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NFL Players Sports Agents

Top NFL Agents And Agencies By Number Of Clients – August 2017

Seattle Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor (31) celebrates a hit on St. Louis Rams' Stedman Bailey in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2013, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

The following guest contribution is provided by Hardik Sanghavi, who graduated from DePaul University in 2016 with a major in finance and minor in accounting. During his time at DePaul, Hardik interned with ESPN Chicago and Priority Sports & Entertainment. He now works as a Commercial Underwriter in the Insurance Industry and writes for Overthecap.com. You can follow him on twitter at @hardiks94.

As we enter the fourth week of preseason, roster cut-downs are quickly approaching. With approximately 1,200 players being released next week, the number of active agents in the industry will certainly shrink as well. Maybe if you want to grow your client list you should be aware of innovations like a video business card. Hopefully, this hasn’t come too late for these agents. However, one agent who doesn’t have to worry about being clientless next week is Octagon’s new Director of Football, Casey Muir. Muir’s name will certainly be worth keeping any eye on, especially during recruiting season. Making the jump from a boutique firm, where Muir spent 7 years as President, to joining an entity with a powerful brand name and resources of a publicly traded subsidiary, Muir could be competing to sign some of the top prospects entering the 2018 NFL Draft. If Muir can deliver, Octagon could finally move past its struggles over the last few years from agent turnover and the shrinkage of their NFL client list.

In other news, Paramount Sports & Entertainment, a Virginia based agency led by Alvin Keels, had a huge month in new deals as Kam Chancellor and Xavier Rhodes signed a $36M and $70.1M extension respectively. This brings the agency’s Contract Under Management figure to approximately $172M. Below are some other notable deals over the last month:

I’ve also started to track agent movement and player-agent changes. The first two tables below illustrate agents who have recently become active (minimum of 1 client on active roster) and inactive (0 clients on an active roster). The 3rd table below illustrates notable player-agent changes. All 3 tables reflect month over month changes.

Notable Player-Agent Changes

Lastly, to cap off this month’s Agent Client Report, below is an updated snapshot of the Agent Industry:

Industry Snapshot (8.26.17)

  • Players Under Contract with Representation: 2926 (includes players on NFI/PUP)
  • Active Agents: 545 (minimum of 1 active client)
  • Active Agencies: 358

Top Ten Agencies by Contracts Under Management

  • CAA: $2.98B Contracts Under Management; 175 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Todd France: 69 clients (40 co-repped)
      • Tom Condon: 48 clients (22 co-repped)
      • James Sexton: 47 clients (28 co-repped)
  • Athletes First: $1.99B Contracts Under Management; 135 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • David Mulugheta: 26 clients (7 co-repped)
      • Joe Panos: 24 clients (3 co-repped)
      • Andrew Kessler: 22 clients (9 co-repped)
      • David Dunn: 22 clients (5 co-repped)
  • Rosenhaus Sports: $1.18B Contracts Under Management; 112 Clients
    • Top Agent:
      • Drew Rosenhaus: 111 clients (6 co-repped)
  • Lagardere Unlimited: $1.03B Contracts Under Management; 65 Clients
    • Top Agent:
      • Joel Segal: 64 clients (22 co-repped)
  • Sportstars: $984.34M Contracts Under Management; 156 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Brian Mackler: 49 clients (49 co-repped)
      • Jared Fox: 46 clients (38 co-repped)
      • Jonathan Perzley: 42 clients (39 co-repped)
      • David Butz: 37 clients (9 co-repped)
      • Alan Herman: 34 clients (31 co-repped)
      • James Ivler: 30 clients (27 co-repped)
  • Select Sports Group: $606.97M Contracts Under Management; 93 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Jeffrey Nalley: 34 clients (16-co-repped)
      • Erik Burkhardt: 30 clients (10 co-repped)
  • Rep 1 Sports Group: $569.65M Contracts Under Management; 60 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Chase Callahan: 26 clients (2 co-repped)
      • Ryan Tollner: 24 clients (3 co-repped)
  • Independent Sports & Entertainment: $569.63M Contracts Under Management; 54 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Doug Hendrickson: 35 clients (17 co-repped)
      • C.J. Laboy: 22 clients (17 co-repped)
  • SportsTrust Advisors: $521.63M Contracts Under Management; 47 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Patrick Dye: 27 clients (2 co-repped)
      • William Johnson: 20 clients (2 co-repped)
  • Priority Sports & Entertainment: $394.84M Contracts Under Management; 76 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Mike McCartney: 34 Clients
      • Kenny Zuckerman: 17 Clients

 

Just Missed

 

  • BC Sports: $355.42M Contracts Under Management; 48 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Bus Cook: 48 clients (42 co-repped)
      • Donald Weatherell: 41 clients (41 co-repped)
  • PlayersRep Sports Management: $267.36M Contracts Under Management; 52 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Andy Simms: 32 clients (25-co-repped)
      • Ken Sarnoff: 21 clients (5 co-repped)

 

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.