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Image Credits

This is my “works cited” page for my blog.  I have included the URLs to all of the images that I found online.  All of the Gifs were provided via Tumblr and list the credit.  The  Youtube videos include links to the provider of the content.  

Tom Cruise Image: http://www.closerweekly.com/posts/tom-cruise-renee-zellweger-jerry-maguire-cast-62581/photos/jerry-maguire-102935

Leigh Steinberg Image: http://www.ocregister.com/2016/04/27/leigh-steinberg-who-inspired-jerry-maguire-returns-from-depths-with-likely-nfl-draft-first-round-pick-paxton-lynch/

Russell Okung Image: http://www.denverbroncos.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/Broncos-sign-free-agent-OT-Russell-Okung-to-five-year-contract/1aa43137-fd5c-45c6-9e05-f7949085aaf2

Drew Rosenhaus Image: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/hire-sports-agent-what-to-look-for/

A Shark Never Sleeps by Drew Rosenhaus: https://www.amazon.com/Shark-Never-Sleeps-Wheeling-Ruthless/dp/0671015265

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The Illegal Way to Recruit College Football Athletes

Sports agents who recruit college football athletes operate in a grey area.  Blinded by pressure to sign these clients in order to ensure future business opportunities, it has become tricky for agents to lure athletes in without crossing any lines.  Most commonly, agents who act in illegal ways do so by paying college football players who are still in school.  Often, kids ask for money and in return guarantee that they will eventually sign with that particular agent.  Anything from paying athlete’s parents rent to giving them diamond necklaces is everyday stuff.  Josh Luchs, a retired sports agent, was found guilty of illegally supplying players with money and other benefits.  He admitted to housing players, giving them cars, paying rent, and even bailing a student out of jail.  He pulled it off while doing it under the nose of college coaches, who he claims turned a blind eye to all the illegal activity.  

Sadly, the money seems to be one of the most influential parts in forming player-agent relationships.  In many situations, these college students are desperate for money, and once being supplied it from an agent, they attach themselves to the agent. They grow to love being part of the glamorous lifestyle. Concerts. Expensive meals.  Monthly cash allowances.  Jewelry.  To many of the athletes in college, these are luxuries they rarely received before the agent.  They’re used to being on a meal plan.  Scholarship. Yea, maybe they get fame and love from the student body, but because of NCAA rules, they receive practically no material goods.  So of course, they fall in love with the merchandise they receive from agents. 

It’s a slippery slope. What can you do as an agent? What if one agent is supplying money and you’re not? Do you stoop to his level?  It’s hard to make these decisions but as Josh Luchs now says, you morally feel wrong after giving money.  You’re buying a relationship.  

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How I Became Inspired

Pictured below is Tom Cruise(top) and Leigh Steinberg(bottom).   While Cruise was playing the role of an emotional, energetic sports agent in the 1996 romantic comedy-drama, Jerry Maguire, Steinberg is currently one of the most successful sports agents for the National Football League.  Both of these men have helped form my vision of one day being a sports agent.  Ever since I watched Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire, I fell in love with the idea of being a hard working negotiator for the top athletes in the NFL.  Cruises’ role, inspired by Leigh Steinberg, described the relationships you can potentially form with an NFL client.  Not only did it show the business dimension that comes with being an agent, but it shed light on the friendships you can form while representing an athlete. The combination of business, lasting friendships, and sports helped me realize exactly what my dream occupation would be.  I’ve always thought that being a sports agent accurately represents who I am and what I strive to be like in the future.  I consider myself to be personable, convincing, and diligent. ��These traits embody the life of an agent.   This dream of becoming a sports agent has further sparked interest in gaining more knowledge in NFL player on-field stats and offseason contracts. 

           Leigh Steinberg, a UC Berkeley alumni, has been a source of inspiration for me.  I’ve dreamed of following in his footsteps by mirroring the path he took. Like Steinberg, I grew up in Los Angeles and always longed to attend Cal Berkeley.  I now hope to use UC Berkeley as a platform for success after college.  Ideally, I would major in Political Economy, earning a broad degree that offers me to have many options for internships.  From there, I desire to apply to some of the most reputable, sought after jobs.  As of now, Steinberg is an advisor at Assante Sports Management Group.  If I’m lucky enough to be a potential candidate for that opportunity, it would answer some of my early goals of working under Leigh Steinberg.  Even if I don’t necessarily work under Steinberg, having an idol like him has given me a concrete understanding of what I need to do to work towards my goal.  Going forward, I have to put fourth effort in mastering the details of NFL statistics that hold value in being a successful agent. In the coming posts, I will dive into the specifics of what I personally have to do before applying to future jobs.

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HBO’s Ballers(Sports Agent Lifestyle

WOW, Dwayne The Rock Johnson....NFL agent? In his hit TV show that kinda sucks, The Rock portrays an ex-NFL player who is an up and coming agent.  He has the looks, the pedigree, and the people skills.  As much as I hate the show, there are a couple parts that interest me.   While most of it is drama filled nonsense, the one thing the show portrays well is the pace of an agent lifestyle.  

