Black American Moguls 4 Year Anniversary 2018 issue

Publisher’s Page New Levels

The American Dream is still very much alive. Even in the midst of an unstable Presidency and civil unrest, we are still in the best position to seek opportunity by being on American soil.

I think it’s time for our excuse finding and blame placing mentality to morph into personal responsibility and action. Make a plan, take action, do something about what bothers you.

If someone puts his foot on your neck, you have the choice whether to lay there and take it, or to squirm in resistance trying to eventually make your way up off the ground.

Kanye West says slavery was a choice. It had to be a choice because why else would you allow someone to enslave you for 400+ years? I think that is a fair question. Why did American slavery last so long? Why are we still at the mercy of others for economic dependency? It’s like the life was beaten out of us, with no hope in sight.

I have been publishing this magazine for 4 years. And it was meant to solve a problem. The problem of poor images and false narratives about the community. Giving a platform to remarkable Entrepreneurs who represent the excellence that is rarely told or showcased in the mainstream, legacy, and notoriously fake news media.

And while we spend a great deal of our time profiling American based companies, the fastest growing segment of our readership comes from African countries. Countries like Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa. We have to pay attention to this trend and plan our business accordingly.

The way I see it, we are an international magazine and our content needs to reflect this new level. We are grateful to all who read, glance, share, appear within the pages; and those who grace the covers. Thank you for sharing your stories with our readers. It’s time to go bigger and higher. You ready? We are already there!

Blessings,

New Lady On the Block

Looking at the 5’4 inch frame of this 130-pound woman, you would not realize what she’s gone through to be one of a handful of black female agents representing NFL footballers. Theresa Therilus has seen it all. The founder and CEO of TGT Sports Marketing, LLC had to overcome assumptions from her male colleagues and the NFL players that she knows nothing about the sport, sports agency and marketing.

Her success is proof of the long road that black female agents have to take to reach the top.

One of her potentially first clients made a remark that left a bad taste in Theresa’s mouth. He brought a signed representation agreement to Theresa. After handing it to her, he said he would “sleep” with her one day. She handed the agreement back to him after letting him know that such a thing would never happen “in a million years.” The athlete tried to change the tune by saying he admired Theresa’s knowledge of NFL.

She has seen firsthand how much wrong perception there exists regarding people who have never played NFL before. It’s hard enough to represent NFL players when you’ve never played the sport at the highest level. It’s doubly hard if you are a woman on top of lacking the much treasured playing, managing, or playerrepresentation experience. Good news is Theresa overcame it all.

Theresa has long years of experience working as a sports and entertainment attorney.

She offers her legal counsel and expertise to professional entertainers and artists too. Previously, she worked as an Assistant Attorney General for Florida.

Today, she represents athletes playing NFL because she has always been a fan, first.

Theresa Therilus

(CEO of TGT Sports Marketing, LLC)

Proves How Hard it is for Black Female NFL Agents to Break Through

Sports marketing is an adrenaline-filled, highly competitive industry. It’s a volatile and male-dominated industry. To see women such as Theresa make a name for themselves is reassuring. It has taken toil, sweat and blood to get even a foothold. Theresa says she’s no longer concerned about those who doubt her knowledge and expertise in sports management. She goes on with her work of representing her clients.

She embarked on this journey in 2011. The agent’s race and gender will always contrive to make her one of the minority. However, Theresa says she has seen a changing in attitudes in recent times. No longer are the gazes, doubts and whispers as severe as they were 7 years ago when she was starting. She promise to continue running her own race and ensuring her clients get the best representation to focus on what they are good at.

The BLUEPRINT for Becoming a SPORTS AGENT

Sports agents play a very important role in the life of athletes. They represent athletes during contract negotiations. They ensure their clients – the athletes – don’t have to worry about anything else other than putting in stellar performances. Their success depends on many factors. Most agents are judged based on the perceived value and reputation of the clients they represent. It is a long road to become a sports agent.

One has to follow a blueprint to qualify to work as an agent.

The duties of any sports agent can be summed up as:

a) Recruiting athletes

b) Negotiating contracts

c) Managing the clients’ images

The movie Jerry Maguire and TV show Ballers provide a better understanding of sports agents.

Some agents enter this line of work accidentally. Rich Paul –LeBron James’ agent – is a perfect example of those who began their careers accidentally. However, assuming that it’s been your dream to work as a sports agent, you must start from the bottom. What that means is that you need to go through the requisite training. A law or business educational background can also set you up for a future as an agent.

A degree in sports management would also help your career greatly.

