Black Sports Agents
While the ball exchanges hands between quarterbacks and point guards on the field and the court, their money is being exchanged from franchises to sports agents in the corporate sky boxes above. Black sports agents are few in number, but rich in clientele – many of them owning their own agencies and representing top athletic talent both in the States and abroad. Armed with advanced degrees in law or business, these agents are handling everything from contract negotiations to endorsement deals to advertising campaigns; these behind-the-scenes dynamos are quietly propelling today’s sports stars into future sports legends.
Allan Houston and Bill Strickland, Right
Career Overview: One of the most revered names in sports management, Strickland is the founder and CEO of Blackwave Media Group, a multi-portfolio management company in entertainment, sports, marketing and online media. He was the first black agent to be listed as one of the “100 Most Powerful People in Sports” by The Sporting News, and he has been noted by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the “50 Most Powerful African-Americans in Sports.” He ran Strickland Management for more than seven years and served as president of the Basketball Division of IMG – the world’s largest sports Management Company – for five. Strickland is also a sports and entertainment lawyer, specializing in negotiation/dispute resolution.
Clients Represented: Strickland has represented a plethora of clients throughout his career, including Rasheed Wallace of the Boston Celtics and Dante Culpepper, formerly of the Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings.
