Menu
Champions

What others are saying …

“My dad died when I was in third grade. [Our parish priest] was the closest thing to a father I ever had. He took us to Orioles games growing up. He took us out to dinner for our birthdays. I was very lucky to have a guy like Father [Joseph] Raley for all those years. And I’d never met anybody like Father Raley in my life until I met Ron. There is an honor code about him that’s just above other men. I’ve never seen anybody so concerned about the other guy.”

— STEVE BISCIOTTI
Baltimore Ravens owner


“Ron was going to encourage you to do the right thing. It’s easy to be insulated and in a vacuum and just think about yourself. It’s easy to have someone tell you how great you are. But sometimes we have to take a step back and look at ourselves. Ron was always the voice of reason, which has gotten even more important as the money has gotten to where it is. You want an agent to not only get you top dollar but to lead you down the right road.”
JIM PALMER
Hall of Fame pitcher and Shapiro client


“I always found Ron was a pretty levelheaded guy. He dealt in realities and tried to get his players to deal in realities. He was no pushover, that’s for sure. He knew what he wanted to get for a player. But like me, he knew when to compromise. And that’s a big thing. Some people’s idea of negotiating is to keep saying no. You don’t get very far doing it like that.”
— HANK PETERS
Former Baltimore Orioles general manager and Cleveland Indians president

“He represents players in their contract negotiations. But for many of his players he was a big brother, a wise uncle, I suppose in some cases even a loving father. And he played those roles with the same kind of zeal that he handled his negotiation responsibilities.”
— LARRY LUCCHINO
Boston Red Sox president and CEO
and former Baltimore Orioles president

“More than anything else, Ron’s way that he has about him is comforting. He’s objective. He comes from the outside. So he’s not emotional. The more that you can work unemotionally in a very emotionally charged business, the better off you are.”
— DANNY FERRY
Atlanta Hawks general manager

“The contract negotiations and many other things that he did, taking me to different meetings and really going through the planning process of what a business would be, were all really helpful things in the next stage of your life. It put me in the company of highly successful people in higher-level negotiations. That gave me exposure and a perspective that I wouldn’t have had if it weren’t for Ron.”
— CAL RIPKEN JR.
Hall of Fame shortstop and Shapiro client

“The tools and the skills that he gave to us could be applicable to anything you do. It didn’t matter if you were with the plumbers union trying to negotiate a deal or us negotiating with the Big Ten or Cal Ripken trying to negotiate a contract. You could use it in any kind of scenario. That’s why he’s been successful.”
— KEVIN ANDERSON
University of Maryland athletic director

“What you see is for real. Some people in their private dealings with others are impossible to deal with. The private Ron is the same as the public Ron. There are not two Ron Shapiros.”
— LARRY GIBSON
University of Maryland law professor,
and Shapiro’s best friend since they clerked together in 1967

“There’s no way we’d be close to where we are without him. He’s giving. He connects emotionally with what we’re trying to do. He’s tough, but fair. He’s got lots of demands on his time, but whenever he can say yes he does. That’s such a great lesson to all of us.”
— BRENDAN TUOHEY
Executive director, PeacePlayers
International, where Shapiro serves as chairman emeritus


“I always had an appreciation for my dad as a father, but it was as I got more responsibility that I came to appreciate what he’s accomplished. There is no accident to his success. He is driven. Disciplined. Focused. A masterful communicator. And yet he has never compromised his values.”
— MARK SHAPIRO
Cleveland Indians president
and Shapiro’s eldest son

— Compiled by Bill King

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2013/02/04/Champions/Shapiro-others.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2013/02/04/Champions/Shapiro-others.aspx

CLOSE