In some places, you have to register with the authorities and obtain the necessary paperwork before you start working as a sports agent. Check what your local or state authorities require. Complete the paperwork and pay your fee before you contemplate representing any athlete. In the United States, you can’t represent student athletes before complying with the requirements of the Uniform Athlete Agents Act (UAAA). Soon, that act may also apply to agents who desire to represent professional athletes.

It takes years before you build a solid reputation as a sports agent of note. While starting, it would be great to work under an experienced hand to gain valuable knowledge that would prove beneficial in your career. Understand the sports. Understand the league rules governing the sports your dream client competes in or plays. Understand what athletes in that particular sports value the most. Get to grips with the things that athletes look for in sports agents.

In summary, what you need is:

a) Understanding your work

b) The right education

c) Licensing and certification

You require people skills. Talk with the athletes you wish to represent. Understand what they want from their careers. Know how to represent their interests during contract negotiations. That would mean polishing your contract negotiation skills too. Be ready to work fulltime under an established agency. Study hard. Observe the current trends in the industry. Watch what is happening with athletes.

Be ready to represent your athletes passionately.

THE 7 BEST SPORTS MANAGEMENT DEGREE PROGRAMS IN THE US

Anyone who desires to go into sports management has to consider a few options first. The focus should mainly be on the choice of sports management degree programs to take. Fortunately, there are several options. The US has the best programs worth considering.

Sports management is a vast field and only the right education can help you function in it successfully. It delves deeply into the business side of sports and recreation. Graduates from these studies can work as sports managers effectively.

Below are the seven best sports management degree programs to study in the country.

Bachelor in Sport Management at University of Tampa

University of Tampa’s College of Natural and Health Sciences offers the Bachelor in Sport Management. The program offers a combination of theory and practical exposure or experience. Local sports organizations allow students to apply for internship and volunteerism.

Bachelor Sports Communication at the Marist College

Communication is an important element in sports management. That’s what you learn by taking the Bachelor Sports Communication degree program offered at the Marist College. Through this program, students learn not only to read but also analyze sports in fresh ways.

Sport Management Major at Western New England University

Students who graduate from this degree program are then able to work as highly trained professionals. The program equips students with all the aspects of running sports as a business operation.

Bachelor in Sports Management at Oral Roberts University (ORU)

Oral Roberts University offers Bachelor in Sports Management. The program appreciates the fact that sports is a wide industry. It prepares students by furnishing them with understanding of sports. It also teaches them specific management skills in the following areas:

a) finance

b) sports personnel management

c) law

d) sports marketing

e) facility/event management

Simpson’s College Bachelor in Sports Administration

Once again, this course appeals to students interested in the business side of sports. It also serves the needs of students who wish to learn more about physical fitness. Students are free to apply for two internships available via this course to learn their lessons practically.

Ohio Northern University’s Bachelor Sport Management

Ohio Northern University’s degree program is perfect for students who feel inadequate to be sportspeople but want to make sports management a career. It develops the students into savvy individuals. It trains the students to handle sports as a business too.

University of Florida’s Bachelor of Science in Sports Management

University of Florida is in the list of the top 10 universities in the United States. Its Bachelor of Science in Sports Management degree program is worth applying for. It trains students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers once they start working in sports management industry.

Therefore, apply to any of these universities to obtain the skills to work in sports management.

How Magic Johnson Bought The Dodgers

Four years later – in 2009 – Stephen Ross bought NFL’s Miami Dolphins at $1.1 billion. But, what did Magic go through to finally purchase and own The Dodgers?

Magic’s purchase of The Dodgers, a Major League Baseball franchise, came as a bit of a surprise. After all, he had become an NBA legend. If anything, the expectation was that he would invest in an NBA franchise. What did he see in the Dodgers that appealed to him and his group of wealthy investors? How much money did Magic put in personally?

Prior to its sale, Frank McCourt had stated that the Los Angeles Dodgers had run into huge debts that it was unable to pay off. Added to that was the fact he was in a dispute with his wife. The McCourts were on the verge of divorcing. His then wife, Jamie McCourt, claimed that she owned half of this MLB team. She asked the court to force the franchise to be sold.

The court obliged and Los Angeles Dodgers was put up for sale.

Fans of this MLB franchise were happy. For years, they had grown weary of the team’s mismanagement at the hands of Frank. Once the announcement regarding the team’s impending sale was made, Magic joined hands with Stan Kasten and Peter Gruber to raise the capital needed to buy the Dodgers and put it under new management.

Stan Kasten had been a longtime baseball executive.

