Middle Native Lauds Local Roots for Starting Sports Business Career

COURT HOUSE – Sam Porter, who recently grew his professional sports resume through investing in a professional Mexican soccer league, thanks Cape May County for helping start his career. 
The Middle Township native, in May, led an investor group that purchased a 50% stake in Club Necaxa, a professional soccer team in Liga MX, which Porter says is Mexico’s top soccer league. His team members, the first group from the U.S. to purchase shares of a team in the league,aren’t strangers to spotlights. They include model Kate Upton and her husband, Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, actress Eva Longoria, Miami Heat star Víctor Oladipo, and others.  
Liga MX is the most popular soccer league in the U.S., in terms of television viewership, and champions higher ratings than MLS and Premier League combined, Porter said. 
Before making his investment, Porter served as chief strategy officer for the MLS’s D.C. United team. He still holds a spot on the board of directors for Swansea City, a top soccer team in the United Kingdom. Before those, he worked as a professional sports agent in New York City for Sportstars Inc.Despite holding multiple jobs in professional sports and living north of Cape May County, in Fairhaven, Monmouth County, Porter still hails his Middle Township origins for generating his fascination with the pro-sports world. 
“I was a big fan of the Middle Township (High School) basketball team when I was there,” Porter said, who took his love for the sports to Philadelphia’s St. Joseph’s University after graduating from Middle TownshipHigh School in 2000. “I was never good enough to be on the team, but I loved basketball. Middle Township was always good. We were going to the state playoffs and stuff like that, so I really think Middle Township basketball kind of got the ball rolling.” 
While in high school, Porter enjoyed being on the debate team, and originally wanted to seek a career in the law field. He was even recognized for his work by VirginiaHeislinga, an English teacher, who worked with the debate team and selected him for a trip to Washington for a national youth leadership conference. Heislinga, who taught at the high school from 1994-2002, described Porter as a “better-than-average” student, who was friendly, participated in class, and seemed interested in multiple topics. 
“If you showed him something else that was interesting, then he would expand to get into that,” said Heislinga, who lives near Richmond, Virginia, and serves as an associate professor of humanities at Ann-Maria College, in Paxton, Massachusetts. “It wasn’t that he dropped one thing, but he just kept expanding his interests.” 
“I think that’s done well for him in his life,” she added. 
Porter may credit his life near the Jersey Shore for helping start his career, but an opportunity in New York City while in law school gave him the chance to break into the industry. 
He learned of an internship at a professional sports agency through an email distributed by the school. He interviewed and was offered an internship, where he would work alongside accountants and agents working with 120 NFL players, some of whom were the best the league showcased in the early 2000s, including the New York Giants Osi Umenyiora and the Kansas City Chiefs Tamba Hali. 
“He (Hali) comes through the door and is like, ‘Hey, what’s up man?'” Porter said, recalling meeting the six-time Pro Bowler. “He’s like, ‘Where are you from?’ and I’m like, ‘New Jersey.’ He’s like, ‘Me, too. Let’s go grab lunch.'” 
“I got into that agency, and I felt at home,” Porter added, recalling the relationships he developed with several players and employees. 
The internship, like many college students, supplied Porter with full-time employment, where he, given his love for basketball, would be hired to create NBA operations for the agency. He ended up getting several players contracts for pro teams, some of whom he said had tenures with teams like the Boston Celtics. 
Porter describes being a professional sports agent as an “all-encompassing” career, where clients are frequently asking for a substantial amount of their agent’s time. He said they juggle multiple job titles for their players, something Porter thought would burn him out and interfere with him starting a family. 
“I had 40 professional basketball clients, and I was also representing some coaches, and it was 24/7, 365,” Porter said. “I was walking into the delivery room when my daughter was born, the year before I left being an agent, and I was on the phone with one of my clients literally while walking into the delivery room.” 
Porter’s connections in the sports industry paid off when looking for a different career path.  Jason Levien, the former chief executive officer of the Memphis Grizzlies, approached Porter in 2014 about an opportunity with D.C. United, which Levien owns.  
The following year, Levien and Porter produced a team that would expand their business expenditures to give Porter his first overseas soccer team, Swansea City, which plays its home games at Liberty Stadium, in South West Wales. 
Soccer wasn’t Porter’s go-to sport at the time, but his business dealings in Europe while working with his basketball clientele opened his eyes to an opportunity in one of the world’s most popular sports. 
“I liked soccer a lot, but I hadn’t yet dived into the business,” Porter said. “However, I had a lot of basketball clients in Europe and globally, so when I would go visit a player that I had in France or Germany or Italy, the big thing in town was always the soccer team.” 
Most of Porter’s workdays since the pandemic consist of working from his home office, where several memorialized sports jerseys decorate the walls surrounding him. When needed, he’s back and forth between New Jersey and the United Kingdom, managing affairs for Swansea City. 
Porter, however, has not forgotten his roots. He and his wife, Lauren, visit the area occasionally, spending time at their second home, in Avalon, with their daughter, Madelyn, 6, and son, Sam, 4. He also said he maintains a relationship with local students and mentors them about the sports industry. 
His trips help him recall his time as a local resident, when he worked in at the Avalon Inn, the Mirage Restaurant, and as a cabana boy, all while enjoying his free time on the beach.
“It was like a quaint, small-town feeling,” Porter said, recalling his experiences living in Cape May County in the late 90s and early 2000s. 
“I kind of miss that old-school, working-at-the-shore vibe,” he added. 
Porter believes the best way to build a successful career is not to put blinders on when it comes to opportunities. He says today’s youth have more chances to explore because of the internet’s accessibility, something the 38-year-old didn’t have when he was growing up. 
He said that he sees too many people “self-limiting” themselves, sticking to what they know and not looking for opportunities.
“Don’t let where you are at a certain time limit how big and full of opportunity the world is,” Porter said. “I think there is just so much opportunity.”
To contact Eric Conklin, email econklin@cmcherald.com.