Category: Sports

Matt Mitten, Director of the National Sports Law Institute:

First, can you tell readers how the National Sports Law Institute got started and what its mission is?

Founded in 1989, the National Sports Law Institute (NSLI) of Marquette University Law School is the first  Institute of its kind associated with an American law school. The Institute’s Mission is to be the leading national educational and research institute for the study of legal, ethical and business issues affecting amateur and professional sports from an academic and practical perspective.

The Institute sponsors local and national events including conferences and symposia for individuals in the sports industry, and disseminates information on the sports industry and sports law through its many publications, such as the Marquette Sports Law Review. As a part of Marquette University, a Catholic Jesuit University, the Institute is committed to searching for truth, discovering and sharing information, fostering professional excellence, developing leaders, and serving those in the sports industry.

The Institute is also affiliated with the Marquette University Law School Sports Law program, which provides the nation’s most comprehensive offering of sports law courses and student internships with local sports organizations as well as opportunities to become members of the Marquette Sports Law Review and National Sports Law Moot Court team. With the assistance of the Directors of the Institute, the Sports Law Program is designed to provide Marquette University Law School students with both a theoretical and practical education covering the legal regulation of amateur and professional sports industries, thereby enhancing their attractiveness to sports industry employers. Students who meet certain requirements before graduating from Marquette University Law School are also eligible to receive a Sports Law Certificate from the National Sports Law Institute.

The National Sports Law Institute is aided by its Board of Advisors. The Board of Advisors is a group of sports lawyers, sports industry executives and professionals, sports law professors and teachers, and others with a demonstrated interest in the field of sports law. The primary duties of the members of the Board of Advisors are: 1) to contribute to the advancement of knowledge regarding legal, ethical, and business issues affecting the sports industries; 2) to provide advice and guidance on matters affecting Marquette University Law School’s Sports Law Program; 3) to attend NSLI events and to participate in the governance of the NSLI; and 4) to assume other duties and responsibilities (including service on committees) that further the NSLI’s best interests.

For a listing of our Board members, see https://law.marquette.edu/national-sports-law-institute/board-advisors

How did you personally get involved with the institute and what are some of your goals for the NSLI in the upcoming years?

I’ve been the NSLI’s Director since August of 1999.

You may be surprised to know that I never took a sports law course in law school!  There was  a class when I was in law school but even though I was  a big sports fan I  didn’t take it – I thought it wasn’t something I would use in my professional career.

I became an antitrust, trademark, and commercial lawyer at a major firm in Atlanta and my first project was sports related. I had a client who was putting on an old-timers baseball game for former major league players.  I helped the company federally register its trademark.  I also did some work for a company that was considering licensing its trademark to shoulder pad manufacturer  that had some products liability concerns if it did so as well as represented  a Howard Johnsons franchisee that showed a Detroit Lions home game that was supposed to be blacked out. So, I dabbled in sports law before entering the academic world.

When I began teaching at South Texas College of Law in 1990, the Dean asked me to develop a sports law course in response to students’ interest.  While at South Texas, I  was one of the lawyers that represented Harris County, which owns the Astrodome, in litigation arising out of the Houston Oilers efforts to relocate to Nashville before the club’s lease expired. My initial sports law scholarship focused on sports medicine legal issues, including the role of the team physician and doping issues. I was there for ten years, then got a call from Marquette Law School inviting me to interview for my current position. I  had never been to  Milwaukee, but was fortunate enough to be offered the job.

Marquette Law School  offers fourteen sports law courses – more than any other school in the world. It’s one of only two U.S. law schools to offer a sports law certificate. Several of our Sports Law program alumni,  including the general counsel of the Atlanta Braves, the athletic director of the University of Miami and a number of university athletic department compliance directors, are employed in the sports industry. .

