Who Is Jeff Schwartz? The New Billionaire Russell Westbrook

Excel President Jeff Schwartz (far right) with an intern discussing his early days as an agent (Instagram @excelsm)

JAKARTA - Russell Westbrook has made a difference in his basketball career by working with the NBA's most successful agent; Jeff Schwartz, president and founder of Excel Sports.

After parting ways with his longtime super agent, Thad Foucher, due to "irreconcilable" differences, Westbrook decided to go with who Forbes considers "the world's leading basketball agent for the fifth year in a row" in 2019.

Growing up in Cheshire, Connecticut, Schwartz began his sports management career in 1992 at the International Management Group (IMG). There he began his career managing the careers of tennis legends Pete Sampras, Marcelo Rios and Martina Hingis.

After seven years, he joined the Artists Management Group (AMG) and built the athletes division into a multi-sport company representing top athletes in tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and baseball.

Quoted from Marca, Wednesday, Schwartz created Excel Sports Management in 2002. Since then, his career growth has been unstoppable. Schwartz's most famous clients include NBA players: Kemba Walker, Kevin Love, Tyler Herro, Khris Middleton, Blake Griffin, Jamal Murray, John Collins, and Brandon Ingram.

He has established himself as the most successful agent in the NBA and has grossed over $1.8 billion in contract revenue.

Luxury but discreet lifestyle in Miami

In 2020, Schwartz purchased a $5 million home in Coral Gables, Florida. The two-story home was built in 1957 and sits on 1.4 acres in Miami-Dade County.

The super agent lived in New York until 2020, but then decided to take advantage of the start of the pandemic era to move to sunny Florida.

He limits his press appearances and tends to stay away from large corporate events or gatherings whenever possible.

King endorse

Schwartz has grossed millions of dollars in endorsement deals, including several with Nike, Under Armor, Adidas, 361°, Spalding, AT&T, KIA and Red Bull. One of the many things that sucked star athletes into joining Excel Sports, one of which was Tiger Woods.