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Sports Agents

Top NFL Agents And Agencies By Contracts Under Management – January 2018

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - SEPTEMBER 24: Rashaan Melvin #30 of the Indianapolis Colts in action against the Cleveland Browns at Lucas Oil Stadium on September 24, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

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.

During the last few months, NFL Agents visited college campuses across the country to recruit draft- eligible players to their client roster. With the majority of incoming rookies now committed to an agency, I wanted to take a look at where the top agencies have found the most recruiting success based on their active client roster.

The table below illustrate the colleges that have generated the most clients for each of the top agencies. One trend to point out relates to the location of an agency and the success of recruiting in that area. For example, Athletes First is based out of Laguna Hills and 12.4% of the agencies client roster played college football at USC. Other agencies that seem to have leveraged their local presence in recruiting is Rosenhaus Sports Representation and Select Sports Group. RSR is based in Miami and 18.1% of their active clients are Miami Hurricanes while 34% played college football in the state of Florida. Select Sports Group is headquartered in Houston and approx. 34% of their client roster played football in the state of Texas.

In other notable news, Young Money APAA acquired Cleveland based PlayersRep Sports,  bringing their NFL client count to 46. The acquisition adds to the growing trend of mergers/acquisitions activity in recent years, in a list which includes CAA and Five Star Athlete Management, Paramount Sports & Entertainment and 320 Sports, and Rep 1 Sports and The Novo Agency. A reason for the increased M&A activity could be linked to the rising costs in representing players and the pressure on lowering commissions. With margins decreasing for agencies, I would expect more mergers in the future and for larger agencies to gain more market share and drive out smaller firms.

Notable Deals

Below are notable deals from November-February. WRs cashed in as Davante Adams, Alshon Jeffery, and Larry Fitzgerald signed big deals late in 2017. Sun West Sports also made this list for the second time in a row as the agency negotiated Matt Prater’s $11.4M extension in October and recently Davante Adams $58M extension.

Entrants/Exits

Active/Inactive Agent movement continued to stabilize over the last month. 7 agents became active while 1 agent saw his active client count come down to zero.

Entrants

Exits

Fry, Robert Thomas – Gil Scott Sports Management

Notable Player-Agent Changes

Rashaan Melvin is the biggest name to make an agent change over the last couple months. Melvin, who Pro Football Focus rated as the 17th best CB this past season, will be entering Free Agency and should earn a deal in the $10M APY range.

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

Industry Snapshot (1.26.18)

*Please note Contract Numbers are based off New Money. Any other questions on methodology can be sent to hardiksanghavi29@gmail.com*

  • Players Under Contract with Representation: 2421 (includes players on NFI/IR)
  • Active Agents: 491
  • Active Agencies: 311

Top Ten Agencies by Contracts under Management

  • CAA: $3.25B Contracts Under Management; 175 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Todd France: 69 clients (39 co-repped)
      • Tom Condon: 49 clients (23 co-repped)
      • Jimmy Sexton: 47 clients (32 co-repped)
  • Athletes First: $1.99B Contracts Under Management; 129 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • David Mulugheta: 25 clients (7 co-repped)
      • Joe Panos: 22 clients (1 co-repped)
      • David Dunn: 21 clients (5 co-repped)
      • Andrew Kessler: 21 clients (9 co-repped)
  • Rosenhaus Sports: $1.11B Contracts Under Management; 105 Clients
    • Top Agent:
      • Drew Rosenhaus: 104 clients (6 co-repped)
  • Lagardère Sports: $1.04B Contracts Under Management; 62 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Joel Segal: 54 clients (17 co-repped)
      • Chafie Fields: 18 clients (11 co-repped)
  • Sportstars: $954.60M Contracts Under Management; 134 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Brian Mackler: 47 clients (47 co-repped)
      • Jared Fox: 42 clients (37 co-repped)
      • Jonathan Perzley: 35 clients (33 co-repped)
      • David Butz: 32 clients (8 co-repped)
      • Alan Herman: 31 clients (30 co-repped)
  • Rep 1 Sports Group: $610.92 Contracts Under Management; 62 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Chase Callahan: 24 clients (2 co-repped)
      • Ryan Tollner: 24 clients (3 co-repped)
  • Independent Sports & Entertainment: $567.02M Contracts Under Management; 52 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Doug Hendrickson: 33 clients (15 co-repped)
      • C.J. Laboy: 19 clients (15 co-repped)
  • SportsTrust Advisors: $541.03M Contracts Under Management; 39 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Patrick Dye: 26 clients (4 co-repped)
      • William Johnson: 13 clients (3 co-repped)
  • Select Sports Group: $539.13M Contracts Under Management; 85 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Jeffrey Nalley: 33 clients (15-co-repped)
      • Erik Burkhardt: 25 clients (9 co-repped)
      • Andy Ross: 16 clients (4 co-repped)
  • Priority Sports & Entertainment: $344.77M Contracts Under Management; 51 Clients
    • Top Agents:
      • Mike McCartney: 27 Clients
      • Kenny Zuckerman: 14 Clients

Previous Reports

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.