Richard “Rich” Motzkin
US Soccer Powerbroker
US €2.2bn
Key Facts
Nationality/residence: American – based in Los Angeles, California
Date of birth: Not publicly disclosed
FIFA Agent Licence: FIFA-licensed football agent via Wasserman – licence ID not publicly disclosed
Other registrations: Admitted attorney in California; long-time soccer executive and agent
Primary agency / company: Wasserman – Executive Vice President & Managing Executive, Global Soccer
Job Title: Football Intermediary / Player Agent
Client capacity: Large, global multi-agent roster within Wasserman – Players: ≈1,240+ football clients across Wasserman – Total market value: ≈€2.2n
Languages: English
Base Locations: Los Angeles, USA (Wasserman HQ), with regular work across North America and Europe
Specialisms: Men’s and women’s elite football; USMNT/USWNT and MLS; top-5 European leagues; Designated Player and marquee national-team deals; long-term career planning
Email: info@teamwass.com
Phone / WhatsApp: Via Wasserman Los Angeles office – +1 310 407 0200
Website / Socials:
• Website: https://www.teamwass.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-motzkin-25b7195
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richardmotzkin
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/RichardMotzkin
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/richardmotzkin
About Richard Motzkin
Richard “Rich” Motzkin is widely regarded as one of the most powerful soccer agents in the United States, heading Wasserman’s global soccer practice from Los Angeles and helping to oversee a football client stable worth well over €2bn. He arrived in agency work via law and governance: after earning a BA from the University of California, Berkeley and a law degree from Loyola Law School, he began as a big-firm lawyer before becoming U.S. Soccer’s first in-house counsel and deputy executive director, gaining deep insight into the sport’s regulatory and political landscape.
In 1994, just after the World Cup came to the United States, Motzkin founded SportsNet, a pioneering American soccer representation agency built initially around stars from the 1994 USMNT, including Alexi Lalas. As MLS launched and grew, he became one of the key powerbrokers behind the league’s early Designated Player and marquee contracts, representing a long list of U.S. stars such as Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, Jozy Altidore and others. SportsNet was acquired by Wasserman in 2006, and Motzkin moved to Los Angeles to co-lead and then run the agency’s expanding soccer division.
Over the past two decades he has helped turn Wasserman into a genuine global football powerhouse, with hundreds of soccer athletes represented worldwide and a combined football client value in the billions. His leadership spans both men’s and women’s football: Wasserman has represented Alex Morgan, Naomi Girma, Lindsey Horan and other USWNT standouts, and under Motzkin’s watch the group has aggressively expanded in women’s football via acquisitions such as the U.K. agency Volante Sports.
Motzkin is known for combining a lawyer’s command of contracts with a long-term, human-focused approach to player careers. He tends to frame his work as building pathways rather than just closing individual deals, guiding clients through MLS, Europe and national-team cycles, and often into post-playing roles in media, coaching or ownership. He has represented the No. 1 overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft nine times in twelve years and has negotiated some of the most lucrative player contracts in league history.
In recent years he has been central to Wasserman’s global M&A strategy, helping acquire European and women’s football agencies and integrating elite clients such as Federico Valverde and Alessia Russo into the broader Wasserman ecosystem. At the same time, he remains closely associated with the U.S. game, regularly quoted on MLS and national-team issues and repeatedly recognised in lists of the most influential figures in U.S. and women’s soccer.
Highlights:
• Pioneering U.S. soccer agent, founding SportsNet in 1994 and selling it to Wasserman in 2006.
• EVP & Managing Executive, Global Soccer at Wasserman – leading one of the sport’s most successful worldwide practices.
• Deep regulatory and legal background as U.S. Soccer’s first in-house counsel and a California-qualified lawyer.
• Long-term advisor to leading USMNT and USWNT stars including Donovan, Howard, Alex Morgan, Naomi Girma and others.
• Key driver of Wasserman’s expansion in women’s football and European agency acquisitions.
Career Snapshot
Origin story:
• Big-firm commercial lawyer turned sports executive, leaving private practice to become U.S. Soccer’s first in-house counsel and deputy executive director.
