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MLB Players Sports Business

Octagon Acquires Bulk Of CSMG

A little over a year ago, I reported on the internal struggles over at CSMG headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.  The company was spending a lot of money being on projects that had not yet amounted to anything worthwhile and the company was split over whether to focus more on contractual negotiations or marketing deals.  Meanwhile, founder Alan Nero stepped down as chairman, they were looking for a new CEO, and agent Kennard McGuire left with seventeen CSMG clients.  But it did not seem like the company took a gigantic hit after that news was released, and other than reports here and in SportsBusiness Journal, no one was really talking about CSMG losing much ground in the industry.

In his well written but controversial Sports Agency Power Rankings, Jason Belzer ranked CSMG at #6, wedged between #5 Octagon and #7 Career Sports & Entertainment.  He noted, CSMG has not had recent success in the NBA draft, but its MLB division continues to grow and is one of the largest amongst all agencies.  At the time of Belzer’s post, #5 Octagon was actually deep into negotiations with CSMG about acquiring that strong baseball division along with its coaches, broadcast, legends and marketing divisions.  The deal has just been sealed, and the aforementioned Nero along with roughly twenty CSMG employees and over one-hundred-and-forty CSMG clients will now fall under the Octagon umbrella.

What does this do to the sports agency landscape?  In terms of athlete representation, I believe this move firmly establishes Octagon as a memeber of a new big four (CAA, WMG, Octagon, BEST).  IMG has been going away from its traditional athlete representation business to different kinds of business opportunities in collegiate licensing opportunities, television deals, etc.  It is still a very powerful entity in the sports business world, but has a markedly different composition than the big four.

CSMG will still exist as a basketball operation, with names like Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Ronnie Brewer headlining Henry Thomas’ practice.

Octagon becomes a behemoth in the world of representing baseball players, CSMG’s shareholders will make good money on the sale, and former internal strife seems to have been calmed before any storm let loose.  When a top high school baseball player is looking for an advisor, what company will be more enticing: Boras Corp or Octagon?

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.