Excel Sports Management

What Excel Sports Management does

Excel Sports Management is an independent sports management and marketing agency founded in 2002 by Jeff Schwartz, headquartered in New York with nine offices across the U.S., London, and Geneva. The firm operates a three-division platform — Talent Representation, Brands Services, and Properties Services — serving professional athletes, Fortune 500 brands, and sports properties (teams, leagues, rights holders). Talent representation covers contract negotiation, performance development, endorsement portfolio management, and career services for elite athletes across basketball, baseball, football, and golf, with marquee clients including Tiger Woods, Caitlin Clark, Nikola Jokic, and Derek Jeter. The Brands division delivers strategy, experiential marketing, content production, digital/social media, partnerships, hospitality, and data analytics to global corporations, while the Properties division handles commercial sales, executive search and advisory, analytics, and event production for sports teams, leagues, and rights holders.

The revenue model blends commission-based talent representation, professional services fees for brand engagements, transaction-based commercial sales for sports properties, and event production economics from owned and operated properties including the Mizuho Americas Open (LPGA), the Kroger Queen City Championship, The Match franchise, and the Netflix Cup. Core technology centers on the Block Six Analytics platform, which applies machine learning, proprietary algorithms, customized models, and large data sets to sponsorship valuation and ROI measurement. The firm has built its capabilities through five strategic acquisitions: Block Six Analytics (2021, AI/analytics), Nolan Partners (2022, executive search, rebranded as Excel Search & Advisory in February 2025), Game Seven (2022, creative/experiential), and Rep 1 Football (2023, football representation). Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed.

In November 2025, Goldman Sachs acquired a majority stake through Goldman Sachs Alternatives at a valuation approaching $1 billion, providing institutional capital for global expansion and marking the bank's most significant entry into the sports industry. Founder Jeff Schwartz continues to lead the firm, which has grown to 51–100 employees and now operates sub-brands including Excel Events, Excel Analytics, Excel Properties, Excel Search & Advisory, and Game Seven.

Name

Excel Sports Management

Legal name

Excel Sports Management

Website

https://excelsm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Excel Sports Management is an independent sports agency providing talent representation, brand marketing, and sports property services across basketball, baseball, football, and golf. Founded in 2002, it serves elite professional athletes, Fortune 500 brands, and sports rights holders through nine global offices and a Goldman Sachs-backed ownership structure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Management Agency

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Athlete Talent Agencies (Contract Negotiation & Career Management) (MPAKAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sports Agents & Player Contract Negotiation Specialists (MPAKAMAB), Sports Business Consulting & Advisory (Strategy, Valuation, Due Diligence) (MPAKAKAL), Sports Brand Strategy & Creative Services (Design, Content, Social) (MPAKAKAF), Media, Entertainment & Sports Leadership Search (BPACAAAH)

Keywords

• Athlete representation
• Sports marketing agency
• Talent management
• Sponsorship sales
• Sports property services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Talent Representation: Full-service management and representation for professional athletes including contract negotiation, performance development, career management, endorsement portfolios, and brand building
2. Brand Marketing and Sponsorship Sales: Services for brands looking to connect with audiences through sports including strategy, experiential marketing, content campaigns, digital and social media management, partnerships, data analytics, and hospitality
3. Properties Commercial Sales: Sales of commercial partnerships for sports teams, leagues and rights holders including on-uniform branding, venue commercialization, naming rights, and comprehensive partnership platforms
4. Executive Search & Advisory: Leadership consultancy and executive search practice for sports, media, and entertainment industries including organizational transition, onboarding, performance optimization, and cultural transformation services
5. Events Production: Owns and operates golf events including Mizuho Americas Open (LPGA) and Kroger Queen City Championship, plus produces made-for-TV events like The Match and Netflix Cup

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Excel Sports Management is a full-service independent sports agency delivering talent representation for professional athletes, coaches, media personalities, and student-athletes; brand marketing services for corporations seeking sports-driven audience engagement; and commercial sales, executive search, analytics, and event operations for sports teams, leagues, and rights holders. The firm negotiates playing contracts and endorsement deals, builds personal brands for clients, produces owned golf events such as the Mizuho Americas Open and Kroger Queen City Championship, and operates acquired subsidiaries including Game Seven (creative agency) and Excel Search & Advisory (executive search).

Product overview

Excel Sports Management is the largest independent sports agency operating a multi-platform business model consisting of three main divisions: Talent Representation (athletes, coaches, executives, media talent, and NIL), Brands Services (strategy, experiential, content, digital/social, partnerships, data & analytics, hospitality), and Properties Services (commercial sales, executive search & advisory, analytics, and events). The company also acquired Game Seven (2022) as its creative agency and rebranded Nolan Partners as Excel Search & Advisory (2025). Owned events include the Mizuho Americas Open (LPGA) and Kroger Queen City Championship (LPGA), while operating major golf events such as Capital One's The Match and the Netflix Cup.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Game Seven: Full-service creative, experiential, and social agency
• The Match
• Mizuho Americas Open
• Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G
• Netflix Cup
• Excellent Leadership Podcast
• Excellent Leadership HR Summit

