What Priority Sports & Entertainment does

Priority Sports & Entertainment is a privately held, independently owned full-service sports agency headquartered in Chicago with additional offices in the Los Angeles and Atlanta metropolitan areas. Founded around 1990 by Mark Bartelstein, the firm has operated for over 35 years in basketball and football representation, building a client roster across the NBA, WNBA, and NFL as well as a Coaches, Broadcasters & Front Office Division and a College Athletes NIL practice. The agency describes itself as one of the largest independently-owned sports agencies in the world and has been recognized by Forbes (Most Valuable Sports Agencies), Sports Business Journal (top independently-owned sports agency), and ESPN (top NFL agency).

The agency's core service is athlete representation delivered through dedicated agents organized by division, with an in-house marketing department that connects clients to endorsement and brand partnership deals. Reported scale metrics include $3.7 billion+ in NBA contracts negotiated since 2016, 50 NBA Draft Picks in that window, $1.5 billion+ in NFL contracts negotiated, 150+ top-3 round NFL draft picks, and 30+ NFL first-round draft picks; the firm claims the highest client retention rate among NBA agencies. The business model is commission-based on player contracts and endorsement deals, with adjacent services in player development (Pre-Draft Program, off-season training, in-season mentorship), public relations, community outreach, and post-playing career transition support into coaching, broadcasting, and front-office roles. No proprietary technology platform, AI/ML capability, or API/SDK surface is disclosed; the value proposition rests on agent relationships, league-wide team access (all 30 NBA teams and all 32 NFL teams), and lifecycle services rather than software.

Name

Priority Sports & Entertainment

Legal name

Priority Sports & Entertainment

Website

https://prioritysports.biz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Priority Sports & Entertainment is an independently owned, full-service U.S. sports agency representing NBA, WNBA, and NFL athletes plus coaches, broadcasters, and college NIL clients through dedicated agents across offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Atlanta.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Agency Services

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (71141), Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Athlete & Talent Representation (Agents, Managers) (MPAKAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Athlete Booking & Appearance/Speaking Engagement Agencies (MPAKAMAI), Sponsorship Sales, Valuation & Analytics Services (Rights Sales, Measurement, Consulting) (MPAKALAK)

Keywords

• Athlete representation services
• Sports contract negotiation
• Sports management agency
• Athlete marketing services
• NIL representation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Athlete Contract Representation: Priority Sports earns revenue through commission-based representation of athletes in contract negotiations with professional sports teams. The agency negotiates NBA and NFL contracts on behalf of clients, earning a percentage of contract values. The agency has negotiated over $3.7 billion in NBA contracts since 2016 and $1.5 billion in NFL contracts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Priority Sports & Entertainment is a full-service independent sports agency that represents professional and collegiate athletes across the NBA, WNBA, NFL, and NIL landscape. The agency provides contract negotiation, marketing and endorsements, public relations, community involvement, pre-draft training, and post-playing career transition support. It also represents coaches, broadcasters, and front office personnel in collegiate and professional sports.

Product overview

Priority Sports & Entertainment is a full-service sports agency operating as a single unified offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The company provides athlete representation services across four main divisions—Men's Basketball (NBA), Women's Basketball, Football (NFL), and Coaches & Broadcasters—supplemented by dedicated Player Development, Marketing & Endorsements, and College Athletes (NIL) services. The core offering centers on contract negotiation, career management, brand development, and post-career transition support, with operations spanning Chicago, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. The agency is one of the largest independently-owned sports agencies in the world with over 35 years in the basketball and football industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Men's Basketball Representation
• Women's Basketball Representation
• Football (NFL) Representation
• Coaches, Broadcasters & Front Office Division
• Basketball Player Development Program
• Marketing & Endorsements Services
• College Athletes NIL Representation

Quantifiable outcome

• $3.7 billion+ in NBA contracts negotiated since 2016
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers31 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NikecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPriority Sports clients have endorsement deals with Nike, including NFL player Mike Sainristil and WNBA player Kayla McBride.
• Jordan BrandcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPriority Sports WNBA client Georgia Amoore has an endorsement with Jordan Brand.
• SKIMSminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPriority Sports NBA client Caleb Love has an endorsement with SKIMS.
• KFCminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPriority Sports NBA client Zach Edey has an endorsement with KFC.
• LMNTminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPriority Sports has a client partnership with LMNT.
• CelsiusminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPriority Sports NBA client Tim Hardaway Jr. has an endorsement with Celsius.
• Liquid DeathminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPriority Sports NFL client Cam Heyward has an endorsement with Liquid Death.
• DoveminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPriority Sports WNBA client Alissa Pili has an endorsement with Dove.
• PXGminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPriority Sports NFL client Andru Phillips has an endorsement with PXG.
• BreitlingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPriority Sports NFL client Andrew Mukuba has an endorsement with Breitling.
• American UnderdogminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPriority Sports client Kurt Warner is associated with American Underdog brand.
• EVO ICLminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPriority Sports NBA client Miles McBride has an endorsement with EVO ICL.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Wasserman: Wasserman is a major sports marketing and talent representation firm with divisions across athlete representation, broadcasting, and consulting. It competes with Priority Sports in NBA and NFL representation while also operating a much broader portfolio of services including property consulting and brand marketing.
• Creative Artists Agency (CAA): CAA is one of the largest global talent and entertainment agencies, with sports representation as a significant division. As a broad incumbent, it competes with Priority Sports for marquee athlete clients while offering significantly broader services across entertainment, media, and brand endorsements.
• CAA Sports: CAA Sports is the sports division of Creative Artists Agency, representing athletes across the NBA, NFL, MLB, and other leagues. As one of the largest talent agencies globally, it competes with Priority Sports for elite athlete clients while offering broader entertainment and media capabilities.
• Octagon: Octagon is a global sports marketing agency representing athletes across multiple sports and managing sponsorships, events, and consulting. It competes with Priority Sports in athlete representation while operating a significantly larger marketing and events business.

Emerging players

• BDA Sports Management: BDA Sports Management is a sports agency focused on basketball representation, particularly NBA and international players. It competes with Priority Sports in basketball representation at a smaller scale and has been growing its international footprint.

Direct peers

• MVP Sports Group: MVP Sports Group represents athletes across the NBA, NFL, and other professional leagues with a focus on basketball. It competes directly with Priority Sports for NBA clients while operating at a smaller scale.
• Klutch Sports Group: Klutch Sports Group is a prominent NBA-focused athlete representation agency founded by Rich Paul. It directly competes with Priority Sports for top NBA talent and has rapidly grown to become one of the largest basketball-focused agencies.
• Rosenhaus Sports Representation: Rosenhaus Sports is one of the most well-known NFL-focused athlete agencies, representing a large number of NFL players and coaches. It competes directly with Priority Sports' football division for top NFL talent and coaching clients.
• Roc Nation Sports: Roc Nation Sports is the athlete representation arm of Jay-Z's Roc Nation, representing athletes across the NBA, NFL, and MLB. It directly competes with Priority Sports in NBA and NFL representation while leveraging entertainment industry connections for client endorsements.
• Excel Sports Management: Excel Sports Management is a leading independent sports agency representing NBA, NFL, MLB, and golf athletes, with a marketing arm. It is one of the closest direct competitors to Priority Sports in NBA and NFL player representation and has been similarly recognized among the most valuable sports agencies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/prioritysports
• Facebookfacebook.com/prioritysports1
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/priority-sports-&-entertainment
• Instagraminstagram.com/prioritysports
• TikToktiktok.com/discover/priority-sports-agency?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Priority Sports & Entertainment