Darren Heitner
Founder/Chief Editor/General News Writer
Darren Heitner has more experience in the sports agent industry than most people that are more than twice his age. He has created the first sports agent blog on the internet, SportsAgentBlog.com, which receives upwards of 5,000 unique visits per day from agents, athletes, media sources, and the general public. In the blog, everything from contract negotiations to endorsement deals are examined, providing the framework for a great deal of information upon which he has been able to depend.
Darren graduated from the University of Florida in May 2007 with a Political Science Major and was valedictorian of his class. He is a member of many Honors Societies including, Florida Blue Key, Phi Beta Kappa, and Phi Kappa Phi. He is now taking classes at the University of Florida Levin School of Law in order to better represent his clients.
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Chris Lesley
International Issues, The Wash Up
Chris began contributing to the blog in November 2006. Being the only contributor outside of the United States, Chris makes the blog a global source for sports agent news. He graduated from Deakin University in 2005 with a Degree in Commerce. At Deakin, he majored in Sports Management, which is the most respected Sports Management program in Australia.
Paul Schackman
Controversial Topics
Paul joined the team in June of 2007. He has had two internships in the past: one with ESPN and the other with the New York Dragons arena football team. He graduated from Hofstra University in May 2006 with degree in Marketing and is currently enrolled at Manhattanville College, where he will earn a Masters Degree in Sports Business Management.
James Alexander Taylor
International Issues, Soccer
James joined the team in November 2007. He graduated with a second class honours degree in Law from the University of Southampton, UK in summer 2007. Currently studying Sports Law at King’s College London, James will offer an alternative dimension to the team by providing insight from a UK/European perspective. In particular, he covers legal issues relating to sport in the EU and other sporting topics in general. Being a huge soccer enthusiast, James’ contribution is largely, but not exclusively limited to, soccer.
Zak Kurtz
Sports Law
Zak began contributing to the blog in June of 2008. He is a 2007 graduate in Political Science, with minors in Legal Studies and History from Roanoke College in Virginia. Following graduation, he earned his paralegal certificate from Boston University. He is now in his first year at Thomas M. Cooley Law School in East Lansing, MI and will is studying to become a Sports and Entertainment Agent. Zak played many sports before becoming an all-state soccer player. He won a state championship in 2002 and went on to play four years of college soccer. He has played all over the world, with many current MLS and EPL players. He recently created a blog called, Live From Law School.
Dominic Perilli
Contractual Negotiations
Dominic started contributing to SportsAgentBlog.com in October 2008. At 18 years old, he is the youngest contributor. His role is to analyze all of the hot contract negotiation stories. Dominic is starting as a freshman at Temple University and is majoring in Accounting. After Temple, Dominic plans on attending law school to further him in his path to being a successful sports agent.
Michael Goldman
Sports Business
Michael joined the SportsAgentBlog.com team in February 2009. He graduated in 2008 from the University of Florida with a degree in History. In the fall of 2009 he will enroll in law school. He has been an intern with Q2 Sports & Entertainment since March 2008. Michael enjoys researching all areas of the sports industry, but is specifically interested in athletes’ business ventures, marketing & sponsorships, and athlete-agent relations. While his primary goal is to represent athletes, he plans to explore other areas of entertainment, most specifically representing music artists.
Brandon Thorn
NFL Draft
Brandon began writing at NFLDraftdog.com. He wrote multiple scouting reports, an all-pro team, while also covering the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brandon has been a Security Forces member in the U.S. Air Force for over two years with already one tour in Iraq. He is ten credit hours away from his Associates in Criminal Justice while also going to school at American Military University for a Bachelor’s in Sports and Health Science with a concentration on Sports Management. Brandon is not just a die-hard Denver Broncos fan, he has grown to know, respect, and appreciate every NFL franchise. His number one passion is the NFL, particularly in the scouting & personnel department and he aspires to become a NFL personnel director someday. Not only is Brandon very knowledgeable about the NFL, but the NBA and MLB as well.
Richard Kimsey
Investigative Journalism
Richard Kimsey is a sophomore Sports Management and Marketing double major at Seton Hall University. He has been a contributor to SportsAgentBlog.com since March 2009. Richard has had stories appear in the sports section of daily newspapers such as the Courier News of Bridgewater, NJ, the Home News Tribune of East Brunswick, NJ, and the weekly Hunterdon County Democrat of Flemington, NJ. He is the sports editor of Seton Hall’s business school paper, The Stillman Exchange, and is also the president of the Sports Management Student Association. Richard plans to attend law school upon graduation.
Daniel Furey
Hockey Topics
Dan began contributing to the blog in June 2008. He recently completed his law degree at the University of New Brunswick and is working at a law firm in is hometown of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from Memorial University. His main writing interests revolve around the National Hockey League and he hopes to work in professional sports one day soon.
Cruz Herr
U.S. and International Soccer Affairs
Cruz began contributing in June 2009. He will graduate from Central College in Pella, Iowa on August 6th, 2009. At Central, Cruz was involved in soccer, politics, Spanish club, business club, and campus activities board. He majored in business management with an emphasis in marketing and Spanish. Currently, Cruz is interning for the commissioner of the Regional Indoor Soccer League, a professional indoor soccer league in development. Cruz aspires to become an athlete rep and plans to earn his MBA after gaining valuable work experience. His experience and insight in the sport of soccer will provide passionate articles regarding current transfers and contract negotiations in leagues all over the world. The majority of his contributions will offer informative articles on soccer; however, Cruz has knowledge in all sports.