Products and services

• Talent Representation Full-service representation for athletes, coaches, media talent, and executives across basketball, baseball, football, golf, and NIL, covering contract negotiation, endorsement brokering, performance development, career management, and personal services.
• Brands Marketing Services Full-service brand marketing offering for corporations seeking sports-driven audience engagement, combining strategy, experiential, content and campaign, digital and social, talent and creator, partnership sales, data and analytics, and hospitality under a single integrated offering.
• Sports Properties Services Commercial partnership sales and property services for sports teams, leagues, and rights holders, including on-uniform branding, venue commercialization, naming rights, partnership platforms, analytics, and executive search and advisory support.
• Excel Search & Advisory Premier leadership consultancy and executive search practice for the sports, media, and entertainment industries, providing C-suite and board-level placements, organizational transition, onboarding, performance optimization, and cultural transformation services.
• Game Seven Full-service creative, experiential, and social agency delivering brand work for sports-adjacent and broader consumer clients, integrated into Excel's Brands division post-acquisition.
• Excel Events Owned and operated golf and made-for-TV events business producing the Mizuho Americas Open LPGA tournament, Kroger Queen City Championship, The Match franchise, and the Netflix Cup, with cumulative charitable donations exceeding $40 million across The Match's nine iterations.
• Excel Speakers Motivational keynote speakers bureau representing Excel's athletes, coaches, executives, Hall of Famers, media personalities, and celebrities for speaking engagements at corporate events, brand activations, and conferences.
• Excel Analytics (Partnership Valuation & ROI) Proprietary analytics offering for partnership valuation, ROO and ROI measurement, portfolio evaluation, exposure monitoring, social analytics, and consumer sentiment analysis, leveraging machine learning algorithms and customized models for Fortune 500 sponsors and global sports properties.

Quantifiable outcome

• Kyle Tucker's $240 million contract secured in 2025
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• WIN ArtistscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 May 2026Commercial partnership allowing Excel's athlete roster to access WIN's media and entertainment expertise across broadcast, digital media, and content creation. Already secured deals with athletes like Clayton Kershaw and Anthony Rizzo for NBC and Netflix. Both companies are potential buyers of The Team (formerly Wasserman).
• Cadillac Formula 1 TeamcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 April 2026Cadillac Formula 1 Team appointed Excel Sports Management as its exclusive Agency of Record for commercial sales and strategy. Excel will lead the team's global commercial sales strategy and partnership development efforts, positioning the team to strengthen commercial operations ahead of its Formula 1 entry.
• Snapback SportsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 March 2026Digital sports media company signed with Excel Sports Management to drive sponsorship revenue and access to major sporting events. Generated $2.2 million in revenue in 2025 with $3 million target for 2026. Partnership followed a three-month agency search including meetings with CAA, UTA, WME.
• Rep 1 FootballcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 November 2023Acquired by Excel Sports Management and rebranded as Excel Football, expanding its football representation capabilities. The deal involved key staff and athlete clients including NFL players and coaches.
• Nolan PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2022Acquired by Excel in March 2022, adding 20 employees and expanding Excel's global presence and capabilities in sports and entertainment executive placement. Rebranded as Excel Search & Advisory in February 2025.
• Game SevencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Full-service creative, experiential, and social agency acquired by Excel in 2022, bringing the team to the epicenter of sport culture and expanding brand marketing capabilities.
• Block Six AnalyticscoreTechnology or Integration · 2 September 2021Acquired by Excel to improve data-driven decision-making capabilities and support sports properties and talent businesses. The acquisition was motivated by the importance of machine learning and AI technology in evaluating sponsorship and endorsement opportunities.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Wasserman: Wasserman (formerly The Team) is one of the largest independent sports marketing and talent management agencies globally, competing head-to-head with Excel in athlete representation, brand consulting, and properties sales. It is widely cited as a likely acquisition target by Excel and other peers, making it the closest direct peer.
• Octagon: Octagon is a long-established global sports marketing agency owned by Interpublic Group, providing athlete management, sponsorship consulting, and event management that overlaps directly with Excel's full-service model across basketball, golf, and Olympic sports.
• Roc Nation Sports: Roc Nation Sports is the athlete representation arm of Jay-Z's Roc Nation, focused on top-tier athlete representation across NBA, NFL, MLB, and soccer. It competes directly with Excel for headline clients and has overlapping brand partnership capabilities.
• Athletes First: Athletes First is a leading NFL-focused sports agency that has aggressively expanded into other sports, going head-to-head with Excel Football for top NFL quarterback and skill-position clients.
• Sportfive: Sportfive is a global sports rights and marketing agency with strong international (European soccer, Olympics) presence; it overlaps with Excel's Properties commercial sales, sponsorship, and event capabilities on a global footprint basis.
• Independent Sports & Entertainment (ISE): ISE is an independent sports and entertainment agency providing athlete management and brand marketing, positioning itself as a quality-focused independent rival comparable in size and approach to Excel.

Broad incumbents

• Creative Artists Agency (CAA Sports): CAA is a broad talent agency with a dedicated CAA Sports division handling athlete representation, league consulting, and brand partnerships; the high-profile nature of CAA's broader Hollywood talent business makes it a broad incumbent rather than a pure sports peer.
• WME Sports (Endeavor): WME Sports is the sports representation division of Endeavor (parent of UFC, IMG, and other entertainment assets), competing with Excel in athlete representation, sponsorship sales, and major event production as part of a larger sports and entertainment portfolio.

Emerging players

• Relativity Sports: Relativity Sports is an athlete representation agency operating across basketball, baseball, and football with a more narrow sport-specific focus compared with Excel's diversified model.

Others

• Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global executive search firm whose sports practice overlaps with Excel Search & Advisory (formerly Nolan Partners), and it is identified in company data as a previous employer of an Excel Search leader, making it an adjacent comparator in the sports executive search subsegment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ExcellentLeadershipPodcast
• Xx.com/excelsm
• Facebookfacebook.com/excelsm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/excel-sports-management

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Excel Sports Management