IMG has signed Hall of Fame quarterback and Fox NFL broadcaster
Terry Bradshaw for representation in broadcasting, marketing, sponsorship, endorsements and new business ventures.
Bradshaw will be represented by a team of agents led by Ira Stahlberger, IMG senior vice president of clients.
Bradshaw has long been represented by Hollywood agent David Gershenson and is represented for speaking by the Washington Speakers Bureau. He is under a broadcast deal with Fox. In the past, Bradshaw has endorsed Nutrisystem and the Miller Lite brands, but Stahlberger said he did not believe Bradshaw was under contract with any brand now.
“I think he has been non-marketed,” Stahlberger said. “He is one of the few iconic legends in the NFL and he’s on the air all the time. He’s won four Super Bowls and two [Super Bowl] MVPs. There are not many guys who were that good on the field and also on the air today.”
Sandy Montag, IMG senior corporate vice president and head of the clients division, said that Bradshaw reached out to him about representation through a mutual friend. Montag called Stahlberger and Alan Zucker, IMG senior vice president and managing director of talent marketing, who represents quarterbacks and brothers Eli and Peyton Manning, and both were excited about the prospect of signing Bradshaw, Montag said.
“One of the good things our clients group does is manage former athletes and continue to build their brands,” Montag said. Among the former athletes who are IMG clients are golfer Arnold Palmer, quarterback Joe Montana and tennis player John McEnroe.
In addition to his NFL playing and broadcasting career, Bradshaw has written five books and appeared in films and television shows. He has been on “The Tonight Show” 30 times and was scheduled to appear on the show later this month to promote his one-man show, “Terry Bradshaw: America’s Favorite Dumb Blonde … A Life in Four Quarters,” in which he will sing and tell stories and jokes at the Mirage in Las Vegas on June 28-29.
Stahlberger said IMG may look to NFL sponsors for endorsement and other deals for Bradshaw but that they were not targeting any specific brand or category.
> FORMER NFL AGENTS WORKING IN FINANCIAL SERVICES: Jim Steiner and Ken Kremer both built big careers as NFL agents, first as rivals and then as partners at CAA Sports. Now both will be working in the financial services industry in sports.
Kremer has been hired as an insurance agent with New York Life Insurance Co. in Overland Park, Kan., near Kansas City, after completing the Investment Company Products/Variable Life Contracts Representatives Exam, commonly known in the insurance business as the Series 6 Exam. Steiner, meanwhile, has joined Morgan Stanley Wealth Management after successfully completing the firm’s training requirements.
As reported in this column last year, both Steiner and Kremer planned second careers after retiring from the agent business. Both spent the last six years at CAA Sports. Kremer was an NFL agent for 25 years and was the longtime partner of former IMG NFL agent and current CAA Football co-head Tom Condon. Steiner worked in the NFL agent business for 35 years, including at the former SFX Sports with Ben Dogra, who is also a CAA Football co-head.
In their new careers, Steiner and Kremer won’t be working together, but they won’t be competitors, either.
“Competitors?” Steiner wrote in an email to SportsBusiness Journal. “Certainly not. He’s in the insurance business. I am in the wealth management business. … I hope he kills it.”
Both, meanwhile, said they are excited about their new careers. “I love it,” Kremer said. “I think it’s a much different business. It’s not necessarily better or worse, [but] I think it is less stressful.”
> BORAS SIGNS MLB PLAYERS: The Scott Boras Corp. has signed Baltimore Orioles pitcher Wei-Yin Chen and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Trevor Rosenthal for representation. Boras will represent them.
> BDA SIGNS NBA PROSPECTS: BDA Sports has signed prospects for this month’s NBA draft, including Colorado forward Andre Roberson, Saint Mary’s point guard Matthew Dellavedova and BYU center Brandon Davies. Bill Duffy, Ugo Udezue, David Mondress and Rade Filipovich will represent the players.
Liz Mullen can be reached at lmullen@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @SBJLizMullen.
