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Headline NBA Players Sports Agents

Mayo Is Searching For A New Combo Of Advisors

O.J. Mayo

Yesterday, Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal tweeted that O.J. Mayo, the Memphis Grizzlies guard going into his sophomore season in the NBA, has dropped both his marketing agency and contractual advisor.  His representation for team contracts was Leon Rose of Creative Artists Agency.  Mayo’s marketing agency was LRMR Marketing, a company that has LeBron James on the board.

Mullen tweeted that CAA confirmed Mayo’s termination of CAA, but we still do not know exactly why Mayo chose to start fresh on marketing and contractual help.

O.J. Mayo had a terrific rookie season that included averages of 18.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 38 minutes per game.  And I am sure that many agents were in his ear throughout the year.  That would be a solid reason for why Mayo would drop smaller agencies for names like CAA and LRMR.  In this case, Mayo has dropped some big dogs, and we will wait and see who will be the replacements.

In case you have a short memory, Mayo was represented by BDA Sports before people found out about Rodney Guillory, a runner for BDA Sports and Calvin Andrews, gave money to Mayo while he was an NCAA student-athlete.  Andrews was suspended by the NBPA and Mayo started looking for new representation.  The rumor was that it was a race between Leon Rose and Andy Miller, with Rose winning out in the end.

And now we are once again left to wonder who Mayo will choose to become a part of his team of advisors.

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.