Peter Gruber was a Hollywood producer. The group that purchased the Dodgers had a perfect mix of everything required for success. It had the money. It had the necessary baseball management expertise. It had Magic! Magic’s group was known as Guggeheim Baseball Management.

Other than the aforementioned, it also comprised Mark Walter, Todd Boehly and Bobby Patton.

Since the purchase, Mark Walter has acted as the Dodgers’ Chairman.

March 28, 2012 will always be a special year in Magic Johnson’s life. It marks the moment in his life when a group that he represents agreed to spend $2 billion on buying Los Angeles Dodgers. At that time, Frank McCourt’s group owned The Dodgers. The price the two groups agreed upon would shatter any that had ever been paid for a sports franchise up to that point.

In 2005, Malcolm Glazer and his family had purchased Manchester United for $1.47 billion.

On the other hand, Stan Kasten has been the franchise’s president since 2012 to date.

Since Magic’s team assumed ownership of the team, it has yet to win the World Series.

It may not have won the most coveted prize but the team is now on sound financial footing.

The Rock’s (Dwayne Johnson)

Rise from the WWE to Box Office

Billions

Dwayne Johnson has a net worth of $185 million. According to Forbes, he was in the list of the top 10 highest paid actors in 2017. He earned more than $65 million for the different roles he played in his movies.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a different man from the wrestler who took WWE by storm.

The actor, who was born on May 21, 1972 has become an established name in the entertainment circles. He has also worked as a producer. Today, he makes occasional appearances in WWE.

The Rock has truly risen to a globally-recognized actor who spends more time acting in blockbusters than on the wrestling ring. To his millions of fans around the world, Dwayne will always be just “The Rock.”

The semi-retired professional wrestler comes from a family with history of professional wrestling. His grandfather and father (Peter Maivia and Rocky Johnson) all participated in wrestling at various levels.

He was an active wrestler with WWE (previously known as WWF) from 1996 to 2004, when he left to make his foray in the world of acting. He would then return to WWE between 2011 and 2013 but only on part-time basis.

For the 17 years when he was active on the WWE, The Rock won:

• WWF/WWE Champion (eight times)

• WCW/World Champion (twice)

• WWF Intercontinental Champion (twice)

• WWF Tag Team Champion (five times)

He won the Royal Rumble in 2000 too. In 2002, he played a leading role in the successful film known as The Scorpion King. For that role, The Rock earned $5.5 million,

which was a record for any actor making his debut on a leading role in the world.

He has simply transferred his wrestling personality – with a bit of a tweak – on to the big screen. Not only that, The Rock has also forayed into the small screen too. He’s renowned for playing the role of a sports agent in the TV series Ballers.

He has also carried the work ethic for which he was renowned during his active wrestling days into his acting career. He has created a film studio called Seven Bucks Production together with his ex-wife and brother in-law.

Since 2016, Seven Bucks Production has produced all his films. Some of his most successful and popular films have been:

a) The Mummy Returns (2001)

b) The Scorpion King (2002)

c) The Rundown (2003)

d) Walking Tall (2004)

e) Be Cool (2005, in which he played a supporting role)

f) Doom (2006)

g) The Game Plan (2007)

h) Get Smart (2008)

i) Pain and Gain (2013)

j) Empire State (2013)

However, arguably his most memorable performance has been in the Fast and Furious.

The Rock’s transition from the wrestling ring to Hollywood has been truly epic!

How a Discussion with a Budding NFL Player Pushed Nate McCray

(CEO of Dynasty Sports Management) into Sports Management

the license he needed to start and run his business – Dynasty Sports Management. Within a month of the agency’s existence, he signed his first client – Josh Pace of Syracuse Orange.

At that time, some of Josh Pace’s teammates include Carmelo Anthony and Hakim Warrick. DSM today boasts of more than 275 networking connections around the world.

Some of DSM’s duties and responsibilities to clients include:

a) Contract negotiations

b) Helping athletes to establish financial security for their future post-retirement

c) Securing endorsement deals

d) Public/media relations

e) Community connections

f) Post-career preparations

Nate was once a semi-professional footballer plying his trade in Virginia. That experience – though not too similar to what professional athletes go through – gives him insights into how best to represent the clients he signs to his company. Today, he represents CFL, NFL, FIBA, and NBA players.

Nate McCray is a sports agent. He founded Dynasty Sports Management (DSM), which he serves as the CEO today. He’s passionate about sports. Nate isn’t afraid to represent athletes as an agent. He believes that black sports agents are too few. He relishes the challenge to prove that they are just as effective at representing their clients in contract discussions.

