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Agent says Masters victory is ‘validation’ of Spieth’s potential

Jordan Spieth’s agent says he was already in serious discussions about endorsement deals with a wide range of Fortune 500 companies before 21-year-old Spieth won the Masters in record-setting fashion.

“We had well over 20 different companies that were interested in Jordan Spieth before,” said Jay Danzi, Spieth’s agent at Lagardère Unlimited. “We had 20 to 30 companies probably, and that number has increased significantly.”

Spieth has long-term deals with Under Armour, Titleist, AT&T and Perfect Sense Digital. Companies representing every other major endorsement category, including automotive, financial services and consumer packaged goods, have called, said Danzi, who is also president of Lagardère Consulting.

Spieth with agent Jay Danzi of Lagardère Unlimited (top) after a first pitch throw for the Rangers, and with Kevin Plank of long-term sponsor Under Armour
Photo by: LAGARDERE UNLIMITED
Danzi would not say how close he was to deals for Spieth, but indicated there could be announcements later this spring or over the summer.

“We are not in a rush to do deals,” Danzi said. “We are trying to find the right partners to have long-term commitments with him. He’s 21 years old, and the Masters and the way he handled himself allowed more people to see the really quality kid he is.”

Danzi signed Spieth in December 2012, when Spieth was 19, and negotiated a multiyear deal with Under Armour a month later that includes exclusive rights to his headwear and the logo on his shirt. It is not clear how long the deal with Under Armour was, originally, but the company and Spieth extended to a 10-year deal in January of this year. Danzi would not discuss the financial details, but he indicated that it took into account the possibility that Spieth could win the Masters this early in his career.

Photo by: UNDER ARMOUR
“We believed this was going to happen,” Danzi said. “Jordan believed he was going to win majors, and Jordan wanted to do a long-term deal.”

To much of America, Spieth became an instant superstar, but in golf and companies interested in golf sponsorships, he is no secret. Danzi noted that Spieth tied for second in the Masters last year and was the No. 4-ranked golfer in the world going into this year’s tournament.

His age, and his status as a millennial, makes him attractive to companies. At the same time, Spieth is comfortable playing golf with and talking to company CEOs in their 60s.

“Most kids at 21 can’t interact with CEOs,” Danzi said. “They can’t articulate themselves like 30-year PGA Tour veterans.”

At Augusta last month, his wire-to-wire performance set several records ­— including the most birdies and the best 36-hole and best 54-hole scores — and he became the first competitor to go 19 under.

“The Masters was just a validation of the record-breaking things he was doing on the course and what everybody knew about him off the course,” Danzi said.

Still, his Masters victory gave Spieth instant fame that surprised even Danzi. On his media tour of talk shows in New York City in the week afterward, people were recognizing him on the street and at restaurants. “People are walking up to him,” Danzi said. “He wasn’t in golf clothes; he wasn’t in a green jacket. People at a whole restaurant gave him a standing ovation.”

Danzi began his career as a golf agent at IMG in 1999, where he represented Hunter Mahan. As a young agent, he represented Ben Curtis in 2003, the year Curtis won the British Open.

Danzi signed Spieth as a client when he was running his own agency, Forefront Sports Group, after leaving Wasserman Media Group.

Lagardère Unlimited President and CEO Andy Pierce, who also started his career at IMG, hired Danzi in 2013, for the second time. “In 1999, I hired Jay Danzi at IMG,” Pierce said last week. “He was a rising star then, and he’s a major star now.”

> TLA, PRIORITY TO CO-REP R.J. HUNTER OFF THE COURT: Priority Sports & Entertainment signed Georgia State guard R.J. Hunter for representation on the court and will co-represent him off the court with The Legacy Agency.

At Priority, founder and CEO Mark Bartelstein will represent Hunter on the court and Alex Tarshis, director of athlete marketing, will represent him off the court. At TLA, he will be represented by partner Peter Raskin for marketing work. Another TLA partner, Jordan Bazant, has represented R.J. Hunter’s father, Georgia State basketball coach Ron Hunter, for more than a dozen years.

Ron and R.J. Hunter got national attention during the NCAA tournament in March when the son made a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left that lifted No. 14 seed Georgia State over No. 3 seed Baylor. Video of Ron Hunter, who had recently torn his Achilles tendon, falling off his chair in excitement became a March Madness hit.

For sponsorship deals, “We will look at the usual suspects, but certainly anything family-oriented,” Raskin said.

> WASSERMAN REPS ANOTHER NO. 1 WNBA DRAFT PICK: Wasserman Media Group agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas represents Notre Dame guard Jewell Loyd, who was selected No. 1 overall in the WNBA draft last month.

Colas represents seven No. 1 WNBA draft picks: Loyd, Brittney Griner (2013), Maya Moore (2011), Tina Charles (2010), Seimone Augustus (2006), Diana Taurasi (2004) and Sue Bird (2002). Of those clients, Colas signed Charles, Augustus, Taurasi and Bird after they were drafted.

> NEWPORT REPPING RANGER SKJEI: Newport Sports is representing Brady Skjei, the defenseman and 2012 first-round draft pick who recently gave up his final season of eligibility at the University of Minnesota to sign an entry-level contract with the New York Rangers.

At Newport Sports, agency founder and President Don Meehan and agent Wade Arnott will represent Skjei, 21. Skjei was drafted No. 28 overall by the Rangers when he was 18.

The Rangers did not have the cap room for Skjei on their roster this year, the New York Post reported, and he has been playing for the club’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford (Conn.) Wolf Pack.

Liz Mullen can be reached at lmullen@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @SBJLizMullen.

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