However, there are relatively few entry level sports industry jobs for young lawyers, and only a small number of graduates  are employed full-time in sports law immediately after graduation. Most of them are lawyers who represent clients in other industries, but the knowledge of numerous law (e.g., contract, antitrust, labor, and intellectual property) and  skills (e.g. , contract negotiation and drafting) they learned from Marquette’s Sports Law program  are readily transferable.

The NSLI holds a sports law conference every year – the upcoming one on October 19^th  is on international and professional sports legal and business issues – covering issues like doping and corruption. The NSLI provides  a forum for discussion of current legal, business, and ethical issues impacting  the industry.  It also periodically gives its Master of the Game Award to individuals who make a significant contribution to the sports industry while doing so in an ethical manner.  This year’s recipient will be David Howman, the Director General of the World Anti-doping Agency.

The NSLI has a fifty-person Board of Advisors – including Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig who helped fund the institute and now teaches at Marquette. I’ve had the pleasure of co-teaching Professional Sports Law with Bud Selig for the past four years. He gives a series of lectures  to our students and is always well-prepared and loves teaching. He’s been in the industry forty-plus years – to hear his perspective is phenomenal.

What would you like to achieve in the next few years?

I’d like our Sports Law program to continue providing the best possible education to those aspiring to be future sports lawyers and for the NSLI, which is Marquette’s bridge to the sports industry, to continue  providing a forum for a balanced discussion of the most important legal issues affecting the sports industry.  We’re not an advocacy group – that would not be consistent with the fact we’re part of a law school –  but we are looking to make a positive difference.

You’ve been involved on a number of sports law panels and cases. What have been some of your most memorable experiences to date and what’s made them so?

The work I’ve done on sports medicine legal issues – working with the NCAA’s Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports Committee. We monitored injury protection rates and  made recommendations to make  intercollegiate athletics safer as well as formulated the NCAA’s drug testing policy and adjudicated student-athlete appeals of positive tests. I’m privileged to be a member of  the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which resolves a wide variety of sports-related disputes, including doping and athlete eligibility issues.

One of my more interesting cases was one that happened 15 years ago in Chicago. A basketball player at Northwestern had a full scholarship ride suffered cardiac arrest while playing in a pickup game before enrolling and had to be defibrillated by paramedics.  allowed him to keep his athletic scholarship, but  wouldn’t let him play on its basketball team for health and safety reasons. He claimed his exclusion violated his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and I  filed an amicus brief on behalf of two groups of sports medicine physicians advocating in favor of  the school’s position.  The United States Court of Appeals accepted our argument.

How does the rapid internationalization of the sports world affect your role and the role of sports lawyers in general? How does that complicate your roles and work?

At the college level, a lot of foreign-born athletes participate in the NCAA. We’re really the only country trying to retain the idea of “amateur” athletic competition. Most of the rest of the world has the club sport model, where young, elite athletes  are  are selected for  club teams and given economic support, which may adversely affect their eligibility to receive an athletic scholarship from a U.S. university.

With the Olympics, there are more countries in the Olympics than there are in the U.N.  I believe sports are a microcosm of society. Sports are perhaps the only thing that keeps us from killing each other – and the lessons we learn in sports can be applied to other world issues.

Professionally, sports like basketball, hockey, soccer and baseball all  have an international labor market. The United States has a significant number of players overseas, and many foreign athletes play here. And we’ll keep seeing much more of that. We discuss this in our classes.  The global market for professional players’ services in several sports raises many interesting  legal issues in areas such as labor, immigration, and taxation law.

What do you see as being some of the bigger issues facing sports leagues, legally, in the next few years, and how do you address them?

Labor relations issues have been front and center recently; for example, last year’s NHL and NBA player lockouts, and this year NHL lockout and NFL referees’ strike.  There will continuing issues of how the economic pie is divided between league clubs and the players (as well as referees).

Player health and safety issues, including sports doping,  are becoming increasingly important, along with the issue of compensating retired players who are facing  serious health issues arising out of  their playing careers.

