Priority Sports and Entertainment
Priority Sports and Entertainment is a full service sports management firm, representing NFL and NBA athletes, based in Chicago, Illinois and Sherman Oaks, California.
Priority Sports is one of the largest independently owned sports agencies in America.[1] It was founded in 1985 by Mark Bartelstein,[2][3] when he quit his job as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley to become a sports agent.[4] That year, Bartelstein set up a workspace in a small office behind a print shop in Chicago and began cold-calling people in the sports industry.[5] The company has grown during the last 25 years and now represents clients in both the NBA and the NFL.[6] Over the past two years, Priority Sports has negotiated more than $840 million in contract deals for free agent athletes in the NFL and NBA.[7]
Since founding Priority Sports, Bartelstein has been rated as one of the most influential sports agents by Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal.[8] Bartelstein first gained acclaim after negotiating the contract for NBA star John "Hot Rod" Williams[9] because it made him the highest paid player in the history of team sports at the time.[10]
Basketball Division
Player Agents
The company has represented more than 20 First Round NBA Draft picks. In the 2010 NBA Draft, Priority Sports represented four athletes who were drafted in the First Round.[11] This was more than any other agency.[12]
Athletes
Priority Sports represents the following NBA athletes:
- David Lee (Golden State Warriors) In 2010, Lee agreed to a sign and trade that moved him from the New York Knicks to the Warriors with a contract worth $80,000,000 over six years.[13]
- Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers) The 17th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, in 2008 Granger signed a five-year, 100% guaranteed contract extension with the Pacers worth $64,000,000.[14]
- Mo Williams (Milwaukee Bucks) In 2007, Williams signed a six-year, 100% guaranteed contract worth $52,000,000 with the Bucks before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008.[15]
- Paul George (Indiana Pacers) The 10th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, George signed a contract worth $11,000,000 over four years with the Pacers.[16]
- Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz) The 11th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Hayward signed a $11,000,000 contract over four years with the Jazz.[17]
Other NBA athletes Priority Sports represents include: Damion James, Jordan Crawford, Brad Miller, Brian Grant, Joe Crawford, J.R. Giddens, Javaris Crittenton, Charlie Bell, Bobby Brown, Bobby Simmons, Will Bynum, Mark Blount, Brian Cardinal, Michael Dickerson, Trenton Hassell, James Posey, Charlie Bell, Jannero Pargo, and Darius Songaila.
Contract Advisors
Priority Sports has worked with NFL athletes for over twenty years. In addition to Bartelstein, Kenny Zuckerman works as a contract advisor for the company.[18]
Athletes
Priority Sports represents the following NFL athletes:
- Robert Gallery (Oakland Raiders) The second pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, Gallery signed a seven-year contract worth $60,000,000 and an $18,000,000 signing bonus.[19]
- Tyson Alualu (Jacksonville Jaguars) The tenth pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, Alualu signed a five-year contract worth nearly $28,000,000 including over $17,000,000 in guaranteed money.[20]
- Levi Jones (Cincinnati Bengals) A 2002 1st Round Pick, signed a six-year contract extension worth $40,095,000, including $16,295,000 in guaranteed money.[21]
- Kurt Warner (Arizona Cardinals) (retired) The 1999 and 2001 [NFL MVP], [Super Bowl XXXIV] Winner & MVP signed a two-year contract worth $24,000,000 with $19,000,000 guaranteed.[22]
- AJ Hawk (Green Bay Packers) The fifth pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, signed a six-year contract worth $40,000,000 with over $15,000,000 in guaranteed money.[23]
- Jake Delhomme (Cleveland Browns) A 2005 Pro Bowl quarterback, Delhomme was released by the Carolina Panthers in 2010, and then signed a two-year deal worth $12,500,000 with the Browns during free agency. Because of contract language that was in his deal with Carolina, the Panthers still had to pay him $12,700,000 in guaranteed money, bringing his 2010 salary to a total of $19,700,000.[24]
- Joe Staley (San Francisco 49ers) A first round pick in 2007, Staley signed a six-year contract extension worth $42,000,000 with $18,000,000 guaranteed after playing two years of his initial rookie contract.[25]
- Haloti Ngata (Baltimore Ravens) The 12th Pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, signed a five-year contract worth $14,000,000 with over $9,000,000 in guaranteed money.[26]
- Olin Kreutz (Chicago Bears) A perennial Pro Bowler, Kreutz signed a three-year contract extension for $25,000,000 with a $9,000,000 signing bonus.[27]
- Kevin Mawae (Tennessee Titans) Currently serves as the President of the National Football League Players Association.
Other NFL athletes Priority Sports represents include: Arian Foster, Nate Kaeding, Koa Misi, Mike Pollak, Alterraun Verner, Sean Lee, and Jason Jones, Kyle Kosier, Dominic Raiola, Isaac Sopoaga, Madieu Williams, Kris Dielman, Tony Pashos, Alan Faneca, Luis Castillo.
References
- ^ http://www.prioritysports.biz/basketball/documents/PrioritySaysNoSale-SBJ.pdf
- ^ http://hoopshype.com/agents/mark_bartelstein.htm
- ^ http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/59800
- ^ http://alumni.kellogg.northwestern.edu/profiles/alumni/mbartelstein.htm
- ^ http://alumni.kellogg.northwestern.edu/profiles/alumni/mbartelstein.htm
- ^ http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/59800
- ^ http://www.prioritysports.biz/basketball/documents/PrioritySaysNoSale-SBJ.pdf
- ^ http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/59800
- ^ http://alumni.kellogg.northwestern.edu/profiles/alumni/mbartelstein.htm
- ^ http://prioritysports.biz/football/MarkBartelsteinFootball.html
- ^ http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/140313
- ^ http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/140313
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nba/news/story?id=5364903
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3676045
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2947884
- ^ http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/contracts
- ^ http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/contracts
- ^ http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/59800
- ^ http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_contract.aspx?sport=NFL&id=1656
- ^ http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/08/02/tyson-alualu-agrees-to-terms-with-jaguars/
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2529573
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3951664
- ^ http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?id=3629&sport=nfl
- ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/03/14/mmqb/3.html
- ^ http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_contract.aspx?sport=nfl&id=4213
- ^ http://bal.scout.com/2/550951.html
- ^ http://www.chicagobears.com/team/player.asp?player_id=49
External links