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IMG
L5 · AGENCIES · MULTI-SPORT AGENCY / EVENTS · NEW YORK, NY

IMG

IMG (International Management Group), now part of Endeavor. The legacy multi-sport agency-and-events platform, with strong tennis, golf, fashion, and college-sport practices alongside selective football representation. Less football-roster-led than peer agencies but structurally important in events and rights.

Type
Multi-sport agency / events / rights
Founded
1960 (IMG); Endeavor 2014
Headquarters
New York, NY
Leadership
Ari Emanuel (Endeavor CEO) · Mark Shapiro (Endeavor President)
Scale headline
Multi-sport platform
01 AT A GLANCE

The legacy platform

IMG was founded by Mark McCormack in 1960 and built into the dominant multi-sport agency-and-events platform of the late 20th century. Endeavor (the talent-agency holding company that owns WME) acquired IMG in 2014, integrating the platform into Endeavor's broader sport-and-talent architecture. The football-specific footprint is materially smaller than CAA Stellar / Wasserman / Gestifute by representation roster, but IMG remains structurally important in football events, broadcast-rights distribution, and adjacencies.

The 2026 picture is integration with Endeavor's broader sport platform — including the UFC operating cell, the WME representation arm, and the broader events-and-rights infrastructure — rather than independent football-agency competition.

02 THE NUMBERS

Scale and structure

Agency type
Multi-sport agency, events platform, rights distribution. Football-specific representation a smaller share of broader IMG / Endeavor architecture.
Source · Disclosed
Parent group
Endeavor Group Holdings. NYSE-listed (END.N) with subsequent Silver Lake-led take-private completed 2024.
Source · Disclosed
Roster size (football)
Smaller than top football-specialist agencies. IMG's football contribution increasingly through events, rights, and sponsorship rather than player representation.
Source · Reported · Estimate
Marquee clients
Tennis: Roger Federer (historic), Naomi Osaka. Golf: Tiger Woods (historic). Football: selective top-tier representation; less marquee-roster-led than peers.
Source · Reported
Geographic footprint
Global. Offices across North America, Europe, Asia. Primary football events and rights work across European and continental markets.
Source · Disclosed
Disclosed revenue
Endeavor segment reporting indicates IMG / Sports division revenue in the billions. Football-specific share not separately disclosed.
Source · Disclosed (Endeavor 10-K)
Notable transfer involvement
Modest relative to top football-specialist agencies. IMG's football revenue increasingly through events and rights distribution.
Source · Reported
Leadership
Endeavor CEO: Ari Emanuel. Endeavor President: Mark Shapiro. IMG sports leadership: embedded across Endeavor's broader sport architecture.
Source · Disclosed
Regulatory exposure
Operating under FFAR framework for player representation; broader sport-rights and events distribution operates under separate regulatory frameworks.
Source · Disclosed
Strategic posture (2026)
Endeavor integration. Continued integration with Endeavor's broader sport-and-talent platform. Events and rights focus. Football events and rights distribution rather than agency competition.
Source · Reported
03 OPERATING REALITY

What the institution actually does

IMG's operating model since the Endeavor acquisition has shifted away from independent football-agency competition toward integrated events, rights distribution, and sponsorship work within Endeavor's broader sport-and-talent platform. The legacy IMG football-events portfolio (Indian Super League operating partnership in earlier years, selective continental events work, broadcasting-rights distribution) provides the platform's principal football revenue.

The Silver Lake-led take-private of Endeavor in 2024 has consolidated the broader Endeavor architecture under private-equity control. IMG's football operations continue under the integrated Endeavor sport platform; the strategic posture has shifted further away from independent football-agency competition toward events-and-rights infrastructure.

04 STRATEGIC POSTURE

Direction in 2026

IMG's stated direction in 2026 is integration with Endeavor's broader sport platform and continued focus on events, rights distribution, and adjacencies. The platform does not compete with CAA Stellar or Wasserman on football-player-representation scale; the strategic differentiation lies in the events-and-rights infrastructure.

The post-2024 Silver Lake take-private architecture provides patient capital for platform integration. The medium-term football-specific posture is unlikely to shift toward roster-led competition.

05 SOURCES
  • Endeavor Group Holdings 10-K and segment disclosures (2021-2024)
  • IMG and WME communications under Endeavor
  • Silver Lake-led Endeavor take-private reporting (2024)
  • Trade press: FT, Sportico, The Athletic, Hollywood Reporter (2014-2026)
  • Indian Super League operating-partnership disclosures (historic)

One system. Infinite connections.

Explore how IMG fits into the football business ecosystem — and how value flows between every layer.

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