Intellectual property issues – with new technologies and  games broadcast to different countries and all over the web: what’s in the public domain and what belongs to the league and its clubs is an important issue with different answers in different countries

What are your thoughts on the way the major sports leagues are handling concussion and related issues from a legal standpoint? Are they doing enough – why/why not?

I think they are going in the right direction. Players who have suffered a concussion must be medically cleared by a physician before resuming play. The NCAA has a new rule that if a football player’s helmet comes off, he  has to sit out a play, which enables a player to be evaluated for a head injury.  Although athletes assume the inherent risks of injury from playing a sport, including a concussion, they don’t assume enhanced risks created by a sports league’s negligence or fraudulent concealment.  The litigation brought by retired NFL players and former NCAA football players raises some interesting legal issues that will need to be resolved by courts.  It’s all about what can be proven.

We’ve seen another round of frustrating CBA negotiations in the NFL and NHL over the past couple of years. From a fan’s perspective, how do leagues allow things to get to this point and how could/should these negotiations be better addressed?

The fans’ interests are not taken into account adequately—if at all. The players unions focus on their players’ economic interests,  and the league and clubs their economic interests.  That’s the process the labor market provides. Both sides have  a legal duty to bargain in good faith, but neither side is obligated to agree to anything or to make a “fair” offer. With the exception of Major League Baseball, professional sports labor negotiations are essentially becoming  a no-holds-barred war of economic attrition.

As important as sports are to us, they are not an essential product or service like the police or fire protection, soe there’s very little direct government regulation of the sports industry. However,  sports leagues, clubs, unions, and players have to take into account how much labor strife that results in lost games that the fans will put up with. Both sides have to realize  that acrimonious, protracted labor disputes may kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

What do you say to fans that wonder how it gets to this point so often?

The current legal system breeds lockouts and strikes, because federal labor law doesn’t require either side to be objectively reasonable in labor negotiations and permits the parties to exert economic pressure through a lockout or strike as a means of achieving their respective economic demands. But ultimately, the fans collectively possess the greatest economic power by choosing how to respond labor disputes between players and league clubs.

Andrew Bondarowicz, National Association of  Sports Agents & Athlete Representatives:

First, can you let readers know about the National Association of  Sports Agents & Athlete Representatives – what inspired you to launch  the association and how you went about doing so? 

I have been formally certified as a contract advisor since 2005.  Every year, I have seen more and more grumbling within the agent  community about the players associations, regulation, player-related  issues and other concerns of my colleagues. Whenever, there is an NCAA  player scandal, it is inevitable that someone is going to blame an  unscrupulous? agent. Fans love to blame agents when their  favorite player leaves town for another team. Rarely, does anyone else  get criticized. Yet, so much of what sports agents do goes unseen. The  notion to launch NASAAR has been kicking around for several years,  almost every profession has a professional trade association to work  on of collective interest and considering how many public  agents deal with  players, payers unions, NCAA, state regulators,  colleges, etc., it only makes sense to bring agents together to  provide a unified organization to work on these issues. Prior to  getting into the player representation, I had the opportunity to work  both on staff and in leadership for several trade associations and saw  firsthand what the benefits to an industry can be and knew that is it  something the was really needed in this industry as well.

What do you think separates this association from others that cater to  sports agents? 

The problem is there no others that really serve this role for agents.  For example the Sports Lawyers Association-a great organization- is a  non-profit educational association that brings together team  officials, law professions, agents, media lawyers, etc. for discussion  on sports related issues broadly. Only a small percentage of SLA  business involves agents and agent issues. Secondly, not all agents  are lawyers. The players’ unions have the ability to certify agents  to represent players in contract negotiations, but they are not really  regulators themselves outside of the scope of their respective CBAs  and they are very careful to define their scope. They let it be known  that they represent the players, not the agents. So, NASAAR fills a  unique niche in working on behalf of agents to address issues of  collective importance with other constituencies.

