteran agents Aaron Mintz and Austin Brown have been appointed as co-heads of the division and will lead its efforts alongside Leon Rose and Steven Heumann. The current client roster includes 75 All-Star and emerging NBA players, 42 first-round draft selections, 50 All-Star appearances and 36 All-NBA selections. These four agents have helped negotiate more than $4 billion in contracts on behalf of CAA Basketball clients.
Additional moves include naming Lisa Joseph-Metelus, Jessica Holtz and Lloyd Frischer as co-heads of client management. This trio works collaboratively to identify, negotiate and execute all off-the-court client business opportunities. In their new roles they will lead a team of 20 employees who have completed more than $550 million in endorsement deals on behalf of their clients.
These leadership changes come on the heels of a landmark 2018 for the division. Last year alone, CAA Basketball completed more than $855 million in new contracts on behalf of its client roster. This includes two max contracts – Chris Paul (4-year, $160 million) with the Houston Rockets and Paul George (4-year, $137 million) with the Oklahoma City Thunder – as well as two max rookie extensions – Devin Booker (five-year, $158 million) with the Phoenix Suns and Karl-Anthony Towns (5-year, $190 million) with the Minnesota Timberwolves. In the 2018 NBA Draft, 11 clients were under CAA’s representation, including four selected in the first round. For these rookies, more than $98 million was negotiated in their first contracts. On the marketing side, in 2018 alone $75 million in marketing agreements for clients were negotiated. These deals include the NBA’s largest-ever footwear and apparel deal for a center (Joel Embiid with Under Armour) and the first-ever lifetime partnership with a Chinese footwear and apparel brand (Dwyane Wade with Li-Ning).