It has been a very eventful past couple of weeks for me.  Quite a bit of stuff is still pending; some I wish to keep confidential and other information I feel free to share.  I have accepted a new legal job, which will start in about a week and a half.  I have had an amazing year working at Koch Parafinczuk & Wolf, PA (KPW) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where I have grown tremendously as a litigator.  I am forever thankful for the opportunity that they gave me.  However, I have been offered a position to work directly with a prominent Entertainment/Intellectual Property attorney who has left his firm to start up a new venture from scratch.  It will be the two of us plus a couple of secretaries, and we will be largely focusing on Entertainment/Sports/Intellectual Property matters.  I will certainly provide more information over the next couple of weeks.  In the meantime, I am wrapping up some work at KPW and handling a lot of other matters that need to be taken care of.  Everyone is talking about this article that was written in The Atlantic this week.  I hope to get a chance to finally read it this weekend.  Here are some stories I missed over the past week:

Basketball

• Thoughts on Adam Silver attending the U.S. open with Casey Wasserman? [NBA players storm Vegas for all-pro 'lockout league,' union meeting].
• Arn Tellem, Bill Duffy, Mark Bartelstein, Jeff Schwartz, and Dan Fegan want the NBPA to decertify [Sources: Agents want union to decertify].
• How the NBA’s lawsuit may preclude decertification of the NBPA [GameTime: Labor Roundtable].

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (9/16/2011) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Football

• Referring to Arn Tellem, Wasserman stated, “I’m fortunate enough to get to call him a good friend” [Casey Wasserman: Why I Want an NFL Franchise in L.A.].
• Teague Egan is back, and he wants to build the next Nike [How A 5-Minute Golf Cart Ride Paved One USC Student's Path To Building The Next Nike].
• Nice rap sheet on the attorney [Sources: Former Ohio State football player tipped Tressel to player investigation].

Baseball

• Not quite as much as Boras Corp. [Legacy Sports Group Brokers Over $300MM].
• Issues may include an international draft, mandatory slotting in the draft, expanded playoffs, increased drug testing, lower luxury tax threshold, eliminating the “super two,” etc. [The ABCs of Baseball’s Next CBA].

Basketball

• It all started with the recruitment of Kevin Walls [How Calipari's Relationship With Worldwide Wes Began].
• Read. Of. The. Week! [Industry Insider: Legendary Agent David Falk [Part 1 / 2]].
• Which means you have to read Part 2 [Industry Insider: Legendary Agent David Falk [Part 2 / 2]].

Sports Agents

• The agent is David Arluck of Arluck Promotions [Athlete, agent share 'little steps' to success (with video)].

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (3/11/2011) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Football

• 6% of players suffered at least 1 concussion in 2010 [NFLPA Injury Report Finds Increases During 2010 Season].
• All about Steinberg Party XXV [Steinberg still host with most].
• A lot of praise for Bob LaMonte [Vikings coach Leslie Frazier, agent Bob LaMonte make a good team].
• The perfect majority owner of a future LA franchise? [The grooming of Casey Wasserman]

Baseball

• Nello Gamberdino’s representation of Canseco is no joke [Why One Baseball Agent Is Taking A Chance On 46-Year-Old Client Jose Canseco].
• Boras throws out the acquisition cost argument [Scott Boras Explains Jayson Werth's 7-Year/$126 Million Dollar Deal With The Washington Nationals].

Sports Law

• Fill out your own and get it framed [2011-12 National Letter of Intent].

Action Sports

• This article makes it seem like there is no lack of  endorsement opportunities involving mainstream brands for those at the top [At X Games, Battle for Sponsors Is Also Fierce].

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (2/4/2011) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

In reality, many athlete and agency profiles across various social media platforms are not run by the athletes or top executives themselves.  What too often is the case is that an intern will be given the responsibility of updating Twitter, Facebook, and blog accounts to make it seem like the words are coming straight from the mouth of the athlete or the company CEO, when it could not be further from the truth.  Does this make sense?  In my opinion, no, and if fans/followers/friends catch on (which should not be a hard task), it could be damaging.  Athletes and CEOs, with proper training, can handle the “chore” of posting regularly on these networks, and may even enjoy it.  The one exception for me, is that I will often post updates on my clients’ Facebook Fan Pages just to keep fans updated on achievements of the players and their stats.

It will be much tougher to convince an agency’s CEO to be a regular on social networks than convincing athlete clients (they will probably be on there whether you teach them best practices or not).  After all, why should a CEO bother with the mundane task of sending Tweets containing 140 characters or less, writing lengthy blog posts, or posting updates on Facebook, a site originally created for college students to hookup with and poke each other?

Mashable.com recently talked with Forrester Research CEO George Colony in an effort to understand why so few CEOs are personally using social media and whether or not they should be involved, anyway.

