Rachel Luba

Rachel Luba
Born	Rachel Erin Luba (1992-07-27) July 27, 1992 (age 32) Monterey, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	University of California, Los Angeles (BA) Pepperdine University (JD)
Occupation(s)	Sports agent, attorney
Employer	Luba Sports
Website	lubasports.com

Rachel Erin Luba^[1] (born July 27, 1992) is an American sports agent. She is the founder and owner of Luba Sports, a sports agency based in Maple Valley, Washington.^[2] She is also the youngest certified female agent in baseball.^[3]

Early and personal life

Luba is a native of Monterey, California. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she was a gymnast.^[4] Luba graduated magna cum laude a year early in 2013 from UCLA, earning her bachelor's degree in communications.^[5] Following her retirement from gymnastics, Luba entered the world of competitive boxing.^[6] Luba went on to attend law school at Pepperdine University, graduating a semester early in 2016.^[7]

Luba competed on Season 13 of American Ninja Warrior, but failed on the first obstacle.^[8]

Career

Luba began her sports agency career as an intern for the Beverly Hills Sports Council while in law school. In 2017, she was hired by the Major League Baseball Players Association as a lawyer, working on over 22 arbitration cases and helping win a record 12 hearings for MLB players in 2018.^[9]

Luba founded her own sports agency, Luba Sports, in October 2019. She revealed that in an effort to pay off student debt from law school, she started out working 10- to 14-hour days as the sole employee of the company.^[10] Later that year, pitcher Trevor Bauer signed with the company, becoming Luba's first client.^[11] Her first negotiations as an agent were between Bauer and the Cincinnati Reds. Luba negotiated the second highest contract for an arbitration-eligible pitcher in MLB history, with Bauer signing a one-year, $17.5 million contract with the Reds.^[12]

Bauer went on to win the 2020 NL Cy Young, making Luba the first woman in MLB history to represent a Cy Young winner.^[13] The following year in the 2020–2021 offseason, Luba helped negotiate a record-breaking deal for Bauer with the Los Angeles Dodgers, earning $40 million in 2021 and $45 million in 2022 and making him the highest paid player in Major League Baseball history in each of those years. Luba's record-breaking deal for her client is the first contract in Major League Baseball to eclipse $40 million in a single season. The contract was also structured with a player opt-out after years 1 and 2. This means a three-year total of $102 million should he choose to opt-in for both 2022 and 2023.^[14]

Luba also represents professional softball player and former UCLA softball catcher Paige Halstead. Additionally, she represents several MLB coaches.^[14] All-Star right fielder Yasiel Puig was previously represented by Luba's sports agency from November 2020 to November 2021.^[15][16]

Luba was featured in the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 under the sports category.^[17]

Luba co-hosts a podcast, Cork'd Up, with Jessica Kleinschmidt. She also runs her own YouTube channel in which she explains the arbitration process, and other jobs of an agent.

References

1. "2011 Gymnastics Roster - Rachel Luba". UCLA Athletics. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
2. Schwerzler, Ted. "Paving a Path, Women in Baseball: Rachel Luba". Twins Daily. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
3. Caparell, Adam. "Rachel Luba, the Groundbreaking Agent for MLB Pitcher Trevor Bauer, Is About to Make History". Complex Sports. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
4. Pavlovic, Alex. "NorCal's Luba brings unique approach to Bauer's free agency". NBC Sports Bay Area. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
5. Abraham Leader, Lewis. "Baseball Lives: Monterey native is an agent and a pioneer". Monterey Herald. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
6. "UCLA's women boxers at USIBA Championship". Daily Bruin. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
7. Thosar, Deesha. "Rachel Luba is rejecting the Old Boys' Club and changing the baseball industry after starting her own agency". New York Daily News. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
8. Lee, Nikki (June 7, 2021). "American Ninja Warrior recap: Night two of Qualifiers". American Ninja Warrior Nation - SBNation. Rachel is a sports agent who recently negotiated the highest MLB salary ever for her client, LA Dodger Trevor Bauer. She's also a former gymnast which usually translates well to the course. Unfortunately, Rachel didn't make it past the Shrinking Steps.
9. Slusser, Susan. "How Monterey's Rachel Luba is upending the man's world of baseball agents". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
10. Tucker, Hank. "How The 30 Under 30 Class Of 2021 Is Handling More Than $10 Million In Student Loan Debt". Forbes.
11. Walker, Mollie (December 9, 2020). "How Rachel Luba helped Trevor Bauer become MLB's most intriguing free agent". New York Post. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
12. Nightengale, Bobby. "Cincinnati Reds avoid arbitration with all players; Trevor Bauer nets near-record deal". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
13. "Updated Journalism Showcase: Trailblazer To Trailblazer". ESPN Front Row. March 5, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
14. Nguyen, Thuc (February 6, 2021). "Who is Rachel Luba, the former UCLA gymnast who negotiated Trevor Bauer's deal?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
15. Garcia-Roberts, Gus (December 13, 2021). "The secret settlements that helped a baseball star play on". The Washington Post. Shortly after settling the lawsuit, Puig left Luba Sports for Carnet's newly formed agency specializing in Latin players.
16. Feinsand, Mark. "Ready to play, Puig drawing interest (sources)". Major League Baseball. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
17. Settimi, Christina; Badenhausen, Kurt. "Forbes 30 under 30 2021: Sports". Forbes.