How Athletes Are Using Tech to Get Ownership Back.

Kevin De Bruyne, a prominent attacking midfielder for Manchester City in the English Premier League, has successfully renegotiated his contract extension in 2020 without the aid of an agent. The renegotiated contract will keep De Bruyne with the club until 2025. Since joining City in 2015, De Bruyne has been a vital part of the team's success.

De Bruyne secured a new contract worth $470,000 per week, which is an increase of $104,000 (+30%) per week from his previous contract. To negotiate the deal, De Bruyne utilized data analytics to demonstrate his value and influence within the current City team and in their future plans. Specifically, he employed TransferLab, a recruitment product that uses algorithms to calculate a player's contribution value to their team. The contribution value is based on numerous metrics and provides a rating of a player's impact on their team's ability to score or concede goals. TransferLab is the flagship product of AnalyticsFC, which was founded by former West Ham FC scout Jeremy Steele. With this new contract negotiation, De Bruyne has solidified his status as City's highest earner, earning £20.8m per year.

De Bruyne's successful contract negotiation without an agent is the latest instance of athletes setting record-high earnings while handling their own contract negotiations.