Football

• Joe Panos won’t give advice to players regarding leaving school early for the NFL [Watt 'loves to compete with the best,' ex-Badger Panos says].
• Trying to avoid a knee-jerk reaction [NCAA likely won't propose emergency legislation regarding Newton case at this week's convention].
• Marvin Austin will appear in the East-West Shrine Game on January 22nd [Disgraced Tar Heel Austin to play in all-star game].
• The stories that future agents really need to read [A ruthless business].

Basketball

• Rick Smith thinks basketball will be harder to control than football [NCAA targets agent problem].

Sports Business

• My man Jason Belzer poses a good question on MSNBC [Business Answers: Marketing & Angel Funding].
• Ted Forstmann doesn’t like IMG being referred to as an agency [IMG's Ted Forstmann talks gambling, global sports growth].
• A 72-year-old member of the tribe [‘Most interesting man’ keeps drinkers thirsty for Dos Equis].

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (1/14/2011) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Attendees at the Sports and Entertainment Management Conference get to hear college-level lectures and learn important skills like conflict resolution and negotiation through small-group workshops.  One example of the activities at the Conference is the Client Management Simulation, where students learn how to navigate contracts, sponsorships, and press conferences.  To attend, students must be nominated by a teacher or alumni of the program, or submit a merit-based application.

While the program carries a hefty price tag of around $2,500, we all know how difficult it is to break into this industry.  Maybe starting as young as possible will give these students the best chance of attaining their goals.  I attended a similar program for the medical field when I was in high school, and even worked for that conference as a faculty advisor for two summers.  Any student that wants to learn as much as possible about the sports agent industry and has the means to attend, definitely should.  These types of programs offer unparalleled experiences in the industry and a great opportunity to build friendships and network with future colleagues.

Want to be a Sports Agent? Start Early…Real Early from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Baseball

• A lot of research out there to help agents build value for their players [Hot Topics from the SABR Convention].
• Expect a settlement [Few Precedents for Mets’ Attempt to Rework Rodriguez’s Contract].

Football

• An agent just might stick out more hanging around a school like Oregon State [Oregon State's Mike Riley on sports agents hanging around campus, and the prospect of Jacquizz Rodgers leaving early for NFL draft].
• No love for some of the coaches calling out agents [Florida, Alabama grandstanding?].
• Not happening, but Yee’s corporate structure idea is at least interesting to read about [A case for privatizing college football].

Basketball

• Of course I love reading something like this [Basketball's Youngest Player Agent].
• The NCAA’s new president would like the NBA to implement a draft process similar to MLB’s [New NCAA chief: Draft rules on agenda].

MMA

• “Can’t Touch This” still goes down as my favorite song of all time [Rapper Throws Hat in Ring as Sports Manager].

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (8/20/2010) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

The Sports Agent Directory is the most comprehensive sports agent directory in the world.  Sure, we provide links to various agency websites in our Sports Agencies feature, but the Sports Agency Directory, which is offered by Sports Agent 411, LLC provides everything you could possibly need in terms of information regarding athletes and their agents.  And information is power.

This product should be interesting to a wide array of individuals, including but not limited to, financial planners, concierge services, real estate agents, relocation specialists, nutritionists, training facilities, private jet companies, and web designers.  If you have a business that in some way may cater to athletes, this product will save you time, provide you valuable and up-to-date information, and save you money.

Best of all, the database is extremely easy to use.  Here are a few things you can do with it:

• Search for the agent, agency, or athlete name by simply typing a  name.
• Search for sports agents by sports specialization (MLB, NBA, WNBA, NFL, LPGA, PGA, NHL, ATP, WTA, MLS, FIFA), total salaries negotiated, total number of clients, or geographic state/region/country.
• Search for athletes by the sports the athletes play, teams the athletes play for, salaries earned, or by salary ranking.
• Download each and every agent’s vCard to your address book and export your search results to Excel or PDF.

A concern you may have is that the database will not have valid information since athletes and agents are constantly changing where they work and who they work with.  The first thing I decided to do was test the database a day after Dan Lozano left Beverly Hills Sports Council.  Sure enough, he was no longer listed with the firm, and the clients that he took with him from BHSC were listed with him and no longer with BHSC.  And the database is also kept fresh with new salary information, player-agent switches, etc.

