This is an awesome week for me. I am traveling across the country, from Pennsylvania, to Jacksonville, Florida, and finally to Bloomington, Indiana, to speak about being a sports agent. One of the main things that people want to hear is the story of how I got into the agent profession at such a young age, without any financial backing, and while remaining ethical at all times. Whether you are a 25-year-old agent or in your 50s with years of experience in this business, it is very hard to stay competitive in a profession crowded with people who will do almost anything to get a client.
NBA agent Mark Termini recently stated, “This is a business of entrepreneurs and pirates, and an agent decides which one he wants to be, and some (agents) are a little of both. But if you start making deals and cutting deals and doing side deals (with players, their associates or family members), ultimately you get caught up in a game of where they might get you before you get them. There are a number of very successful agents who play that game, and the clients they have lost would fill an All-Star game roster.”
I have been in the sports agent business for less than four years, put up my own shingles before ever representing a client at another firm, and started my company before I had even graduated with my Bachelors of Arts degree. But I am blessed with great clients, and will soon have players on Major League rosters, and hopefully will break into the NBA as a contract advisor in the near future, as well. Even if I never have a client make it to the MLB or NBA, though, I will still be happy with my foray into the sports agent business, because I will know that I never broke a law, rule, or regulation, never resorted to shady client stealing tactics, and never paid a client or his handlers for the “privilege” to represent him. I consider an myself to be an entrepreneur more than an agent, and the only time I am a pirate is at a Caribbean themed party.
There is just way too much to lose, including sleep, if I were to stoop to the low levels of some in the sports agent business. Violating NCAA rules and state laws would not be worth it; I would be jeopardizing my ability to act as an attorney, run this website, and advocate for a level playing field for agents.
Do I have zero chance at being successful? Termini also is quoted as saying, “I’ve never paid a player or a person associated with a player — period, and I can tell you that my career would be impossible to duplicate in the current environment.” I will gladly make an attempt at mission impossible.
3 replies on “My Task = Mission Impossible”
Call me naive but I think that there is room in this industry for ethical people who do it the right way.
Darren,
I have been following your blog for a few years now and learn a lot from what I read. Now knowing that you give talks like this at universities, I would really like to talk to you about potentially doing the same here at Emory. Through a grassroots effort, I led the establishment of a sports business club and I would love to have a talk led by you be one of our events next semester. It would be enlightening for our members to hear that the agent business does not have to be shut out to them because they prefer to act ethically in business. In fact, one of my good friends here, Steve Bralver, who graduated a year and a half ago, is one of your clients. Please send me an email at marc.miller@emory.edu if you would be interested in this. Thank you for your time and the continued insight that you have shared with me for the past few years and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
-Marc Miller
Goizueta Business School Class of 2012
I am a college freshman with the intentions of becoming an NBA agent. This blog post has to be one of my favorite posts that I have ever read. INTEGRITY is what needs to be seen in this industry; thank you Darren Heitner for entering this industry with integrity.