Top 13 Sport Talent Management Agencies for 2025

NeoReach’s talent management wing not only takes over the athletes’ inboxes but also handles their contracts and deal negotiations meticulously. In doing so, the agency ensures its clients get the most out of every brand deal or opportunity. Since NeoReach stays on top of all sports events and championships, they excel at positioning their sports talent in the right place at the right time. 

The agency’s experts also act as reliable advocates for sports influencers, guiding them through the content creation process and advising them on maximizing their earning potential. NeoReach believes in holistic growth for its clients, which means that their focus is not just on social media.

They also secure opportunities in other areas like speaking engagements, traditional media appearances, product launches, and merchandise. The agency also provides resources to athletes for entrepreneurship and personal branding, as their ultimate goal is to create a multi-faceted career for their clients.

For beginners, the agency offers internships. High school or college athletes can enroll in their internships to get hands-on experience in influencer marketing. 

NeoReach’s proprietary influencer identification platform allows brands to collaborate with over 5 million influencers, many of which are in the sports industry. Some of the sports in which the agency manages talent are fishing, running, martial arts, rugby, sailing, hockey, shooting, football, figure skating, bowling, and bicycling.

Key services include:

• Paid media advertising
• Influencer marketing logistics
• Marketing campaign optimization
• Experiential influencer campaign activations

NeoReach Client Success

DraftKings, a sports betting platform that covers multiple leagues in the US, wanted to expand its presence to TikTok, as that’s where most young sports fans spend their time. The brand wanted to increase its follower count and attract new audiences. Not only that, DraftKings also wanted to create an influencer base with whom they could keep collaborating in the future.

NeoReach dove into its roster of sports talent and found 50 influencers across TikTok to create content for the brand at the beginning of the NFL season.

DraftKings case study

Strategic Approach

Here’s how NeoReach created a connection between the sports talent in its network and the brand:

• Identified sports influencers who had more than 80% of their audience in the brand’s target market
• Created a hashtag campaign, #MakeItReign, in which influencers created their own touchdown dances and encouraged followers to do the same
• Used an original song as the background sound for this dance campaign
• Gathered organic fan content to increase DraftKings’ brand awareness.

The campaign increased the brand’s TikTok following by more than 30,000 followers. They also garnered 10.9 million views for the hashtag campaign and earned $459k in influencer media value. 

Moburst assists sports talent by connecting them with brands that need their influence to target specific audiences. Since Moburst specializes in most aspects of digital marketing, including social media content creation and optimization, they can further be at their sports clients’ side throughout the brand collaboration process.

They also have a history of working with online game developers and platforms, such as PlugSports. So, you can expect them to bring the same kind of edge and experience when it comes to marketing your sports career.

The talent management agency has a four-step approach, which begins with defining the brand’s goals for the campaign. Then, Moburst conducts research to determine which of its sports talents will be the best fit for the brand. The next step is recruitment, during which Moburst handles the negotiations and contract discussions on behalf of both the sports talent and the brands.

The last step is content creation. Here, Moburst works hand in hand with both the brand and the sports talent to create content that checks all the boxes for the client’s campaign objectives.

Key services include:

• Marketing strategy
• Creative and content
• Media buying
• Digital transformation

Moburst Client Success

Moburst advertises itself as a mobile-first marketing agency, which means it focuses on mobile platforms and apps. So, the agency has a track record of partnering sports talent with such developers. One of these examples comes from PlugSports, a recruitment app for student-athletes.

When PlugSports came to Moburst, their objective was to increase installs and sign-ups for their app. They wanted to do this without spending too much money; the budget was around $60k.

Moburst realized that meeting the client’s goal would be possible through influencer marketing, but they’d have to be strategic. The agency identified 14 post-high school athletes cum influencers who could highlight the inequality in the recruitment process.

Strategic Approach

Moburst’s strategy was to present PlugSports as an excellent option for high school students who were interested in pursuing sports at college. To ensure a balanced perspective and show the app’s versatile use, the agency worked with both male and female influencers. Here’s how the strategy worked:

• Collaborated with 14 influencers to create videos highlighting sports recruitment inequality and presenting PlugSports as a solution
• Ran TikTok Spark ads on content that did well
• Created humorous content to engage the audience and create awareness
• Posted content at optimal times so that it reaches the target audience at peak usage

The result? PlugSports got 5,400 sign-ups at an 85% lower cost per install (CPI).

They help to create infinite first-class opportunities for athletes, coaches, teams, leagues, and thousands of other leading trendsetters who help to shape pop culture. One thing that deserves special mention is their collaborative approach. All their clients are represented by the entire agency. This makes it easier for sport talent to build their brand and career across various platforms and disciplines.