Prior to becoming a sports agent, Nate worked and served in the United States Navy for 7 years.

His tour of duty took him to Persian Gulf where he served the country during the Gulf War.

On his return to the US, he moved into business development management. While working as a business development manager, Nate oversaw multimillion-dollar negotiations in the automotive engineering industry. The knowledge and experience he gained here has proved invaluable in his current career as a sports agent.

While working in the corporate world, he managed to save some money. He used the money - $1,500 – to start his agency in 2008. He mostly spent the funds on NBA certification and

He also doubles as a talent scouter.

He has worked as Macomb County Bearcats’ head coach. The Bearcats play in the Rivals Professional Football League. Other than that, Mount Clemens High School has enjoyed his expert coaching as a defensive coordinator too. Clearly, Nate keeps himself busy scouting and developing young talent at the grassroots level.

Initially, Nate McCray had no dream of working as a sports agent.

His passion was only awoken after a brief talk with a potential NFL player – Michael Jenkins – who needed a bit of advice on whether to leave school early and declare for the draft or risk injury by staying for the senior season. Afterward, Michael teased Nate about being a sports agent. Nate had no idea what that entailed. He looked it up and fell in love with sports agency.

It’s been a long road for Nate McCray but his clients are happy. He’s happy too!

When Friendship & Networking Come Together

How NBA Agent Rich Paul Landed LeBron James as a Client

Rich Paul is one of the NBA’s super agents. Together with the other super agents, their clients (NBA top players) earn more than $1.5 billion in salaries. That gives him a lot of power. Moreover, one of his clients is LeBron James.

Paul and LeBron have been friends for years. The other clients he represents include:

• J.R. Smith

• Tristan Thompson

• John Wall

• Eric Bledsoe

He represents his clients via a company he formed in 2012, Klutch Sports Group. Initially, he had been working under the then LeBron’s agent – Leon Rose. Leon had negotiated LeBron’s contract extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers (Cavs) in 2006. Rich Paul felt he had garnered enough experience to start his own agency.

The first time Paul and LeBron met, the would-be super-agent was selling basketball jerseys from the trunk of his car. During this first meeting, Paul was a 21-year old young man with dreams, a burning ambition and exemplary work ethic.

In the summer of 2014, Paul orchestrated LeBron’s return to the Cavs. A look at LeBron’s contract with the Cavs is proof of the

outstanding negotiating skills that Rich Paul possesses, which his clients have relied on for years.

Few people would have turned a chance meeting with a highly rated player into a full time career. That small group includes Rich Paul. His chance meeting with LeBron could have meant nothing to any other person, but not him.

Today, the American sports agent’s net worth is roughly $20 million.

The entrepreneur, businessperson and sports agent has negotiated contracts on behalf of his clients worth more than $500 million. In the coming years, this number is expected to rise even further.

Rich Paul’s life has come full circle. The years he spent learning the secrets of the business from successful sports agents have paid back. The nights he slept worrying about ways of representing his clients better have borne fruit.

Paul was raised in humble background. He lived with his father in a one-bedroom apartment right on top of R&J Confectionary. He and his father would wake up at 6.30am each morning; punch in a few lottery tickets, before starting their day by selling milk and bread to the locals.

His father – Rich Paul Sr. – taught him the values of love and respect. Additionally, he learned the importance of patience and hard work from his dad too. Since then, especially after his dad died fourteen years ago, Rich Paul Jnr has used those life lessons to build a powerful agency.

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Milwaukee Bucks NBA Star Giannis Antetokounmp’s Road to the Top

Greece is renowned for a lot of stuff but not as a country that produces exceptionally talented basketball players. Since 1953, the country has only sent less than 30 players to feature for NBA teams.

Currently, four Greeks feature for NBA teams with Giannis Antetokounmp being one of them.

Antetokounmp was born on December 6, 1994.

He was born in Athens, Greece to immigrants from Nigeria. He was born three years after his parents arrived in Athens from Lagos. He was born in Greece together with three other brothers. Only the firstborn – Francis – was born in Nigeria.

Antetokounmp had to wait until his eighteenth birthday to receive recognition as a Greek citizen. Prior to that, he wasn’t recognized as either Nigerian or Greek. He faced great challenges growing up with his family.

The fact that his parents had a difficult time finding work forced him to sell sunglasses, bags, and watches to help the family. He did this work together with Thanasis, his older brother. The hardships pushed him into playing basketball.

The first time he played basketball was in 2007.

