The World’s Most Valuable Sports Agencies – Forbes

Creative Artist Agency (CAA) continues its dominance in the sports talent representation industry, once again landing the top spot in Forbes’ global ranking of most valuable sports agencies. Less than a decade after expanding its talent division into the world of professional sports, CAA has negotiated almost $5.6 billion dollars and 1000 years worth of player contracts for the four largest team sports (basketball, football, baseball and hockey), with total contract commissions at close to $206 million!

Led by veteran agents Ben Dogra, Tom Condon and Jimmy Sexton, CAA is anchored by its massive football division. Representing the majority of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks, including the likes of Tony Romo, Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Phillip Rivers, as well as Eli and Peyton Manning, the group manages approximately $2.8 billion worth of player contracts. CAA also houses the industry’s second largest baseball practice, which manages $1.1 billion in MLB deals and represents some the leagues top talent, including: San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, Philadelphia Phillies’ first baseman Ryan Howard, and Chicago White Sox pitcher John Danks.

CAA’s basketball division, headed by agent Leon Rose, ranks third overall within its sport, managing over $700 million in player contracts. Included among its roster of clients are stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat, New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, Los Angeles Clippers’ point guard Chris Paul and Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs.Coupled with its Olympic sports, soccer, golf and coach representation divisions, CAA’s total contracts under management are estimated to be in excess of $6.5 billion.

Baseball mega-agency Boras Corporation and industry newcomer Relativity Sports tie for second in this year’s ranking.

Led by Scott Boras, the single most successful sports agent in history, the firm that bares his name has added an additional $300 million in contracts this past year, bringing its total to $1.94 billion and approximately $97 million in commissions. Boras clients include: Washington Nationals pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg, Chicago White Sox first baseman Prince Fielder, and New York Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

Relativity Sports, a division of Hollywood production house Relativity Media, has taken the sports agency industry by storm with its rise to the top of the industry within just a few short years. Riding the backs of several smaller agency acquisitions, Relativity has negotiated more than $2.82 billion in player contracts, second only to CAA. Although lacking a hockey division, Relativity has a solid roster of clients including: Arizona Cardinals’ wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, New York Knicks’ forward Amar’e Stoudemire, Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard, Chicago Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano and Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera and Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander.

Staying strong at the #4 spot is Wasserman Media Group (WMG), named for its President, Casey Wasserman, grandson of legendary media mogul Lew Wasserman. Home to the most lucrative basketball representation practice in the world, let by Arn Tellem, WMG manages over a billion dollars in NBA contracts alone. Clients include:  Brooklyn Nets’ forward Joe Johnson, point guards Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls’ and Russel Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and center brothers Marc and Paul Gasol.

Canadian based hockey agency Newport Sports Management comes in at #6, with over $1.26 billion in  contracts under management. Led by Don Meehan, the world’s top hockey agent, Newport represents some the NHL’s top talent, including: Minnesota Wild wing Zach Parise and Los Angeles Kings centre Mike Richards.

At #8 is a four way tie that includes football agencies Athletes First and Rosenhaus Sports Representation (RSR). Led by David Dunn, Athletes First has long competed head to head against Drew Rosenhaus and RSR. The agencies represent over 400 NFL players between the two of them, almost a quarter of the league.

The only newcomer to this years rankings is #10 MVP Sports Group, run by baseball agent Dan Lozano. MVP clients include: Cleveland Indians first baseman Nick Swisher, New York Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran and Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols.

Methodology: The valuations in these rankings were compiled through extensive research into the client rosters and contracts negotiated by each agency in the team sports of basketball, football, baseball and hockey. The total contract value under management for each sport was then multiplied by the maximum agent commission (or average where no maximum exists) as allowed by each respective players’ association. Such rates are as follows: NFL (3%), NHL (4%), NBA (4%) and MLB (5%). Thus, agencies are ranked in order of the maximum commissions obtainable from the negotiated contracts, instead of the total value of the contracts.

Due to the small total MLS league payroll and the lack of credible information concerning overseas agency rosters, soccer was not factored into these valuations. While potentially quite lucrative, sports such as tennis and golf were also excluded because of how wildly earnings for players in each of these sports vary from year to year. While agencies also earn income from negotiating marketing and endorsement contracts for their clients, the overall value derived from any such deals is negligible for the average player. While no concrete data exists, Forbes estimates that average professional athlete may make an additional 1-2% of their overall player contract in endorsement earnings, and their agent(s) earn just 20-25% of that.

Special thanks to Gina Barretti for her help in compiling the data for this ranking.

Jason Belzer is Founder of GAME, Inc. and CSA, and a Professor of Organizational Behavior and Sports Law at Rutgers University. Follow him on Twitter @JasonBelzer