James McLaughlin

SB Weekly - the sport business podcast

James McLaughlin, the agent of cricketer Jonathan Trott and commercial brains behind new football agency 73 Management, is the feature interview on this week's SB Weekly.

James has held a number of senior roles in sport since the '90s, first as Head of Sales at Southampton Football Club. He followed that with a stint at Nike and two lengthy periods as Commercial Director of both Watford Football Club and Warwickshire County Cricket Club.

In 2012 he was asked by then World Cricketer of the Year Trott to become his agent and, this August, launched 73 - which describes itself as “a new football management service - designed by footballers, for footballers” - alongside former Southampton players Matt Le Tissier and Francis Benali.

In this week's episode, hear James discuss:

• Why 73 is focusing on managing a footballer's career, rather than simply commercial exploitation
• Jonathan Trott's recent autobiography - and why now was the right time to release it
• The challenge he faced in 2013 being in the UK when Trott returned home from the Ashes in Australia
• Signing Jaguar as the £30m hospitality naming rights partner of Edgbaston - the proudest commercial deal of his career
• How cricketers tend to understand the value of commercial partnerships more than footballers
• Why football clubs could, and should, look more long-term in their sponsorship selection.