Some of the sports the agency represents are baseball, basketball, football, and hockey. Besides partnering their talent with the right brand opportunities, the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) also provides expert coaching. They help talent book live events and find opportunities for sports endorsements to diversify their earning avenues.

Inclusion is also at the heart of how they operate. Not only do they improve the diversity of their own talent roster and team members, but they also advocate with marketplace buyers for sports talent from historically underrepresented groups.

It is due to this commitment to diversity and expertise in sports talent management that CAA has been named as Forbes Most Valuable Sports Agency 9 times.

In 2022, Forbes reported that the agency brought in athlete contracts worth approximately $14.01 billion in playing contracts and $3.76 billion in non-playing deals like sponsorships. This brings CAA’s total athlete contracts to approximately $17.8 billion.

Furthermore, CAA’s Sports Endorsements include working with big names like Dwyane Wade and Cristiano Ronaldo for PokerStars: Breakfast and football star Derrick Henry for a Nissan Heisman House commercial.

In 2024, CAA Sports dominated the first round of NFL drafts and set a record for the highest number of athlete picks (12) from a single agency. The agency is just as much a success in basketball, where they have negotiated over $1.8 billion in 2024, which is almost double that of any other agency.

Key services include:

• Draft preparation
• Contract negotiation
• Endorsements
• Broadcasting
• Philanthropy

Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Client Success

Part of the reason Creative Artists Agency (CAA) is among the top sports marketing agencies is that they work with some of the best and most well-known names in every game. For example, the agency ran a campaign for PokerStars, an online poker platform, with Christiano Ronaldo and Dwayne Wade.

PokerStars reached out to CAA because the brand wanted to expand its reach. CAA did just that for them.

Did I make it @Cristiano? I wasn’t looking. #raiseit, my friend. https://t.co/xsfV0tYiBs #spon #ad pic.twitter.com/rWHhVCzCcy

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) November 23, 2016

Strategic Approach

Here’s how CAA ran this campaign for PokerStars:

• Got the top sports talent engaged to ensure the campaign message reaches a substantial audience
• Created a hashtag (#RaiseIt) campaign on Twitter (now X)
• Built anticipation around the campaign by getting Dwayne Wade to challenge Christiano Ronaldo to a competition
• Distributed content across multiple platforms

Since the campaign involved some of the top names in their respective sports, PokerStars’ brand recognition skyrocketed.

In 2009, William Morris Agency merged with Endeavor and expanded their focus to entertainment and media companies to include artists and content creators too. Then, 2014 was another big year for them. On top of being named as one of the 50 most innovative companies by Fast Company, they also acquired IMG, a top international name in sports and entertainment.

With regards to sport specifically, they work with some of the leading athletes, institutions, broadcasters, and personalities. Most recently, they signed Sergio Perez, who will be joining Lewis Hamilton on their F1 roster. They also recently signed NBA All-Star Anthony Edwards. Meanwhile, the agency’s basketball lineup includes Luka Dončić, Chet Holmgren, and Kelsey Plum.

WME also represents several sports personalities exclusively off-court, including Jimmy Butler and Candace Parker. The agency’s influence is such that some of its sports clients took home medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Due to their long history and experience in the industry, WME has established itself as a top sports talent agency, which is why publications like Variety frequently publish news related to them. The agency’s association with some of the top media houses and industry publications means that its sports talent also gets PR in addition to brand deals and endorsements.

WME Signs Record-Breaking Pro Skateboarder Nyjah Huston (EXCLUSIVE) https://t.co/fPtjZ9px9N

— Variety (@Variety) July 13, 2023

Key services include:

• Strategic partnership
• Marketing

WME Agency Client Success

For many sports influencer marketing platforms, client success is usually a big brand deal or a merch campaign. However, WME takes the crown for creating opportunities for sports clients that go beyond the traditional scope of sports marketing. 

In one such example, the agency helped Peyton Manning, a Hall of Fame quarterback, build a $400-million empire with Netflix documentaries, big-brand commercials, and ESPN programming.

Co-head of @WME_Sports Josh Pyatt spoke to Bloomberg @Business about working with Peyton Manning to build the media powerhouse that is Omaha Productions.https://t.co/XJCmfGYL4y

— WME (@WME) May 18, 2023

Strategic Approach

Here’s what WME did for Manning:

• Persuade Manning to start a company called Omaha Productions
• Appointed Josh Pyatt, a superagent at WME, to help with the company’s search for deals
• Helped Manning form a deal with ESPN that will last till 2034
• Assisted Manning in getting a spot on OTT and national TV

Thanks to WME’s efforts, Omaha Productions became a media powerhouse in a short span of 3 years and is all set to become a billion-dollar company. 