• Founded SportsNet in 1994, starting by representing 1994 World Cup star Alexi Lalas and other USMNT players before MLS even had an official name.
Milestones:
• 1994 – Launches SportsNet, one of the first dedicated U.S. soccer agencies, on the back of the home World Cup.
• Early 2000s – Plays a central role in Landon Donovan’s MLS career moves and loan arrangements, bringing him back from Germany and helping shape MLS’s star era.
• 2006 – Sells SportsNet to Wasserman, becomes co-head of the soccer division and moves to LA to build its global football practice.
• 2010s – Represents a core of USMNT and USWNT stars (Donovan, Howard, Hope Solo, Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach and others), negotiating many of their most visible contracts and endorsement deals.
• 2020s – Leads Wasserman’s European and women’s football expansion via acquisitions in Spain, the UK, Switzerland, Ireland and elsewhere, adding high-end clients like Federico Valverde and Alessia Russo.
• 2024–2025 – Recognised in women’s sports “power player” features for his role in building one of the dominant agencies in women’s football.
Network strengths:
• Deep ties across MLS, USL and North American academies, from early-generation MLS to the current expansion era.
• Strong relationships with Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga clubs, supported by Wasserman’s European offices and acquisitions.
• Core presence in women’s football via the Volante Sports integration and a heavy roster of USWNT and European women’s talent.
Support Team / Partners
Wasserman Global Soccer management team – multi-regional senior agents supporting transfers, renewals and strategic planning in more than 15 leagues.
European partner agents (Spain, Switzerland, Ireland and others) – embedded local experts for club relationships and regulatory detail.
Women’s football leadership (Volante integration) – with Luca Russo and colleagues overseeing WSL and women’s Champions League markets.
Legal and tax counsel – in-house and external specialists structuring complex, cross-border contracts and image-rights arrangements.
Marketing, brand and PR teams – Wasserman’s global marketing arm driving sponsorships and campaigns for players like Alex Morgan, Alessia Russo and Naomi Girma.
Client Roster
(Representative selection from Wasserman’s global football roster under Motzkin’s leadership – not exhaustive)
Top players and talents (current)
• Federico Valverde (Real Madrid) – Central Midfielder – Uruguay – 22 July 1998
• Manuel Akanji (Inter Milan, on loan from Manchester City) – Central Defender – Switzerland – 19 July 1995
• Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan) – Right-back / Wing-back – Netherlands – 18 April 1996
• Antonee Robinson (Fulham) – Left-back – United States – 8 August 1997
• John Stones (Manchester City) – Centre-back – England – 28 May 1994
• Harvey Barnes (Newcastle United) – Winger – England – 9 December 1997
• Teun Koopmeiners (Juventus) – Central Midfielder – Netherlands – 28 February 1998
• Weston McKennie (Juventus) – Central Midfielder – United States – 28 August 1998
• Alessia Russo (Arsenal Women) – Forward – England – 8 February 1999
• Naomi Girma (Chelsea Women) – Centre-back – United States – 14 June 2000
Coaches/Staff represented (if any)
• Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) – Head Coach
• Eddie Howe (Newcastle United) – Head Coach
Notable former clients
• Landon Donovan – USMNT and MLS legend; long-term flagship client across MLS contracts, endorsements and post-playing ventures.
• Tim Howard – USMNT and Premier League goalkeeper; represented through Everton and USMNT peaks and into broadcasting.
• Hope Solo – USWNT goalkeeper; represented for around a decade, with major endorsement deals and commercial projects.
• Alex Morgan – USWNT icon; part of Wasserman’s USWNT stable during her prime years and beyond.
• Abby Wambach – USWNT all-time great and former Wasserman marquee client.
• Freddy Adu – Early MLS phenom; Motzkin involved in his early pro and endorsement contracts.
• Bruce Arena – USMNT coach and MLS figure within the SportsNet/Wasserman coaching roster.
Notable Deals Led by Richard Motzkin
• 2001 – Landon Donovan: Bayer Leverkusen → San Jose Earthquakes (loan to MLS) – Ground-breaking deal that brought Donovan back from Germany and helped define MLS’s early star era.
