Wasserman Agency Expands MLB Business By Acquiring Jet Sports Management

Global sports management and marketing firm 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. Jet Sports founder B.B. Abbott will join Wasserman as executive vice president and baseball managing executive. He’ll be accompanied by eight Jet employees, including six other MLB agents.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

With the move, Wasserman adds to the revenue from its sports agency division. Typically, MLB player agents receive commissions of as much as 5% from negotiated contracts, and firms can also take a percentage of player marketing deals. Jet Sports is known as one of the more effective firms in baseball. In March, it landed Olson a $168 million extension. It also finalized Buxton’s $100 million agreement with the Minnesota Twins in November.

Acquiring Jet Sports also strengthens 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 roughly $650 million in contracts under management and has negotiated a total of over $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 well-respected baseball representation businesses 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 calculated Wolfe made $52.4 million in commissions in 2020.

The Jet Sports acquisition follows two moves by Wasserman over the last 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’ most valuable sports agencies list. According to Forbes data, the company brings in over $330 million in commissions with more than $5 billion in contracts under management.

During the pandemic, top sports agencies expanded operations by raising capital from private equity firms and acquiring smaller firms.

Wasserman has been particularly active. In 2020, the company took an investment from RedBird Capital Partners, a private firm that also owns stakes in Fenway Sports Group, which in turn owns the Boston Red Sox. Wasserman also purchased college sports marketing firm Riddle & Bloom. In January 2022, it acquired sports agency The Montag Group.

Other notable athletes repped by Wasserman include NFL wide receiver Amari Cooper and Klay Thompson of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors.