You’ve got incredible athletic ability. You’ve got ambition. Entering your senior year of college, you have a dream of a bright future as a professional athlete. What you don’t have is an agent. And what you may not know is that finding a good one can be more difficult than scoring a winning touchdown, basket, or home run. My son Jordan found himself in this position during his final year at Texas A&M.
There are no courses or degrees to help you find an agent, yet choosing the right person is of the utmost importance. Before discussing how to select the right agent, let’s first define what an agent should do for you.
Sports agents serve a valuable role in securing and negotiating contracts for professional athletes. Many successful professional athletes hire agents because they want a professional hand guiding their decisions as they make it to the next level. In all, there are about 800 agents currently certified by the NFL Players Association to represent the growing pool of approximately 1,800 NFL players. That’s a lot of competition between agents for top players.
While agents are looking to secure the top talent, what should players look for when evaluating agents? To start, you should have real chemistry and connection with the agent you choose, but that is just the beginning.
Begin vetting the agents through references and a lot of research. You want someone credible to help propel your career to the next level. This is a process where you MUST ask a lot of questions. Start with the people you already know. Talk with professional and college athletes, scouts, and coaches you know to get information about the agents you are considering (and those who are considering you), including what the agent’s reputation is in the league.
Based on what you hear from your connections, compile (or narrow down) the list of agents who might work for you. You’re looking for someone who has a track record of helping athletes in a similar position. You also want representation from someone who will be available for you when you need him or her. Someone with a long list of clients may be too busy. Someone with a very short list could potentially be too inexperienced.
Once you narrow down your list, start having face-to-face meetings. Ask potential agents what they know about you. You should expect them to come prepared, knowing your professional bio and personal interests. Your agent must understand what your goals are.
Find out if the agent is open to being accountable. Let them know that if promises are made, you will expect them to follow through. What is their usual client-player relationship? How often will you talk or meet? How long will it take to have a phone call returned? What types of services are offered and for what fee? How does the agent divide time among their various clients? If there is more than one agent in the firm, who will be your ‘point person’? Has the agent been fired by an athlete before? What would the player say was the reason he or she fired the agent? Ask to talk to other clients of the agent.
When my son Jordan selected an agent, we established status update calls once a month to check in with him and an agenda that we sent out before each call. It was an opportunity for Jordan to learn from his agent what he needed to do to have continued success in the NFL, who was involved in promoting his career, and what his status was within the league.
Both Jordan and his agent were being held accountable for their success. The main point of the call was to find out what the agent had been doing in the past 30 days. In short, what was he doing to earn his fee? We had one agent who wasn’t up to the task. Eventually, he was fired for not having a plan or a way to fulfill his promises.
How hands-on you will be with your agent is up to you. But you should also consider how many hats you’d like your agent to wear. Should your agent who negotiates your contract also be your business manager? What about your marketing manager or financial planner? Does this create a conflict? These are issues we will cover in future blogs, but if you need answers immediately, seek help from those who have successfully navigated this path or write to me personally and I will do my best to answer your questions.
Regardless of how many different roles your agent plays, you should be involved in EVERY aspect of your career. Your agent should never have the authority to do anything on your behalf without your approval.
There are resources available to help you find CERTIFIED agents.
The NFL Players Association provides a list here:
https://nflpa.com/agents/agentsearch\
There is a similar list for the NBA.
http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/expe/fibaAgen/agenSear/p/openNodeIDs/5307/selNodeID/5307/sear.html
The list provided by Major League Baseball can be found here: