Wasserman is no longer just a talent agency, launching a division to invest in sports and entertainment

In the 21 years since its inception, Wasserman has grown far beyond its roots in representing sports talent, expanding into music and entertainment, and partnering with brands and sports properties such as leagues and teams. Now, the mighty institution has a new branch: Wasserman Ventures.

The unit, announced Wednesday, will be led by executive vice president and managing director Darren Ross and formalize Wasserman’s existing entrepreneurial efforts, investing in companies and products where the agency believes its expertise and relationships give it an edge.

“We have a very unique product right now, an ecosystem where we can see sports, music, entertainment, culture — we understand the assets, the brand, the talent — and that gives us a great opportunity that no one else can Interesting perspective to get,” Ross said Forbesadding, “These are opportunities for us to help assess the effectiveness or attractiveness of different businesses and ideas.”

Areas of particular interest at the outset include artificial intelligence, technology around the fan experience, and new leagues and special events. The first investment the division will announce Thursday is one such upstart: the Circuit Racing International Tour, a cycling series founded by professional racer and Wasserman client Justin Williams. With Wasserman’s backing, the PGA Tour plans to host three events this year at mainstream stadiums.

Funding deployed by the venture capital group will come from Wasserman’s internal balance sheet — with no direct financial involvement from outside investors or the agency’s roster of talent — typically in the range of $500,000 to $5 million. The targets will primarily be early-stage startups “on the verge of commercial take-off,” but Ross said his team also has the flexibility to take a small stake in a later round of funding, even with the right opportunity.

“It’s not classic VC; it’s not really private equity because we don’t usually have a majority stake,” said Ross, who joined Wasserman in 2021 when the agency acquired his college-focused marketing firm, Riddle & Bloom . “We’re really looking for these opportunities, and we understand running something in the market that can help accelerate those businesses.”

He added, “We don’t want to jump in and out quickly on these — the idea is to live with them for a few years and help them grow.”

Wasserman is not the first sports organization to dabble in venture capital. WME, under parent company Endeavor, Launch of WME Ventures With a $50 million fund in 2016; Endeavor has since integrated its early-stage investment efforts into a broader corporate development group. In 2020, CAA launched Connect Ventures, a partnership with venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates that has invested in nearly three dozen companies so far.

All three agencies, along with rivals such as Excel Sports Management and Octagon, have experienced rapid growth in recent years, snapping up smaller rivals, expanding overseas and into new sports, and expanding their offerings. Amid a wave of consolidation across the industry, Wasserman acquired football agency Esportif, golf agency Mullhaupt Management, baseball agency Jet Sports Management, talent marketing agency BSE Media Group and soccer agency Caric Sports Management just last year.

Wasserman No. 2 in November Forbes the list Most Valuable Sports Organization in North America, second only to CAA. Managing an estimated $7.68 billion in active player contracts and $1.81 billion in other types of contracts (including endorsement, content and coaching deals), the agency will collect as much as $733 million in commissions over the life of those contracts.This represents a huge increase compared to the previous Forbes Agency Rankings In 2020, Wasserman managed contracts worth an estimated $5.7 billion.

But today’s top agencies do more than negotiate with general managers, they help athletes with business ventures, licensing opportunities, social media accounts, media appearances and more. Many also extend their sports marketing efforts beyond talent representation — for example, organizing ad campaigns for brands, or spearheading media rights and stadium naming rights deals.

Nor are they content with sports. For example, Wasserman has been building out its music vertical since launching in 2021 through the acquisition of Paradigm Talent Agency’s North American live music representation business.

Wasserman Ventures simply gives the agency more avenues to expand.