Rosenhaus Sports Representation has signed 14 veteran NFL players during the offseason — a record for the agency — and has expanded into the business of representing basketball players.
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PETRIELLA
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RSR has hired Bobby Petriella, a 34-year-old basketball agent based in Las Vegas, as its first director of basketball. Petriella has represented players in the NBA G League and pro players overseas, but has not yet signed a player on an NBA roster.
“We want to go with a younger guy to break in,” said Drew Rosenhaus, who founded the firm with his brother Jason Rosenhaus in Miami 30 years ago. “That’s really how we wanted to build. We wanted to build from the bottom up. We didn’t want to buy anyone’s practice. We wanted to do things our way.”
As previously reported, RSR started a baseball division in May by hiring Dennis Wyrick, a young MLB agent who is working to build a practice by signing young talent. Rosenhaus is also eyeing expansion into representing coaches and broadcasters, he said.
Petriella said he has been close on representing first-round NBA draft prospects, making it to the final rounds of players’ agent interview process. “I was getting to the finish line with these first-round picks, lottery picks, but I couldn’t get them to sign with me because I didn’t have a big name behind me,” Petriella said.
Petriella said he has quietly been working for RSR for the past few weeks. He gave his card with the Rosenhaus name on it to some basketball people attending the Summer League and surrounding events in Las Vegas earlier this month and said it has already made a difference in how he is perceived. “I think it will translate real well in basketball. I think the Rosenhaus name is really going to help,” Petriella said.
Rosenhaus said he and his brother will mentor Petriella, as he is mentoring Wyrick, but they will concentrate their efforts on NFL players. RSR represents more than 100, making it one of the largest agencies in the space.
Expanding into other lines of athlete representation has not slowed RSR in its core business, reflected by the 14 players the agency has signed since the Super Bowl.
New clients include Carolina Panthers guard Trai Turner, Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Willie Snead, Indianapolis Colts tight end Erik Swoope and Chicago Bears defensive end Akiem Hicks.
RSR also signed Browns wide receiver Ricardo Louis, Saints wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr., New York Giants defensive end Devin Taylor, Miami Dolphins linebacker Neville Hewitt, Dolphins cornerback Byron Maxwell, Detroit Lions defensive end Armonty Bryant, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Ryan Russell, Green Bay Packers safety Josh Jones and Washington Redskins running back Matt Jones.
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Cleveland Browns receiver Ricardo Louis is among the veterans new to the Rosenhaus firm.
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“You know veterans are a double bonus because these are guys who are in the league, who have gone through the process and in many cases are pretty savvy about agents,” Rosenhaus said. “It’s something we are excited about, because it really sends a positive message about the duration of our company.”
RSR also represented nine rookies, and recently picked up defensive end Carroll Phillips, who was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars after going undrafted out of Illinois in April.
Drew Rosenhaus represents all the players but is assisted by other RSR agents including his brother, Robert Bailey, Ryan Matha and LeRon McCoy.
“You always want to move in a positive direction as an agency,” Rosenhaus said. “And an agency never stays the same. You’re either getting better or you are getting worse.”