Not only do they help stars to get their name out there, but they also help them to manage their wealth. Whether it’s simply budgeting, planning for tax or investment and retirement advice, they partner with some of the top financial resources. They also help with career transitioning. So, they can help you to plan the next move that will make the most sense for your career.

Key services include:

• Wealth management
• Career development and advancement
• Talent and influencer marketing

Wasserman’s sports divisions cover a variety of sports, ranging from action and adventure sports to rugby. For instance, its baseball division represents 94 all-star players and four Hall of Famers. Its historic baseball contracts include the largest in American history (at the time of signing), Giancarlo Stanton’s 13-year contract worth $325 million in 2014.

Key services include:

• Public relations
• Career management
• Event creation
• Contract negotiations
• Creative content design
• Off-season training
• Brand marketing
• Social media influencer strategy
• Digital strategy
• Performance analytics research

Key services include:

• Contract negotiation
• Financial management
• Tax and estate planning
• Insurance
• Training and development
• Draft preparation
• Social media brand building
• Corporate and public appearances
• Endorsements

Meanwhile, ISE Football, its football division, also includes former professional athletes as agents. According to Forbes, ISE was the agency behind Miguel Cabrera’s record deal with the Detroit Tigers. The eight-year contract is worth $248 million.

They offer a full suite of services that include contract negotiation, marketing, and brand management. As they’re part of a network of companies that also include live events and venues, they can help sport talent to develop their name via a number of platforms.

With regards to their marketing services specifically, they can help you to develop your brand identity, create content and then market it via social media. If you prefer to stick to in-person events, they can also help with speaking engagements.

Key services include:

• Endorsement opportunities
• Public relations
• Community outreach
• Memorabilia and trading card deals
• Draft preparation
• Post-career management
• Sponsorship maximization
• Content creation

Though, like many of the other agencies on our list, it’s not just about generating more wealth for their own talent. They also believe that it’s important to give back to the community and help their talent to do just that.

For example, they helped Didi Gregorius, a professional Dutch baseball player, to create a social campaign, #DIDIsDEEDs, to help him get more fan votes for the MLB All-star Final Vote contest. From posing for selfies with tourists to buying midtown office workers lunch, the campaign managed to highlight his low-key profile.

Another community that they work hard to elevate is female athletes. Their Women’s Sport division helps to level and expand the playing field by helping them to create individualized brand strategies.

Some of their notable projects include Gatorade’s The Secret to Victory campaign, “Chicago Cubs Break the Curse”—referring to the Cubs’ 2016 World Series win and breaking “The Curse of the Billy Goat,” and Kevin Love’s Banana Republic collection.

Key services include:

• Talent marketing
• Consulting
• Corporate partnerships

Founded more than two decades ago in 2001, they’re a full-service management firm that has represented elite coaches, broadcasters, and players.

There are two main components that are foundational to their culture. These are to display strong power, yet stay intimately personal. Not only is it key that their talent remains personal, but also their own agency. So, their player-to-agent ratio is capped at 12 to 1.

Key services include:

• Marketing
• Pre-draft training

He has also played a role in a number of the biggest transfers in the world. Most recently, it was revealed that Darwin Nunez, who’s valued at about £60 million has left agent Edgardo Lasalvia and it’s expected that he’ll join Jorge Mendes at Gestifute. The agency represents some of the world’s top football players, managing multi-year contracts of up to €80 million.

Key services include:

• Career planning

Recently, Roc Nation Sports acquired TFM, a Brazilian soccer agency whose lineup includes Vinicius Junior and Gabriel Martinelli. Furthermore, Roc Nation Sports International is number 7 on Forbes’ list of the most valuable sports agencies in the US, with an estimated $2.01 billion in playing contracts under management and $570 million in non-playing contracts. The agency also landed Yoenis Cespedes in 2014, who previously signed a four-year contract worth $36 million while he was with Wasserman.

Key services include:

• Endorsement deals
• Marketing
• Community Outreach
• Brand strategy
• Media Relations 

According to Forbes, the agency has over $3.8 billion in active MLB contracts as of 2022. Boras has also negotiated several sizeable contracts, including a $330 million deal for Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies) and Corey Seager’s (Texas Rangers) $325 million deal.

Key services include:

• Contract negotiations
• Representation
• Memorabilia
• Marketing
• Endorsements