Dec
24

Time To Build A Sports Reporter Division

By | Contract Negotiation, Sports Agents, Sports Business

7 Comments

Here at SportsAgentBlog.com – I Want to be a Sports Agent, we have covered many non-traditional ways that an interested person can break into the sports agent industry. Some categories discussed include representing video gamers, bowlers, and bull riders. After reading a recent New York Times article on sportswriters, I am beginning to think that some of the top sports writers may soon be calling on sports agents to negotiate their next big contract [The Top Player in This League? It May Be the Sports Reporter].

There is a huge brain drain occurring at the old media entities. Newspapers like the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today are seeing their best writers leave for more lucrative jobs writing at ESPN and Yahoo! Sports. The Washington Post has seen three of its sports writers leave for a higher paying job in less than a two year period. Last month, USA Today lost four of its NBA writers [USA Today Doesn’t Care About the NBA]. Why stay around at the dying old guard when you can ask ESPN to pay you Rick Reilly type money ($3 million a year)?

The NYT article mentions that media entities are getting into bidding wars over the top sports journalists. The bold print should ring opportunity in the minds of agents. When there are multiple offers and a lot of money is on the table, the scene is set for a sports agent to enter into the negotiations. Leigh Steinberg equates the situation to “free agency for sports journalists.” Let’s just hope that these journalists fare better in the long run than Ricky Williams.

The San Fransisco Chronicle just cut half its staff, the Washington Post is losing strong columnists left and right, USA Today is offering buyouts, and the NYT is allowing its writers to post stories that document the newspaper industry’s downfall. Meanwhile, sports journalists have the opportunity to make more money than ever. It is just a matter of time before agents become a staple of the negotiations for up and coming journalists.

Who knows…some day I may get a call from Will Leitch of Deadspin.com or a blogger who does not actually go by a name, like TBL of TheBigLead.com, asking for representation. These bloggers may end up being the future big time players making top dollars in the media market. Jamie Mottram, writer of Mr. Irrelevant and host of Blog Show, went from heading AOL’s FanHouse to being in charge of Yahoo! Sports’ new blogging platform. There are success stories out there in the blogging world.

But even if blogging ends up being a fad and slowly dies away, companies like SI, ESPN, and Yahoo! are banking that internet sports news is going to be the main way that sports fans receive their content. They are displaying this faith by paying large sums of money to sports journalists, prying them away from traditional media entities. As a sports agent and journalist, I am very interested in what future sports journalist contracts end up looking like, and hope that I am one day involved in a sports journalist’s contractual negotiations.

Related posts:

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  3. Analysis of “Maybe Jerry Maguire Should Have Stuck With Law School: How The Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act Implements Lawyer-Like Rules For Sports Agents”
  4. Is It Really Worth It?
  5. NBA: Southwest Division Previews
  • http://oriolepost.blogspot.com Anthony

    Very interesting. Not that I am anything huge, but I have now been able to write for an independent online media service that has credentials with sports teams in Washington area; plus, I have been on numerous sports talk radio shows discussing baseball.

    It’s big world out there and it looks like the various sports leagues are starting to catch on and get the idea.

    Honestly, it all started with an opinionated blog on the Baltimore Orioles and my love for baseball.

    - Anthony, The Oriole Post

  • http://www.sportsagentblog.com Darren Heitner

    Anthony-

    Glad to hear. Congrats and keep up the good writing. Since writing this post, I have talked to some media entities and found that a few sports journalists have gained representation over the past few years. The show, Around The Horn, sparked many journalists to look for an agent. As dollars continue to rise, look for more writers to look for reps.

  • http://www.imwritingsports.com Nick Underhill

    It’s funny you wrote this. After I graduated from Penn State a lot of people told me that I should look for an agent. I thought WTF?!? An agent? The truth is, once you reach a certain platoo, you need one. They can look for the next oppurtunity while you just focus on writing quality content. When there are millions of dollars being thrown around, chances are you are better off letting someone that understands the legalities to take care of it so you don’t get screwed.

  • http://www.imwritingsports.com Nick Underhill

    I should abridge that by stating that, no I do not have an agent. Writing a blog and writing for my local daily, I don’t see where one would serve any purpose, but if I ever find myself negotiating with the SI’s or ESPN’s of the world (one can dream), I would certainly call up Ari Gold and let him go to work.

  • http://www.sportsagentblog.com Darren Heitner

    But think about it…many top level athletes do not need an agent as much as a low level athlete who needs to be shopped around. Let’s say you work for a daily and write a blog and need some extra exposure. An agent may be able to help out a rising journalist more than an established one who has an outstanding offer with an SI or ESPN.

  • http://juicedsportsblog.com Mitchell Blatt

    As a young journalist and a product of the new media, I think that enterprising journalists of the next generation might forget about the old media altogether. With the rise of the internet it is becoming easy to make money on your own, sometimes more than with a dying newspaper, while working on your own terms.

  • http://WWW.GABRIELABARANOVA.COM GABI BARANOVA

    I hope this is not totally off the topic which is being discussed here.
    I am a triathlete and I am looking for a sports agent and I totally agree with the previous posts in terms that better athletes get into known without the agent but may do much better with one which will let them focus on the training they are doing.
    As well with starting Professional athletes like myself, I might need a little help, but then where shall I look for it? Triathlon isn’t exactly baseball. I would be really grateful for any suggestions. Thank you.
    Gabi