Here is what you can expect to find when you pull up an agency:

• Sports agency name
• Web site addresses, mailing addresses, phone/fax numbers
• Agents, principals, and decision-makers within agency
• Option to download vCard to address book for each agent/executive
• Total salaries represented
• Number of clients
• Names of clients, including Sport (League) name, Team name, Salary, Status, Professional league profile page link
• Option to export detailed search results to PDF and save
• Option to export address list search results to Excel and save

The Sports Agent Directory includes over 590 sports agencies and 1,050 sports agents.  And if you thought that’s a lot of information on the sports agent side, wait until you see what is offered in terms of customization of results according to athlete selected:

• Search for athletes by name
• Search for athletes by sport(s)
• Search for athletes by team names
• Search for athletes by minimum/maximum salary range
• Search for athletes by salaries
  • Top 10, 25, 50, 75, 150, 200, or ALL by order from highest to lowest
• Sort by Athlete name, agency name, recent salary, team name, or sport
• Athlete search results include the following: Athlete name, Agency name, Sport (League) Name, Team Name, Salary, Status, Professional league profile page link, Comprehensive agency details (see above)
• Option to export search results to PDF and Excel and also save
• Directory includes the following recent contracts/salaries:
  • Baseball (MLB) $2,791,608,253.00 (1,100+ players)
  • Basketball (NBA) $2,028,572,288.00 (450+ players)
  • Basketball (WNBA) $8,077,242.00 (120+ players)
  • Football (NFL) $3,009,647,577.00 (2,000+ players)
  • Golf (PGA) $297,854,588.00 (500 players)
  • Golf (LPGA) $33,620,120.00 (115+ players)
  • Hockey (NHL) $1,722,204,565.00 (1,000+ players)
  • Tennis (ATP) $68,480,832.00 (130 players)
  • Tennis (WTA) $45,916,487.00 (65+ players)
  • Auto Racing (NASCAR) $166,438,043.00 (41 athletes)

I’m not done yet.  The listings only include sports agencies and agents who have clients, so you don’t have to waste your time pitching agencies and agents who do not have clients.  Additionally, you will receive email updates whenever new data is available, such as new client hirings, firings, etc.

So now the big question – how much does it cost? It is $2,500 for a 1-user yearly subscription or $250 per month for a yearly subscription.  $5,000 for a 3-user subscription and very favorable pricing plans for large groups/corporations..

If you are interested in testing the product feel free to contact me.  Readers of SportsAgentBlog.com may be eligible for a slight discount off of the stated price. I would not sell a product that I have not tested myself, and after trying out the service, I can see its true value.

INTRODUCING: The Sports Agent Directory from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

IMG is not alone in this area.  In fact, Blue Entertainment Sports Television (the company that was recently sold to Lagardere) also does a lot of business outside of the representation of professional athletes.  Blue Entertainment Sports Television, also known as BEST, was owned by a private investment firm, Blue Equity.  The chairman and managing partner of that company is Jonathan Blue.  And one thing Blue wants the world to know is that he is not a sports agent.

In a presentation given to the Association for Corporate Growth in Kentucky, Blue opened with the following statement:

“I’m not a sports agent. I never was.”

It is not just Blue that is trying to shed that limiting phrase from what is associated with his name.  When I talk to executives at some of the largest “agencies”, a majority of them want to emphasize to me that when I report on their companies, I should talk about not only what they do in the athlete representation world, but their other areas of business as well.  And then there are those who also can’t stand the “sports agent” phrase to begin with.  As you may already know, I am one of those people.

But did you know that before BEST was sold, only one-third of its revenues came from the representation of athletes?  The majority of its revenues come from a combination of selling rights to events, managing events, and marketing opportunities.  And that makes sense.  Think about the small percentages that agents take on the contracts negotiated for their clients.  Some leagues limit the commission (NFL, NBA), but others like the MLB and NHL will force you out of being competitive if you charge any more than 5%.  If you don’t have a very successful client, the small percentage on their contracts won’t allow you to stay alive.  So many agencies generate revenues in other fashions.

Agencies Not Only Representing Athletes from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

I no longer want to be associated with those who offer empty promises to players in order to find their name on an agency contract.  I don’t want athletes to think they can use me to pay for their training as if I am some sort of lending institution (how exactly did agents become the people who finance training anyway…where is that in the definition?).  And I definitely do not want to be grouped with any ‘sports agents’ who will violate the law or act unethically to gain a buck, or 100,000 bucks.

All of these thoughts led me to tweet this:

The responses were tremendous.   The best question was when one person asked if my re-branding would change the name of this blog.  Don’t worry, SportsAgentBlog.com is not getting a new domain name.

