When I reported that Mark Sanchez selected his brother Nick to be his NFLPA certified representative in contractual negotiations, there was a great follow-up discussion in the comments section regarding whether or not it should be a concern that Mark picked a family member to serve as his agent. Commentator, Tony, had this to offer:
I have to agree with Darren that this is a bad idea! Not because brother Nick can’t handle the details of representing a professional athlete, but rather because mixing business with family always impacts the nature of the family relationship. There will be disagreements, fallouts, and possibly a breakdown in family matters – I don’t think it’s worth the risk.
So let’s take this discussion one step further. Instead of having to make a decision of whether or not you should represent a family member, what do you feel about starting a sports agency with a loved one? Drew Rosenhaus and Jason Rosenhaus (brothers) run Rosenhaus Sports Representation. Shawn and Scott Smith (wife and husband) own X-A-M Sports. Scott is the President and is NFLPA certified, while his wife, Shawn, serves as Vice President of Marketing & Media Relations. Along with a few other employees, X-A-M Sports represents clients as big as Ike Taylor, Kevin Boss, and Jim Leonhard. Not too bad for an agency located in frigid Madison, Wisconsin.
Shawn and Smith run X-A-M out of the basement of their house and even named their agency after their son, Max (X-A-M is M-A-X backwards). And back to the whole family business issue…
Shawn said she doesn’t feel uncomfortable working so closely with her husband all day.
“I know it’s not for everybody,” she said. “It never crossed my mind that it would be an issue.”
So what do you think? It seems as though the Rosenhaus’ and the Smiths have had success in their family-run sports agencies. Would you encourage other families looking to break into the business to follow suit and do it as a team?
8 replies on “This Is Family Business”
Don’t forget Aaron and Eric Goodwin. http://www.goodwinsports.com/about.html
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Definitely big time players…especially when it comes to their marketing connections.
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Hey Darren I talked to you over the phone about this when you were with my Dad during the super bowl. I still stand by what I said and that is I personally would not encourage other families to enter this business as a team. They always tell you to never mix work and relationships and this is a “FAMILY” relationship. There are many hazards that can stress the relationship such as resentment and frustration about business issues, household chores or money problems, communication problems and disagreements about how to manage the business. Here are some questions to ask yourself: How can you tell your spouse they made a bad business decision? what about If you have an argument at work, do you bring it home? Also, can you really fire your spouse if they are hurting the company? Take care Darren!!
Darren, your recent posts are awesome – great topics covered and terrific insight. Keep up the great work. Any idea where Rulon and Kevin might get drafted? Are the baseball clients you are advising in high school or college?
Thanks a bunch. Various analysts have Rulon being taken mid to late rounds. Kevin Grant is currently projected as a late round/free-agent pick up. I don’t put too much into those projections, though. They still have their Pro Days and individual team workouts to attend. I know just from seeing Kevin in his workouts, he has a lot to prove at his Pro Day. The baseball guys are both high school and college.
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Blood is thicker than water! When an Athlete\Agent contract is signed you become family anyway. I think that it is cool that these family’s make it work. I would love to be that close to my family on a daily basis.
I know I am going to catch hell for this…
Jessica Simpsons Dad\Agent is a great agent.
I think this all depends on the family relationship prior to the business dealings. If you are close-knit, then you can definitely make it work. If the bond is forced for the sake of business then it won’t work in the long-term.
At the end of the day, each case is different. I salute Mark for his decision and I think more athletes should go this route. There are many details that may require a lawyer or someone with more experience to handle, but for the most part, you don’t need to pay someone millions of dollars to basically be a personal manager.
Hiring an agent is more of a tradition for someone turning pro, than it is a need for career guidance. if you have a family member that can handle your business, thats great… if you find a great agent, that’s cool as well… but all agents are in the business for money and that should have athletes somewhat alert.
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Jon,
I agree we are in this business to make money. I think even if I was representing my brother, I would still be hoping to make something for myself. I think that if Marks brother is able to adapt and learn fast he will earn business from his brothers colleagues; that could potentially be very lucrative for him.