Roc Nation’s Michael Yormark on Romelu Lukaku: ‘You have to play to your strengths… I don’t think that happened’ | Sports

MIchael Yormark initially sounds like an American sports agent straight out of central casting because after starting his day at 3:30 as usual because “greatness is a process” that requires dedication, the head of Roc Nation Sports gets one smooth rundown of how it goes believes to represent a roster of famous athletes including Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Siya Kolisi. Yormark, an urban 55-year-old who runs the London office of the company Jay-Z founded, has always followed the mantra “I have to be great every day”.

Maybe that’s what you need to say to have a pep talk with Lukaku every day while you negotiate with Chelsea’s new owner Todd Boehly to facilitate an unfortunate player’s return to Internazionale, or when you’re just about to celebrate the country’s win South African rugby’s first black captain to sign the World Cup. But Yormark is most interesting when discussing his new obsession with rugby, which he considers a ‘sleeping giant’, or when reflecting on his struggle as a rising agent in New York in the late 1980s.

“When I finished grad school, I thought people would be lining up to hire Michael Yormark,” he says. “I remember sending out 365 resumes and not getting a single interview. I ended up in a retail sales job at Sam’s – Samson Clothing Store in Livingston, New Jersey.”

Yormark nods when I ask him if he was a good seller. “I like fashion, so I was pretty good at it. But it was very humbling because I went back to my old city. This went on for a year, but all it did was kindle a bigger fire in me. I kept telling myself I was going to be super-super-successful on that first opportunity. Lo and behold, a dear friend of my mother’s who was a minority owner of the New York Yankees called me out of the blue.”

The Yankees position was filled, but as a gesture of friendship to Yormark’s mother, who was a single parent with three children, he was called in for a late interview. Yormark made it and got the job with the Yankees, where he’s been driven “for the last 12 months.” I said to myself, ‘I’m never going there again. So I have to be great every day. Every day I have to be better than the day before.” This very humbling year still drives me today.”

Yormark worked in baseball and ice hockey where his ability to market and operate a winter sport in Florida caught Jay-Z’s eye. He was persuaded to join the company in 2014 and is now President of Roc Nation Sports International and co-CEO with his twin brother Brett, who lives in New York. Since opening the London office in 2019, he has shifted the organization’s focus from the US to a global perspective, embodied through his personal involvement with football and rugby.

In 2015, Yormark explained: “Jérôme Boateng approached us, but I didn’t know much about professional football. I didn’t even know who he was until I did my homework and realized that he was a top-notch Bayern footballer. We took on the challenge of helping him build his brand in America and I met agency heads and club owners to understand how footballers are represented.

“In the past agents have only focused on how do I move a player from Team X to Team Y? They take care of the transfer fee and your contract commission. But they don’t focus on a holistic approach to the athlete. How do we help them use their success to really plan for the future? A lot of athletes in Europe told me nobody ever spoke to them about what they think in 10 years. But we look after them and help them plan for the future.”

Romelu Lukaku spoke to Michael Yormack every day during a difficult season with Chelsea before the agent secured a return to Internazionale. Photo: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Yormark is particularly close to Lukaku, who endured a difficult past season which saw him fall from favor following his massive move to Chelsea. “There wasn’t a day that Rome and I didn’t communicate. It was a very complicated and challenging year for Rome that would ultimately prove to be a great year of personal growth. But it’s very tough and you need a great support team that will lift your spirits – but also tell you, ‘It’ll be fine. At the right time we will find the right solution.’”

Did Chelsea handle the situation badly? “When you invest as much money as Chelsea, you have to allow this player to play to his strengths. Asking Rome or any other top striker in the world to come to your club and play differently and then maybe not communicate effectively with the player makes it very difficult. I’ve been with coaches my entire career and a good coach is someone who understands how to manage different personalities and maximize their performance. I don’t think that happened last year.”

