Our Rugby Directors
Sports Management Worldwide's agency utilizes it's sports directors in each sport to provide expertise to our network of agent advisors. Having sports directors allows SMWW to provide better service to our athletes as well as our agent advisors by having an experienced sports agent working closely on all aspects of the agent business within their sport of expertise.
Jeff Murrells
Jeff Murrells was appointed SMWW Rugby Director in the summer of 2015. He has successfully completing SMWW’s Athlete Management and Rugby Business Management courses and is a Licensed Rugby Agent with the English RFU.
Jeff has been involved with Rugby for over 20 years. He took up the game in the Army representing the Royal Signals Squadron and continued to play competitively in the Channel Islands and UK. He then settled in Ireland successfully developing a career in new business sales and client management.
Whilst living in Ireland Jeff successfully gained his Basic Foundation & Level 1 coaching qualifications and coached his local rugby club Naval for over 12 years. In 2015-2016 he was appointed Assistant Manager of Leinster Ladies team during the interprovincial tournament.
Jeff’s experience in business and his passion for rugby has allowed clients to benefit from working with an agent that understands the best pathway for a player. His advice has assisted many clients at all levels, regardless if they are just commencing a professional rugby career or looking to maximize opportunities in an ethical way.
In the autumn of 2015, Jeff relocated to South East England to build the rugby management agency. Jeff has a wealth of knowledge within rugby business and has extensive contacts within Ireland, England, and France which is a huge asset to his clients and SMWW.
John Print
John Print is SMWW's International Operations Manager and provides support to Rugby Director Jeff Murrells.
John has vast experience of representing athletes from a wide variety of different sports including rugby, soccer Olympic / Paralympic athletes, and other sports personalities.
John's passion is in providing high-quality management and support services for SMWW clients. He has strong knowledge of rugby business and for the past 5-years has co-hosted SMWW’s Rugby Business Management course.
John is a huge asset to SMWW due to his experience of player placement and rugby contract negotiations, John has a tremendous understanding of what it takes to market a player successfully to a professional rugby team and a huge asset for SMWW rugby clients looking to play at the highest level.
Prior to working with SMWW, John worked with UK Sport within their International Relations and Drug-Free Sport Departments. He was also a partner with London based sports agency, SIML before setting up his own agency called Sports Talent, which focused on promoting athletes to promotional and media projects. Highlights include proving talent for Global TV commercials on behalf of Nike, Adidas, EA Sports, Pepsi and Castrol, and soccer talent for Timberland's Worldwide No. 1 music video - "The Way We Are".
John graduated from Bournemouth University with a BA(Hons) in Marketing and from Manchester Metropolitan University Masters in Sports Law and has been working in Sports Management, Sports Marketing, and Player Representation for over 15 years.
Lynn Lashbrook
Dr. Lynn Lashbrook is the President and Founder of the Sports Management Worldwide Agency. Lynn has been a certified agent with the NFL for over 20 years and has personally represented over 100 NFL clients including first rounders. Under Dr. Lashbrook’s leadership, the Sports Management Worldwide Agency has grown into an international full-service sports agency with over 200 Agent Advisors worldwide representing hundreds of clients in the NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, MLS, minor leagues and international leagues.
Having spent forty years on university campuses, as an NCAA Athletic Director, Compliance Officer, Coach, Scout and Academic Advisor, Dr. Lashbrook brings keen insight. His diverse background is unmatched as a sports agent and he is known for his integrity and ethical compass. Client’s benefit from his wealth of connectivity, experience, and guidance from all facets of the game. In addition, Dr. Lashbrook brings a wealth of knowledge in contract negotiation, endorsements, handling media, marketing, financial, draft preparation, and long-term career planning for athletes at every level of the game.
Dr. Lashbrook worked for Sports Management Group (SMG), which is now Creative Artists Agency (CAA), for five years. Dr. Lashbrook was mentored in the agent business by CAA Football Director Jim Steiner, then Jerry Rice’s agent, alongside Ben Dogra. During these years Dr. Lashbrook gained years of experience from the top talent negotiators in the world.
SMWW trains thousands of students every year for sports business careers, including athletes, agents, and other sports industry leaders. Under Dr. Lashbrook’s direction, SMWW offers a global sports faculty via online training, with over 15,000 alumni from over 162 countries. Internationally, Dr. Lashbrook is a sought-after sports business speaker, having spoken on 5 continents in addition to hosting and moderating sports career conferences at major sporting events. For the legal profession, he provides an online CLE "Winning with Ethics" seminar through Legalspan.
Dr. Lashbrook spearheaded an effort to bring a Major League Baseball franchise to Portland, Oregon during the relocation of MLB’s Montreal Expos. Lynn led the lobbying efforts that resulted in a $150 million construction bill for a new stadium. Under his leadership, the group secured legislative action to subsidize a new stadium with players payroll taxes. Due to this campaign, a 25,000-seat stadium in the heart of the city was revitalized rather than torn down, now home to the MLS Portland Timbers.
Dr. Lashbrook's former clients
Dr. Lashbrook's full bio and list of clients
Sports Articles by Dr. G. Lynn Lashbrook:
Article #1: We Must Do More
