The Power Brokers of the Creator Economy: The Reps Who Made 2026’s Biggest Moves
This is their world, and the rest of us are just living in it. Creators are no longer just entertainers; they are election influencers, film financiers, fashion moguls, and cultural architects. But even the most magnetic internet personality cannot turn viral fame into an empire without a team of relentless dealmakers behind them. In 2026, the most powerful representatives in the creator economy did more than manage talent—they brokered nine-figure pacts, launched billion-dollar businesses, and reshaped the relationship between Hollywood, digital media, and the open internet. These are the reps who defined the year.
The Talent Agencies and Management Firms
At UTA, the creator division and Digital Brand Architects continue to house a daunting roster, including Markiplier, Kareem Rahma, Colin and Samir, and Olandria Carthen. Ali Berman, Raina Penchansky, Oren Rosenbaum, and Hilary Williams spent the year populating Netflix’s new video podcast slate with The Rotten Files With Stephanie Soo, brokering the now-infamous MrBeast–James Patterson novel collaboration, expanding Emma Chamberlain’s Chamberlain Coffee empire with a new Abbot Kinney outpost, and putting Alix Earle in the Netflix series Earle Meets World.
At Gersh, Keith Bielory, Melissa DeMarco, and Jade Sherman pushed clients further into mainstream culture, facilitating record-breaking Broadway runs for Chicago with reality stars Ariana Madix, Whitney Leavitt, and Mark Ballas. They also helped Doctor Mike surpass 30 million followers and turned Eli Rallo’s book into a New York Times bestseller.
Sixteenth’s Alexis Ramos built the company’s sports division from the ground up, representing top names in the NFL, WNBA, and track and field. Skye Petrie brought a massive U.K. roster into the fold, making British stars like Maddie Borge global names. Payton Booker locked in major partnerships, including a $90,000 brand campaign for Charles Brockman III.
At WME, Ben Davis closed a reported $100 million first-of-its-kind pact for Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, giving it joint exclusive rights at Netflix and Spotify. Davis and co-head Jad Dayeh also helped reality favorites Paige DeSorbo and Hannah Berner land major brand ties, including Berner’s multiyear Lululemon ambassadorship.
CAA’s digital team—Arleta Fowler, Andrew Graham, Brent Weinstein, and Sophie Wiener—signed some of the biggest names in the world, from Rhett + Link and Valkyrae to the Stokes Twins, Deestroying, Rebecca Zamolo, Nara Smith, and Reece Feldman. In June, CAA partnered with Integrated Media Co. to launch Compound Creative Holdings, a $250 million vehicle aimed at acquiring and operating companies throughout the creator economy.
Loaded’s Brandon Freytag and Yoni Ginsberg have spent a decade brokering livestreaming’s biggest deals. Their roster represents the largest share of Twitch watch time among management firms, including TheBurntPeanut, Cinna, Maya Higa, and Shroud. This year they closed agreements with Google, EA, Epic Games, and Tencent, and negotiated “Protect the Peanut,” a Battlefield campaign that became one of EA’s most successful creator activations.
Night had another blockbuster year. John Nelson brokered deals for Kai Cenat’s record-breaking Streamer University with partners like Red Bull, Dell, and Fortnite. David Huntzinger expanded Hasan Piker’s merch line amid his rise to national political prominence and helped Sam & Colby land a Netflix partnership. Michael Gordon oversaw the eight-figure sale of the true-crime YouTube channel Dr. Insanity to an investment firm.
THE·TEAM’s Marcela Woessner inked gymnast and Instagram star Livvy Dunne with Miller Lite and turned an embarrassing viral sweat-stain moment into a deodorant partnership with Secret. Meanwhile, founders Joe Gilliland and Josh Morgan brought their golf creator agency Provisions into THE·TEAM, developing the Creator Classic tournament and the YouTube series Your Golf Tour.
Underscore Talent’s Mallory Llewellyn landed four clients on Netflix’s Calabasas Confidential, serving as consulting producer. Kyle Stevens helped Kareem Rahma turn SubwayTakes into an Emmy-nominated series and launch his second show, Keep the Meter Running. Dylan Flinn became the go-to manager for AI creators, landing one of the first celebrity likeness deals with HiggsfieldAI and securing a studio development deal for Chloe vs History.
Parker Management started the year by acquiring Estate Five, expanding its footprint in fashion and beauty. Lindsay Nead and Stephanie Field signed Alex Bennett, Abigail Erb, and Dan and Samantha Matthews, adding to a deep bench of lifestyle, family, and Bachelor Nation talent. The firm secured campaigns with Google Pixel, Abercrombie & Fitch, Tuckernuck, and Lincoln.
Select continues to sit at the intersection of creator culture and Hollywood, delivering new seasons of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and its spinoff TSLOMW: Orange County. Lisa Filipelli, Brittany Maxwell, and Caroline Nardilla also launched Select Sports, landing Super Bowl campaigns with Meta x Oakley glasses and Toyota for athletes Sky Brown and Oksana Masters.
Weinstein Senior, led by Tara Senior and Todd Weinstein, serves as lead counsel for MrBeast, who became the first individual creator to hit 500 million YouTube subscribers in June. They structured the deals behind Amazon Prime Video’s Beast Games seasons two and three, each budgeted above $100 million. They also represent Dhar Mann Studios, the largest scripted creator-led studio in the business, which pulls nearly 300 million weekly views while Mann retains full creative ownership.
The Legal Minds and Strategic Advisers
At Manatt Phelps & Phillips, Christopher Chatham and Ellie Heisler widened Alan Chikin Chow’s reach with distribution deals at Roku Channel and Tubi, bringing Alan’s Universe to more than 100 million subscribers. Chatham also represents Logan Paul, brokering deals for Impaulsive and for IShowSpeed, who now has 61 million YouTube subscribers. Heisler works closely with Jordan and Salish Matter and structured Salish’s groundbreaking Chipotle collaboration, making her the youngest person to launch a digital menu item with the brand.
