Alumni Spotlight: Sports Agent Drew Rosenhaus
If you are interested in the business of sports, it is highly likely you are familiar with the name of Drew Rosenhaus. Beloved and reviled in equal measure, no one has a neutral opinion of the man. Regardless of people’s feelings toward him, Rosenhaus has achieved the remarkable feat of becoming one of the defining figures in the NFL without ever having set foot on the field.
Rosenhaus is a football super agent who is relentless in fighting for his clients’ interests. He currently represents over 110 NFL players and has negotiated $1.1 billion in contracts. Rosenhaus’s industry presence was mythical enough for Cameron Crowe to base Tom Cruise’s character in Jerry Maguire on him.
The Start: University of Miami
Rosenhaus spent his entire youth watching the Miami Dolphins, his local professional football team. He went to games and practices whenever he could, and because his dad knew players through his work as a real estate agent and boat manufacturer, Rosenhaus had the opportunity to talk to players frequently. All of those experiences convinced Rosenhaus that he had to do something with football.
By the time he enrolled at the University of Miami Business School, Rosenhaus knew that he wanted to be a sports agent. However, he did not think that it was a real path until he befriended a classmate of his at Miami—Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin. Rosenhaus tutored Irvin and other students on the Miami football team. The players liked Rosenhaus’s ability to relate to them, and he liked being a part of the football world.
His First Client
After his experiences with Irvin and other football players, Rosenhaus pursued his desire to be an agent by enrolling in Duke Law School after completing his business degree at the University of Miami. In 1989, during his second year, Rosenhaus landed his first client, Robert Massey.
At age 22, Rosenhaus became the youngest sports agent working at that time. After going official, Rosenhaus decided to start his own firm, Rosenhaus Sports Representation. Rather than hire staff immediately, Rosenhaus convinced his brother, Jason, to get a degree in accounting so that they could work together; the plan succeeded. After Jason graduated from the University of Miami in 1991, the Rosenhaus brothers set out to create the largest agency in the NFL.
The Rise of Drew Rosenhaus
Rosenhaus’s status as a football agent rose quickly after signing Massey. As he noted in a question-and-answer session with ESPN, Rosenhaus says that he worked his way up to 12 clients within his first couple of years as an agent. The number of clients only increased after that. Rosenhaus believes his success is derived from the relationships he has with his clients.
As he noted in a 2011 60 Minutes interview with Scott Pelley, Rosenhaus works hard to maintain a personal relationship with each of his many clients. He said, “My clients are like my family, like my brothers—literally.” Like a brother, Rosenhaus always takes his clients’ calls: “If I get a call in the middle of the night, I have to take it. If I’m with a girl I have to take it. If I’m in the shower, I have to take it.” Like a brother, Rosenhaus always works to get his client the best deal possible, always watching out for their best interests in a sport that is notorious for its disregard of players.
This deep commitment to his clients and their welfare has made him into an extremely popular agent with players, if not necessarily with teams or other agents, who disapprove of his aggressive style. His clients range from exciting collegiate draft prospects to Pro Bowl veterans. Notable current clients include Antonio Brown, Trent Brown, and Kwon Alexander.
The Future
The story of Drew Rosenhaus and Rosenhaus Sports Representation does not stop at the NFL. While Rosenhaus stays active in the NFL, the firm is branching out into other sports. In the past two years, Rosenhaus’s firm has begun to sign baseball and basketball athletes. Although development in these areas is currently limited, Rosenhaus expects there to be growth in both these areas in the coming years.
The New Pepperdine STAPLES Center Classroom, and More – Los Angeles news
Happy Friday! Let’s take a look at some of the biggest news coming out of Los Angeles this week.
Want Better Growth? Toss Out The Marketing Playbook – CGU Drucker School News
Claremont Graduate University’s Drucker School Chair in Management and the Liberal Arts, Bernie Jaworski, suggests that to compete in today’s emerging markets, traditional ‘by the book’ strategies must take a back seat.
Jaworski recently co-authored The Organic Growth Playbook: Activate High-Yield Behaviors To Achieve Extraordinary Results – Every Time with Robert Lurie. In it, they explored the stories of four companies who achieved rapid growth by eschewing standard marketing approaches.
Through their research, Lurie and Jaworski discovered that a “more holistic approach to customers’ purchasing behaviors” leads to long term revenue increases. The authors believe that the underlying consumer behavior behind the success or failure of certain products is the key to making the right decisions.
Lurie is the current Vice President of Corporate Strategy at the Eastman Chemical Company. The Organic Growth Playbook is available now from the American Marketing Association.
Graziadio Forms New Classroom in the STAPLES Center – Pepperdine Newsroom
The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and Pepperdine University’s Graziadio Business School are teaming up to establish a classroom in the STAPLES Center. The class will serve as a hub of programming for Graziadio’s sports and entertainment management programs.
