Aug
07

Does Money Grow On The Sports Agent Tree?

By | Sports Agents, Sports Business

5 Comments

On May 10, 2006, I referenced an article from Economist.com that noted the annual salary growth in the 4 major American sports since 1990 [Player Salary Growth = Agent Salary Growth]. Each sport has seen a rise in average salary of over 9% during that timespan. The hope is that a consequence of such rise will be an increase in agent salary, as well.

Tell a friend that you want to be a sports agent. They will either think that is “really cool” or look down on you as a slimeball. Either way, the general impression is that sports agents actually do have trees that grow money. If you want to cure their ignorance or even cure some of your own, take a look at the Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2006 published by

Among some of the important statistics:

  • There are about 5,680 Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures.
    • Their hourly mean wage is $48.75.
    • Their annual mean wage is $101,400
  • California and New York lead in terms of wages and concentration of workers.
    • Nevada, Florida, and Ohio round up the top 5 states in terms of wages.

Remember that these stats include professions other than athlete agents; however, the demographic is factored into the equation. $101,400 does not seem so bad as an average annual wage. Remember to think about the high costs of being involved in the industry, though. Also, think about the few at the top who are skewing the numbers to make it seem like the average salary is truly 6 figures.

-Darren Heitner

Related posts:

  1. Player Salary Growth = Agent Salary Growth
  2. Show MLB The Money
  3. Want to be an MLB agent? (Part I…of many)
  4. Party Like A Sports Agent
  5. Analysis of “So You Want to be a Sports Lawyer, or is it a Player Agent, Player Representative, Sports Agent, Contract Advisor, Family Advisor or Contract Representative?”
  • Joe I.

    “Also, think about the few at the top who are skewing the numbers to make it seem like the average salary is truly 6 figures.”

    The median would be a better stat.

  • Drew

    Darren, what percentage of total wages would you say an average sports agent has in expenses?

  • http://www.sportsagentblog.com Darren

    Tough question. Definitely depends on the sport and the type of players under representation. Also, recruiting expenses are rather large. It is a known fact that many agents are in the red for many years before they end up in the black actually turning some profits.

  • Drew

    Yep that’s what I have noticed from the books I’ve been reading (thanks for the great recommendations on the links page). I guess going off of my last question I’ve been reading License to Deal and they mention a couple of different times about the agent supplying equipment and items of that nature for his clients. Does that mean that money is coming out of the agents pocket for those types of expenses or do they mean securing equipment through small endorsement opportunities while the player is in the Minors? I know for football the agent usually pays for the costs associated with getting the players ready for the combine I just found it interesting that baseball players are still in need of equipment once they are in the minors. I guess I figured that would be provided for them. Thanks for the insight!

  • http://www.sportsagentblog.com pauls

    Another thing to think about when it comes to the average salary is alot of those agents who are certified agents don’t actually represent people. For example in a study performed in 2001 there were 1,112 agents in the NFL but of those only 30% actually had clients. In the NBA there were 350 but it was estimated that fewer than 100 had clients. So these facts can also heavily sway the average income for agents because you have some guys making 0. Another great book to read is The Business of Sports Agents.

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