Best Sports Management Companies for 2023

The best sports management companies can help you turn your talent into a successful, lucrative sports career. The trouble is there are dozens of sports agencies to choose from. In this guide, we’ll provide in-depth reviews of the ten best sports management agencies, so you can make an informed decision and rise to stardom with a reliable, professional partner. 

Our top choice for the best sports management company overall is Wasserman Media Group. Its excellent track record, professional branding, contract negotiations and event services really stand out. That said, Creative Artists Agency, Boras Corporation, and Excel Sports Management are also excellent choices. Read on to find out more!

The Top 10 Sports Management Companies for 2023

If you’re ready to compete and want to sign the best contracts and negotiate the most lucrative brand deals, here’s a list of the top 10 sports management companies in 2023 that have great connections and offer professional representation for athletes:

1. Wasserman Media Group — Overall the Best Sports Management Company in 2023
2. Creative Artists Agency (CAA) — The Best Sports Management Agency for NBA, NFL, and MLB Talent
3. Excel Sports Management — Full-Service Sport Management Marketing Agency That Greatly Values Diversity
4. Independent Sports & Entertainment — Best Talent Management Agency for motorsport
5. ICM Stellar — The Largest Sports Management Agency in the World, Excellent for Soccer and Esports Talent
6. Prosport Management — Best Talent Management Agency for Sports Personalities and Content Creators
7. Athletes First — The Best NFL Talent Management Agency
8. Newport Sports Management — The Best Hockey Talent Management Agency
9. Octagon — A Full-Service Talent Management Agency That Offers 360-Degree Career Building Services
10. Aces — Best Baseball Talent Management and Marketing Agency

The Top Sports Management Agencies Reviewed

Choosing one sports management agency over another can potentially make or break your career. Before investing time, money, and effort into any of the top sports management companies, you need to make sure you know exactly what they offer and how they can help you skyrocket your career. 

That’s why we put together in-depth reviews of the best sports management firms, so you can choose the one that offers the services that match your needs.

1. Wasserman Media Group — Overall the Best Sports Management Company in 2023

Wasserman Media Group is a sports marketing and talent management agency based in Los Angeles, California. The company was founded way back in 1998, and it manages the world’s most successful athletes to this day. 

Whether you’re an up-and-coming athlete or a professional looking for superb representation, Wasserman’s team of seasoned agents will help you negotiate better contracts, sign lucrative brand deals, and secure media representation.

Apart from athletes, Wasserman represents broadcasters, coaches, executives, and even sports influencers. It covers all major sports, including soccer, basketball, NFL, baseball, golf, and a variety of action sports.

Wasserman also offers support and representation for individual athletes and teams preparing for the Olympics and Paralympics. 

In terms of the specific services Wasserman offers, these include contract negotiations, therapy sources, pre-draft preparation, off-season training services, lifestyle and brand marketing, post-career development, event services, PR, and even performance analytics.

If you want to up your game and achieve great results both on and off the field, Wasserman Media Group is an ideal partner who will help you every step of the way.

2. Creative Artists Agency (CAA) — The Best Sports Management Agency for NBA, NFL, and MLB Talent

Creative Artists Agency is a world-renowned talent management company that has represented the world’s top sports talent since 1975. It’s also one of the biggest sports management companies, with over 1,800 employees representing over 1,700 clients.

With over 45 years of experience in the industry, CAA offers everything a talented athlete needs to succeed, from representation and sports endorsement to live event booking and client business ventures.

While CAA covers a variety of sports, it specializes in basketball, baseball, and American football, with dozens of company’s NBA sports agents, MLB sports agents, and NFL sports agents helping clients achieve their goals and cement themselves as the best in the game. 

The services CAA offers include pre-draft training programs, professional advisement, personal brand development, marketing & endorsements, contract negotiation, and media representation. 

What makes CAA stand out from other sports management agencies is the company’s collaborative approach to sports talent representation. In other words, every client is represented by the whole company rather than an individual agent. This makes it easier and faster for top sports talent to snatch excellent opportunities, as well as build their brand and career across multiple platforms and disciplines. 

3. Excel Sports Management — Full-Service Sports Management Marketing Agency That Greatly Values Diversity

Excel Sports Management is one of the leading full-service sport management marketing agencies, providing representation, sports endorsements, branding, insights, and access to new opportunities to top sports talents.