• Mid-2000s – Landon Donovan: LA Galaxy Designated Player contracts and renewals – Among the highest-value MLS deals of their time, cementing Donovan as the league’s key domestic star.
• 2003–2004 – Freddy Adu: early pro and endorsement deals – Major youth pro and commercial contracts that made Adu one of the most heavily marketed teenage footballers in the world.
• 2010s – Hope Solo: major endorsement portfolio (including Gatorade) – Helped turn Olympic and World Cup success into a broad commercial platform in mainstream U.S. sports.
• 2010s – Tim Howard: Everton / USMNT contracts and broadcast transition – Long-term representation covering European peak years and the move into high-profile television punditry.
• 2018 – Landon Donovan: return from retirement with Club León – Advised on Donovan’s short-term Liga MX comeback, balancing sporting opportunity, marketing and lifestyle.
• 2023–2025 – Women’s football portfolio – Involvement at agency level in landmark women’s deals including Naomi Girma’s record move to Chelsea and major commercial campaigns featuring Alessia Russo.
• 2020–2024 – Agency acquisitions (Top Value, Volante, Swiss and Irish agencies) – Strategic M&A activity adding elite European and women’s talent and strengthening Wasserman’s on-the-ground presence.
Track Record (last 3 seasons)
(Agency-wide indicators under Motzkin’s leadership – exact personal deal counts are not public.)
Total transfers completed:
• Not publicly disclosed – high-volume practice completing dozens of international and domestic transfers each season across MLS, NWSL and Europe.
Deals ≥ €10m:
• Not publicly disclosed – multiple eight-figure transfers and renewals each season involving top-5 league players across the Wasserman roster.
Clients in top-5 leagues:
• Significant cohort of Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga players, including Stones, Valverde, Dumfries, Barnes, Koopmeiners and McKennie.
National team clients:
• Dozens of senior internationals for the USMNT, USWNT and leading European national teams.
Renewal/extension deals:
• Regular contract renewals and renegotiations at MLS, NWSL and top-5 league level, upgrading terms for established internationals and rising talents.
Aggregate client market value (agency-wide, football):
• ≈€2.2bn in listed football clients across roughly 1,200+ players (latest public estimates).
Compliance & Accreditation
• Operates as a FIFA-licensed football agent through Wasserman’s regulatory framework, aligned with modern FIFA Football Agent Regulations and national FA intermediary rules.
• Qualified lawyer (Loyola Law School J.D., high academic honours), giving a strong foundation in contracts and regulatory compliance.
• Former U.S. Soccer in-house counsel and deputy executive director, with long experience navigating federation rules, risk and governance.
• Backed by Wasserman’s global compliance, legal and insurance structures across its network of offices.
Testimonials
• “Motzkin is widely recognized as the preeminent soccer agent in the United States.” – major conference speaker bio.
• Industry rankings have described Wasserman under his leadership as one of the two dominant soccer agent firms in the U.S., representing stars such as Alex Morgan, Landon Donovan, Hope Solo and Tim Howard.
• Coverage of Hope Solo’s commercial rise has highlighted how her agent, Richard Motzkin, turned Olympic success into seven-figure endorsement income.
• In recent interviews and podcasts, Motzkin has stressed that his north star is “chasing happiness, not just trophies”, underlining a player-centric, long-term approach to representation.
Press, Awards & Recognition
• Ranked among the 50 most powerful people in U.S. soccer, and cited as the 25th most powerful, in Sports Illustrated’s influential power list.
• Profiled in SportsBusiness Journal and other industry outlets as a pioneering U.S. soccer agent who founded SportsNet in 1994 and helped build one of the game’s most successful global soccer practices.
• Frequently quoted in mainstream and specialist media on MLS loans, Olympic marketing, women’s sport, and the broader growth of global football in the U.S.
• Featured in retrospectives on MLS history as arguably the most influential American soccer agent, given his role in shaping the careers of Donovan, Howard and other domestic stars.
• Included in women’s sports “power player” features for his role, alongside colleagues, in making Wasserman a powerhouse in women’s football and in representing a large share of USWNT Olympians and world champions.
