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- Priority Sports & Entertainment is a full-service sports management firm, representing NFL and NBA athletes and coaches, based in Chicago, Illinois and Sherman Oaks, California. Priority Sports is one of the largest independently owned sports agencies in the US. It was founded in 1985 by Mark Bartelstein, a former investment banker at Morgan Stanley. In 2013, Priority Sports & Entertainment was named on Forbes' list of the 10 World's Most Valuable Sports Agencies and the 8 Most Valuable NFL Agencies. In 2014, Priority was recognized as #7 among the World's Most Valuable Sports Agencies by Forbes, with $560 million in contract value under management. In 2015, Forbes ranked Priority #20 on the list, with $947.52 million in contract value under management and $33.2 million in commissions. Priority Sports & Entertainment, fueled by its heavily sought-after client Gordon Hayward, was the big winner in 2017's NBA free agency, leading all agencies in the total dollars negotiated so far. Priority led the pack with $354.6 million negotiated for nine players. Priority Sports finished #2 among all agencies in the 2017 NFL "free agency" signing period, negotiating over $243 million in contracts (QB Kirk Cousins, WR Mike Evans, C Ryan Jensen, OG Zach Fulton, QB Josh McCown, OT Jack Mewhort, QB Jake Rudock, TE Josiah Price, FB Zach Line, LB Mike Mauti, and QB Drew Stanton), and finished #1 among all agencies worldwide for the highest percentage guarantees in their contracts. Since founding Priority Sports, Bartelstein has been rated as one of the most influential sports agents by Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal. He first gained acclaim after negotiating the contract for NBA star John "Hot Rod" Williams, because it made him the highest paid player in the history of team sports at the time. (en)
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