Is this for all sports agents – and if so, how will you address the  variance in issues agents experience between the various sports and  pro versus collegiate levels? 

There are undoubtedly issues specific to particular sports, but there  are also a ton of issues of common importance. Issues such as state  regulation affect all agents. NCAA concerns affect many agents. The  lack of uniformity in enforcement is a concern to agents. How players  associations discipline agents and who they choose to discipline is a  concern to all agents. Sharing what works from one players association  to another can benefit everyone. For example, MLBPA is the first major  players’ association to recognize non-certified recruiters in their  regulations ? that?s something that needs to be discussed with all  players associations too. On a different note, what if college  student-athletes were allowed to have an?agent? Well, the  concept should not be that far off. A trade association is the best  place to discuss these issues and come up with the ideas and plans to  make them work.

What are some of the biggest pain points you are looking to address in  the agents community – what do you see as some of the biggest concerns  and needs agents have now in regards to their day-to-day jobs? 

State regulation is a big problem. It can cost upwards of $15,000 a  year to license nationwide, yet enforcement of the rules is very, very  haphazard. One idea is to move to a national regulatory model and  possibly a self-regulatory environment similar to parts of the  financial industry. The NCAA is in a very tricky position in dealing  with student-athlete and agent issues ? NASAAR wants to have a role  in ensuring that changes to the rules will be rationalized and have a  likelihood of success ? not just more bureaucracy. We hope to  establish a national database to track registration, issues,  complaints, etc. so that information is broadly available. For day to  day issues, it helps to network with colleagues; meet service  providers such as trainers, financial advisors, trainers, etc. to help  us service clients better. There are many areas where an organization  such as NASAAR can make a big impact.

What are some of the biggest regulatory issues on your radar right  now? 

Aligning state laws into a more consistent system is a big priority.  Rationalizing costs, requirements, paperwork, etc. is also a  short-term goal. Developing a national regulatory scheme or  self-regulatory environment is a long term goal. Improving the  consistency of enforcement at the NCAA, state, and players association  levels is another objective. Working with the NCAA, conferences and  schools to make the system better is also a key priority.

Will one of the association’s missions be to address the image some  have of the need for increased ethics and regulations in the agent  community? How accurate is that viewpoint/need, from your perspective? 

Absolutely. Agents often get a bad wrap and we have an image problem.  You always hear about unscrupulous agents but never about  unscrupulous players or unscrupulous coaches! Yet, there  is not a single agent that would be willing put themselves at risk of  a violation if it was not going to curry favor with a potential  client. For example, there are almost 900 NFLPA certified agents out  there and if a student-athlete is asking for money, someone is going  to give it to him.

Unfortunately, student-athletes do not fear losing eligibility enough  – what’s the risk forcing a player to go pro and earn  millions sooner? I think the Reggie Bush and OJ Mayo cases were  perfect examples of what’s wrong with the system. Without going into  the details of the case, USC lost millions in the process, agents was  disciplined, and the players essentially gets off making millions as  high draft picks. USC, in my eyes, had an opportunity to send a strong  message to student-athletes as well as agents. Instead, they sent the  wrong message and I think it has gotten much worse since then.

If we agree that the system is broken and needs to be fixed, we have  to address all of the pieces,  not single out the weakest link  (agents) in the process. We need to look at this the same way as  political corruption and bribery. That’s not to say that all agents  are model citizens either, but there is a lot to be done in this area.

What tools can you help develop for agents to make their jobs easier? 

There are several that have already been discussed. One is to create a  national agent registry to alleviate some of the pain points in  registering in multiple jurisdictions each with its own forms,  requirements, etc. This would also provide basis for establishing a  universal database that can be used by a variety of constituencies  including schools, the NCAA, players associations, agents, etc. It  would also be useful to players seeking out information on agents  because today it is pretty much only word of mouth. In the short term,  just reducing paperwork requirements is a big win for the industry.  There have been requests from agents to look into professional  liability coverage and/or bonding issues, which are required by  various states and players associations. Helping agents to connect is  another benefit. The gap between large and small agencies is growing  and some consolidation within the industry will be needed  NASAAR  will be a great resource for fostering dialogue within the industry.