Students in this one of a kind classroom will gain the opportunity to hear a ‘best-in-class’ speaker series hosted by AEG, which will allow them a glimpse at the operations of one of the nation’s most popular sports and entertainment venues.
Pepperdine President Andrew K. Benton says of the partnership, “As the exclusive education partner of STAPLES Center … we look forward to providing our sports and entertainment students with a premier educational experience that will uniquely prepare them to shape the future of their industries.”
The new STAPLES Center classroom from Pepperdine Graziadio features seating for up to 30 students, and it can be converted into an event space for up to 50 attendees.
You can learn more about the brand new classroom opening here.
V For Victory – USC Marshall News and Events
USC’s Marshall School of Business offers Global Leadership Program (GLP) students a chance to see a side of business school that many aren’t accustomed to—the side occupied by veterans of the U.S. armed forces.
Ninety-five freshmen in the GLP joined with thirty-two Master’s of Business for Veterans (MBV) students for military-style exercises meant to enhance physical discipline while developing their leadership, strategy, and communication skills.
Professor Emeritus Robert Turrill, Academic Director of the MBV program, says, “We wanted our vets interacting with our freshmen. We thought there was a lot of sharing to take place … They hear a lot about corporate leadership, and I wanted them to hear about military leadership and see where the overlaps are. This group of veterans knows leadership quite well, and they have a lot to give.”
GLP students are just embarking upon their educational experience, but they were able to offer the vets a glimpse into their lives which was just as valuable.
Eugenia Hang (GLP ’22), says, “I think this is really important for the students to experience and reflect on these concepts, like integrity, [and] communication … One of the takeaways I got was sacrificing personal gains for the collective benefit.”
You can read more about the recent USC Marshall event here.
Interview With The Dean: SMU Cox School of Business
Since 1997, Albert W Niemi, Jr. has served as the Dean of the Edwin L. Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University (SMU Cox) in Dallas. He is also currently the Cox School’s Tolleson Chair in Business Leadership, as well as the William J. O’Neil Chair in Global Markets and Freedom.
During his tenure, the Cox School has undergone many changes. He has helped to expand the degree offerings at the business school—expanding the school’s offerings to include four specialized master’s programs as well as multiple interdisciplinary program opportunities and a new Fast-Track MBA—and has also grown the school’s endowment from $78 million to more than $200 million.
This past August, Dean Niemi announced his intention to step down as Dean after serving the Cox School for more than twenty years. He will continue to remain in his faculty position, but will pass on his administrative responsibilities to Matthew B. Myers, a global marketing and strategy expert with expertise in Latin America who currently serves as dean of the Farmer School of Business at Miami University, Ohio.
To mark the occasion, we took the opportunity to interview Dean Niemi about his tenure as Dean and to gain his insight into what the future of the Cox School could look like. Continue reading…
Pepperdine Announces AEG Partnership, Offers New MBA
In an expansive new move, Pepperdine University has announced a partnership with Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) that will create classrooms in the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
The home to the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, Sparks and Kings (which AEG has a 50 percent ownership stake in) will house new course programs that are directed to students pursuing careers in sports management.
“Internship programs, industry conferences and other educational events also will be created together,” writes Los Angeles Times reporter Rosanna Xia. “And Pepperdine will establish MBA opportunities for AEG employees interested in furthering their education.”
Jon Werbeck, vice president of AEG Global Partnerships spoke on the recent announcement, saying, “AEG will help Pepperdine build out a strategic, educational stronghold in the heart of Los Angeles’ preeminent downtown entertainment district, L.A. Live, while AEG will get a hand in sourcing, growing and supporting the next generation of sports and entertainment business professionals.”
“Pepperdine understood the vision and the mutual benefits to really build something special and unique that nobody has ever done in this capacity,” Werbeck says. “Cultivating educational opportunities is one of the ways we like to give back to the fans and neighborhoods that support us.”
“Working together, we are excited to develop this one-of-a-kind platform.”
Provost Rick Marrs also notes that through the new partnership, with courses officially beginning in 2017, the school is establishing certifications, masters and additional MBA programs. Guest lectures and an educational series focusing on business in the NHL are also said to be in the works.
Click here to read the entire Los Angeles Times article and check out our guide for Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Management.
Top Sports Management MBAs in Toronto
Are you obsessed with sports? Did you find yourself cheering for the Cubs first World Series win in over a century? Did you watch every match of the last FIFA World Cup? Do you participate in every fantasy league and feel that you could make a better team, get better players and make better decisions than any current sports management person? Well, then you should consider an MBA in Sports Management. Continue reading…
Top 5 New York MBAs in Sports Business
Find yourself obsessing over stats and fantasy league team swaps in between required MBA reading? Think you could be the next Jerry Maguire? Perhaps the wide-ranging and—at $300 billion a year in annual revenue—lucrative sports industry is right for you.