Two years later, he joined Filathlitikos’ youth squad where he started playing competitively.

He played for the youth squad from 2009-2012. In 2012, he graduated to play for Filathlitikos’ senior squad. At that time, Filathlitikos played in Greek A2 League, which is a second-tier basketball league in the country.

He would only feature for Filathlitikos for a short time before signing with CAI Zaragoza, a Spanish basketball team. He joined CAI Zaragoza in December 2012a few days after celebrating his 18th birthday.

His journey to the top had begun.

He signed a four-year contract with the Spanish side. The contract stated that he would be eligible for NBA buyout at the end of each season. Clearly, CAI Zaragoza and Antetokounmp believed strongly in his talents to include such a clause.

He plays for Milwaukee Bucks, whom he joined during the 201314 season.

He is renowned for his exceptional athleticism, which has earned him the nickname “Greek Freak.” Primarily, he plays forward. He also featured for his team as a point guard mainly because of his outstanding ball-handling skills.

The first three seasons he played as a rookie.

In 2016-17, he finally signed a four-year contract worth an estimated $100 million.

Since debuting for Milwaukee Bucks, Antetokounmp has set numerous records.

He has morphed into his team’s star player. He’s become a playmaker of note.

He has won several awards in his career thus far. Two of his most treasured awards include ‘NBA Most Improved Player’ and ‘NBA All-Star 2017.’ He debuted for the Greece national team in 2014 when it took part in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Robert Johnson Owner of the Charlotte Bobcats

Robert Johnson has a different reputation from being the owner of Charlotte Bobcats, which most people know her for. He co-founded Black Entertainment Television together with his wife, Sheila Johnson in 1979.

He was the first African-American billionaire after selling BET to Viacom in 2001.

Robert Johnson is both a business leader and an entrepreneur. Since selling BET, he has ventured into other industries and investments. He has now invested in auto dealerships, hotels, and owns Charlotte Bobcats partially. Other than that, he’s also invested some of his money into British drama.

Robert, who was born the ninth out of ten children, to a father and mother who worked as a farm worker and schoolteacher respectively, has transformed into an inspiring story among the black folk of the United States.

Robert studied at University of Illinois. National Defense Student Loan Program took charge of his studies at the university. He majored in history. He joined college in 1964 and graduated in 1968. Upon graduation, he proceeded to Princeton, which at that time enrolled minorities.

He joined Princeton to study for his master’s degree. He was a student at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Once he was through with his college education, Robert’s mind wasn’t focused on business.

He worked several jobs, which included the National Urban League and the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. Apart from that, he also worked as Walter Fauntroy’s press secretary. At that time, Fauntroy was D.C.’s first delegate at the House of Reps. In 1977, he first began seeing the need for demonstrating the potential African Americans had. He wanted to make his people to demonstrate the value they had. He was also wanted them to show the wealth and opportunity they were capable of creating.

This became a pressing need when he joined the National Cable Television Association.

He wanted to use his position – vice president in charge of governmental relations – to tell the African Americans’ stories. Mostly, he saw the importance of using his position to narrate the stories afflicting his people that mainstream media was ignoring.

Robert overcame several challenges while setting up BET, and other businesses.

Back then, it wasn’t easy for anyone from a minority group to set up such businesses.

Fortunately, he found somebody who believed in the dream of BET.

When he sold BET, Robert says he could have settled and enjoyed his wealth the rest of his life. However, he deemed it suitable to try his hands on other ventures too. To date, he still finds inspiration on proving that African Americans can be creators of wealth too.

Atlanta’s Mayoral Lost Is WNBA’s Gain

Basketball players, especially those playing the women’s game, have overcome discrimination of all kinds. The President of the Women National Basketball Association (WNBA), Lisa Borders, has been forced to fight her own battles to stand where she is today.

Lisa was born on November 25, 1957. Her alma maters include Duke University and University of Colorado. She has held various positions including being Atlanta City Council’s President. She has also served as Henry W. Grady Health System Foundation’s President.

She has also served as the Chair of The Coca Cola Foundation. In 2009, she vied during the Atlanta City’s mayoral elections.

Lisa Borders was the first student of an African-American background to attend an integrated school. While in school, she had to put up with plenty of racial slurs directed her way by the other students.

Lisa says she has always had to work hard to prove herself for as long as she remembers.

The reward for working hard to prove herself capable was Duke University. She took the admission into Duke University as validation of her abilities to do whatever she wanted or set her mind on. That dedication to pursue her dreams eventually saw her head WNBA.

Up until her admission to Duke University, Lisa had not shown any passion for basketball.