Yorn Levine’s Kevin Yorn and Todd Rubenstein helped Alix Earle evolve from creator to entrepreneur, launching her skin care brand Reale Actives and negotiating her Netflix series. Yorn advised Hailey Bieber on her 2026 Gap collection—long live the baggy jeans renaissance—while Rubenstein represented Charli D’Amelio. Ryan Goodell has chef Nick DiGiovanni, who served as Fox Sports’ official chef for the FIFA World Cup.
At Hansen Jacobson, Adam Kaller and Ryan Pastorek stood by Markiplier as his self-funded $3 million film Iron Lung went on to gross $50 million worldwide. The pair also represent SmartLess, Crooked Media, Smosh, Mythical Entertainment, Emma Chamberlain, Liza Koshy, Lilly Singh, and Valkyrae. Lauren Partipilo Schwartz sealed Giggly Squad’s multiyear SiriusXM deal and negotiated for RHOSLC’s Bronwyn Newport to join The Traitors.
At Weintraub Tobin, Shaun Gordon guided Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy transformation into a media empire, including the Unwell Network, live events, touring, and a reported $500 million pre-money valuation for its first outside capital raise. Jessica Marlow represents Claudia and Jackie Oshry of The Toast, Remi Parsons of the Webby-winning Pretty Basic and Basically Unfiltered podcasts, and Chris Olsen, whose memoir I Think My Therapist Hates Me became a defining comedic text.
Melanie Howard of Loeb & Loeb advises Patrick and Brittany Mahomes on endorsements and personal brand growth, along with gamers Andre Rebelo and Karl Jacobs and Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. On the other side of the table, Howard represented Gap in the Hailey Bieber collaboration.
Greenberg Glusker’s Eric Perlmutter-Gumbiner serves as corporate and strategic adviser to a constellation of creator-focused firms, including Palette Media, Jake Rosen Entertainment, Get Engaged Media, Underscore Talent, Made by All, and Dhar Mann Studios. Matt Dysart invests heavily in the digital space, representing Slow Ventures, Kynetic Content, UnderCurrent, Palette Media, and Creator Society.
At Gang Tyre, Annie Lee and Cheryl Snow represent Ms. Rachel, whose videos have generated 10 billion views worldwide. They negotiated her hit Netflix series, which earned 53.4 million views, and her debut album I’m So Happy. They also represent Whitney Leavitt, whose run as Roxie Hart in Chicago grossed more than $8 million in its first six weeks.
Adam Kaller’s Hansen Jacobson colleague Ryan Pastorek also brokered Giggly Squad’s SiriusXM deal, while at Goodman Genow, Will Jacobson closed deals for Bretman Rock with Kate Spade New York and K-beauty brand Dr. Groot. Matt Rosen helped Noah Beck expand his acting career through Tubi’s Sideline franchise and Fox’s Baywatch reboot.
At Range Media Partners, Eman Redwan oversees 25 executives who closed more than $100 million in deals over the past year, with clients including Nara Smith. Mariam Rastegar Ross brokered Chris Appleton’s seven-figure Schwarzkopf deal, and Worthy Patterson turned Beca Michie into a top fashion creator, placing her at major shows and closing seven figures in contracts.
At Gang Tyre, Ms. Rachel’s success was complemented by Whitney Leavitt’s Broadway run. At Outshine Talent, Barbara Jones expanded sports representation, working with Savannah Bananas stars Kyle “KJ” Jackson and RobertAnthony Cruz, who launched a custom Under Armour line. Jones also helped Tyler Gaca develop a horror film and Lala Sadii secure a Disney Channel scripted project.
At Made by All, Leanne Perice launched a studio designed to turn creators into Hollywood talent and owners of original IP. Her clients include Adam W, Hannah Stocking, Josh Peck, and internet-native artist Devon Rodriguez, with partnerships involving Kevin Hart, Tom Holland, and Jennifer Lopez.
At Rakugo Media, Douglas Pinsky and Jake Williams surpassed $50 million in gross partnership revenue thanks to AI-focused creators like Carterpcs, Rowan Cheung, Natalie Fratto, and Austin Nasso. They sold Roberto Nickson’s Life With Claude series to Anthropic and negotiated millions in deals with OpenAI, Google, Meta, Nvidia, AMD, and SpaceXAI.
At Sloane Offer, Jonathan Sauer represents Colin & Samir, who interviewed everyone from Mark Zuckerberg to MrBeast, while securing partnerships with Google Gemini, Adobe, and LinkedIn. He also represents Ryan Trahan, known for his viral Penny Series challenges.
At Smooth Media, Josh Kaplan and Jenny Rothenberg built one of the fastest-growing management firms for knowledge creators, executing campaigns for Anthropic, Notion, Microsoft, Ramp, Canva, and Google. They partnered with Colin and Samir on The Publish Press, and creator CatGPT recently took an equity stake in the company.
Finally, at Greenberg Traurig, Paige Kaplan Randolph advised Lala Sadii through the development of Lala IRL, a Disney Channel and Disney+ series inspired by her rise to 37.5 million Instagram followers. Randolph also represents Olympic power couple Tara and Hunter Woodhall, author Erin McGoff, and The Lipstick Lesbians, whose beauty partnerships include Clinique, Fenty, Estée Lauder, and Goop.
In 2026, the creator economy’s true power players are not always the faces on camera. They are the representatives, lawyers, and strategists who build the scaffolding for a new entertainment order. And if the past year is any indication, those teams will only become more indispensable.
