Mia Griffiths

4/5/20
Sports Leadership & Management

Career Analysis: Lil Wayne/ Adie Von Gontard Young Money APAA Sports

Most people's journey into the sports field isn’t always the most traditional. Lil Wayne

(Dwayne Carter) ventured into the sports agency field after a long legendary run in the music

industry. He did this venture with Adie von Gontard who is also the President of Young APAA

Sports Agency. This venture has always been interesting to me, being from Atlanta I knew his

daughter Reginae who is also from Atlanta, I developed a friendship with her. On occasions I got

the opportunity to be around her and her family. Not to mention my entire generation was

growing up listening to Lil Wayne. Sports and music are some of my two favorite things so to

see them combine in this way, well I thought it was brilliant! Young Money APAA has also

hired a black female agent on their roster by the name of Nicole Lynn. Lynn has grown to be an

inspiration to me and I’m sure many other women that hope to be in the male dominated sports

industry. To see the way Mr. Carter and Mr. Gontard have combined their leadership and

management styles after coming from two completely different backgrounds.

Dwayne Carter Jr grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was born to a teenage mother

and grew up in very impoverished circumstances. He started rapping at age eight and got noticed

at age twelve by the owner of Cash Money Records. Mr. Carter dropped out of high school at the

age of fourteen to focus on music. He was able to come out of his circumstances and has

surpassed Elvis Preseley for most solo charts on the Billboard 100. He is also credited for

discovering some of the biggest artists of our generation such as Drake and Nicki Minaj.

Needless to say Lil Wayne is arguably the best rapper/ executive in the music industry. So the
question is what made him want to team up with Adie Von Gontard to create Young Money

APAA Sports Agency? I was lucky enough to get in contact with the Agency and forward my

list of questions to Mr. Carter and to Mr. Gontard.

Mr. Carter got into the sports agency business because he wanted to use his image and

resources to not only help others in a field he’s been wanting to get into for a minute. Mr. Carter

as many know is a very calm and laid back individual as you would say. In the response I was

able to get from Mr. Carter pertaining to his management style of his multiple businesses he has

running currently and how he has been able to multitask between them.

“Mr. Carter has been able to utilize his life experiences and own personal ambition to align the

direction of leadership he wants to see through the companies he owns. People want to be in a

partnership that they can trust. Keeping it real 100% is all i do and what i expect out of the

people that work for me.” For someone who does not have a college degree or a high school

diploma how can he expect to run a profitable sports agency. “That is why you find people who

know how to do the things you’re not specialized in. Adie is extremely knowledgable in the

sports agency business and has been able to be a key unit of our leadership team. The agents he

has acquired have proven to be a major asset. Hard work beats talent, though I may not known

everything there's to know about sports management but I have enough money and connections

to know people who do. That's why YMAPAA is out here running the game.”

Mr. Gontard has grown up in the sports industry business, his great grandfather founded

Anheuser-Busch which set up the path for his grandfather to own the St. Louis Cardinals. His

background is a complete 180 from that of Mr. Carters. Mr. Gontard received his bachelors in

business and sports management and his Masters in Sports Industry Management. He has always
loved sports and the management that goes in behind it. “Watching my grandfather own the

Cardinals was also so cool to me growing up! The family business was interesting to me but

sports was my number one interest above anything else.”

Working with Wayne is a great opportunity and extremely exciting for what YMAPAA will

continue to produce. We as an agency focus on amping the potential of all our athletes. When

they see their representation is working overtime to ensure their success it drives them just as

much to put in the same effort we are.” These words stuck with me because that is absolutely

true. Your support system and the people you hire as representation are your driving force of

success. They are the ones keeping your best interest at all times and tell you performance wise

where you need to maintain.

Mr. Carter and Mr. Gontard has been able to mix their two styles of leadership with trust. Trust

seems to be the largest factor in their partnership. The two have found a way to come from two

completely different backgrounds and instruct the company they run to be fluid and have the

values they all have. Some final thoughts and tips they had for me as an aspiring female in the

sports indutry, “Don’t take crap from anyone, you are your best seller if you have a mission

don’t stop fighting until you get what you came for. People in this industry may try to act like

you’re not as knowldegable or they can swindle you because you’re a female but truth is women

run this industry better then men, their egos get to much in the way.” I am thankful for the

responses I got from the two gentleman and will ensure to keep trust as one of the for fronts of

my philosophy in leadership. Though Mr. Carter may not have the necessary education some

may deem fit to run a sports agency. He had a dream and he made sure all of them became
reality by hustling and grinding with no resilience. Hard work does truly beat talent and that is

something a great leader portrays and teaches.