The company specializes in basketball, baseball, golf, and American football, securing brand deals for clients with world-renowned brands like Red Bull, Porsche, Express, Gatorade, and Xfinity. Excel also helps clients build their personal brands by developing strategic marketing and PR campaigns and leveraging its vast network to help top sports talent land the most lucrative brand deals and stand out from the crowd.

In addition to media representation and branding services, Excel Sports Management offers draft preparation, arbitration, contract negotiation, tournament logistics, and post-career services. 

What makes Excel Sport Management stand out is the fact that inclusion and diversity are its core values. The company not only employs and works with people from all cultural backgrounds, but it also fiercely advocates equality and inclusion in media, especially for traditionally underrepresented groups.

4. Independent Sports & Entertainment — Best Talent Management Agency for Motorsports

Independent Sports & Entertainment (ISE) is one of the few sports talent management agencies that cover motorsport. The agency works with professional F1 drivers and other motorsport professionals and helps them sculpt their raw talent, advance their athletic abilities, and fast-track their careers. 

ISE understands the crucial role sponsors play in motorsport and in individual drivers’ careers, so it aligns itself with exclusive brand partners who share a love for racing and are more than happy to support talented drivers.

That said, ISE only works with professional drivers who have already proven they have what it takes to compete in the big leagues. If you’re an amateur driver, you’ll have to get a few achievements under your belt in order for ISE to consider signing you.

In addition to motorsport, ISE offers client representation to baseball, basketball, and football talent as well. The services include everything from draft preparation and contract negotiation to marketing & endorsement opportunities, public relations, and post-career management.

5. ICM Stellar — The Largest Sports Management Agency in the World, Excellent for Soccer and Esports Talent

ICM Stellar is a branch of ICM Partners, one of the largest and most renowned talent management agencies in the world. Consequently, it’s one of the world’s biggest sports management companies, with its professional agents behind some of the biggest deals in soccer history. 

The agency doesn’t just offer talent representation — it handles everything from complex contract negotiations and commercial opportunities to nutritional advice, mental health support, and sports psychology. 

ICM Stellar also has one of the biggest soccer scouting networks in the world, with a vast global network that can open virtually any door in soccer and help talented players take their careers to new heights. In addition to soccer, ICM Stellar works with top NFL, rugby, golf, and cricket talent. 

The company even offers Esports representation, working with professional gamers to help secure commercial opportunities and sponsorships. ICM Stellar also handles social media management, legal services, accountancy, tax, and more, letting gamers focus on improving their skills and stomping the competition. 

Currently, the agency focuses on FIFA, Fortnite, CS:GO, Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros, with the promise of covering more Esports in the near future.

6. Prosport Management — Best Talent Management Agency for Sports Personalities and Content Creators

Prosport Management is a full-service sports management agency offering representation services to top talent in racing, golf, soccer, and football. In addition to talent management, the agency offers strategic marketing, business services, and financial consulting to the world’s top athletes.

One of the major advantages of Prosport Management over other sports talent management agencies is the company’s connections to the world’s leading brands. Prosport Management has strong professional relationships with brands like McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Toyota, FedEx, and Gatorade, to name a few, which opens many doors for excellent brand deals and sponsorships.

On top of athletes, Prosport Management works with other sports personalities, including TV hosts, sports analysts, correspondents, and even content creators. 

Although a smaller agency with only two offices in the US, Prosport Management has an excellent track record and over 30 years of experience, making it an ideal choice for up-and-coming sports talent.

7. Athletes First — The Best NFL Talent Management Agency

Athletes First is a full-service sports talent management that focuses solely on NHL. This laser-focused approach ensures that Athletes First agents’ attention isn’t split between multiple fields. Every agency team member is a professional NFL sports agent with an in-depth understanding of the game, NHL marketing best practices, and football training regimes that result in peak performance.

Athletes First helps NHL stars land record-breaking contracts, and the agency’s in-house marketing staff helps secure lucrative brand deals so top NHL talent can achieve incredible success off the field as well.

The agency is partnered with Proactive Sports Performance, an 18,000-square-foot facility in California, which offers state-of-the-art programs designed to maximize performance. As a result, you’ll enjoy personalized training regimes and individual attention from expert trainers who will help you stay in top shape during each off-season to make sure you’re at the top of your game for the draft.