• Fears and issues preventing adoption: Age (most are still trying to switch from the typewriter to the computer), possible regulatory restraints (especially for public companies), risks (of offending customers, partners, BoD and of increased litigation), time.

Casey Wasserman of WMG is tweeting, but he is a young CEO.  Ted Forstmann of IMG and Jonathan Blue of BEST have no Twitter presence.

• Reasons to tweet: Desire (to communicate and to take risks) and audience (will employees and targeted customers listen, participate, comment, criticize?).

If a CEO has absolutely no interest in Tweeting or posting updates to his Facebook page, then there is no reason that the CEO should be forced or encouraged to do so by anybody.  And the CEO also may be someone who is very risk averse.  More importantly, who is the audience for a sports agency CEO?  Is it only the players?  If so, it will be hard to use updates on social media sites to reach those players.  If current clients follow the CEO, they may enjoy reading the updates.  Potential clients will most likely never read them.  But beyond athlete clients, a CEO’s partners, business acquaintances, friends in the media, employees, etc. may appreciate receiving updates, and this granted information may open up doors for opportunities for the CEO’s business.

There is no mandatory number of Tweets or updates for the CEO.  I know that time is a concern, but how often will a CEO be stuck at an airport staring at his Blackberry waiting for the next incoming email to appear?  In that time, why not send out a Tweet updating the world on something that is going on in your or your company’s life?  It makes the CEO seem more like a human being (isn’t that what he is?), which is something employees and clients appreciate.

And it’s not only about posting content.  CEO’s should be keeping up with what is written about them and their companies, and also what others are writing about other companies (including material written by the competition, themselves).  Truthfully, this site should be a bookmark, and CEO’s should also be watching The Master Twitter list of sports agents/agencies.

Should A Sports Agency CEO Be Social Networking? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

It was not all that long ago that IMG was known for its Client Management division, which included many talented athletes not named Tiger Woods.  Jonathan Blue was focused on investing in non-sports businesses and Creative Artists Agency (CAA) was known as one of the best Entertainment agencies in the world.  Today, IMG only manages athletes in individual sports (i.e. tennis and golf), while Blue Entertainment Sports Television (BEST) and CAA are two of the largest athlete representation firms in existence.  CAA represents LeBron James, Peyton Manning, and Ryan Howard. BEST represents John Wall, Reggie Bush, and Chris Johnson.  While CAA has a slightly better roster of talent at the moment, BEST may make a push to take over the top spot.  Lagardere Unlimited, a large French talent-management company, is expected to buy BEST in the near future, which may create a new World War between mega worldwide sports and entertainment agencies.

Meanwhile, Casey Wasserman’s Wasserman Media Group (WMG), is taking notice, but it is doubtful that the company fears the change in the sports agency landscape.  Year after year, WMG’s Arn Tellem defies all odds by continuing to manage clients in the double digits in both basketball and baseball, while finding the time to serve on the Board of Directors for a couple of basketball-related philanthropic events and also write a weekly column for the Huffington Post.

WMG does not represent football players.  CAA, through Tom Condon and Ben Dogra have the most successful football agency, and it is only a division of a larger agency.  It is very rare for an agency to involve itself in another sport in conjunction with a practice in football.  CAA does it, as does BEST, Octagon, and Mark Bartelstein’s Priority Sports, but Drew Rosenhaus and David Dunn of Athletes First are not venturing outside of football any time soon (although Dunn does represent some coaches).

What can be concluded?

1. It is very difficult to manage athletes in more than one sport, especially when the agency has a football division.
2. WMG and Arn Tellem will survive no matter how much other companies grow through acquisitions.
3. CAA’s utter dominance may be threatened.

Roughly a year ago, I suggested that CAA’s dominance may be threatened by a merger.  At that point in time, I made that assumption based on the merger of Endeavor and William Morris Agency.  I presumed that the new mega-agency would develop a sports practice to rival CAA.  Fortunately for CAA and the rest of the industry, that new practice never took shape.  Instead of WME, CAA needs to take note of the potential buy out of BEST by Lagardere.

State Of The Sports Agent Industry from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Yesterday, SportsBusiness Journal released its annual 50 most influential people in sports business list.  Baseball tied Football with locking up the most slots (8 for each), Jacques Rogge (President of the International Olympic Committee) was ranked #1, and six agent types/groups were listed.

#26 – George Pyne (President of IMG Sports & Entertainment)

#32 – Casey Wasserman (Chairman and CEO of Wasserman Media Group)

#37 – Michael Levine / Howard Nuchow (Co-Heads of CAA Sports)

#38 – Scott Boras (The Scott Boras Corp.)