However, all that was to change once she joined college. She began loving basketball.

The position she currently holds has transformed Lisa into one of sport’s most powerful and highly influential figures. She holds her own on the business front too. She relies on the close to three decades spent in public service, operations and marketing to serve WNBA well.

For a long time, WNBA was unable to meet its goals. It struggled to cement its own position despite enjoying increased prominence. Lisa hopes to use her past experience to help WNBA to go to the next level.

She is WNBA’s fourth president. She hopes that at the end of her tenure, WNBA will have grown in leaps and bounds. Her focus is on restructuring the organization financially and commercially.

WNBA has been around for 20 years now. In that time, it has refused to change with the times financially and commercially. Lisa believes the organization is caught up in the past. She believes it’s her job to pull it into the 21st Century.

She endeavors to make the WNBA players more visible and easily recognizable.

She intends to give the league a broader scope than the one it already has.

She believes raising the profile of WNBA is all about women empowerment too.

WNBA President Lisa Borders

The Family Dynasty How Basketball Wives’ Executive

Previously, Shaunie worked as a film marketer.

She has also produced Dumb it Down (2014). Her production skills were also required in Hells Kitchen in 2005. Today, she has grown substantially to a point where referring to her as a media mogul wouldn’t be a mistake. Apart from being a television producer, Shaunie has also excelled as a publisher. She’s also made a name for herself in the world of fashion and film. She does all this through her production company, which is called Amirah, Inc.

Shaunie might never have been a force in television production if not for MTV Cribs.

When she appeared on the show, one of its executive producers couldn’t help but notice her on-screen personality. That initial interaction with the show’s producers would then open doors for her. At first, she started off by working as an entertainment correspondent for Access Hollywood and The Insider, which are two of America’s syndicated shows focusing on the lives of celebrities.

Producer Shaunie

O’Neal Built a Successful Professional Life

For a long time, Shaunie O’Neal was known more popularly as Shaq O’Neal’s – the legendary NBA player – wife. Lately, and especially since her husband retired from playing basketball, she has charted her own path. Today, she’s more renowned for being the executive producer of one of the most popular TV shows in the United States and around the world – Basketball Wives.

Currently, her net worth is roughly $35 million. Her professional life picked up substantially after divorcing Shaq. The divorce happened in 2009. The two went their separate ways. Shaunie would soon enter a relationship with Marlon Yates Jr. That relationship also ceased in October 2016. Since then, Shaunie has been able to focus on raising her children and working on her professional life. That has led her into producing the following TV shows:

a) Basketball Wives

b) Basketball Wives LA

c) Baller Wives

Gradually, she grew to a point of running her own shows and company. Shaunie developed the idea of Basketball Wives on her own. She says the idea came to her when the entire family had to keep following Shaq as he traveled with her basketball team from state to state and city to city. Not only was she a producer, but also a member of the cast on the basketballbased show. That initial idea led to the creation of an offshoot known as Footballer’s Wives.

The idea to create Shaunie’s production company, Amirah, Inc, came to her once Basketball Wives was up and running. She says the production company is essential in enabling her to follow through with the plan and vision she created. Shaunie is the personification of a black woman pursuing her dreams. She says nothing but the sky will limit her as she pursues all her dreams.

SuperBowl Contracts City of Atlanta

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Super Bowl LIII Business Connect is a partnership between the National Football League (NFL) and the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee (Host Committee). The program helps to identify and connect certified, diverse and qualified businesses to compete for contracting opportunities connected to the Super Bowl in Atlanta. Additionally, Business Connect provides networking, educational and other business development resources to prepare businesses for future contract opportunities.

ELIGIBILITY

To qualify for Business Connect, each business must:

• Have a physical office in one of the twenty (20) counties that make up the Metro Atlanta area:

• Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Rockdale, Spalding, and Walton

• Be 51% owned by a minority, woman, veteran or LGBT individual and certified as one of the following:

• Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)

• Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB)

• Women Business Enterprise (WBE)

• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and/or Transgender Business Enterprise (LGBTBE)

• Have been in operation for three (3) or more years in one of the twenty (20) counties in Metro Atlanta

• Provide a good or service requested by the program

• Must be in good standing and eligible to do business with the City of Atlanta

CERTIFICATION

A business must have proof of certification from one of the approved certification agencies listed below:

• Office of Contract Compliance, City of Atlanta

• Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council

• Greater Women’s Business Council

• Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce

• Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, U.S Department of Veteran Affairs

There are a number of ways local businesses can get involved in the Super Bowl LIII procurement process, the primary of which is Business Connect, the NFL’s special event supplier diversity program. The Super Bowl LIII Business Connect program creates opportunities for local diverse business owners to compete for Super Bowl contracts.