From your perspective, what are some of the biggest misperceptions  fans have of the role of agents in sports?

The role of the agent can be extremely broad from client to client. Some clients only want the  agent to handle their player contracts. In other cases, agents are  managing almost everything for a professional player from marketing to  paying bills to training. Each client relationship is different and  can extend well beyond the contract. So, while agents help players  make decisions, it is hard to tell from the outside what the  motivations are ? is it more money? Is it to play in a certain  location or for a certain coach? Is it for family reasons? Agents have  a role in the process, but it is most often to help the player decide  the right decisions for himself. So, next time your favorite player  decides to go play for your biggest rival, give the agent a break!

What are some of the key metrics and benchmarks you find agents using to measure their performance?

Until now, the only real benchmarks are:  Who do you represent? How many players do you represent? Or how much  money have you made for your clients? They are all relatively hollow  figures because they don?t really express the overall value that an  agent brings to a client. A first round draft pick will always have a  bigger contract than a late rounder, yet the work effort to represent  that player can be drastically different. A first round pick is often  looking for different things from an agency or has different  motivations from a late rounder as well. Experience is always a useful  benchmark because you can never really negate experience, but I also  said to potential clients, It is not who I represent, but rather how  well do I represent them! The agency business is difficult to  benchmark for that reason, so metrics can be very tricky and easily  manipulated.

Much of an association/community’s value is on the ability of members  to share experiences and successes/failures. How will you foster this  in your association and at the same time ensure that confidentiality  is maintained to keep the agent-client relationship “sacrosanct? 

The agency business is extremely competitive and agents are naturally  skeptical about everyone. NASAAR’s biggest challenge is probably  getting agents to buy in initially. The good thing is that there is a  lot of work to be done. NASAAR?s initial focus will be on big  picture initiatives and some small quick hits that we can get people  to rally around. As we establish more credibility within the ranks, I  think you will see a greater openness within the organization. I  don?t see confidentiality being an issue. The funny thing about the  industry is there really are not that many secrets ? people talk and  everyone has a pretty good idea of what is going on with their rivals.  I think war stories are great teachers and you have many agents who  would be willing to share their experiences for the benefit of the  industry. After all, you continue to build your stature by gaining the  respect and admiration of your colleagues.

What equates to success for you year one? 

While I think that NASAAR will eventually become a very important  organization over time, it is important to keep things in perspective  and set attainable goals in the first year. We would like to build a  strong membership base that will provide a range of opinions and bring  a variety of experience and backgrounds to our working committees. We  would like to establish strong working relationships with the  players? associations, NCAA, and state regulators so that NASAAR  becomes a part of the discussion on key issues. I think it is  important to define the key issues and pain points within the industry  to help set a comprehensive agenda for the future. We will be  establishing an annual conference to bring members together, build  relationships, and help develop leaders within the organization. We  would like to build out a dedicated staff and stage a membership  conference. Year one will be foundational, but I can say I would be  disappointed if we did not make an impact.

Any last thoughts for readers? 

Having worked both in the trade association and agent businesses, I  think formulating NASAAR is a big challenge. It is a very  decentralized business and not the most open one. Yet, I do see a very  important role for NASAAR to play and I think we will continue to win  support as we move forward.  I have been fortunate to experience many  successes in the agency business, yet my passion has definitely  shifted to making NASAAR a reality and working for the benefit of the  industry.

Jeffrey Dobin, Athlete Advocates

First, can you let readers know how you and your firm got involved in sports law – was this an intended focus for you all along?

