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Austin Brown has represented six first-round picks in the past two NBA drafts, including Zion Williamson, the No. 1 pick last year who has been hailed as the most talented player of his generation.
CAA Sports’ basketball division represents 71 players on 2019-20 opening-night rosters. Brown and his team orchestrated more than $820 million in new NBA deals in the 2019 offseason, including $415 million in veteran free-agent contracts. Brown negotiated a four-year, $117 million max deal for free agent D’Angelo Russell and helped orchestrate the trade that sent him to the Golden State Warriors. Russell was traded again last month to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Co-Head, CAA Sports, Basketball Division
Age: 34
Born: Evanston, Ill.
Education: DePauw University, B.A., communications/economics; Washington and Lee University School of Law, J.D.
Advice to my 20-year-old self: Think before you react or speak. Then once you’ve done that, think again.
Profession I’d most like to attempt: Politics.
Could not go a day without: Talking to or texting with my mom.
Cause supported: Project Ghana.
Person in the industry I’d most like to meet: Pelé.
Most unusual question I’ve been asked while networking: “Do you really get to talk to NBA players?”
Sports industry needs to do a better job of … : Hiring people of color in front-office positions around various teams and leagues.
Sports business leaders should be more mindful of … : Remembering what it was like when they were first trying to break into the industry when approached by prospective candidates trying to do the same.
“Without question, Austin has the opportunity to be one of the greatest agents in the history of the basketball business,” said Howard Nuchow, CAA Sports co-head.
Brown started his career on Wall Street, working as an analyst at JPMorgan in New York, before going to law school and then working at sports agencies.
Like many agents, Brown was an athlete. “I played small college basketball and had some offers to play overseas, but nothing of substance,” he said.
His father, who started his own brokerage firm in the Midwest specializing in municipal finance, was a big influence. “My dad is literally a self-made man,” Brown said. “He exposed me to that, but he is also the first person who put a basketball in my hands.”
Since becoming an agent, Brown turned down an offer to join the Timberwolves as assistant general manager. “It was something I gave a lot of consideration,” he said. “But ultimately, I love what I do and I felt I owed it to my clients. … When I looked into their families’ eyes and said, ‘I’m going to be with you every step of the way,’ I felt I owed it to them to hold true on that promise.”
