Octagon won in Best Talent Representation at the '18 Sports Business Awards. Octagon Founder & President Phil de Picciotto joked that while "everyone in the office avoided me on this subject for the past month ... I did feel like we had a real good chance again this year." It was a year during which Octagon engineered huge talent deals, like Warriors G Stephen Curry's max five-year, $201M contract with the the team and Bucks F Giannis Antetokounmpo's Nike shoe deal. Still, de Picciotto said it was the cause-related deals, like Gold Medal-winning swimmer Michael Phelps' new philanthropic venture to raise awareness regarding mental health and Gold Medal-winning gymnast Aly Raisman's efforts to combat sexual abuse, which made the difference. "This was a turning-point year in talent representation across the board," he said. "There was so much emphasis on social causes and social justice. Talent just breaks through to deliver those messages effectively. Everyone in the industry was cognizant of the impact we could have there and it was satisfying and clearly rewarding to be so broadly represented in that area."
