How to Play the Game

On this episode of the How to Play the Game Podcast, Darren Heitner is joined by NFL agent David Canter, who just recently sold his sports agency to acquirer GSE Worldwide.

Topics include: (1) When David got his start in the sports agency world and what caused him to want to represent pro athletes; (2) How the business of representing professional athletes has changed since David started practicing as an agent; (3) Why now was the right time to sell his agency; (4) What stood our about GSE Worldwide among other potential acquirers; (5) The process of being targeted as a possible acquisition from when there was initial interest until the deal finally got done; (6) How much NIL and marketing played into David's decision to join up with a larger organization; (7) What the acquisition means for his existing clientele; and (8) After so many years in the business and objectively a large amount of success during that time, is there still anything specific David hopes to accomplish or any goals he has set for the future.

Follow Darren: @DarrenHeitner

Follow David: @DavidCanter

Chase Garrett and Drew Butler joined the How to Play the Game Podcast to break down the first month of name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights for college athletes and highlight how their company, Icon Source, has played a role in the explosion of athlete deals during the first four weeks. They highlighted how their platform now has over 10,000 athletes and thousands of brands, connecting to engage in potential NIL deals such as the landmark agreement negotiated between Haley and Hanna Cavinder (the Cavinder Twins) and Boost Mobile. They expect gold medalist Suni Lee to have great opportunities as she enrolls at Auburn and hope to be part of Bryce Young doing deals beyond the roughly $1 million that he has thus far secured (Bryce is on the Icon Source platform). The biggest brand campaign that they have had on the Icon Source platform was over 6-figures. Amazingly, no school compliance department has rejected any of their athlete/brand deals. After a month, Drew and Chase say that they have had more deal flow than they could have imagined and that the biggest surprise thus far is how many athletes are receiving great deals that they are rejecting.

Follow Chase: @ChaseGarrett23

Follow Drew: @DrewButler

Follow Icon Source: @iconsource_

Follow Darren: @DarrenHeitner

Scott O'Neil, CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, takes a break from celebrating the Philadelphia 76ers cruising into the 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs to discuss the release of a brand new book called, BE WHERE YOUR FEET ARE. The conversation wasn't about the 76ers success, but instead whether the team is learning as much this year at the top of the Eastern Conference as what the franchise learned when it only won 10 games in a single season. O'Neil explained that he primarily wrote the book to help create the next generation of leaders. He found that the Instagram life we live in that looks perfect is actually not so perfect. O'Neil wanted to share that it's okay and that life is messy; everything will be fine. He opened up and talked about how he has been fired from a high-profile job, ran a company into the ground, was flat broke, and getting foreclosure notices on his house in his life. When bad things happen, there's an incredible opportunity that presents itself. "I'm not ashamed of the failures or the falls or the slips because it's a part of who I am." It was great to hear how important being present is to Scott and why we all need to do a better job putting our phones down from time to time and keep our heads up. Scott also points out that is okay to ask for help and it is important for us to check in on people to make sure they are fine. He even drops a good line from Caddyshack. He also drops the gem that you should keep picking incredible people to work for and that you should not only dream but dream bigger. We finish with a quick chat on blockchain, crypto, and NFTs.

Follow Scott: @ScottONeil

Follow Darren: @DarrenHeitner

In this latest episode of the How to Play the Game podcast, host Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) is joined by Jock MKT co-founder Dave Isman (@DaveIsman). They discuss Jock MKT's differentiation from other types of more traditional fantasy sports products (buying shares in players and being able to live trade those shares in the marketplace), the company's recent $10 million Series A round of funding, the strategy of working with individual influencers and content creators in the fantasy sports space for onboarding new users, Jock MKT's position on the hierarchy of fantasy sports companies, lack of fear for fantasy sports as sports betting expands across the country, upcoming goals that the company hopes to hit, and the process of selecting their name (which was registered as a trademark with the help of Heitner Legal).

On the latest episode of the How to Play the Game podcast, I spoke with New York Mets starting pitcher Taijuan Walker about his own experience dabbling in the world of NFT auctions. Walker very recently completed a five-day auction of a one-of-one digital card that sold for 2.35 Ether, or roughly $4,000. He says that the experience was rewarding and that he is looking into hosting more auctions in the future.

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Follow Darren Heitner on Twitter/IG: @DarrenHeitner

In this latest edition of How to Play the Game podcast, Darren Heitner interviews Jason Howarth, vice president at Panini America. They discuss Panini America's commitment to digital trading cards and building on the blockchain, how he views the rise of non-fungible tokens (NFT) like NBA Top Shot, what makes him most optimistic about further growth in his space, and much more.

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On Clubhouse: @heitner

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Former National Football League vice president Casey Schwab left the union in 2020 to create Altius Sports Partners. Since then, his company has signed LSU, Texas, and the University of South Carolina to assist the schools with preparations for when college athletes will earn the right to make money off of their names, images, and likenesses. In this interview, I talk to Casey about the challenges in building a business from scratch with the need to sign up institutional clients, and what the future holds for college athletes to take advance of their names, images, and likenesses for commercial gain.

Follow Darren on IG/Twitter: @DarrenHeitner

On Clubhouse: @heitner

HeitnerLegal.com | SportsAgentBlog.com

When Fernando Tatis Jr. signed a 14-year, $340 million deal with the San Diego Padres, he was happy, his family was happy, his agents were happy, and so was a guy named Michael Schwimer. He is the founder of Big League Advance, which gave Tatis Jr. money when he was in the Minors in exchange for equity in his future playing contracts. It will pay off for Schwimer and his investors. How did Schwimer come up with the concept for the company? How much money does it have at its disposal? How many players has it signed? Why doesn't the Major League Baseball Players Association like the business model? We discuss that and much more on this latest edition of How to Play the Game.

Follow Darren: @DarrenHeitner on Twitter and IG; @heitner on Clubhouse.

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Today’s episode is my participation on a recent Sports Law and Negotiations Panel at the Sports Industry Networking & Career (SINC) Conference. I discussed how COVID-19 has affected my practice and Sports Law in general; my biggest piece of advice for someone looking to break into Sports Law; what I think will be a hot subject area in Sports Law moving forward; and the status of name, image, and likeness laws throughout the United States.

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Tweet me or follow me on IG at @darrenheitner

Connect with me on Clubhouse @heitner

What is NBA Top Shot? What are NFTs (non-fungible tokens)? What is digital art? All of these questions and more are answered by guest Justin Herzig, owner of $400,000 worth of Top Shots and co-founder of the Own The Moment podcast. Justin answers a lot of important questions about the craze surrounding Top Shot, NFTs, and digital art, including what exactly the user owns, concerns about market manipulation, issues surrounding a market that may be driven by quick profits as opposed to true collectors, and much more.