Minnesota Twins star Byron Buxton’s salary will increase to $15 million in 2023, up from about $9 million this season. The deal was brokered by Jet Sports in November.
Global sports management and marketing company Wasserman added to its Major League Baseball roster, acquiring Tampa-based Jet Sports Management, the company told Forbes.
In the transaction, Wasserman’s baseball unit will merge Jet Sports’ clients, which include All-Stars Byron Buxton and Matt Olson and Hall of Famer Chipper Jones. The founder of Jet Sports, B.B. Abbott, will join Wasserman as executive vice president and executive manager of baseball. He will be accompanied by eight Jet employees, including six other MLB agents.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
With the move, Wasserman increases revenue from its sports agency division. MLB player agents typically receive commissions of up to 5% of negotiated contracts, and companies may also accept a percentage of player marketing offers. Jet Sports is known as one of the most effective companies in baseball. In March, he got Olson a $168 million extension. It also ended Buxton’s $100 million deal with the Minnesota Twins in November.
The Jet Sports acquisition also bolsters Wasserman’s MLB roster, which includes New Yankees manager Aaron Boone and All-Star players Nolan Arenado and Yu Darvish.
Jet Sports estimates it has about $650 million in contracts under management and has negotiated a total of more than $1 billion since its founding in 1999. In a statement, Jason Ranne, Wasserman’s chief operating officer, called Jet Sports “one of the most successful and good”. – respected baseball representation companies for over two decades in a highly competitive space.
The Jet name will no longer be used, and Abbott will co-lead Wasserman’s baseball division with MLB agents Joel Wolfe and Adam Katz. Wolfe negotiated Giancarlo Stanton’s 13-year, $325 million contract in 2014. Forbes estimated that Wolfe earned $52.4 million in commissions in 2020.
The acquisition of Jet Sports follows two moves by Wasserman in the past month. It launched a division to represent rugby players and expanded its golf unit by acquiring Mullhaupt Management, an agency that represents PGA Tour and LPGA players.
Los Angeles-based Wasserman ranks second on Forbes’ list of most valuable sports agencies. According to Forbes data, the company brings in more than $330 million in commissions with more than $5 billion in managed contracts.
During the pandemic, major sports agencies expanded operations by raising capital from private equity firms and acquiring smaller companies.
Wasserman has been particularly active. In 2020, the company took an investment from RedBird Capital Partners, a private firm that also has stakes in Fenway Sports Group, which in turn owns the Boston Red Sox. Wasserman also bought college marketing firm Riddle & bloom In January 2022, it acquired the sports agency The Montag Group.
Other notable athletes represented by Wasserman include NFL wide receiver Amari Cooper and Klay Thompson of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
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