Player agent and counsel Jacobson joins APE

27 September 2017

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Justin M. Jacobson, APE

The Agency for Professional Esports, APE, has some new blood with the announcement that Justin M. Jacobson has joined as player agent and counsel.

In this capacity Jacobson will be heavily involved in the agency’s day-to-day legal and business development matters.  He will also assist in the recruiting and signing of new talent to the agency. 

Prior to joining APE, Jacobson has worked in traditional sports with NFL, NBA and MLB pro athletes, in addition to music producers, songwriters, and fashion designers.

We interviewed Jeff Suhy and Jason Moore back in February to discuss their plans for APE, and they spoke of waiting for that true ‘breakthrough’ star. 

Speaking to Esports Insider, Jacobson explained why he joined APE: “I joined APE for a variety of reasons. First, it is an honor to link with such a quality organisation as the foundation they have laid thus far will be beneficial to my growth in this sector.

“APE also provides me with the ability to work with like-minded and well-known individuals who share the same goal and philosophy toward talent management and brand development.  Additionally, I joined in an effort to expand their operations to New York and the East coast to better serve the major East coast markets as well as the European and Asian markets. I hope to bring a new attitude and approach to the marketing and development of “branded” content based on my prior extensive experience in this area to help compliment their current practices.”

As to why he believes the company is needed in the space, he said: “To date, APE has made huge strides in talent representation and the overall “brand” management of professional gamers.

“They currently represent some of the world’s top talent in a variety of games. They have negotiated major marketing and player contracts on behalf of their clientele and have consulted for a variety of esports businesses. In particular, the work the agency is doing on behalf of its gamers, including their vigorous representation while negotiating on behalf of their players, sets them apart from others in the field.”

He continued: “In particular, they are competent professionals who fully understand the entire business landscape. There seems to be a string of ‘consultants’ and ‘player agents’, with little to no actual contract negotiation and/or drafting experience, working on behalf of professional gamers, and they are negotiating with major organisations represented by competent professionals.

“Ultimately, the biggest issue facing esports talent management is assisting the gamers to understand the short and long “value” that these individuals can bring to their career. This includes assisting in avoiding potential issues that would have been avoided if they aligned themselves early on with proper management and advisers.”

Esports Insider says: APE has a solid backbone of contacts in the world of entertainment, and with Jacobson comes a wealth of experience of dealing with pro athletes in major sports which can only be a positive for the esports players that sign up with the agency.