Many of the sports media professionals represented by Sandy Montag and his team at The Montag Group are seasoned veterans who resonate with audiences and represent themselves in a professional manner. Whether it is Bob Costas, Mike Tirico or Jim Nantz, he works with them to ensure that they successfully sustain their brands as on-air talent and are fairly compensated. Many seminal industry moves involving Montag have shaped the sound of sports divisions within media conglomerates, and he is also someone to whom media executives turn for suggestions and advice. Although Montag keeps up with the news cycle, he is often prescient about key business negotiations and transactions well in advance.
Even though part of Montag’s job is to act as an agent for clients, he does not like the designation and believes it holds a negative connotation. Conversely, he thinks of himself and his colleagues as career guidance counselors, vernacular that places augmented emphasis on working in the best interest of clientele. The agency has talent, consulting, content and media services under its umbrella, and it looks to accommodate and support its patrons on a daily basis.
“A lot of agents are like, ‘Oh my God, if this client goes here, this client goes there, we’re going to make more money as an agency,’” Montag explained. “We’re in the service industry, so I don’t think about how much money we make. I think about servicing our clients, and if we’re doing a good job, everyone’s going to do well.”
Not all media talent utilize representation, but Montag contends that it holds value through access to comprehensive, recondite industry knowledge and foresight. Navigating corporate labyrinths and knowing how to facilitate conversation and close deals also provides reasons for people to explore representation.
“I just think it’s the power of you have to be represented by people who have the power to talk to people at the top of a network or the top of the team or a league and also be represented by people who are in the know and not surprised when something comes out,” Montag said. “….I don’t really like surprises.”
Maintaining a line of constant communication prevents Montag from being nonplussed or astonished with new developments or changes in client attitude. Rather than simply being involved in contract negotiations, he is regularly attending sports games and events where he interacts with stakeholders and networks. Furthermore, Montag remains accessible and routinely speaks with his clients, who could voice displeasure about assignments, losing rights to a broadcast property or another issue.
“One of the other perceptions is you do a five-year deal [and it is], ‘Okay, I’ll talk to you in five years,’” Montag said. “No, the way we operate is, ‘Alright, we did a five-year deal. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,’ and it’s more we’re not just dealmakers.”
Sports media professionals face heightened competition as more companies venture into broadcasting, including technology firms and digital-focused brands. For example, Netflix continues to assimilate into sports and entertainment through deals to broadcast NFL games on Christmas Day, WWE Raw and the FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament. Montag recognizes the importance of talent to be versatile and distinctive, part of which is having large social media followings to generate engagement and exhibit reach.
“A lot of our clients have millions and millions of followers on different social media platforms,” Montag said. “That’s how younger demographics are consuming sports, so I think it’s those ways where you can sign talent that can get to the demographic that really matters today.”
Before he began his own talent agency, Montag started working in the sports media business as a Chyron operator for CBS Sports broadcasts of NFL games with its lead broadcast team of Pat Summerall and John Madden. One day, someone informed him that Madden was looking for someone to travel with him by train since he had an aversion to flying. Upon interviewing and receiving the position, Montag started taking the long train rides and learned more about the former head coach and Super Bowl champion.
While working as Madden’s assistant, Montag was on the payroll for International Management Group (IMG), the company that represented him, and later ended up becoming his agent. One of his first major deals was with Greyhound Lines to provide Madden with a customized bus and drivers for advertising and speaking events. The vehicle became known as the “Madden Cruiser,” and it became synonymous with the football analyst and personality amid his three-decade broadcasting career.
“Just seeing the country on the ground, I think you just learned a lot about a lot of different things really,” Montag said, “and I was a 23-, 24-year-old kid having that opportunity to do that and see different types of people and different types of cultures throughout America.”
Montag recognized that Madden was a popular presence among advertisers and would usually receive inquiries from companies rather than having to pitch their services. Yet he estimates Madden to have declined opportunities nine out of 10 times and always signed multi-year contracts, staying true to his values and demonstrating loyalty to brands. In fact, he once declined a seven-figure offer from an airline to fly from San Francisco to Oakland and say, “These fares are so low, I’ve started flying again.”
“It’s a lot easier to negotiate when you have leverage really, and clearly as a broadcaster, there was no one like him really,” Montag said. “He was so far better and in a different category than anyone else at that time, and any time his network contract was up, we just always had every network really interested in talking to us about it. And I think because of that, he did the rare thing of essentially working for every network in his career.”
