Don Yee

Donald H. Yee (born 1960) is an American lawyer and sports agent. He is a partner of Yee & Dubin, a sports talent agency. He represents National Football League players and coaches, including former quarterback Tom Brady, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, and Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton. He has been highly praised by media including Sports Illustrated and The Washington Post for his work in representing Brady.

Early life and education Yee grew up in Sacramento, California, into an immigrant Chinese-American family. His mother was not able to speak English. As a 13-year-old in 1974, he worked as a batboy for the Sacramento Solons, the city's then minor league baseball team. In an interview with Sactown Magazine, he recalls the influence of the baseball team's manager, Bob Lemon, who taught Yee that he shouldn't "pay attention to what others think. Just do your best, and do what you think is right". Yee went to college at UCLA, during which he interned at Sacramento's KFBK radio station as a producer for a nightly sports talk show. He obtained a Los Angeles Lakers season credential and covered parts of Magic Johnson's rookie season of 1979-80.

Career Yee decided to become a sports agent in 1988, which the Sacramento Bee described as a long shot, similar to someone "marching into Hollywood hopeful his manuscript would be snatched up". His big break came in 1999, when he signed Tom Brady, a senior at University of Michigan who went on to spend more than 20 years as an NFL quarterback for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Yee represented Brady for his entire career. During the Deflategate controversy, The Boston Globe described Yee as Brady's "chief surrogate" and "uber-agent", while The Washington Post called him Brady's "super agent". Others said that Yee's representation of both athletes may have "complicated" efforts by the Patriots to retain both Brady and Garoppolo. Yee also represents former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman. In 2017, Yee co-founded the Pacific Pro Football league, an alternative to college football, with funding from angel investors.