RAINMAKER

A blustery but insightful look at the dollars-and-cents work of sports agents.

Hired in 1972 by Mark McCormack’s International Management Group, Norton dedicated himself to building a roster of golfers, practitioners of a sport that has grown “from the mom-and-pop operation it was when I began my career to the multibillion-dollar juggernaut it is now.” One of McCormack’s clients helped set the tone: Arnold Palmer, who had signed a promotional contract that was “littered with restrictive clauses” that effectively claimed ownership of Palmer. McCormack quickly disabused them of that notion, establishing an innovative practice that—for 20% of the cut—had many pros making much more in endorsements than they did in salary or winnings. Norton took up the baton, and years later he brought a young Tiger Woods onto the pro circuit, effectively setting him up financially for life before he took his first swing. “By the time Tiger raised the trophy that Sunday evening in Portland,” writes Norton, “his Nike logo apparel had been sized and tailored, his Nike shoes had been tested for comfort, and a Titleist staff bag emblazoned with his name and filled with a set of custom-fitted clubs was as ready to hit the PGA Tour as he was.” The money was astronomical, and getting at it as Norton did will be the subject of Harvard Business School case studies to come. Part of the job description, seemingly, is to be cocky and abrasive, and the author displays both traits. He’s not ashamed to scorch former clients, either—e.g., Greg Norman (“no individual in the game of golf…has ever been aligned more perfectly with the motives of the Saudis: power, money, and image burnishing”—or to dish wagonloads of gossip with vengeful glee.

Essential reading for the future Jerry Maguires in the audience.