My firm was created with the purpose to provide top caliber legal services to athletes. I made the decision to pursue law school while interning for RealGM, a company that tracks player trades and transactions, and also sells proprietary salary cap software to NBA teams. 

After speaking with one of their founders who was an attorney, as well as numerous NBA general managers who had also previously practiced law, I realized a law degree would help me stand out and provide a competitive advantage in sports and business.  

You recently started Athlete Advocates – what differentiates you from other agencies?

In September of 2010, Ryan Scarpa and I officially opened the doors at Athlete Advocates. However, we had been preparing for years for that moment.  Since 2007 we had been growing our industry knowledge and experience to be able to provide our clients with top caliber representation from two attorneys and agents.

What differentiates us is our unique approach and willingness to connect and interact with athletes that most agents cannot. Our attention to detail, and most importantly, personal service distinguishes our firm from “large scale” agencies.  It is this personal service and true relationships we form with players and their families that allows us to compete for top talent.

There are no off-hours at Athlete Advocates.

In addition to this level of service, Ryan’s understanding of the game provides a huge advantage for us.  The fact that he played on both sides of the ball at Hofstra University with roughly ten NFL players allows him to understand the game in a way that most agents wish they could.  His relationships with coaches, executives and athletes across the country are a big help to our company.  

Your expertise, in part, is with salary cap management from the agent’s perspective. How are you able to put that know-how to use for your client and how are you able to get on each team’s cap situation?

I pride myself on the numbers and business side of the game.  I have a firm grasp of the new CBA, and have met with team executives, and studied hundreds of contracts.

Because of the new CBA, rookie salary pool and various loopholes, contracts can become complicated. By understanding past contracts and current trends, we can predict which teams’ financial resources will be allocated for specific starting and back-up positions.  By analyzing the data we collect and speaking regularly with scouts and team personnel, we have a solid understanding of the “needs and wants” of each team. 

The database and system we have created over the years is extensive, and provides accurate estimates on many aspects of the game.  We have an accurate projection before the draft of how many athletes at each position will be drafted, and the amount of income each draft pick will earn in salary.

Your agency also gets involved with draft preparation. What are your thoughts on the concerns that there’s too much emphasis now on combine numbers versus actual on-field play and how it affects your less-heralded clients?

Just like SAT scores are a strong indicator of college success, Combine numbers offer insight on how an athlete will fair at the professional level. With that being said, Combine times and measurements only play a small role in the overall draft process. 

It is a common misconception of fans that Combine results will dictate draft results.  Most of the opinions of scouts and team personnel regarding players are already formed during the course of their college careers.  The Combine either confirms what they already know, or moves players slightly up or down in their rankings.  Of course, there is always the exception to the rule; a horrible 40 time can be the difference from being a 5th round pick to going undrafted.  With that being said, Combine statistics are important for better or worse, so we take our clients training for the combine very seriously. 

For those two to three months leading up to the combine, Athlete Advocates clients receive elite training to ensure their highest times and numbers are recorded at the Combine.

One of the biggest issues we see with today’s players is how they adjust to life after football. How do you make that a priority for your clients before they are on the verge of retirement?

Playing football only provides income for a short part of an athlete’s life.  Putting it into perspective, a player will usually live more than half of his life after retiring from the game.  We make it a priority early on to assist a client in preparing for life after football. We offer advice, set up off-season internships for clients in various fields, and coordinate their enrollment in broadcast boot camps, coaching opportunities, etc. We believe in a proactive approach and genuinely want our friends and clients to succeed in life, not just in sport.  

Do you represent any Pittsburgh athletes and have you worked with the Steelers organization?

It’s funny you ask. 

We actually don’t represent any Pittsburgh athletes but Ryan did play at Hofstra with your very own, Willie Colon.  At this past Combine Ryan and I set up meetings with dozens of individuals.  Ryan had the opportunity to speak with Coach Tomlin who is always enthusiastic and confident about life, and his team.  We are hopeful that a client will be drafted or sign as a free agent with the Steelers soon! I have always been a fan of their philosophy and winning culture! 