I’m a child of this amazing internet age.  My company, Dynasty Athlete Representation, has experienced the tremendous growth of the internet and social media since its birth in April 2007.  Thus, I was not all that surprised when my tweet created such an overwhelming response.  I was also not surprised that I would end up adopting a title that was introduced by someone who decided to reply.  The winner = athlete advocate.

Even advocate has the potential of having a negative connotation.  Wikipedia mentions that advocates represent those who lack the knowledge, skill, ability, or standing to speak for themselves.  But this is not what I am trying to convey at all.  Instead, I want to be someone who will do absolutely anything legal and ethical for my clients, and also empower them with knowledge as I aid them in their future success.  I see it as a process that involves my clients as much as possible.  They are not dumb in any sense, but they hire me and Dynasty for a reason – because we can add value that they might not be able to achieve on their own.  It could purely be that they do not have the time to do it in conjunction with excelling on the field or court.  It could also be a matter of the connections in the industry that we have built over time.  Additionally, our background in law and negotiation is something that many athletes do not have an opportunity to focus on until after their playing days are over.  These are the values I want my clients and potential clients to see; not the buying of players by paying training costs or promises that I will turn someone into a first round pick.  I’ll leave that to the ‘sports agents’.  What I want to provide is what an athlete advocate can do for his clients.

Sports agents will undoubtedly feel uncomfortable after reading this post.  I have beat the odds by getting to where I am today, especially since I have been very open from the start and have not allowed myself to get involved in any shady tactics.  Nothing will change.  In this process, I will attract haters and I will attract imitators, but all I care about is my clients knowing that they will get the best damn advocate they can find.

I am not only re-branding myself.  I want to re-brand Dynasty as an entity that you feel excited to be a part of. From the beginning, I have embraced openness about our inner workings and have provided you with information about our clients.  Hopefully you have grown to become familiar with our operation.  Dynasty is something that has amazing potential, and I want all of you to be a part of its success.  I want it to be the first agency that has its doors wide open and offers everyone interested in the opportunity to be an athlete advocate the chance to add value to the company and its clients.

No matter what the reasoning may be, I know you are smiling.

No Longer A Sports Agent – Now An Athlete Advocate from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

The Conference is being hosted by the Istanbul University Law Faculty Centre of Comparative Law, Moroglu-Arseven Istanbul Law Firm, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Sport Management Graduate Program, and the International Association of Sports Law (IASL) on September 6-7, 2010.

If you would like to submit an abstract of 250 words max excluding references, Tassos encourages you focus on one or more of the following areas: International Comparative Law, Policy, Sport Business Management, Strategy, Marketing, and related fields’ submissions with an emphasis on academics-practitioners collaboration prospects.  Include complete contact information and institutional affiliation. Lead authors will be notified within two weeks of submission.  Please submit the abstract by Friday, April 2nd, 2010 to tassos.kaburakis@islbc.org, or akabura@siue.edu.

Full manuscripts may be submitted to a Special Issue of IASL’s Journal, the International Sports Law Review, Pandektis, by the end of 2010. Details will follow in correspondence with accepted authors and conference presenters.

Upon acceptance notification, contributors will be required to advise the Conference Organising Committee within two weeks of intent to attend and present.

US licensed attorneys will be able to receive Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits by their respective State Bar Associations for presenting or attending conference sessions. The Conference Organising Committee is presently pursuing CLE credits sponsorship; more information will be available soon.

International Sport Law & Business Conference from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Jason Kyle

Jason has been building Pro Player Connect for roughly two years.  He has branded it as a place where professional athletes can network with one another and receive offers from national, regional, and local businesses.  Companies have also used the database to offer jobs to retired athletes, and over 30 such retired athletes have already been given work through those leads.  There are also many additional features planned for the future that involves interaction with fans.  Eventually, players will be able to create video chats and appearances, provide downloads, deliver athletic tips, and conduct various types of interviews.  It should not be a problem to build as the company just received its second round of funding.

At this point, most of the 1,000+ athletes using Pro Player Connect are professional football players.  Most likely, that number will increase tremendously since the NFL Players’ Association recently put its support behind Jason Kyle’s company.  On October 20, the NFLPA was proud and pleased to announce its support of Pro Player Connect.  With the NFLPA behind this project, Jason has already been able to roll out a new feature that helps athletes with their Workers’ Comp forms.

Athletes are not charged to use the service.  Instead, companies are charged a small fee per lead.  They pay to get an offer out to the players on the website and the offer is only released to the athletes targeted if the Pro Player Connect employees deem the offer to have value.  Speaking of employees, Jason told me that there are 3-full time employees and Jason puts roughly 3 hours per day into the company, which is a big time commitment for an active NFL player.

