Independent Sports & Entertainment

What Independent Sports & Entertainment does

Independent Sports & Entertainment (ISE) is a privately held, integrated sports representation, management, sales, consulting, and marketing agency headquartered in Los Angeles, with additional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, and Indianapolis. The firm represents professional athletes in Major League Baseball and the National Football League, offering contract negotiations, draft and arbitration preparation, rookie transition support, brand development, endorsement brokering, Name Image and Likeness (NIL) marketing, public relations, community outreach, and post-career management. It operates through three branded divisions: ISE Baseball, ISE Football, and ISE Marketing Services, with the baseball division publicly stating it has negotiated more than $1 billion in MLB contracts over the past five years. ISE is part of a broader affiliated network of entertainment agencies that includes Independent Artist Group, Coda, Independent Talent Group, Xray Touring, and APA, extending its reach into film, television, music, modeling, and live events.

ISE generates revenue through two primary streams: (i) commissions and management fees tied to athlete representation and contract negotiations, and (ii) transaction-based fees from endorsement deals, brand partnerships, memorabilia and trading card arrangements, and NIL marketing engagements. Its go-to-market is a sales-led, enterprise-style field motion that relies on decades of personal relationships, former-athlete credibility, and direct engagement with athletes, teams, and sports organizations; the firm also leverages its cross-industency network to source non-sports commercial opportunities for its clients. The company is privately owned (Independent Sports & Entertainment, LLC), has 101-250 employees, and discloses no venture capital, private equity, or institutional investment.

ISE's distribution is exclusively direct: services are delivered through its own agents and marketing staff, with no third-party intermediaries or channel partners. Its technology footprint is minimal — a corporate website, Google Analytics, and active social media profiles on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, and LinkedIn — and the firm's competitive positioning rests on agent talent (several former professional athletes among the agent bench), industry reputation, and cross-agency network access rather than on proprietary technology or AI capabilities.

Name

Independent Sports & Entertainment

Legal name

Independent Sports & Entertainment, LLC

Website

https://iseworldwide.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

ISE is a Los Angeles-headquartered sports representation and marketing agency serving NFL and MLB professional athletes through dedicated Baseball, Football, and Marketing divisions, delivering contract negotiation, endorsement brokering, NIL marketing, and post-career management services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Athlete Representation and Management Fees: ISE generates revenue through representation and management services for professional athletes, including contract negotiations and ongoing career management support.
2. Marketing and Endorsement Services: ISE creates and facilitates endorsement deals, brand partnerships, and marketing opportunities for athletes, earning fees or commissions from these transactions including consumer advertising, appearances, memorabilia and trading card deals.
3. NIL and Endorsement Opportunities: ISE develops Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) marketing opportunities for athletes, particularly in college sports, creating revenue streams through endorsement partnerships and brand collaborations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ISE is a sports representation, management, sales, consulting, and marketing agency that represents professional athletes (primarily NFL and MLB players) across contract negotiation, draft and arbitration preparation, brand creation, endorsement deals, and post-career management. The firm operates three core divisions — ISE Baseball, ISE Football, and ISE Marketing Services — delivering end-to-end career support and brand-building services to clients worldwide.

Product overview

Independent Sports & Entertainment (ISE) is a sports representation, management, sales, consulting, and marketing agency offering services to athletes and sports professionals. The company operates through three main divisions: ISE Baseball (MLB player representation with over $1 billion in contracts negotiated in the last five years), ISE Football (NFL player representation with contract negotiation and post-career management), and ISE Marketing Services (brand development, endorsement deals, social media strategy, content creation, public relations, and community outreach support). ISE is part of a broader network spanning sports, entertainment, film, television, music, modeling, and live events/venues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ISE Baseball ISE Baseball is the MLB player representation and management division of ISE, providing contract negotiations, draft preparation, arbitration preparation, marketing, and NIL endorsement opportunities to professional baseball players. The division has negotiated over $1 billion in MLB contracts in the last five years and has represented numerous Hall of Famers, MVPs, and MLB All-Stars.
• ISE Football ISE Football is the NFL player representation and management division of ISE, encompassing draft preparation, rookie transition assistance, contract negotiations, marketing endorsement opportunities, community outreach and foundation management, public relations, and post-career management for professional football players.
• ISE Marketing Services ISE Marketing Services delivers comprehensive marketing and brand development services including brand creation, social media strategy, content development, public relations, community outreach, foundation support, speaking engagements, memorabilia and trading card deals, and concierge services. The team connects athletes with endorsement opportunities through traditional, digital, and equity-driven endorsement deals.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Independent Artist Group (IAG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerISE is part of a network of companies that includes Independent Artist Group, which spans sports, entertainment, film, television, music, modeling, and live events and venues.
• CodacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoda is part of ISE's network of companies spanning sports, entertainment, film, television, music, modeling, and live events and venues.
• Independent Talent GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndependent Talent Group is part of ISE's network of companies spanning sports, entertainment, film, television, music, modeling, and live events and venues.
• Xray TouringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerXray Touring is part of ISE's network of companies spanning sports, entertainment, film, television, music, modeling, and live events and venues.
• APA (Artists & Representatives Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPA (Artists & Representatives Agency) is part of ISE's network of companies spanning sports, entertainment, film, television, music, modeling, and live events and venues.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Excel Sports Management: Independent athlete representation agency focused on MLB, NFL, and golf, with a marketing arm for endorsements. Closest direct comparable to ISE in sport mix, size, and integrated marketing offering.
• Athletes First: NFL-focused player representation firm with additional basketball and baseball coverage. Directly comparable football division and end-to-end contract negotiation plus marketing model.
• Roc Nation Sports: Athlete representation and sports management agency founded by Jay-Z, representing NFL, MLB, and basketball players alongside endorsement dealmaking. Comparable integrated sport + brand offering.
• Priority Sports & Entertainment: Mid-sized athlete representation agency with NFL and MLB practices plus a sports marketing arm. Operates at similar scale and structure to ISE.
• Relativity Sports: Athlete representation firm with NFL, MLB, NBA, and soccer divisions, created out of Relativity Media. Directly comparable multi-sport model with integrated marketing capabilities.

Broad incumbents

• CAA Sports: Sports division of Creative Artists Agency, one of the largest talent representation agencies globally. Overlaps with ISE in NFL/MLB representation but offers massive global marketing infrastructure across entertainment, media, and sports properties.
• WME Sports (Endeavor): Sports representation and marketing arm of WME/Endeavor, covering multiple sports with the backing of a publicly listed global entertainment and sports platform. Competes for the same marquee athlete clients as ISE.
• Octagon: Global sports marketing and athlete management agency with deep NFL, MLB, and soccer capabilities, owned by Interpublic Group. Overlaps with ISE's marketing and endorsement services, with larger talent roster and brand partnership scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/iseworldwide
• Facebookfacebook.com/iseworldwide
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/independent-sports-&-entertainment-ise-
• Instagraminstagram.com/iseworldwide

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Independent Sports & Entertainment