SFX Chair ROBERT SILLERMAN, whose company recently
purchased FAME, is now one of the "three most important
suits in the NBA," along with Commissioner DAVID STERN and
DAVID FALK, according to Shaun Assael of ESPN MAGAZINE.
Sillerman helped found The Marquee Group in '95, and his
"likely next step" will be to combine FAME with Marquee "to
create a sports mega-agency." With the consolidation of the
sports agency business, Assael writes that Sillerman may be
"a sports version of Michael Ovitz." However, an SFX exec
said Sillerman "doesn't have the ego needs of an Ovitz.
He'll be as aggressive, but not as high-visibility." Assael
writes "that's good news for Falk" as he heads into
offseason contract talks and may rep not only his own client
list, but "potentially" Marquee's "as well." Assael:
"Sillerman's role at the NBA power table? Nobody's sure.
But remember that during the peak of Ovitz's power, he was
setting the salaries of virtually every performer in the
entertainment business -- a scary thought if you're David
Stern" (ESPN MAGAZINE, 6/1).