Should this service scare sports agents?  After all, doesn’t it make agents less needed?  Jason says no.  And he encourages agents to bring their clients to the website.  If the agent is involved, Pro Player Connect will copy the agent on all offers.  If the player signs up without the assistance of his agent, the agent will lose the opportunity to be involved in all offers that the player receives through Pro Player Connect.  Jason says that the offers can be anything from $500 for a local Monday Night Football appearance at a bar to $10,000 for an autograph appearance.

I told Jason that I am very impressed with his drive and passion concerning his product.  It really says a lot about a player who is able to put so much energy into a company while taking snaps in the NFL.  I wish him the best and continued success with Pro Player Connect.

Connecting Athletes With Each Other + Businesses from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

It wasn’t until after a year of establishing his first business, 5M Studios, that creative director and CEO Joey Kirk decided to spin off a second company, 5M Sports.

“We wanted to make 5M Sports because it covers a very niche portion of design services,” Kirk says. “We want to tailor our services to athletes and sports organizations because, like our tagline says, we like sports.”

They don’t just like sports though; they love them. Working alongside marketing director Caleb Mezzy, a recent grad of Temple University, 5M Sports has worked with several high profile athletes in the development of Twitter backgrounds, web sites, logos, camp brochures and recruiting packets.

Here are a couple of examples:

• Website for Jesse Witten (tennis player)
• Twitter background for Duane Brown (LT for Houston Texans)

“We started with one client. And with some effort and a lot of emails, we’ve managed to grow significantly just since the launch of business back in August,” Kirk says.

Now, 5M Sports is working with several sport agencies and other organizations in building web sites for professional athletes as well as developing t-shirt designs, brand identity and other marketing materials.

“We have lots and lots of competition,” Kirk says. “Anyone that builds web sites want to develop them for athletes. They think they are cash cows.  But for us, that’s not the case. We love working with athletes. We’re not after their money.”

While there are a few design companies dedicated to working with athletes, 5M Sports stands out among its competition. With high-quality professional design and solid customer service, Kirk and 5M Sports work with almost any budget and are always on time with deliverables.

“We pride ourselves in making sure the client is always happy,” Kirk says. “We’ve never lost a client (nor has 5M Studios), and we don’t plan to start.”

Going The Extra 5M from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

For the current Internship Program, Justin Herzig (our HR Director) received over 250 intern applications.  Some were thrown away after reading a couple of lines of the cover letter, but most applicants actually seemed extremely qualified for the limited number of spots available.  Do you need to have a law degree, MBA, or internship to break into this industry?  Read Jack Bechta’s story…the answer is no.  But it surely does help to at least have an internship.  Bechta is a part of a very small minority of people who can succeed in this very difficult profession by printing a few business cards and starting up a company with absolutely no experience.

Bechta mentions that there are several agents with a huge client list that never attended law school.  My response is that an agent is not graded by his client list.  There are also many players who end up suing their agent or leaving the agent because of poor execution of his job.  When I first started law school, I wondered myself why so many people said that it was so important for a person to attend law school in order to be an agent.  Criminal law, Torts, Property, Civil Procedure…yeah they may all come in handy, but probably not.  Then came Contracts, Corporations, Business Organizations, Intellectual Property…now it all makes sense.  The knowledge I have after going to law school coupled with the experience I continue to gain with my own clients makes me a better agent every day.

There is also going the route of Bechta and keeping an attorney on retainer for your firm.  I still think that if given the opportunity, go to law school.  Players like having a one-stop shop for all their needs (that’s why CAA, WMG, etc. continue to dominate).  I think that they also want an agent who can wear more than one hat.  To bring a personal knowledge of the law to every negotiation and not have to rely on another person seems to bring some extra value to the table.

As far as grad school for some sort of Sports Management MBA is concerned, I am not completely sold.  If you go that route, I think you should definitely heed Bechta’s advice.  Look at who the professors are and the subjects being taught before you spend all that money.

I can’t disagree with Bechta when he says that overall the 2 most important qualities for success in this industry are:

1. a competitive nature
2. determination

Along with that, I will add a third quality: 3) innovation.  There are so many agents out there going after the same clients, giving the same pitch, and providing the same services.  Do something to make yourself stand out.  Sorry, I already created SportsAgentBlog.com, so making a blog about the sports agent world will not really separate you.  Spend some time thinking about what you can do to make yourself a thing of value.  I promise that the time taken will be well worth it.

What’s Needed To Break In? Internship? Law School? MBA? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules