Rachel Erin Luba (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 Maple Valley is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 28,013 at the 2020 census. The city functions as a commuter town for residents, though there is an increasing amount of commercial activity in the area. His ...

. She is also the youngest certified female agent in baseball.

Early and personal life

Luba is a native of

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

. She attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA), where she was a gymnast. Luba graduated magna cum laude a year early in 2013 from UCLA, earning her bachelor's degree in communications. Following her retirement from gymnastics, Luba entered the world of competitive boxing. Luba went on to attend law school at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

, graduating a semester early in 2016. Luba competed on Season 13 of ''

American Ninja Warrior American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

'', but failed on the first obstacle.

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 The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union representing all current Major League Baseball players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held a signed contract with a Major League club ...

as a lawyer, working on over 22 arbitration cases and helping win a record 12 hearings for MLB players in 2018. 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. Later that year, pitcher

Trevor Bauer Trevor Andrew Bauer (born January 17, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians, and Cincinnati Reds. Af ...

signed with the company, becoming Luba's first client. Her first negotiations as an agent were between Bauer and the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. 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. Bauer went on to win the 2020 NL Cy Young, making Luba the first woman in MLB history to represent a Cy Young winner. The following year in the 2020–2021 offseason, Luba helped negotiate a record-breaking deal for Bauer with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, 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. Luba also represents professional softball player and former UCLA softball catcher Paige Halstead. Additionally, she represents several MLB coaches. All-Star right fielder Yasiel Puig was previously represented by Luba's sports agency from November 2020 to November 2021. Luba was featured in the 2021 ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 under the sports category. 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luba, Rachel 1992 births Living people American lawyers American sports agents Sportspeople from Monterey, California University of California, Los Angeles alumni Pepperdine University School of Law alumni Women sports agents UCLA Bruins women's gymnasts