Craig Landis, Mike Trout’s Agent: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Craig Landis, Mike Trout Agent

Twitter/Tyler Landis Craig Landis pictured on his son's Twitter page.

Craig Landis is Los Angeles Angeles outfielder Mike Trout’s agent. Landis, a former professional baseball player in his own right, has successfully landed his client the biggest contract in the history of professional sports. On March 19, it was widely reported that Trout, 27, would sign a $430 million, 12-year deal with the Angels. The contract sees Trout earn $36 million-per-year, comfortably surpassing the league’s current best-paid player, Zack Greinke. It also sees him surpass Bryce Harper’s $330 million deal with the Phillies as well as Canelo Alvarez’s mega-deal with sports broadcaster DAZN.

Landis was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1977, where his signing bonus was $60,000, but never played in the majors. He retired after six seasons in Triple-A. From there, Landis went on to play college football at Stanford. While at college, Landis earned a degree in Economics before going on to work on Wall Street. In 1991, Landis returned to sports as an agent.

Here’s what you need to know:


1. Mike Trout Is His Only Client

Since becoming a Major League Baseball agent, Landis has represented J.J. Hardy, J.J. Putz, Aaron Rowand, Paul Konerko and Randy Winn. However, by 2018, Landis was only representing Craig Landis. In 2014, Landis told the Napa Valley Register, “It’s been very rewarding working with Mike and his family.” Landis has represented Trout since 2009 when the outfielder was about to enter the MLB draft.

Following graduation from Stamford, Landis told the Register in an interview that he worked for Shearson Lehman on Wall Street for two years.


2. Landis’ Son Is a College Football Player & His Daughter Is an Aspiring Singer/Songwriter

Landis lives with his wife, Laura, in Murrieta, California, southeast of Los Angeles. The couple has two children together, Tyler, a college football player with Washington University in St. Louis. Landis’ daughter, Olivia, is an aspiring singer-songwriter, according to her Twitter page.

On his Washington University profile, Tyler Landis says that he was football captain at Murrieta Valley High School and was majoring in chemical engineering at Washington University.


3. Landis’ Father Chicago White Sox Legend Jim Landis

Landis’ father was Chicago White Sox All-Star center-fielder Jim Landis. Jim Landis played in Chicago between 1957 and 1964, winning Gold Gloves five straight seasons (1960-64). He was also voted into the White Sox All-Century Team. A San Francisco Chronicle feature on Jim Landis from 2016 called “the American League’s answer to Willie Mays.” Jim Landis is quoted in that article as saying of his son, “I think my son’s a lot luckier than me.”

At one point, Landis represented six Chicago White Sox players, he told the Chronicle that that was a coincidence.

Landis grew up in Napa, California, where he was a dual baseball and football sports star at Vintage High School. He was drafted tenth by the San Francisco Giants in the first round of the 1977 amateur draft. In 2014, Landis was inducted into his high school’s athletic hall-of-fame having been an All-American in both disciplines. Before deciding to go to the draft in 1977, Landis had an offer to play football for the UCLA Bruins.


4. Landis Made Headlines in 2013 When He Complained that Trout’s $510,000 Salary Was ‘Unfair’

Mike Trout agent

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Landis made news in 2013 when he renewed Trout’s contract with the Angels for $510,000. At the time, Trout had been the runner-up MVP and the American League’s Rookie of the Year. Landis was quoted as saying in 2013, “Because Mike has less than three years of major league service and has not yet reached arbitration, the Angels have the right under the [collective bargaining agreement] to unilaterally impose a salary upon Mike, and they chose to do that today…I asked only that the Angels compensate Mike fairly for his historic 2012 season, given his service time. In my opinion, this contract falls well short of a ‘fair’ contract, and I have voiced this to the Angels throughout the process.”

A year later, Landis managed to get Trout a $144.5 million, six-year contract with the Angels. Many believed Trout would sign for more money given his reputation. Landis replied by saying, “What Mike was trying to accomplish was some financial security, but also keeping the door open for whatever may happen down the road.” In a separate interview with the Napa Valley Register, Landis said of Trout, “He’s very talented, he has all the ingredients. He’s a very driven, very focused, very competitive guy. He wants to be the best. He was blessed with a lot of talent.”


5. Until 2007, Landis Was Part of Reich, Katz & Landis Baseball Group

Craig landis

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Landis was a founder of Reich, Katz and Landis Baseball Group. By 2014, the company’s name had changed to simply, the Landis Baseball Group. In 2007, Forbes said that Reich and Katz had sold their business to the Wasserman Media Group. At the time of that article, Katz was the co-managing director of WMG’s baseball division.

Landis told Sports Business Daily about how Reich, Katz and Landis Baseball Group broke up, “Lagardère approached me, Mike and Ryan this year. I had zero interest, as I am absolutely fulfilled owning my own small, Baseball-only Agency. Mike and Ryan thought it was a great opportunity to work for a large, international, multi-sports firm. Mike and Ryan decided, with my blessing, to go to work for this impressive Company, Lagardère. I wish Mike and Ryan all the best. Lagardère got themselves two of the best and most ethical Agents in the business.”

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