A few weeks ago, Rachel Baribeau of the Tuscaloosa News had a long conversation with Jimmy Sexton of newly formed SportsTrust Advisors. Baribeau got a hold of Sexton at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. I strongly consider you to read the interview in its entirety. The Q&A that interests me the most is the following:
Q: You recently merged with ProFiles, (agents) Pat Dye Jr. and Bill Johnson. Tell us about that process.
A: We’ve talked about it for years. We were probably the top two sports agencies in the deep South. We competed a lot against each other, had a lot of the same type clients. We just felt like it was something that would help us grow the business more in merging and bringing our practices together. We discussed it seven or eight years ago and never really got around to doing it.
Over the last year, Pat and I had long discussions about it. In November (2010) we consummated the deal. We’ve got 13 players in this draft so far, so it’s been very successful. There is a good synergy with us and the players and coaches. A lot of the football players are from the Sun Belt, lets face it. It puts us in a good strategic place to hopefully be very successful in this business.
There is no arguing that the deep South produces a large amount of talent and that individually, Sexton and Dye Jr. were a part of what could easily be considered the top two agencies in that region. I think what concerns some agents is the line regarding the synergy between the newly merged entity, the players, and the coaches, and what kind of conflicts are created by having all of those entities under the same roof.
The other Q&A that I believe is noteworthy relates to Sexton’s belief that agent discipline should start and stop with the NFLPA.
Q: Should the NFL have something to do with policing agents?
A: That’s where it’s always been. We operate at the union’s leadership. They’re the ones that certify us, they’re the ones that govern us, they’re the ones that discipline us, they’re the ones that basically control the business. That’s what they do, so that’s where it would all probably start and stop.
This is an approach that I have not heard much of at all. It seems to suggest that the threat of having your NFLPA Contract Advisor certification revoked or suspended would be enough of a deterrent. Last I checked, the NFLPA send send an agent to jail.