8. Newport Sports Management — The Best Hockey Talent Management Agency 

Newport Sports Management is one of the rare professional sports management companies that focuses exclusively on hockey. In addition to talent representation, it offers training and development for upcoming hockey players, contract negotiation services, financial management, tax and estate planning, and draft preparation.

If you opt for Newport Sports Management, you’ll also be able to leverage the company’s marketing expertise to grow your personal brand and secure lucrative deals with the world’s leading brands. The marketing services the agency offers also include social media brand building and public & corporate appearances. 

While primarily working with players in the US and Canada, the Newport Sports Management agency has a vast network of partners and industry leaders in Europe and Russia as well. This helps the agency secure fantastic deals and increase player exposure for hockey talent regardless of what team they play for.

9. Octagon — A Full-Service Talent Management Agency That Offers 360-Degree Career-Building Services

Octagon is one of the most well-rounded sports management agencies, offering representation services for top talent in baseball, basketball, football, tennis, golf, racing, hockey, and a variety of other sports. 

In addition to talent management, Octagon provides brand-building services and content creation, financial management services, PR services, and post-career transition. 

The agency works with both athletes and other sports personalities, including coaches, executives, sports analysts, and sports content creators. Apart from sports talent management, Octagon offers full career-building services, content and production, celebrity strategy, and comprehensive wealth management services. 

Octagon has over 800 expert talent agents all over the world, making it one of the largest sports management companies. As a result of its global network, the agency has landed some of the world’s leading athletes as its clients, such as Steph Curry, Simone Biles, and Tristan Wirfs.

10. Aces — Best Baseball Talent Management and Marketing Agency

Aces is one of the best baseball talent management agencies in the world. The agency is located in Brooklyn Heights, NY, at the “center field” of the baseball industry — just 30 minutes away from the Yankees stadium, CitiField, the MLBPA and MLB Headquarters. 

Over the three decades that Aces has been in the industry, they represented some of the biggest names in baseball, including Dustin Pedroia, Gio Gonzalez, and Brandon Phillips. Some of the MLB superstars, like David Wright, have been with Aces from the beginning of their careers to the very last game they played. This goes to show you just how much expertise Aces has when it comes to representing baseball talent and securing them the best contracts and deals.

In addition to talent representation, Aces covers everything from on-the-field deals and corporate endorsements to athlete branding and card deals & appearances. Aces has strong professional connections with all major MLB teams and is persistently and passionately representing every client, ensuring their success both on and off the field.

Best Sports Management Companies Compared

What Services Do Sports Management Agencies Offer?

While the specific services different talent management agencies offer may vary to some degree, they all typically provide everything a talented athlete needs to succeed, from training regimes and draft preparation to contract negotiation and brand building. 

Here’s a quick breakdown of the most common services sports management agencies offer.

Client Representation

Client representation is at the core of everything top sports agencies do. This includes creating client portfolios, negotiating with different teams, securing sponsorships and brand deals, and all other auxiliary services that help sports talent succeed on and off the field.

Draft Preparation

The best sports management companies know that the key to success is staying in top form. To help you get there, they provide 360-degree draft preparation, including nutritional advice, training regimes, and even professionally-equipped training facilities to help you stay on top of your game.

Contract Negotiation

The top sports management agencies aim to help you get the most lucrative deals with the world’s biggest teams, whether you’re a baseball, basketball, golf, hockey, football, or soccer player. 

Contract negotiation is a crucial part of aspiring athletes’ success, and a seasoned sports agent will ensure you’re getting the highest possible salary and the best contract terms. 

Marketing & Endorsements

Success off the field is just as important for your career as your in-game performance. The top sports management and marketing agencies will help you secure lucrative brand deals, build your own personal brand, and help you stay in the limelight. 

In addition to helping you land sweet brand deals, sports marketing agencies can help you create branded content, establish a strong social media presence, and secure appearances at major sports events. 

Post-Retirement Career Management 

The top sports agent firms work with successful players even long after they’ve retired from their professional careers. Most people choose to remain in sports, and the best sports marketing companies can open doors to many new opportunities, whether you want to transition into management and coaching or get into media and broadcasting.

Sports Management Companies FAQs