The program will identify 300-400 local diverse businesses, suppliers, and service providers from our area to participate in the program. Accepted businesses will be profiled in the online Business Connect Resource Guide, allowing Super Bowl contractors to quickly identify qualified and experienced providers of goods and services.

Participants in the Business Connect program are also eligible to participate in professional development workshops and networking events designed to increase the capacity of local businesses to succeed in their local markets post Super Bowl.

REGISTRATION

All qualified businesses interested in participating in the Super Bowl LIII Business Connect program must register online. Deadlines may be extended. Please visit www.ATLSuperBowl53.com for extended deadline information.

The Matriarch of the Game

issues. She co-owned it until 2002 when Viacom purchased it for $3 billion. Today, Sheila is the second richest black woman in the United States.

Sheila Johnson’s net worth currently stands at more than $750 million.

She has invested in several hotels located in Virginia and Florida. Her investments also include planes, horses, and real estate. She has also gone into film production. She not only produced but also financed The Butler, a critically-acclaimed Lee Daniel movie.

While young, Sheila studied at an all-white school where her parents enrolled her. This happened in the 1950s before the federal government started desegregating schools. She proceeded with her schooling undetected until when she completed third grade.

Born in McKeesport. Pennsylvania on January 25, 1949 to a neurosurgeon father and an accountant mother, nobody would have predicted the path that Sheila’s life would take. Indeed, she has come a long way.

Her parents were accomplished pianists. That explains her love for music. While aged nine, Sheila began taking a keen interest in playing violin. As a child, she also went further to display hints of the entrepreneurial spirit that would define her life as an adult years later.

Her family moved quite a lot due to her father’s involvement with the Veterans’ Administration. In fact, her family had to relocated 12 times when Sheila was a child. The family would only settle at Maywood, Illinois later and make this area their permanent residence.

Sheila Johnson isn’t all about the Women National Basketball Association (MNBA) alone. Before she was ever the face of WNBA, Sheila had already made a name for herself elsewhere. She had co-founded Black Entertainment Television, which you may know as BET, in 1979.

Sheila is the part-owner of three teams that participate in:

a) National Hockey League (NHL)

b) National Basketball Association (NBA)

c) WNBA

The teams she co-owns in these leagues are Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards, which participate in NHL and NBA respectively. Washington Mystics, which she also co-owns, plays in WNBA. The company she created, BET, focused mostly on promoting African American

Sheila’s entrepreneurial spirit was further enhanced when she began offering private tutoring to students who needed to learn how to play the violin. Her private class enrolled over 100 students forcing her to quit the job she held with Sidwell Friends School, a prestigious school.

The private violin classes she taught helped her turn into a successful business woman.

The classes laid the foundation upon which she built her entire business empire on.

The lessons she learned while teaching violin privately have been useful in her latter life too.

Where Sheila Johnson’s (Co-Owner of the WNBA Washington Mystics) Entrepreneurship Journey Started

The Rise of ERIC WALKER

Publisher’s Words

Many young dreamers in the inner city see professional sports as a ticket out of the despair that is their lives. But the odds of making it big in the game are just not high enough to allow room for everyone dreaming of coming up by playing sports. Eric Walker was one of those dreamers whose life decisions and smart choices put him directly on the path to achieving his dream of working in the game, but not necessarily on the field.

Eric is the CEO of Legends & Legacy, a sports marketing firm headquartered in Detroit, Michigan with clients all over the world. He got the vision for the company in 2014. He spent a couple of years learning from some of the best in the business all while perfecting his plan. And by 2016 his company was fully operational.

Eric always knew that he wanted to be an Entrepreneur not just an Athlete. After serving 4 years in the military he went to work for ADT selling security systems door to door. It was this professional sales training that helped him master the skill of negotiating.

Legends & Legacy matches Athletes with Agencies. And provides real time statistics and research for companies like industry giant Wasserman. The passion for sports and entrepreneurial drive fuels the growth of his company which he has grown organically, one opportunity at a time. Sports Marketing is more like a marathon than a sprint. It is the kind of business you grow by networking more so than merely education.

Having played football in college, it is easier to relate to the needs and wants of a college Athlete as he was once in their shoes. It’s this kind of relatability that gives Eric an edge in this brutally competitive space. His approachable demeanor and humble attitude has drawn some of the biggest names in professional sports in his direction. Alssene Saintilus, Jeremy Johnson, Derunnya Wilson, Sam Beal, and Greg Jennings of the Minnesota Vikings are among the top names he has loaned his talents to.

