Sports agent David Falk ’72 to speak at Charity Sports Auction

Sports agent David Falk ’72 to speak at Charity Sports AuctionMarch 28, 2006Wendy S. Loughlinwsloughl@syr.edu

Renowned sports agent David Falk ’72 will deliver the annual Jreck Subs Distinguished Lecture April 6 at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. The event is free and open to the public.

Falk is one of the most powerful people in professional sports. The former chair and CEO of FX Sports Group has represented the top players in NBA history and has negotiated record-breaking contracts for his clients, both on and off the court.

He began his career representing professional athletes with ProServ in1974, rising to vice chair of the company. In 1992, he formed Falk Associates Management Enterprises (FAME), providing specialized and personal representation service to the company’s elite clientele of NBA superstars. During his career, Falk has represented more NBA first-round draft selections, lottery picks, Rookies of the Year and All-Stars than anyone else in the athletic management business.

Falk negotiated the highest contracts in NBA history for Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks) in 1985 and Danny Ferry (Cleveland Cavaliers) in 1990. He negotiated professional sports’ first $100 million contract in 1996 for Alonzo Mourning as part of an unprecedented free agency period in which FAME changed the entire salary structure of the NBA, negotiating more than $400 million in contracts for its free agent clients in a six-day period.

During his career, Falk has also been credited with being sports marketing’s leading innovator. In 1985, he negotiated Michael Jordan’s ground-breaking deal with Nike, which is the most successful endorsement relationship in history, andin the process coined the name “Air Jordan.” He also negotiated notable shoe endorsement contracts for James Worthy in 1982, Boomer Esiason (who became the first

NFL player to endorse the Reebok “Pump”) in 1987 and Allen Iverson with Reebok in 1996.

In 1996, Falk crossed over into entertainment as he executive produced the Ivan Reitman/Warner Bros. feature “Space Jam,” Michael Jordan’s first film, teaming Jordan with the Looney Tunes in an intergalactic basketball showdown. In 2000, he executive produced “Michael Jordan to the Max,” the critically acclaimed large-format feature on the NBA legend. Falk also served as executive producer of the Emmy-winning “On Hallowed Ground,” a documentary on the history of the Rucker Park Basketball League, which received a gold medal at the 2000 New York Film Festival, as well as “One Love” (2003) and “Young Guns” (2004). Falk was a founding partner, along with Quincy Jones, of New Urban Entertainment (NUE), a multi-faceted entertainment company that focused on the development, production and marketing of entertainment drawn from the urban experience.

In 1998, Falk sold FAME to SFX Entertainment and served on SFX’s board of directors and in the office of the chairman. As chair of SFX Sports Group, Falk oversaw the acquisition of a dozen sports agencies that enabled SFX to represent approximately 20 percent of MLB and NBA players. Falk stepped down as chair in 2001 to pursue other interests, but continues to serve as SFX Basketball’s founder.

Falk ranked second, behind NBA Commissioner David Stern, in a Basketball Digest survey of the most influential people in basketball. He has been a perennial selection to The Sporting News’ “100 Most Powerful People in Sports.” In 1999, Advertising Age named Falk to its “Marketing 100” list of the country’s top 100 marketers. USA Today selected Falk as an “Ad/Marketing Powerbroker of 1996.”

His talk is part of SU’s Charity Sports Auction, hosted by the Sport Management Club, a student organization in SU’s College of Human Services and HealthProfessions (HSHP), and HSHP’s Sport Management Program. The event will raise money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Syracuse, as well as the student club.

Falk is the chair of the Sport Management Advisory Board. He earned a J.D. from George Washington University in 1975.