Leaders Sport Business Podcast

Leaders Sport Business Podcast


Rules of the Game: Negotiation

April 13, 2021

Billy Beane, Barry Hearn, Michele Roberts, and Jonathan Barnett join Leaders Founder and Chair Jimmy Worrall to discuss the art of negotiation.


In the second episode of Rules of the Game, Leaders Founder and Chair Jimmy Worrall explores the art of negotiation and what it takes to do it effectively. He sets out his five golden rules to follow, and offers a practical set of tips to reinforce your own negotiating style.


To unpack this fundamental skill, he's joined by four of the finest exponents of deal-making from across the world of sport:


- Oakland A's EVP of Baseball Operations Billy Beane - Mr 'Moneyball' himself - who pioneered data analysis in baseball to gain an edge in player trade negotiations;


- Serial sports promoter Barry Hearn, Chairman of Matchroom Sport and one of the most successful all-round commercial operators in any number of sports and across any number of revenue streams;


- NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts, who has spearheaded several rounds of successful negotiations between the NBA and its players, and was a key factor in the league's ability to come back from the pandemic to complete its season in the Disney 'bubble'.


- 'Super agent' Jonathan Barnett, Founder and Chairman of Stellar Group and the architect of some of world football's most eye-catching deals, including Gareth Bale's 100 million euro transfer from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013.