VaynerSports announced that Andrew Brandt has joined the agency as its Executive Vice President. “Brandt provides a unique perspective on league and player negotiations, sports policy, player finance and other key business aspects of sports”, said AJ Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerSports. “We are very excited to welcome Andrew to our team and to take VaynerSports to the next level as we continue to stay on the cutting edge of the sports industry.”
Brandt, a graduate of Stanford and Georgetown University Law School, has extensive experience in the sports industry as a nationally recognized executive in sports business, academia and media. He began his career representing NFL and NBA players at ProServ working with athletes that included Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and Boomer Esiason. Then, he became the general manager of the Barcelona Dragons in the NFL’s World League. After the league was suspended, he returned to player representation for Woolf Associates, representing NFL players such as Ricky Williams, Matt Hasselbeck and Adam Vinatieri. In 1999, Brandt joined the Green Bay Packers as vice president from 1999-2008, negotiating all player contracts, managing the salary cap and handling all football business operations. After a brief stint as a consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2009-10, Brandt served as ESPN’s Legal and Business Analyst from 2011-17.
Currently, Brandt is the executive director of the Jeffrey S. Moorad Center for the Study of Sports Law at Villanova University Law School, leading one of the nation’s premiere sports education programs. On a weekly basis, Brandt hosts his podcast “The Business of Sports with Andrew Brandt” and he writes a column for Sports Illustrated’s theMMQB.com. In addition, he serves as NFL business insider for Amazon Prime’s streaming of Thursday Night Football.
According to a press release by VaynerSports, “Brandt was introduced to VaynerSports via their partner and verified NFL Agent, Brandon Parker. Brandt and Brandon’s father, legendary agent, the late Eugene Parker, had a close relationship for 30 years during which time Eugene served as a mentor and friend in the industry to Brandt. Brandon foresaw the pivotal impact Brandt could have on the agency and connected him to AJ and Gary Vaynerchuk.”
“I’d been approached by several sports agencies over the years to join as a senior executive, and have respectfully declined,” says Brandt. “Gary and AJ, however, presented a differentiated offer with added value. While lending my experience and expertise to the growing representation side, I also hope to leverage Gary’s expansive audience to scale my own Business of Sports content. An opportunity to tap into unique speaking engagements, entrepreneurial gatherings and other ‘next’ projects, whether individually or alongside Gary, made too much sense to pass up.”
VaynerSports co-founder, Brian McLaughlin commented, “As a leader in the sports industry, Brandt will be instrumental in continuing to grow the VaynerSports team. His experience, especially from his time on the team side, is invaluable. Andrew will be a strong advocate for our clients, combining his knowledge and passion to achieve top results.”
With Brandt joining VaynerSports, the power-dynamics that Brandon, AJ, and Brandt generate come together harmoniously to build out a top-tier football team. Co-founder and entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuk tweeted, “Huge day for @vaynersports – @ajv they’ll see soon enough”, acknowledging his brother and the future impact of VaynerSports.
Brandt begins his role at VaynerSports effective immediately.