Recruiting Strategy

Perhaps the most fun part and the reason many become sports agents is the recruiting process. When the college football season roles around each year, agents swarm campuses to seal the deal on potential draft picks. This can be both a very expensive and very rewarding undertaking. Some agents use the spray-and-pray method where they reach out to as many potential draftees as possible and hope to sign them based on their reputations, promises, and sometimes-unscrupulous behavior. Others fine tune their recruiting lists and zero in on their most desirable recruits. They only approach a limited number of clients and have substantial face-to-face communications with these players. These agents also rely on their reputations but expect considerations will be based on their close interactions with the recruits.

My approach in recruiting will be very focused and very direct. I will likely select only five or six guys to recruit in hopes of landing two or three. This approach can be very risky if I don’t pursue players who are likely to sign with me. Selecting guys I think I might “click” with will prove successful. Many players choose to sign with agents they just have a gut feeling about.  This has become evident in MLB Trade Rumor’s series on “Why I Chose My Agency”. This is further evident in the interview with St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Adam Wainwright in which he states, "I just got a great feeling about him.”

Having a limited number of clients (and a short recruiting list) will let me better serve my them since I will not be negotiating contracts for players at the same position, on the same team, or even worse, both. This conflict of interest may deter some players from signing with larger agencies or agents with a long list of clients.

Since I have my recruiting strategy together, the selection of which clients to recruit is my only dilemma. My ideal client will have an outstanding reputation both on and off the field. Having great character is important for nearly all companies wishing to work with professional athletes. Having great clients will allow me to turn a profit despite having a short client list. With plans of beginning recruiting this upcoming football season, my list of potential recruits is beginning to take shape and the most exciting part of being an agent can begin.

NFLPA Agent Certification Process

With my current education coming to an end, my next focus will be on the NFL agent certification process. The process begins by applicants sending a lengthy application to the NFL Players’ Association in January to become a Contract Advisor in the NFL. An application fee of $2,500 must also accompany this application. After the application and fee have been received by the NFLPA, a background check is performed to verify the information on the application as well as determine if any applicants have criminal records or are in financial distress. Since agents represent clients with significant incomes and often offer financial consulting to their clients, having criminal records and financial troubles are important for the NFLPA to consider when allowing agents to represent its players.

Once the NFLPA determines an applicant may become an agent, it distributes exam materials to the applicants to sit for a mandatory certification exam at the annual New Agent Seminar held in Washington D.C. in July. If an applicant fails, they must wait an entire year to sit for the exam again causing them to miss an entire recruiting season. For agents who pass the exam, they must wait for notification from the NFLPA before recruiting players and obtain professional liability insurance from an approved carrier.

Once certified, all agents must register as an athlete agent in any state they wish to recruit players. This can become a tedious and expensive process as many states have differing applications and mandatory fees. However, states have progressively been making this process easier and cheaper for those who are already registered in other states. Finally, agents must (or at least should) reach out to each individual school’s athletic department they wish to recruit at. This process is much more manageable than registering in each state. Athletic departments often facilitate initial contact between agents and recruits. This phase of the process is ideal but many unscrupulous agents try to forgo this process and deal directly with the recruits and their parents. Once the certification process is complete, a new agent will join the 800 other certified agents and the fun can begin!

Expert Views: Influence on Business Plan

After researching how investors look at start-up businesses, I have decided to make numerous changes to my business plan. As I mentioned in my last post, investors Mark Cuban and Daymond John have similar views on what is important when it comes to deciding which business plans to invest in. Cuban believes a unique product, a motivated and educated team, knowledge of the market, and a demonstration that the big dream can work in practice are all necessary when presenting a plan to potential investors. John requires a road map for the business, which includes all of Cuban’s views.

After considering Cuban and John’s expert opinions, I have further developed my business plan to exemplify an even more unique product. With the major problem of current and former NFL players declaring bankruptcy, providing a product that helps prevent this can become a major competitive advantage when it comes to recruiting clients. Adding experienced and highly educated financial professionals to the consulting group and advisory board will help investors get a better sense of the quality of the agency’s overall services. By providing their names and a short list of credentials, the investors will be able to visualize the recruiting advantage as well as how the business will be run.

I have also realized the importance of providing a detailed business plan that includes a road map to success. This is very important to both potential investors and the managers of the agency. This road map will not only help them visualize where the company is headed, it also shows what the company will need to get there. A tangible road map will transition an idea from a dream into a detailed pathway to success.

The most important aspect of this plan in regards to investors is the management section. This section will demonstrate the agency’s experience and knowledge of the market despite the start-up nature of the agency. It will also demonstrate the agency’s uniqueness and its focus on the long-term financial health and post-career management aspect of the agency’s clients. By researching investors’ business plan requirements, I was able to further refine my own business plan and turn my dream into a pathway to success.