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How Baker Mayfield’s Agent Used His Oklahoma Roots To Land The Top QB

This week, NFL agent Jack Mills was a guest of Andrew Brandt on his Business of Sports podcast. Mills isn’t one of the oft discussed agents on this website, but has been in the business for over 40 years. However, he hasn’t been as active in representing players as of late … until this year. His big get was #1 overall pick Baker Mayfield.

Notes from the podcast:

  • 2 of Mills’ former clients were associated with the Mayfield family. Mills also graduated from Oklahoma. Those connections helped greatly with getting a foot in the door.
  • Based on 1 dinner, Mayfield was ready to sign with Mills. “We were pretty darn lucky,” says Mills. Mayfield saw that most of his friends were signed and he wanted to get it over with.
  • Mills says that Mayfield wasn’t having any meetings with agents during the college football season. He didn’t meet Mayfield until 2 weeks after the Rose Bowl. It is very rare for an agent to meet his client for the first time so long after the player’s final Bowl game.
  • Mills acknowledges that there’s very little to negotiate on a rookie contract and notes that it’s important to be honest with recruits and tell them that up front. He told Mayfield what he could and couldn’t do, and asked whether he’s interested in a big agency. Mayfield, right off the bat, said he didn’t want a big agency and preferred a more personal touch.
  • Mills didn’t won’t get the max of 3% on the Mayfield rookie deal , but did he even ask for it. That said, Mills indicated that he’s not doing the rookie deal for free.
  • Mills refuses to provide marketing guarantees to potential clients. He keeps it simple and admits that he won’t make a big impact in a player’s draft position.
  • At 1 point in his career, Mills had 72 clients all by himself. Back then, they had $25k salaries. He had his law practice at the same time.
  • When Mills got started, there was no players association control over agents and no certification process.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.