#44 - Tom Condon / Ben Dogra (Co-Heads of CAA Football)

#47 – Rick Dudley / Phil de Picciotto (Presidents at Octagon)

Interesting fact: Casey Wasserman (@CaseyWasserman) is the only person listed above who has a Twitter account and somewhat regularly tweets.

Influential People According To SportsBusiness Journal from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

16. Theodore Forstmann Chairman, CEO, IMG (2007 – #26)

37. Scott Boras President, Boras Corp. (2007 – #12)

43. George Pyne President, IMG Sports and Entertainment (2007 – #59)

46. Casey Wasserman Chairman, CEO, Wasserman Media Group (2007 – #79)

70. Tom Condon NFL Agent, CAA (2007 – #90)

98. Arn Tellem President, WMG Management (2007 – #83)

Not ranked. Gene Upshaw Chairman, NFLPA (2007 – #33)

Not ranked. Mark Steinberg SVP and global managing director of golf, IMG (2007 – #72)

Observations

• Similar to last year, I must say that IMG is getting mucho love from the voters.  Forstmann and Pyne received a boost; however, what the hell happened to Steinberg?  He gets his client, Tiger Woods, #1 for two consecutive years and has his name drop off the list?  Where is the justice in that?
• Gene Upshaw, may he rest in piece, must have been left off the list due to his recent death.  Had he still been living, I would bet my money that he makes the list in 2008.
• Wasserman jumps more than thirty slots but Tellem goes down fifteen?  Tellem absolutely tore it up this year with BJ Armstrong is his more than able wingman.  At least no basketball agent was positioned ahead of Tellem on the list.
• Boras has had his fair share of bad moments in the media this year.  While he is still making a lot of money for his clients, I understand why voters have positioned him lower on the rankings.

Last, here is an interesting opinion from Darren Rovell of CNBC regarding agents in this listing:

The most glaring omission from a sector standpoint is the agents. Most notably, Drew Rosenhaus, who I had as No. 20 on my list, is even not in BW’s top 100. Agents Scott Boras (37), Tom Condon (70) and Arn Tellem (98) appear on the list, but I might have had Aaron and Eric Goodwin on the list this year, particularly because of the shoe deals they structured for Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard and Candace Parker.

I agree.  Rosenhaus above the Goodwins, but all of them deserve to be mentioned.  Next question…

BusinessWeek’s 2008 Power 100 from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

First of all, an agency must have multiple representation or business divisions to be considered for the Power Rankings.  In order to determine why one agency deserved to be ranked above another, I created several criteria for judging purposes. Listed below, in order of relative weight of importance, are the criteria.

1. Quality of athletes in each division
2. Track record and respectability of division’s agents
3. Recent success in NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL drafts
4. Quality of overall agency leadership
5. Recent growth, acquisitions and startups
6. Future growth potential
7. Quality of services provided by each division
8. Number of athletes in each division
9. Number of divisions
10. Quantity of athletes lost to other agencies

Notice that much more weight is given to qualitative factors rather than quantitative. It can be agreed that representing two 1st round draft picks is worth more then representing six 7th round picks. Almost as important as the actual clientele are the agents and management that run the firm. Agencies who are well known for their negotiating talent, respectability amongst industry peers, and visions for the future fair much better then ones who have gotten their clients terrible contracts and are loathed by clients and competitors alike.

Sport Agency Power Rankings

#1 Wasserman Media Group

To say that Wasserman Media Group (WMG) has had incredible success over the last year is a true understatement. With already strong baseball and soccer divisions, WMG was able to expand and then position itself to dominate its own niche in action sports representation. More importantly, and due largely in part to the hiring of agent BJ Armstrong, Wasserman’s basketball division has absolutely exploded, and has become THE premiere basketball representation division in the country. WMG’s leadership is second to none as Casey Wasserman, arguably the most successful young executive in all of sports, heads the company.

Notable Clients: Sammy Sosa, Ben Wallace, Antawn Jamison, Derrick Rose, Landon Donovan.

#2 Creative Artist Agency

In terms of sheer quantity and quality of athletes, one would be hard pressed to find a better and more prestigious agency than Creative Artist Agency (CAA). With strong divisions in all major sports and entertainment and an instantly recognizable client base, it is difficult not to give CAA the top spot in the rankings. What has dropped it to the #2 spot, though, is the bad reputation of some of its agents, a ‘relative’ lack of success in the recent NBA draft (notably losing Derrick Rose to WMG), and its sheer size, which for most athletes and personalities is just too big. Leon Rose, Tom Condon, and Ben Dogra amongst other agents of the firm are far from admired by most of their colleagues and industry peers.

Notable Clients: Derek Jeter, Lebron James, Payton Manning, Sydney Crosby, David Beckham, Tony Hawk.

