Institutional capital is increasingly seeking to invest not just in teams and media rights, but in the agencies that broker talent, sponsorship and strategy.
When one of the world’s premier investment banks takes a majority stake in a leading sports-agency, the signal to the industry is unmistakable: the agency layer has arrived.
On November 10, the New York-based agency Excel Sports Management announced it had entered into a definitive agreement with Goldman Sachs’ Private Equity business to form a strategic partnership. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, and the terms were not disclosed.
Yet multiple external reports peg the valuation at close to US$1 billion for a controlling stake.
“We have been impressed with Excel’s position at the heart of the fast-growing sports ecosystem and believe in their sustained, long-term success,” said Leonard Seevers, Partner in Private Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives.
“Excel capitalises on the combination of deep consumer loyalty to sports franchises, premier brands, and continued innovation in fan engagement, and we are excited to partner with Jeff and the rest of the Excel team to unlock new possibilities across the broader industry.”
Excel represents roughly 750 clients, with rosters in baseball, basketball, football and golf. Its cients include Tiger Woods, Jared Goff, Nikola Jokić, Caitlin Clark, and Cal Raleigh.
Excel’s platform, now scaled
Excel was founded in 2002 by Jeff Schwartz and has grown to operate across multiple sports – basketball, baseball, golf and football. Its remit extends beyond talent management into brand marketing, property advisory and event/hospitality services. In its press release the agency notes a roster of “rising stars, MVPs, all-stars and Hall-of-Famers” and partnerships with marquee properties including the NBA, EPL, NFL, MLB, F1 and NCAA.
From the sport-industry vantage point, Excel’s proposition serves as one of the few agencies combining athlete representation, global rightsholder advisory and brand activation under a single roof. With offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, London and further operations in Europe and the Middle East, its geographic span supports global ambitions.
The Goldman Sachs partnership gives Excel access to capital, a broad institutional network and wealth-management capability.
“Goldman Sachs is an exceptional partner … our organisations share a mutual commitment to excellence and integrity … Goldman’s access, expertise, and extensive resources will provide a powerful platform to accelerate Excel’s expansion and enhance the value we deliver to our clients worldwide,” says Schwartz.
Why agencies and why now
- The explosion in athlete commercial value: Growing salaries, endorsements, monetisation of Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) and media rights are expanding the addressable market for representation. Agencies that can manage not just contracts but athlete-led equity, intellectual property and data stand to gain.
- Sponsorship and rights-holder monetisation demand scale and integration: Brands increasingly prefer global, data-driven solutions for sport activations. Agencies that can offer premium access, analytics and global reach are turning into strategic partners, not just vendors.
- Global growth and cross-border expansion are critical: With new markets in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia, agencies require both capital and infrastructure to service global mandates. Private-equity backing enables a more aggressive expansion profile.
- Investor appetite for sport is high: Unlike some entertainment sub-segments, live sport remains resilient, and agencies benefit from that anchor of live content, athlete brand growth and sponsorship staying power.
Taken together, agencies are now seen as the ‘unlock’ point between athlete/rights-holder/brand value. Financial institutions – which historically targeted teams, stadiums and media rights – are now recognising the agency layer as fertile ground for investment and influence.
Implications for athletes, brands and rights-holders
From the athlete perspective, the rise of mega-agencies with institutional backing means representation is expanding into enterprise management. Athletes increasingly expect their agency to function as a growth partner, managing ventures, IP, hospitality, investment and global brand.
For an athlete, the difference between a traditional boutique agency and a fully-backed platform like Excel’s new iteration could be significant.
For brands, the shift signals that agencies are moving from activation specialists to strategic enablers. With deeper capital and global footprint, agencies can offer holistic solutions – talent + rights + event + data. The brand’s primary interface may increasingly become the agency rather than a rights-holder or league.
For rights-holders (leagues, clubs, events), the consolidation of agency capabilities under large, capital-backed platforms presents both opportunity and risk. On the opportunity side: one stop for global sponsorship sales, cross-property deals, multi-market activations. On the risk side: fewer vendors, increased negotiating power for agencies and potential conflicts of interest if a single agency represents talent, sponsors and properties.
The governance challenge of an agency backed by a bank is non‐trivial. Sport-industry stakeholders must ask whether the interests of talent and rights-holders are always aligned, or whether investor-driven imperatives could drive a different outcome.
