Interview with agent Adam Pensack of Pensack Sports Management Group

Sportando had the chance to interview Adam Pensack, a basketball agent of Pensack Sports Management Group.

When did you start your career as basketball agent (where you a basketball player)?
Pensack Sports Management Group was formed in late 1999. At the time my brother/business partner, Ben, was finishing law school and I was finishing college. During law school my brother was an intern at a big agency in Los Angeles so we had an idea of how to get started but we mostly taught ourselves everything. In our first few years I obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) which helped us put some structure around the company and also helped us apply some proven business concepts to how we market our clients. It was not easy at first but we have come a very long way since then.

Both Ben and I were basketball players growing up and basketball has been our #1 passion for as long as I can remember. That passion has remained with us all these years and it is what continues to drive us today.

Who was your first client?Our first client was Shawn Dirden from the University of Idaho. Shawn was the last cut of the Phoenix Suns and went on to have a successful career overseas for years. We sent him to China, Lebanon, Sweden, Venezuela, and elsewhere. Shawn is now an assistant coach at Montana State University and he remains a very close friend. When we find other hard working and honest people in this business we tend to stick with them forever and Shawn will be a lifelong friend.

Where did you place your first client?
The first deal we did was for Shawn Dirden in China.

How does the process of recruiting new players work?
Recruiting is a very important aspect of this business. It is not easy because there are so many agents out there but the marketing plans we put together for players today are second to none and players are starting to really appreciate what we bring to the table. The most important element of recruiting is that we attend a lot of college games every year and we look for players that are very talented but also good people off the court. I think if you look at some of the players we signed this year you will see that they are all cut from this mold – top level talent, hard working, well spoken, coachable, etc. Thankfully we are at a point where we can be picky about the players we choose to recruit and represent.

Which is the best part of your job and which is the worst part?
I really like almost everything about representing basketball players. I go to games. I meet new people. I help create top-notch marketing packages for our clients. I negotiate contracts. I really love it all. I even enjoy the competition, which can be intense at times, so there really isn’t a worst part.

The aspect I personally like most is statistical analysis. This is an area that is incredibly important to us because teams in the NBA and in Europe are starting to focus on it more and more every year. Basketball is like every other business in the world – it is numbers driven. However, in the past, only surface level statistics (eg. points per game, rebounds per game, etc.) have been emphasized. Now we have advanced stats and with my background in statistical and financial analysis we are able to put together statistical marketing packages for our clients that are extremely useful for teams and very valuable for our clients. Our statistical packages help us get our clients the best possible opportunities and increase the value of the contract offers we obtain for them.

How is this summer going with your clients?
This summer has been very good for Pensack Sports. We sent a player to Olympiacos, the reigning Euroleague champions. That was a very complex negotiation but we got the deal done for our client. We helped one of our clients get drafted in the NBA draft. We also obtained over 50 pre-draft workouts with NBA teams for our rookies this year. We completed several of the largest rookie contracts in Europe this season. We helped a few clients double and even triple their salaries for the coming season. Overall, it has been a very good summer for us – the best we’ve ever had. And last year was better than the year before. So, we are really moving in the right direction. All the credit really goes to the hard work of our clients though. We just put the best possible marketing packages around them – they do all the hard work on the court. We are fortunate to work for such a hard working group of players and people.


How is the financial crisis hitting the basketball market?
There is no doubt that the financial crisis is having an impact. Some markets have been hit harder than others but nearly every market is being impacted negatively. The good news is that every business is cyclical so the market will rebound eventually. The key in times like this is simply to outwork the competition. For players, this means never taking a game off – statistics and wins are important. For us, it means proactively marketing our clients year round using the best possible marketing tools. Some of the deals we closed this summer are deals we were working on during last season. Some of them are deals we worked on for years and the timing was finally right to get a deal done.

Anyhow, the market is tough right now but it will rebound. Basketball continues to grow in popularity around the world and ultimately that is what will bring the market back to where it was a few years ago and beyond.

As an agent, do you think FIBA Bat is useful?
Absolutely, FIBA BAT is very useful. We have used it and won several cases in the past. Hopefully it won’t be necessary as much in the future but even now most teams are honest and do what they are obligated to do. When teams do not honor contracts, though, FIBA BAT is an incredibly important tool to help players and agents get the money they are owed.