#3 Blue Entertainment Sports Television

During the course of the last year, the sports and entertainment subsidiary of venture capital firm Blue Equity, Blue Entertainment Sports Television (BEST), has positioned itself as one of the top players in the sports representation industry. With acquisitions of Black Wave Media (Basketball), Joel Segal (Football), Game Seven (Coaches) and SFX (Tennis), BEST has surpassed (or just brought up) many firms who have been around for decades more, and is poised to give both WMG and CAA a run for its money. BEST did not see great success in this past year’s NFL and NBA drafts, but strong leadership by COO Michael Principe most definitely insures that BEST will be on the track to future growth and success.

Notable Clients: Reggie Bush, Michael Vick, Rasheed Wallace, Tom Crean, Andy Roddick, Justin Henin.

#4 International Management Group

International Management Group is the grandfather of all agencies and is considered amongst the old guard of athlete management and representation firms. For sheer monetary value, IMG and its respective properties cannot be matched by any other agency. Recent estimates have put the company’s worth at over 2 billion dollars. IMG has divisions in sports and modeling representation, collegiate and professional sports franchise marketing, and corporate and media sports consulting. IMG has moved away from team sports representation in recent years, its football division most notably ending up at CAA. Regardless, IMG represents the most financially successful athletes and personalities in the world and is by far the largest mover and shaker in the world of sports marketing and representation.

Notable Clients: Tiger Woods, Freddy Adu, Jeff Gordon, Tom Coughlin.

#5 Octagon

Also considered amongst the older guard of agencies, Octagon has set itself apart from IMG by continuing to be a strong player in not only sports marketing and consulting, but athlete representation as well. With solid football, basketball, Olympic sports and golf divisions, Octagon remains one of the elite management firms. Octagon will soon expand to both the MLB and NHL and has strong leadership under CEO Rick Dudley and Phil de Picciotto, President of Athletes and Personalities. There is little doubt that Octagon will continue to be a major player in the representation industry and one of the premiere leaders in the sponsorship marketing and consulting sector.

Notable Clients: Chris Paul, Rudy Gay, Aaron Rodgers, Bill Cowher, Mike Hulbert.

#6 CSMG

CSMG marks a drop off from the larger agencies with unlimited budgets and millions of dollars invested in intellectual properties and events. CSMG’s areas of strength include its basketball and baseball divisions. The firm also has a ‘masters’ division, which includes many of the top baseball coaches in the country as well as many notable play-by-play announcers. CSMG has not had recent success in the NBA draft, but its MLB division continues to grow and is one of the largest amongst all agencies.

Notable Clients: Dwyane Wade, Anthony Parker, Felix Hernandez, Ken Macha, Neil Everett.

#7 Career Sports & Entertainment

Career Sports & Entertainment has one of the more prominent basketball coach representation divisions in the nation, which includes many of the most celebrated NBA and college coaches. Along with their coaches, Career Sports has a respectable baseball and golf division and one of the leading sports broadcasting divisions around. Interestingly enough, as their broadcasting division continues to gain strength, their coaching division has taken a substantial hit as of late with the losses of Billy Donovan, Tom Crean (now at BEST) and the scandal laden Kelvin Sampson.

Notable Clients: Doc Rivers, Eddie Jordan, Clark Kellogg, Erin Andrews, Bobby Cox

# 8 Premier Sports Management

Premier Sports Management was a mid-size but relatively low-key football representation firm until this spring. It joined forces with the law firm of Stinson Morrison Hecker to create Premier Stinson, a firm that represents over 75 elite level coaches. With hands down the largest multi-sport coaches division in the country, combined with a respectable football division and several broadcasting clients, Premier has launched itself into the Top 10 of the Agency Power Rankings.

Notable Clients: Drew Bennett, Willie McGinest, Laila Ali, Pete Caroll, Roy Williams

#9 Athletes First

Headed by David Dunn (of Steinberg, Moorad, and Dunn infamy), Athletes First’s concentration is football with a small but respectable baseball division, and a handful of football coaches on both the NFL and NCAA level. Athletes First has not had incredible success in either the NFL or MLB draft as of late, but represents several recent late first day and second day draft picks.

Notable Clients: Joey Harrington, Matthew Hasselback, Ray Lewis, Dennis Erickson, Bill Musgrave.

#10 The Agency

The Agency Sports Management & Marketing has continued to build a legitimate sports management practice by creating partnerships with larger firms and independent agents. The Agency only exclusively represents a few of its clients, notably its coaches and some of its broadcasters. At any rate, they have become proven leaders in sports and client marketing, which in turn has allowed them to build a deep network of agencies willing to outsource work to them.

Notable Clients: Troy Aikman, Carmelo Anthony, Ben Howland, Mike Brey, Stephon Marbury.

This article is a guest contribution by Jason Belzer.  His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of any SportsAgentBlog.com contributors.<–>

Sport Agency Power Rankings from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules