Think You Are Not Disposable? Think Again

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As an agent in a professional sport, you must count your blessings every night and hope that your current clients do not ditch you for the hundreds of hungry agents working while you sleep.  There are more agents out there than potential clients (at least ones that will make you any money), and most players are wrapped up in the hands of the minority of very successful player representatives.  One agent that I am friendly with gave me some free advice and said, If there is one thing you should do, it is take the names of your clients off of your web page.  You are asking for other agents to take that list and try to steal your clients away from you.  I still debate following his word, but have kept the names of my clients public for the time being.

Whether other agents are approaching your clients or not, you can never be too sure that you have forged a strong relationship with those whom you represent; a relationship where they will smile at you one day and then drop you like a dime the next.  Just look at the Philadelphia Eagles as a case study.

Within a matter of days, Lito Sheppard and Brian Westbrook had dropped their agents and hired new ones.  Sheppard let go of All Pro Sports & Entertainment Inc. in favor of Rosenhaus Sports Representation.  Westbrook said goodbye to Fletcher Smith, who had been basically working for free for the past nine months, and signed Todd France.  Even more proof that there is little loyalty is that Westbrook was managed by Eastern Athletic Services before firing them and hiring his now former agent, Fletcher Smith.

I am not saying that former player agents of Sheppard and Westbrook did not drop the ball.  I am merely noting how easy it is for a player to say goodbye to his agent and that there is little to no recourse.

To view the agencies listed above, please go to the Agencies tab at the top of this page.

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