Sports agents represent the most famous and talented athletes in the world; and sports management firms are the ones who employ them. They are responsible for managing a wide variety of players, worth a lot of money, and there are some pretty formidable agencies out there. We’ve put together a list of the five most powerful sports management firms in the United States, responsible for managing athletes worth millions of dollars.
1. Independent Sports & Entertainment
This sports management firm used to be known as Relativity Sports. The firm has negotiated more than $3 billion worth of player contracts, making more than $100 million in commissions alone. Even though their parent company filed bankruptcy, ISE isn’t stopping any time soon. The firm may have taken a hit, but with their agents representing the likes of Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings, Marshawn Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks, and Dwight Howard of the Houston Rockets, ISE’s power is continuing to rise.
2. Wasserman Media Group
As one of the frontrunners of the sports agency industry, Wasserman represents a wide range of clients. While most other agencies usually specialize in certain types of players or in certain sports, Wasserman keeps clients in a wide range of sports, like golf, tennis, and the NBA. The firm is known for going the extra mile for their clients, performing marketing and endorsement contract negotiations. Wasserman Media Group represents athletes like Anthony Davis, Lamarcus Aldridge, and Russell Westbrook from the NBA, and Zach Johnson the golfer.
3. Boras Corporation
The namesake of the company is represented by world-renowned sports agent Scott Boras. He is considered the single-most successful agent in the industry and his firm has negotiated more than $2 billion in negotiations. The agency will earn more than $130 million in commissions and is generally feared by managers and peers. They represent mostly baseball players; representing athletes like Jacoby Ellsbury, Stephen Strasburg, Prince Fielder, Matt Holiday, and Max Scherzer. Scott Boras created his company from nothing, becoming one of the most formidable and effective agencies in the country.
4. Excel Sports Management
This New York-based firm represents some of the biggest athletes in baseball, basketball, and gold. They are known for their exceptionally long list of young, talented players like Freddie Freeman, Masahiro Tanaka, and Joc Pederson. Recently the agency has become the number 1 basketball agency in the world, negotiating million dollar deals for players like Andre Drummond, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love, and Blake Griffin. Excel doesn’t slack in the golf department either, representing golfers like Justin Rose and Tiger Woods.
5. Creative Artists Agency
Forbes ranked Creative Artists Agency number 1 on its list of World’s Most Valuable Sports Agencies of 2016. The firm is extremely successful; “its estimated total contracts under management value to $7.8 billion, which will earn the Hollywood mega agency an astounding $290 million in commissions over the next several years.” CAA represents some of the biggest athletes in many different sports like Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Aaron Mintz, Carmelo Anthony, Jeff Berry, and Matt Ryan. And it’s easy to see why they lead the sports agent industry with agents like Tom Condon and Jimmy Secton in their employ.
Professional athletes are represented by some of the most powerful agencies in the country. The list above is full of the some of the richest, most powerful, and most feared of these agencies. These sports management firms negotiate million-dollar deals every day, becoming loyal managers to their client’s careers and responsible for their success.
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