We have stressed this point many times on SportsAgentBlog.com – Don’t limit yourself to only pursuing a career in sports agency; there are not many good jobs out there in the profession, and there are a ridiculous number of people willing to do almost anything to break in. That said, don’t lose your dream of becoming a sports agent just because the barrier of entry is high. The best advice is to treat your career path like a stock portfolio. Become diverse and offer more than just knowledge of the sports agent industry. One way of expanding your horizons is by going to law school.
Who knows, you might just end up being an NBA General Manager or some other high-level executive within an NBA franchise. You no longer have to be a former player, scout, or coach to get the high-level NBA job that many people dream of having.
Guys like Rich Cho, Lon Babby, David Kahn, and Jason Levien have changed the game in the NBA executive ranks, and I think the trend of hiring people with legal experience will continue. And then there is the stat wiz, Daryl Morey, who does not have a legal background, but did graduate from M.I.T. (which has to count for something, right!). In the future, will we see names like Joel Segal (Hofstra Law School), Tom Condon (Baltimore Law School), Ben Dogra (St. Louis University School of Law), Scott Boras (McGeorge School of Law), David Falk (George Washington University Law School), Arn Tellem (University of Michigan Law School), and Dan Fegan (Yale Law School) enter the mix of candidates for team executive position openings?
3 replies on “Sports Agents With Opportunities In The NBA”
I totally agree. As much as I want to be an agent now, I am keeping my options open in terms of where I want to end up in the industry. Being a GM of a team or a high level executive would also be a pretty awesome job. Agent or not, the important thing is to get involved somehow with a field you love. Who knows? Maybe after holding a variety of jobs within the industry, one might end up becoming an agent after all. Most agents get to where they area through their own unique path. If you really want to make it to the agent business, create your own path. Be different, and have fun along the way.
Just to clarify – I am not suggesting that baseball and football agents have a future as NBA execs, but as execs within the sports they have operated in.
This was a good example of how you can follow a passion in a number of different ways. Just as in many other industries, having experience on “both sides” of the table can help you. For people who want to be a sports agent, understanding how team executives work and think will help create an objective view of a situation.
As competitive as the sports industry is, having experience in a number of functions gives great experience that will help regardless of the future career path.