The Denver Nuggets locked in a key piece of their championship roster, Jamal Murray, with a four-year $208 million deal, effectively keeping him out of free agency the next summer, and in the ‘Mile High City’ for the foreseeable future. For an oft-injured player like Murray, getting a deal of this dimension naturally raised concerns.

Despite being a high-impact player, especially in the playoffs, injuries have been a constant for the Canadian. Take, for instance, the torn ACL that saw him miss the entire 2021-22 season. Hence, it was a calculated risk on the side of the Nuggets. And who do you think brought the whole thing full circle? Murray’s agents, of course! So, why don’t we take a quick look at these incredible men?

Meet Jamal Murray’s agents – Mike George and Jeff Schwartz

Anybody visiting Jeff Schwartz’s office wouldn’t believe that he is, in fact, a well-known, powerful, and respected sports agent. Jeff Schwartz chooses to keep memorabilia of his impressive career to a minimum. But by no means does that mean he is oblivious to the challenging nature of the job. Cutthroat and highly competitive, maintaining your position amongst the top names takes constant work.

And Schwartz describes it in the most simple and straightforward manner possible. “If you want a set schedule, don’t get into sports. If you want to do well, you have to live this job,” he said to Andrew Beaton in a 2017 interview with WSJ Magazine. 

The man has a long list of top-tier clientele that extends beyond just the NBA. Most notably, golf legend, Tiger Woods as well as NFL superstar Eli Manning are part of his client list. Jeff’s tennis roots run deep in that the 60-year-old began his career in sports management as an agent at International Management Group in 1992, managing the careers of tennis greats like Pete Sampras, Marcelo Rios, Martina Hingis, etc.

In 2002, though, Jeff Schwartz decided to forge a path of his own. And that’s how Excel Sports Management took shape. From then, it has been an uphill climb. In a 2022 Forbes article listing the most powerful sports agents, Schwartz ranked second with $86 million in commissions. In fact, among the NBA powerhouse agents, he ranked at the top.

Fast forward to 2011 and that’s when Excel turned into a multi-sport agency as baseball and golf agents, Casey Close and Mark Steinberg, joined Schwartz. Since then, they have grown to encompass a lot more, including media talent, women’s sports, coaches, executives, and more. But perhaps what helped him in his journey (at least to an extent) was probably his law background.

Raised in Cheshire, Connecticut, Jeff enrolled at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law. His first professional job was as a clerk for a federal judge, followed by a role as a litigation associate at a law firm. However, the law clearly wasn’t his calling, although it may have provided him with the necessary skills to be successful in his business endeavors.

If you still haven’t got an idea just how huge Jeff Schwartz is, here’s a little extra fact – Excel Sports Management represents Taylor Swift. Yeah, we will let you chew on that as we move on to Mike George.

Mike George – the brain behind One Legacy Sports Management

George set out to begin his sports management agency after 20+ years in the field. And with a competitive team with him, Mike already has an impressive clientele. Needless to say, much of his experience came from his time at Excel. The full-service sports marketing and management firm has offices in Toronto and Arizona.

A Toronto native, George has a firm foundation in with quite a lot of elite Canadian talent. In fact, he was one of the co-founders of the prominent Canadian youth basketball program CIA in 2002. With the addition of another popular NBA agent, Steve McCaskill, in 2019, he was able to take One Legacy to greater heights.

Recently, though, they made another business move – joining hands with Klutch Sports. Unfortunately, there isn’t much information about Mike George other than a few snippets here and there. But his impressive client list speaks for itself.

• Oshae Brissett
• Dillon Brooks
• Jamal Cain
• Eugene Omoruyi
• Jamal Murray
• Dwight Powell
• Shaedon Sharpe
• Duane Washington Jr.
• Daniel Gafford
• Kenneth Lofton Jr.

Well, you get an idea now, don’t you? Jamal Murray is certainly in safe hands.