You also help clients with charitable endeavors. What have been some of the more unique events you’ve put on to date?

We’ve had some tremendous experiences working with athletes.  One of my favorite athletes to work with is Vince WIlfork of the New England Patriots.  His father passed away from Diabetes when he was playing football at Miami. His wife, Bianca, plays a huge role in running the foundation which raises money for Diabetes research.  While some athletes go through the motions in their charity work, Vince and Bianca are very passionate about their non-profit foundation.   

What are some of the biggest misperceptions clients have when they first start working with an agent, and how do you handle those?

Every client is different but one of the most important aspects of being an agent is setting clear goals, timelines and ALWAYS keeping in constant communication.  Some clients only want assistance in negotiating contracts and managing their football careers. Some on the other hand, need help preparing for all that life will throw at them.  Many athletes go through a series of “firsts” that they didn’t see coming. 

We try to ease the transition and help our clients become independent and self-sufficient.  We make it a point to inquire as to how involved a specific client wants us to be in their business and personal lives.  After gaining a clear understanding of their interests, we are then able to serve them zealously. 

Likewise, what are some of the biggest misperceptions fans have about agents and the work you do?

Many fans and students think being an agent is always glamorous.  Although it is and I truly enjoy every day of work, there are many aspects of the business, which are not glamorous. Just like with any job, there is a ton of work done behind the scenes. For every hour spent negotiating a contract, I spend thousands of hours on the road traveling to games, contacting teams to promote our clients, meeting with clients, scouting new clients, making phone calls and crunching numbers.  The work can be tedious and boring at times. 

However, meeting with clients and their families, helping them achieve their goals, and calling them with good news… have provided for some of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had!

What are the most frustrating – and rewarding – aspects of your job?

I might meet with ten clients but only sign a handful of them.  That can be frustrating.  To get those ten meetings I may have had to meet with 30 other people first. Family members, friends and coaches usually provide an initial layer of protection and privacy for the athlete.  To get those 30 meetings I may have had to make 100 phone calls. For every successful phone call or meeting there are dozens of rejections.  That’s part of the nature of the business. 

Ryan and I have driven five hours to meet with athletes, or flown across the country for a final interview with a potential client, only to find out upon arrival that the decision has already been made and he has signed with Agency X.  That’s not only frustrating, its expensive too. Tough times like that make it even more rewarding when things go right!

Over the last few years, many things have been bouncing our way.  Fortunately, we are prepared for each opportunity we create and each successful milestone is more rewarding than the last! In our career thus far, it is clear that to attract top talent and compete with large scale agencies, personal service and attention is key.  We therefore limit the number of players we recruit and ultimately sign, so that there is no shortfall in quality. 

In this business, reputation will follow you everywhere, and we want our clients to feel confident they are receiving representation that is second to none. 

Any last thoughts for readers?

I feel honored to have been contacted and thank Ron for taking the time to conduct this interview. I am truly blessed to have a talented, industrious and intelligent lawyer on my side in Ryan Scarpa, and am thankful each day I get to work in a field I am so passionate about. 

I encourage every person, young or old, to pursue their dreams and reach their goals. While some people are miserable going to work each day, I feel the opposite. I love what I do and appreciate our clients for believing in the Athlete Advocates team and giving us the opportunity to work on their behalf!

Andy Simms, Co-Founder, PlayersRep Sports Management

First, can you let readers know how you got started as an agent and how you helped start PlayersRep in 1997?

I was just a 22 year old 1^st year law student with a few ideas really.  The long and short of it is simple – I printed up some business cards and made up a brochure for my start up sports agency.  I had no connections, potential clients, or much of a clue on what I was doing.  I was able to sign a few clients fortunately, and the rest grew from there.

