ARN TELLEM

Vice Chairman of the Detroit Pistons

Arn Tellem is Vice Chairman of the Detroit Pistons basketball franchise. Mr. Tellem, who reports to owner Tom Gores, joined the organization in August 2015 following a distinguished career as one of the top player agents in professional sports.

As a representative of ownership, Mr. Tellem has broad responsibility for business and basketball strategy, planning and development, and strengthening the connection between the Pistons and the community. He is responsible for league-related initiatives as one of the team’s Alternate Governors on the NBA Board of Governors. In 2017, he served as Mr. Gores’ point man and chief negotiator in the successful bid to bring the franchise back to the city to play after a 39-year absence. Two years later, Mr. Tellem oversaw the organization’s complete move to downtown Detroit, with both the basketball and business arms of the company occupying the newly constructed, state-of-the-art Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center. In 2021, he executed another key piece of Mr. Gores’ vision for Detroit and the Pistons franchise as the Motor City Cruise made its NBA G League debut at a sparkling state-of-the-art new arena on the campus of Wayne State University.

Mr. Gores describes Mr. Tellem as “one of the most accomplished and respected sports executives in the world,” and says he “shares my belief that sports can be a catalyst for change in the community.”

As Mr. Gores continues using the Pistons organization as a catalyst in Detroit’s resurgence, he and Tellem have worked to grow the organization’s relationship with Henry Ford Health and in February 2023, the partners joined Michigan State University to announce a sweeping new community development and investment of $3 billion over the next decade turning Detroit’s New Center neighborhood into a vibrant, walkable community with state-of-the-art health care, residential, commercial, retail and recreational components.

The development will be anchored by a significant expansion of Henry Ford Hospital that brings a brand new one-million-square-foot-plus facility and patient tower. It also includes a new, cutting-edge medical research facility for Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences, part of Henry Ford Health’s 30-year partnership with Michigan State University.

Transforming the section of New Center which currently houses the headquarters for both Henry Ford Health and the Detroit Pistons, the partners plan to create a destination to work, live, and play that’s infused with mixed-income living spaces, retail options, and green space.

A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Mr. Tellem said the opportunity to contribute to the region’s revitalization was a key factor in his decision to join the Pistons.

To that end, Mr. Tellem has spearheaded several community partnerships that earned the organization national recognition. Committed to making an impact in the city of Detroit and the metro region, the club’s community relations efforts were recognized nationally by ESPN as a finalist for the ESPN 2016 Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year Award. Mr. Tellem, Mr. Gores, and the Detroit Pistons Foundation have made significant commitments to and forged strengthened relationships with S.A.Y. Detroit Play Center, Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Michigan, the Detroit Police Athletic League, City Year, Grow Detroit’s Young Talent, the Bing Youth Institute/BINGO Mentoring Program, Forgotten Harvest, HAVEN, and the Jalen Rose Youth Academy—the main objective: to involve players, coaches, and administrators during yearly events with each organization. The Pistons maintain a wide range of community programs through NBA Cares, addressing health and fitness, education, military, special needs, Black History, and green initiatives. NBA Cares programs and participants have provided more than 5 million hours of hands-on service and created more than 1,300 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play in communities around the world.

As part of a social justice-focused initiative in collaboration with Pistons players and the entire organization, Mr. Tellem is executing another game-changing community initiative developed at the direction of Mr. Gores – the construction of a new, $20 million community center in the Cody-Rouge area on Detroit’s west side. That project includes a partnership with the City of Detroit and is expected to be completed by the close of 2024 or in early 2025.

A long-time board member of PeacePlayers International and Seeds of Peace, Mr. Tellem lends his time and supports the organization’s efforts to bring together children from conflict regions to promote tolerance and understanding. Using basketball to bridge barriers, PeacePlayers International operates year-round programs in South Africa, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Israel, and the West Bank. As the Pistons look to unite Detroiters and advance social justice initiatives, Mr. Tellem brought PeacePlayers to Detroit. He instituted a localized program connecting youth, community leaders, and law enforcement to build bridges and share ideas on creating stronger relationships in the community.

Mr. Tellem has represented more than 500 professional athletes in his career, including numerous former Detroit Pistons. He joined PSE following nine years at Wasserman Media Group, where he served as Vice Chairman and oversaw the Team Sports Division. In 1989, he founded Los Angeles-based Tellem & Associates, which was acquired in 1999 by SFX Entertainment, the world’s largest producer and marketer of live entertainment. Mr. Tellem served as Chief Executive Officer of SFX Sports until he joined Wasserman.

Mr. Tellem began representing professional baseball and basketball players in the early 1980s. Before that, he was a partner at the law firm Manatt, Phelps and Phillips, where he specialized in sports law and commercial litigation. Mr. Tellem also served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers between 1982 and 1988. In 2006, Sports Business Journal named Mr. Tellem the Most Influential Agent in Sports, and The Sporting News named him "Most Influential Sports Agent.” In 2004 and 2005, he was the only NBA player agent named as one of The Sporting News’ "50 Most Influential People in Sports Business.” Mr. Tellem was recognized as the industry’s top agent by the magazine in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. In 2008, Sports Business Journal ranked him second among sports agents. Two years later, Business Insider named Mr. Tellem one of the world's four "best" sports agents. In 2013, Forbes ranked him the third most powerful agent in sports, and first in basketball.

A member of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of California, Mr. Tellem served as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California School of Law and is frequently invited to lecture on issues related to sports law and business. He received his bachelor’s degree from Haverford College in 1976 and his J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1979.

From 2009 to 2010, Mr. Tellem wrote a semi-weekly sports column for The Huffington Post. He has also written for Sports Illustrated, the Op-ed page of the New York Times, Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, and the Japan Times.

Active in the Detroit business and philanthropic community, served as chairman of the 2022 Mackinac Policy Conference hosted each year by the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce. The conference brings Michigan leaders from business and politics for four days of keynote speeches and ideation on advancing prosperity throughout the state.

Mr. Tellem is married to Nancy Tellem, the former entertainment and digital media president of Microsoft and a onetime president of CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television. She is a founder of BasBlue, a non-profit space in midtown Detroit dedicated to women’s needs and fostering a diverse, authentic, and inclusive community. They have three grown sons: Michael, Matt, and Eric.