Since Montag was affiliated with IMG, he would watch incoming tapes during the offseason of broadcasters and begin to differentiate skill levels. Under the guidance of Mark McCormack, Barry Frank and Jean Sage, he learned more about representation and listened to phone conversations on office couches. After some time with the company, Montag began to land more clients and continued to showcase his skills.
“A lot of it was just I was the low man on the totem pole when it came to representation,” Montag said. “When there was interest in signing someone else, a lot of times I was the person, and just really in the late ‘80s and 1990s, I just started building out a client roster.”
As Montag worked his way to become the head of client representation over 31 years with IMG, the company was sold several times. Upon Ted Forstmann passing away in 2011, the company was purchased by William Morris Endeavor and Silver Lake for $2.3 billion. Montag was then given the opportunity to run the clients division with President Mark Shapiro, but he informed co-chief executive officer Ari Emanuel that he was not interested.
“At the time really, [it] was something that I wanted to do,” Montag said, “and [I] had a lot of loyalty from my clients who came with me and several key employees who started it with me.”
Within the first four years of business, the firm merged with IF Management and Vision Sports Group, bolstering the venture and adding further expertise. Furthermore, the company adopted the verbiage of ‘group’ in its name because of Montag’s belief in teamwork and that several people should work with each client. The agency has a team of experienced professionals with comprehensive business proficiency, some of whom include Maury Gostfrand, Alex Flanagan, Nick LoPinto and Matt Massimino.
“There should be no internal competition on, ‘Hey, don’t talk to my client,’” Montag said. “It’s our client, and I think that we have a culture of teamwork, and I clearly represent a lot of our high-end people, but I also get involved in everyone’s clients just from helping out and from helping them grow and using our connections. And so to me, the team approach is extremely important [in] what we do and important in representation.”
Montag and his colleagues help guide their clients through the expeditious information highway and interact with the media, but they also refrain from breaking confidentiality clauses or trying to plant stories. Even though he conveyed there to be misinformation being circulated regarding salaries, there is a widespread desire to conceal pecuniary figures and other details. Montag does not feel that there is any significant advantage to having a salary in public, classifying it as a bit of a game in sports media.
“It’s a little different on free agency [with] team sports and positioning your client and all that, I just think,” Montag said. “We’ve never consciously put out a client’s salary to give us an advantage in negotiation. I know what everyone makes in the industry, and if I were to use any information like that, I’d use it privately in a negotiation, not publicly.”
Montag does not surmise the best deals for his clients as those that do not leave any money on the table. While he ultimately wants to receive as much money as possible for a client, there can be perdurable effects and other aspects that may factor in surrounding the role and services. Montag discerns that a good deal benefits both parties and tries to preserve harmonious synergies and concordance for the future.
“Say it’s a five-year deal, you then have to live with that deal for five years, and that’s servicing the client, managing the relationship between the network and the client,” Montag said, “and if you’re going to leave that negotiation with a bad taste in your mouth from the other side, there’s going to be some ill will going forward.”
Wasserman acquired The Montag Group as part of a transaction in January 2022 that allowed the firm to continue operating under its name. The impetus of entering this transaction was based on recognition that the companies could help one another in certain genres. At the time, Wasserman did not have a bonafide media division, while The Montag Group had a dearth of access to current athletes. The deal has helped facilitate movement into these spaces, such as Montag’s company representing New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan, who will work with FOX Sports for Super Bowl LIX.
“It’s an extremely competitive landscape,” Montag said. “Almost every athlete [says], ‘Oh, I’ll just go into television when I’m done playing,’ and there’s just not enough jobs really to go around for that, so you really have to start thinking about your post career during your current career, and I think we form relationships and help athletes really work on that craft while they’re still playing.”
As Montag continues to assist his clients in this new year, he remains grateful to have fostered meaningful relationships with industry professionals and the chance to work alongside his children. With professionals situated coast to coast, he continues helping to drive the proverbial cruiser on a road towards prosperity for each of his clients, who set and adjust the route accordingly. Montag immerses himself in the lives of those he represents, and he appreciates receiving thanks for being responsible for a portion of their success.
“I love the people I work with, represent and work within the industry,” Montag said. “They’re lifelong friends, and we’ve kind of lived through our business lives and our personal lives together. If I didn’t do this, I have no idea what else I would do.”
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Derek Futterman is an associate editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, email Derek@BarrettMedia.com or find him on X @derekfutterman.
