WME Sells WME Basketball Business to Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro

WME is set to divest its basketball representation business, and may make a similar move for its baseball representation business, as it navigates some conflicts of interest associated with the firm’s take-private by Silver Lake, which closed last month.

WME will spin out WME Basketball into a new independent venture that will be owned by WME Group executive chairman Ari Emanuel, WME Group president and managing partner Mark Shapiro, and Bill Duffy, whose BDA Sports Management WME acquired in 2023. Duffy, Carlos Fleming, Bret Just and Karen Brodkin will move over to the new company.

The conflict of interest stems from Michael Dell’s family office being a capital investor in the take-private. Dell owns a stake in the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.

WME basketball reps some of the biggest names in the sport, including the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic, and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards.

Meanwhile, WME is in talks with the Major League Baseball Player’s Association about how it should move forward with its WME baseball representation business. Silver Lake owns Diamond Baseball Holdings, which owns some 43 minor league teams across the country. WME Baseball’s clients include the New York Yankees’ Anthony Volpe and the Chicago Cubs’ Ian Happ.

It is possible that WME could try to divest its baseball representation business, or find a new option for Diamond Baseball Holdings, though next steps are still TBD.

WME previously sold its NFL representation business to Patrick Whitesell, who had been executive chairman of Endeavor before the take-private transaction. That sale was spurred by Silver Lake’s ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders.

WME Sports will still operate as a part of the agency, focusing on stars from the worlds of tennis, golf, Olympic and action sports, sports content, and broadcast media.