What prompted you to launch your own agency and what were your biggest obstacles starting out? 

The biggest obstacles – inexperience, an industry flooded with competition, lack of money and funding for travel and business expenses.  That just names a few.  But as in any business, obstacles can be overcome.  I started on my own because that was really the only option.  It’s extremely hard to catch on with an established agent or agency – very few openings and when there are, the opportunity for growth is fairly limited.

What separates you from other agencies/agents and how do you decide on what players to take on? Are there ones you’d turn away – if so, why?

The cliché’ that a business is only as good as its clients proves true in the agent business.  Our clients ARE the business.  We have to choose wisely.  A lot of time and energy is put into studying potential prospects – both on and off the field.  We take on a limited number of clients each year which is different than most of our competitors.  We have to do a lot of scouting ourselves, studying game film, speaking with MANY people to get background on athletes.  We are looking for clients that are a great fit for PlayersRep, of which many are not.  And yes, we end up turning away clients.

You are unique in that you take on various roles with clients – from contract work, marketing opportunities, finding clients jobs, tax advice to post-career counseling, and more. What’s the part of the job you enjoy most, and why?

I can eliminate tax advice, financial advice/budgeting and most forms of post career counseling from the competition for most enjoyable part of the job.  The reality is each and every aspect of the job is important and necessary.  The enjoyment comes from the success.  And success starts with a job in the NFL for your client and a contract that pays them as well as possible.

What are the biggest misperceptions players have when entering the contract negotiation process  – especially as rookies?

The new labor deal of 2011 brought about changes for the rookies, and all of the NFL really.  The rookie contracts are more set than ever before.  There is still work to be done on the agent side, especially regarding off-season bonuses, guaranteed language in the contracts, and injury provisions.

With so much discussion on how players handle their post-NFL careers and lives and the difficulties they have in doing so at times, how do you work with your clients to ensure they have a healthy mindset entering their post-NFL years, and how do you go about doing so?

The key to success post NFL playing career is simple.  Planning.  We encourage our clients to think about and discuss with us their plans for after football.  Once we as a firm can understand their post football interests, then we can help guide them into different career paths that interest them.  The NFL and NFLPA offer various programs for business education, entrepreneurship, coaching, and broadcasting.

Planning also involves networking throughout the playing career.  NFL players meet a lot of people during their careers.  We encourage them to stay in touch and follow up with interesting people they meet along the way. No player should ever be left wondering what to do next after they play their last game.

How do you go about selecting the right marketing/endorsement opportunities for players? How do you know when the fit is right?

Our job is to know our clients.  We have to have a firm grasp of our client, his interests, and what he wants and doesn’t want to do publicly.  Once we have that, it’s about finding the right opportunities and matching those interests up with corporate America.  It’s not a science, but we try to evaluate all possibilities and stick to a plan when possible for each client.

From your perspective, what are some of the biggest misperceptions fans have of the role of agents in sports? How do you dispel those?

Our industry is littered with all kinds of people – I understand and accept that.  For myself and for the other agents at PlayersRep, we can only control how we conduct ourselves on a day to day basis.  I can’t change how our industry is perceived, but I can affect how I am perceived.  So I worry about that and nothing more.

With more and more of players’ personal lives – especially legal issues – becoming public, how do you prepare players to protect themselves from these situations and has that become a bigger part of your player preparation?

One of the main jobs of any agent is to protect your client.  We protect clients from varying forms of pitfalls and traps.  Education, knowledge and planning are the keys.  Our clients have to understand the potential for trouble that exists, and they need to know how to avoid that trouble.  We encourage our clients to communicate with us regularly, and if they are contacted by anyone, or if they are attached on social media for example, they know to contact me immediately.

Any last thoughts for readers?

Thanks for allowing me to answer some questions about the agent business.  Although the agent industry is sometimes perceived negatively, it is a very rewarding, and fun, business to be involved with.