The one thing I could tell about Eric Walker before ever having a conversation with him, was that he is persistent. We spent most of this past year trying to coordinate schedules and time resources just to get this interview done. His follow up and follow through impressed my team. Whatever it takes, we had to get this cover story done. So, here we go! Seeing Black faces on the court and on the gridiron is very common. But seeing those same kinds of faces working behind the scenes, making true boss moves is absolutely rare and uncommon. Professional Sports Marketing is big business and it seems to be cornered by others who work tirelessly to keep those seemingly limited opportunities amongst themselves.

The big picture vision of Legends & Legacy is to give exposure to high school and college Athletes who want to transition into professional sports. The company is big on attracting corporate sponsorships and endorsements like Nike, Sprite, and Pepsi.

I told Eric that our readers appreciate honesty and authenticity. So, this would mean me asking some tough questions. He stepped up and brought real talk about the state of sports as an industry.

Tell us about the industry.

First, Sports Marketing as an industry is small and very limited. Not a lot of opportunity.

Do You Have A College Degree?

I am finishing my MBA at Florida Atlantic University. But that is not something necessary to do well. Don’t focus on the kind of school you attend, focus on putting in the time and your work ethic.

For those young Athletes reading your story and wanting to work with you. Who is your ideal client?

Top Tier Athletes (pros) and up and coming lower end Athletes. How are things improving on the racial front?

I compare it to President Obama winning, you think it’s impossible then someone breaks the barriers. There are not a lot of Black people in Sports…not as owners or at executive levels nor as marketing partners. Just as players. We are not visible. The industry needs diversity. One of the problems is preparation. Not a lot of preparation and education offered to help minorities choose this as a career path.

Your Thoughts On Concussions in the NFL?

I personally know of players committing suicide. Concussions are a real problem. Based on my experience and research, memory loss effects a number of players’ brains. All that needs to happen to solve the issue is to change the player’s helmets.

The equipment needs to be built better. There should be better protection methods.

How Do You Make Money?

By charging for services based on ongoing efforts.

BluePrint Advice To Black American Mogul’s

Readers

1. Attend Networking Events and Conferences

2. Find Like-minded contacts to open doors.

3. Research-Find the area you are passionate about (football, basketball, etc)

4. Persist- You may go after 100 opportunities. Don’t stop! Go on to #102, #103, #104 etc.

5. Be Patient. Not going to happen overnight.

LeBron James “I Promise” Foundation $41.8 Million Dollar Scholarship Giveaway

Few sportspeople have transcended their sports the way LeBron James has basketball, especially NBA. His stats speak for themselves. He’s a larger than life persona on the basketball court with a penchant and drive for winning things. However, he’s also a wonderful human being who grew up with nothing but is now worth an astounding $400 million. More importantly, he’s sharing that wealth with some needy individuals courtesy of his LeBron James Family Foundation (LJFF).

His foundation runs a $41.8 million dollar scholarship program called “I Promise.”

For around six years now, his foundation has been supporting third graders with their education. The support is in financial terms. It also includes mentorship programs. He says the foundation settled on third graders since research shows they are the most vulnerable group. They are likely to lose interest in education altogether if not handled well. For this reason, LJFF saw the wisdom in supporting this group of students with their education from the third grade to high school.

The foundation is now taking the scholarship to the next level! LeBron says the foundation will be helping the students it supports and sponsors with college scholarship starting

this year; that is, 2018. His foundation is partnering with the University of Akron to make all this possible. Students who graduate high school will then proceed to University of Akron where they will pursue whatever degree course they are interested in. Thus far, LJFF has supported over 1,100 students since its creation fix years ago. However, students can only be eligible for the college scholarship if they keep their standards high.

• The main requirement is that they have to maintain a 3.0 GPA score.

• Additionally, they have to participate in community service.

• They qualify for college scholarship if they graduate from the public school system in Akron.

• If they do, they join University of Akron for a 4-year college education!

• Each student receives $9,500 giveaway that covers general service fee and tuition annually.

• LJFF pays for the college education from start to finish.

Apart from school and college children, LJFF extends its support to parents too. Its focus is on parents who were never able to receive their high school diplomas. LeBron’s foundation helps such students to receive their GEDs. Students and parents eligible for the sponsorship are from Akron. LeBron says this is just his way of giving back to a community that helped raise him into becoming the man he is today. Students are now assured of proper education all the way to college.

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