An Intern(al) Look At Becoming A Sports Agent

This upcoming weekend marks the beginning of my Spring Break in my last year of law school. It will be the last time I ever get to say the words “Spring Break” and weeks vacation in the same sentence. And of course, it’s snowing again. I wasn’t planning on going to any Spring Break locations this year anyway, as I am saving up for my honeymoon to Fiji at the end of the summer, but I’ve had about enough snow this year. I’m waiting for the weather to get warmer so I can start running outside again. I’ve been rehabbing a bad ankle and want to test it on something other than a treadmill.

This week marked the beginning of college baseball for most teams I’ve been following. I was given a list of college players Dynasty wants to keep an eye on this season. I follow the players as their season progresses. I also get players added to the list from time to time as Dynasty receives information on these players. As I look at the list of stats so far, there are several players on the list that had a stellar opening week of the season. Hopefully they keep up the good work and will want to sign with Dynasty in the future.

My other major task this week was to find Pete Parise potential sponsors in St. Louis in the hopes that he lands on the Cardinals 25 man roster this season. Darren has started with a local company and my job was to add to the list of potential sponsors. Without the Internet, this task would be impossible, as I live about 1000 miles from St. Louis. I’ve found some potential companies and businesses; the only major concern is the economy and that they’d want to sponsor our guy.

A word of advice for current interns that are doing similar tasks: Don’t worry about finding sponsors related to the sport. For instance, if you are looking for a baseball sponsor, don’t worry about finding him a sponsor with a bat or glove manufacturer. Usually the agent, if he is established, has these contacts already. Focus your attention towards other sponsors such as local businesses or major brand names.

I’ve also been working on getting some information about a potential basketball client that was emailed to me this week. The individual is a college student who was writing on behalf of a college friend of his who wants to play overseas. He has recently left his third school in two years and does not want to sit out anymore. He would like to play immediately overseas. I took a look at his biographical as well as playing history. I also looked at his stats. There was not much to go on just from looking at this information. I am waiting on film to be sent to me from the individual so that Dynasty can further asses his worth as a client. This will give us a better look at whether this guy will be worth the investment. The only video that was found on the player on the Internet was a clip of him breaking a backboard. This intrigued me, but in no way determines what kind of player he is. Hopefully when the film comes in, it will show that he is worth it.

Either way, I am happy to be getting emails from individuals like this. If even one turns out to be a great client, it will improve my stock here at Dynasty. Client generation and contacts is a big part of this business. If I can show that I have enough contacts to generate worthy clients, it improves my chances of landing a job after graduation at Dynasty or an equally reputable company.

I get emails every now and then from people who read this weekly column asking my advice on getting into the industry. I want to stress that I am by no means “in” this industry yet. I was given the great opportunity to write for this blog and intern with Dynasty, but have not proven myself by any means. It takes time to establish yourself in this industry. I am in the process of learning so that one day I can say that I am “in” the industry. What I can suggest is that anyone who wants to learn this business should utilize resources such as LinkedIn and the many sports related groups that you can join via LinkedIn. Networking is huge in the business, and so far, I’ve found that these tools are great resources. I also recommend trying to obtain an internship of some sort with an agency, agent, team front office or sports marketing company. They are invaluable in building your worth in the industry.