You’re constantly moving, constantly on the phone, people are mad at you one moment then the next people love you. Your clients family and friends are always on your back.   Wanting a piece of the money, wanting to manage their hometown friend or son.  And you have to sit down and shut up, just deal with it.

At the end of the day, you work for the athlete, and while you may know the ins and outs of the business, they hold the power in this relationship.  So often in this show, it does a good job illustrating how athletes can poorly manage their money.  They see 1.3 million dollars on their rookie contract and what do they do? Buy their mom a Range Rover, get an 80k chain with their jersey number, and blow it all on an expensive dinner.

Guess what, in football nothing is guaranteed.  There is usually way less up front money cause you get injured literally all the time.  So instead of seeing what you could make in 3 years (1.3 million) spend accordingly! This is the drama you endure if you’re an agent.  You can try to help but you deal with some huge egos.

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What Life is Like Without an Agent

You might be wondering what exactly an agent does and why you need them.  At first thought, you may just think they negotiate contracts, but there is much more to the business.  Every Sunday commercials feature NFL athletes that are the face of a corporate advertisement. You see Peyton Manning representing Papa Johns, Russell Wilson wearing Bose Headphones, and Aaron Rodgers doing the famous “Discount Double Check” for State Farm.  All of these advertisements require contracts between athletes and big corporations.  

These contracts, that allow athletes to earn more money and help companies advertise, are constructed by sports agents.  It’s reasonable to conclude that it would be extremely difficult for a professional athlete to spend time searching and negotiating contracts while being responsible for keeping in top physical shape.   Imagine Tom Brady finishing a long day of practice, then going to his general manager’s office to negotiate for more money. 

Surprisingly, some athletes have chosen to take this path.  For example, Russell Okung, the left tackle for the Los Angeles Chargers, fired his agent recently.  Most athletes are scared to do what Okung did because they fear that they are at a major disadvantage in contract negotiations.  There are so many small rules within contracts that teams understand, while players don’t.  Due to many hidden rules in contracts, teams try to take advantage of athletes who don’t use agents. By trying to restructure an athletes contract in many ways, they can practically steal money from players without them being able to properly protect themselves.  Additionally, players don’t realize the time agents spend pitching their athletes to large corporations in hopes that they could reach an advertising deal.  Overall, history has shown that agents are essential to athletes earning the most capital possible.  Without them, more time and energy is spent for athletes to ultimately lose more money.  

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Drew Rosenhaus-NFL Agent

One of the biggest ego’s in the NFL- Drew Rosenhaus. No he’s not a player, not a coach, he’s an NFL agent who is known for talking extremely loud on the phone and signing the biggest deals in sports.  Having grown up in the Miami area, Rosenhaus would wait outside the Miami Dolphins practice facility to greet players as a kid. When he attended college, coincidentally at The University of Miami, he would tutor football players and hang out with them on the weekends.  In his book, A Shark Never Sleeps, he’s reiterates how obsessed he was just to be able to hang out with the most talented college football athletes.  The cool thing about Drew is that he had a plan. 

 Ever since he started college, he wanted to become good friends with players at The U(University of Miami), then go to Law school so he could properly negotiate contracts.  He is strict.  Doesn’t drink. Doesn’t smoke.  Doesn’t stay out late.  He prides himself on being diligent and hard working.  After coming into the draft scene hot in signing 4 first round players when he was 29 years old, it was all up hill for Drew after that.  In his career, he has represented  Chad Johnson, Frank Gore, Rex Grossman, Rob Gronkowski, LeSean McCoy, Jimmy Smith, Plaxico Burress, Pete Stoyanovich, and Warren Sapp.  Not only some of the best football players in their time, but these guys all raked in some of the biggest contracts in NFL history.  

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How Identity Fits into Sports Agency

           Identity is a form of self-representation.  It’s created and seen in many different forms. Personally, I find that beliefs, personality, and appearance make up an individuals identity.  A person’s beliefs can be a wide range of opinions. The main areas of belief revolve around religion and ethics.  Religion provides people with a guide that helps shape one’s identity.  Within religion, there are generally rules that most abide by.  Because of the the values engrained in religion, it consequently groups people into categories based on what they believe in.  For example, religions like Christianity and Hinduism are wide ranging belief systems that many people identify with.  Those beliefs, shape their identity.

           Another trait I consider to be a part of an individual’s identity is their personality.  Personality is the characteristics and qualities that each respective person has.  Through interacting with others, it’s usually easy to gather a sense of one’s personality. I’ve always felt that once you’re around a certain individual for a short of long period of time, you create your own opinion of the person based on the personality traits they express.   Because personality is such a big part of people judging others, I find that this trait is essential in creating an identity.  

