So You Want to be the Next Jerry Maguire?

By: Victor Cruz, @_CruzVictor

As I sit here thinking about writing a 5-part series talking about the different aspects of the agency world and how those who want to be agents should prepare, I can’t help but think…They shouldn’t! No one should strive to be an agent in todays sports landscape.

Why the doom and gloom? Here is my honest assessment and the advice I give every young person who reaches out to me with the same question, “how do I get into the agent business?” or something to the effect. I let them know that the agent business is a saturated market and they should steer clear of it! What I mean is there are hundreds of agents with a wide range of backgrounds. Some with a legal background, some with a playing background, others with a business background and even some with zero experience in sports and/or business. In today’s sports industry, the agents are the responsibility of the player unions. That means the unions govern the agents. Unfortunately, all you need to be an agent in some sports is to pay a fee and take a brief exam. Some like the NFLPA require specific educational backgrounds. But for the most part, in general, any one who wants to be an agent can be and do attempt to be. In an industry with hundreds of competitors how are you, the newbie, going to compete?

With so many competitors not only will your job entail helping your clients, negotiating contracts but a large portion will be recruiting the same players against 50 other agents and trying to keep the players you have from those same 50 other agents.

Therefore, instead of writing a 5-part series to make you believe its an easy road and telling you what steps take, I’m going to keep it short and sweet, find something else to do in sports!

Now if you are still not deterred and want to know how to make a career in the agent business, not necessarily becoming an agent yourself, well, I can provide some insight there. Perhaps in an upcoming article I can give a lay of the land type look of the different roles/positions that exist within an agency that could be appealing to you.