Jason M. Levien (born 1973) is an American sports executive and investor. He is the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and Co-Chairman of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club D.C. United and the Chairman of the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL ...

, an Australian

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

club. Levien is the former CEO and Managing Partner of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

. He is the founder and principal of investment firm Neivel Capital and 82nd Street Partners and an adjunct professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School. His net worth has been estimated to be over $290 million.

Early life

He was born into a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

familyNew York Times: "From Tel Aviv to the Space Needle, by Way of Slovenia (With Stops in Treviso, Miami and Salt Lake City)" By MICHAEL SOKOLOVE
October 29, 2006 , ''"But look," Levien said, "I'm Jewish — I had my bar mitzvah in Israel'' and raised in Metropolitan New York. He celebrated his

bar mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

in Israel. His father worked as an attorney and business executive, representing athletes and sports professionals including Hector "Macho" Camacho, while his mother was a teacher. Levien played on the basketball team during his time at

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

, where he graduated in 1993. He later attended the University of Michigan School of Law where he was an editor of the law review.

Career

Legal work, sports agency, law school adjunct

In 1998, as a licensed attorney,Jason Levien: Tue, Aug 10, 2004 – 10:00 AM
/ref> he started work at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Williams & Connolly where he assisted in representing professional athletes. He then went on to work as a member of the front offices of the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

and

in the NBA.Grizzlies dismiss CEO Jason Levien amid surprising front office shakeup
, ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'', Rob Mahoney, May 19, 2014. He also was an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

at the

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was ...

where he taught

sports law Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

. In 2005, he negotiated a $33 million deal with the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

on behalf of

Udonis Haslem Udonis Johneal Haslem ( ; born June 9, 1980) is an American professional basketball executive and former player. He is the vice president of basketball development for the Miami Heat, where he List of NBA players who have spent their entire caree ...

. In 2007, Levien negotiated a $55 million deal with the

on behalf of the Kings' leading scorer, Kevin Martin. On July 31, 2008, Levien negotiated what was the largest contract in the history of the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

, a six-year, $80 million agreement for his client,

Luol Deng Luol Ajou Deng (born 16 April 1985) is a South Sudanese–British former professional basketball player. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2012. Born in South Sudan that was then part of Republ ...

. Levien also represented Omri Casspi and

Yotam Halperin Yotam Halperin (; born January 24, 1984) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. He is currently the sporting director for Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Premier League and the Champions League. He is a 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) t ...

, two of the first

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i players drafted into the NBA, Ukrainian-born center, Kyrylo Fesenko, Courtney Lee, Hedo Türkoğlu and Earnest Graham, among others. An article chronicling three of Levien's clients drafted by the NBA in 2006, appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' ''Play'' Magazine in October 2006.

Philadelphia 76ers

In 2011, Levien emerged as part of an investment group along with Josh Harris, David Blitzer, Michael Rubin and actor Will Smith that purchased the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

D.C. United

In 2012, Levien and fellow Sixers minority owner Erick Thohir were named new majority owners for

club D.C. United, with the goal to get a soccer stadium built for the team. Levien sold his stake in the Sixers to join new Memphis Grizzlies owner

Robert Pera Robert J. Pera (born March 10, 1978) is the founder of Ubiquiti Networks, Inc. a global communications technology company that he took public in 2011. In October 2012, Pera also became the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketba ...

's ownership group. He was named club CEO. Pera is the chairman and controlling owner. His partners include Justin Timberlake, Peyton and Ashley Manning, Harold Ford Jr. and Penny Hardaway. Levien oversaw the Memphis Grizzlies' basketball and business operations from 2012 until June 2014, hiring then-head coach Dave Joerger and current VP of Basketball Operations John Hollinger. The team posted a 106–58 regular season record from 2012 thru the 2013–14 season and won more playoff games in that two-season period than it had won in the franchise's history, including its first ever trip to the Western Conference Finals. In 2013, ESPN The Magazine's Ultimate Standings named the Memphis Grizzlies as the best sports franchise in North America. His tenure as Grizzlies CEO ended on May 19, 2014. In 2014, Levien led the successful efforts for a public-private economic development project with the District of Columbia for a new stadium in Washington, DC. MLS Commissioner Don Garber stated on December 2, 2014: "Jason has done an incredible job," Garber said. "He has been laser-focused on trying to build consensus and do a deal that would be good for the District, good for ownership, and ultimately soccer in America will benefit." The stadium development project received the 2019 D.C. Chamber of Commerce Economic Impact Award. Under Levien's ownership, the club has been in such a tail spin that analysts have been calling the team a "disaster" and many long-term fans are demanding that he sell the team to someone who cares about winning.

Swansea City

In April 2016, it was reported that Levien, along with Steve Kaplan, were in talks with Swansea City, a British

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club playing in the highest tier of English football, the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, with the aim of taking a "controlling interest" in the club. Under their ownership, the club was relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2017–18 season. In November 2024 it was announced that Levien along with Steve Kaplan were selling their shares within the club.

Brisbane Bullets

In September 2019, Levien was part of a consortium that acquired a 75% interest in the

, an Australian basketball club playing in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). Levien serves as Chairman of the Bullets and his partners include NBA Hall of Famer George Gervin, and NBA Champion Khris Middleton. Levien is also an investor in media, hospitality, real estate and technology.

Personal life

Levien has also served as a Democratic strategist and campaign consultant. He was credited as the speechwriter for the

Keynote A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework fo ...

Speech at the 2000 Democratic National Convention in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

given by Congressman Harold Ford Jr. Levien and Ford have also co-authored a policy essay on campaign finance reform published by the

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

Journal on Legislation. Levien has appeared as a weekly on-air commentator on

WFOR-TV WFOR-TV (channel 4), branded CBS Miami, is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States. It is owned and operated by the CBS television network through its CBS News and Stations division alongside CW affiliate WBFS-TV (channel 33). ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

until 2006, and has been a guest on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

ESPNews ESPNews (pronounced "ESPN News," stylized ESPNEWS) is an American multinational digital cable and satellite television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hear ...

and

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

regarding the business of professional sports and the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement. He is divorced from Meredith Kopit Levien; they have one child.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levien, Jason American lawyers Living people Jewish American sports executives and administrators D.C. United owners Philadelphia 76ers owners American sports agents University of Michigan Law School alumni 1973 births American chief executives of professional sports organizations Pomona College alumni 21st-century American Jews