           Lastly, I think that one’s appearance is a main part of an individual’s identity.  Whether we like it or not, every human’s exterior is subject to judgment.   We try to deny the fact that humans care about looks, but in reality, peoples appearance help shape their identity.  Features like hair and eye color, height, and weight are some of the main sources of judgment in society.  They’re easy ways to remember and categorize people, thus creating the ability to shape an identity.  While there are many traits that contribute to identity, I personally believe that beliefs, personality, and appearance shape it.

I feel that someone’s identity is directly connected to their occupation.  For me, all of these personality traits that create my identity mesh well with being a sports agent.  I have a high motor.  I love being energetic, passionate, and frankly, upset.  I love yelling. Cheering. Sharing good moments. And bad. I’ve always thought that the personalities you see from Ari Gold in Entourage and Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire are similar to how I act.  Whether that is good or bad, I don’t fake who I am.  I’ve always been this way and I probably will never change.  Might as well let my identity create what job I have. 

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Job Specifications of a Sports Agent

While the NFL agent job title may seem attractive, there are many qualities of being an agent that aren’t exactly glamorous.  On the surface, it sounds like an agent spends his days hanging out with NFL players and watching games on the sidelines.  However, it’s harder than it looks. The steps to even become a certified agent are grueling.  You must study and pass a test in order to get a license. Then, you have to spend time locating and recruiting young talent.  During the recruitment process, NFL team executives are fine-tuning their knowledge about the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which provides the rules of contract negotiation.  This allows NFL team executives to gain an upper hand over agents in negotiation knowledge.

 To become an agent, you must pass exams.  Each July, old and new agents must pass a test that requires properly knowing the CBA and contract negotiation rules.  As of last year, there were 715 certified agents for 1,800 NFL players. Because of the limited amount of athletes and high demand , it’s an extremely competitive recruitment process.  Of those 715 agents, 25% of them represent 75% of NFL players.  Imagine you’re a young agent trying to get into the field.  You’re chances of landing big time players are even harder due to competition with the established famous agents.  Even if you’re lucky enough to gain a cliental base, NFL Players Association only allows these agents to take 3% of the player contract.  For the top agents with 10 plus players, this small percentage of income adds up.  But if you’re new and inexperienced, 3% of a couple clients salaries won’t allow you to have sustainable pay check.  

As you can see, the NFL agent life isn’t as glamorous at it sounds.  Competition is heavy.  It’s ruthless.  Agents will do anything to gain an advantage over competitors.  To make matters worse, players switch to different agents frequently.   Also, the business requires you to travel across the country and try to lure college athletes.  The college visits usually involve paying for expensive meals, rental cars, and hotels.  All of these expenses come out of your own salary. Additionally, you’re trying to sell yourself to these players.  Within a matter of days or hours, you have to form a trustworthy relationship with players for them to even consider signing with you.  Now multiply these visits by 20.  Because the recruiting period spans from December to January, agents must make all of these visits within a two-month span, increasing costs and unlike hood of getting all your desired clients.  While it seems difficult to thrive in this business, I’m still extremely confident that personality and educational background will propel me into a favorable position at a major agency.  

Drew Rosenhaus at Ohio State pro day (talent showcase for NFL scouts) 

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My Connection to NFL Agency

           Although Jerry Maguire and Leigh Steinberg inspired me to desire a career involving NFL agency, my connection with football has been present since I was very young.  My older brother, Langdon, was the main catalyst that sparked my interest in the sport.  Every Sunday morning, my brother and I would wake up at 9:45 AM, sit on the living room couch, and watch professional football until the last game ended around 9 PM.  Sundays increasingly began to mean so much to me.  Not only because I loved watching the sport, but it gave me an opportunity to spend time with my brother.  When we started high school, Langdon began to show interest in a career path of banking and wealth management, while I became infatuated with the idea of representing NFL players.  My brother and I are almost always on the same page.  We are so close it has become second nature to know what either one of us is thinking.  Because of our close relationship, he was and is fully supportive of my dream: becoming an NFL agent.

              Although it sounded like a fantasy because so many young boys wanted to explore the agent lifestyle, my brother’s confidence allowed me to truly believe I could achieve my goal.  From there, I took studying the business of football extremely seriously.   I read Drew Rosenhaus’ book, A Shark Never Sleeps, to give me a brief description of the NFL agent lifestyle.  It covered everything from Drew’s college experience to his introduction to the NFL business. The book stressed particular attributes that are necessary in becoming an agent.  Some of these attributes included being personable, studying player’s stats and contracts, and creating a brand.  To a 13 year-old boy, I interpreted these messages in becoming a Twitter and phone junkie.  I was obsessed with the idea of knowing every detail that the NFL had being leaked on Twitter and being recognized as the boy who was reliable in responding to texts and phone calls.  To a certain extent, I tried to emulate the personality of a typical NFL agent.  To this day, I still hold the traits I valued when I was 13.  Clearly, mimicking the actions of agents doesn’t allow me to be known as an agent, but by copying the attitude and ways of an NFL agent, I feel that I’m preparing myself for my dream.