Yormark helped Lukaku return to Inter. “I’ve spent a lot of time with Todd Boehly and he’s an amazing businessman and a really good person who tries to be empathetic to everyone. Todd has been very successful with the LA Dodgers and he’s making good investments. So he will be a fantastic owner and have a lot of success with Chelsea.”

De Bruyne is another important customer and needs less support. “My relationship with Kevin is very strong. We don’t speak every day, but we do text at least once a week. Kevin is very focused and one of the best players in the world. He married at a young age and he and his wife have a beautiful family. Rome is at a different point in his life than Kevin, so our relationship is different.”

Kevin De Bruyne is a lower maintenance client as he is surrounded by a strong family structure that supports him. Photo: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

En route to seeing De Bruyne play for Manchester City in November 2019, Yormark decided to sign a rugby player who now means so much to him. “I didn’t know anything about rugby,” says Yormark, “but one morning I went to my gym and people were crowding around a big screen TV. I said, ‘What are you guys watching? The World Cup? Which World Cup? Oh, the Rugby World Cup. Wow!’ So I started casually looking at it.”

“On the morning of the final, England vs South Africa in Japan, I’m in a Sprinter van with one of mine [Roc Nation] Owners drive to watch Kevin play. We watched the game and at the end I see this incredible single player lift the trophy from Webb Ellis. Siya Kolisi speaks about the meaning of this victory for a racially divided country. He talks about how we can achieve anything when we work together. I looked at my owner and said, ‘We need to sign this guy.’ Two weeks later, Siya was sitting right here in this office. We had a six hour meeting and the rest is history. It has been a life changing relationship for me and a wonderful one for the company.”

His friendship with the Springbok captain feeds his current obsession which has led him to become heavily involved as an adviser to the new United Rugby Championship. “Ever since I started rugby a few years ago I’ve always said it’s a sleeping giant. My passion for rugby comes from Siya because he really raised me in the sport. The first rugby match I watched live was with Siya in January 2020. The physicality of the sport and the passion of the fans immediately made me fall in love with rugby.

Siya Kolisi lifts Webb Ellis Cup after captaining South Africa to 2019 World Cup success Photo: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

“A couple of weekends ago I was at two games – the Premiership final, then England vs the Barbarians. There is a lot that can be improved in terms of atmosphere. You see the fireworks as the players come out, but there should be more fan engagement. The experience that takes place around the game is how you appeal to casual fans.

“On the same weekend we saw a different final with the URC in Cape Town. There seemed to be better fan engagement initiatives to get people excited and you see more diversity in South Africa. You go to rugby here and you don’t see any diversity. The primary demographic are middle-aged white males. That needs to change. We have to think outside the box in rugby.”

Yormark is most interested in club and provincial rugby as the embryonic URC includes teams from South Africa, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy. But the international game still dominates. “For me it’s dysfunctional,” he says of the structure of rugby and the constant war between clubs and their unions. “That clubs are perceived as a feeder system to the national teams? Coming from America, I can’t even understand that. The clubs in America are kings. What worries me specifically about rugby is that you are asking club fans to support you as a season ticket holder and you are asking companies to be sponsors. Yet for much of the year, your best players aren’t there. So there needs to be better scheduling between club matches and international matches. As a fan, I want to root for a team and know that the best players are there.”

Yormark emphasizes that Roc Nation “helps the URC to grow their brand and help them with content from both a commercial and digital perspective”.

He seems puzzled that the league, which used to be the humble Pro 14 with no South African teams, is barely covered in England. “The league has made incredible progress this year. Where the URC came from may have dampened the enthusiasm to cover the league. But the quality of the game in the URC is different. The teams are different.”

An American sports agent swept up in an obscure rugby tournament may be unexpected, but Yormark is convinced the URC will soon rival the English Premiership. “Of course it can. Listen, greatness is a process. Let’s not forget that this is the first year of the URC. Her momentum going into the second year is absolutely amazing. So the URC has the potential to become rugby’s Premier League. will it last Yes. But there is no question that they will eventually make it.”

This article was amended on July 18, 2022 to correct the spelling of Michael Yormark’s surname.