Wasserman Media Group has acquired leading independent action sports athlete representation firm The Sports Syndicate in a deal that will bring about 40 new clients to the agency, including snowboaders Mark McMorris and Torstein Horgmo and motocross legend Ryan Villopoto. By combining the agencies, WMG will now represent more than 300 athletes in the action sports, motosports, endurance sports and Olympics disciplines. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Prior to the deal, The Sports Syndicate was Wasserman’s largest competitor in the action sports space and was similar to WMG Managing Partner Steve Astephen’s former company, The Familie, which he sold to WMG in '03. “Your No. 1 competitor, if you can acquire them, that’s a win-win for anybody,” Astephen said. “They were always our largest competitor. They were always No. 2 and we were always No. 1 in size.” The Sports Syndicate was founded in '00 by Bob McClellan and Bobby Nichols and is based in Newport Beach, Calif. WMG is based in L.A., and its action sports division is based in Carlsbad, Calif. Nichols will join WMG as Exec VP, and the company and its employees will continue to operate out of Newport Beach. McClellan, Jasen “Ninja” Isaacs, Bryan Knox and Dana Mesenbrink will be joining WMG as agents. Astephen said the agents who are joining are accomplished veterans of the action sports business and all are joining WMG in long-term deals. One of the top benefits of the acquisition was gaining the agents as employees, Astephen said, adding they will be able to help WMG grow the business into the future. Both Astephen and Nichols said that while they have competed against each other as rivals for more than a decade, they have long respected each other. “I have nothing but respect for what he has built and now the dividends are now going to pay off because we are definitely like-minded people,” Nichols said. “We run a really strong business and we feel we have some of the best athletes in their specific space. And now we have been blessed enough to join Wasserman, I could not be more stoked.”
CLIENTS GETTING MORE PERKS: Nichols said that joining WMG will give their clients access to its global capabilities as well as the agency’s broad array of services, including social media and creative services. "The future is bright -- and being a little on the cocky side -- I think it’s game over for a lot of guys,” Nichols said. “I think we will now have put the pieces together to pick and choose the premier athletes ... that live in our world.” In addition to Villipoto, McMorris, and Horgmo, The Sports Syndicate represents multiple motocross competitors, snowboaders, surfers, and athletes that compete in water polo and volleyball.
