Player agents don’t have the best reputation in the sports industry right now. From betting scandals to inappropriate dealings with a young girl, the spotlight is well and truly on player agents and their role in sport.
Ask most people in sport business what they think of agents and they’ll tell you that they are nothing but money hungry, over protective, egocentric, fast talking suits with a million dollar grin and dog eat dog mentality. While agents like that do exist, not everyone conforms to that stereotype. Every industry has its good guys and bad guys.
I’ll be the first to admit that most agents are brilliant at making money but lack the mentoring skills needed to guide an athlete off the field. That’s not to say there aren’t agents who can do both….. but they are a dime a dozen.
One columnist this week described agents as “yes men.” I’ve touched on this subject before. And to be honest it’s the single biggest reason for the lack of really great agents.
A yes man is someone who bows to the every command of an athlete. They say what the athlete wants to hear, not what they should hear. They sprout fantasies rather than the reality. They are exaggerate the truth and are rarely candid. A yes man doesn’t say no for fear of the consequences.
A lot of athletes grow up surrounded by yes men. When a young kid shows enormous talent, parents, coaches, friends and sporting bodies treat the prodigal talent very different to your average kid. Don’t want to upset the superstar. Often the kid gets away with things other kids wouldn’t. If you don’t believe me, read Andre Agassi’s autobiography and notice how he was treated at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy compared to the other (less talented) kids.
This “special treatment” is hugely unfair on the young athlete. Much like a spoilt kid cracks it when they don’t get their own way, a young athlete might find it hard to accept criticism or be told what to do.
When a player agent comes into the life of a young athlete, it’s just another yes men being added to the entourage. Yes I can get you a free car. Yes I can get your image on the back of your favourite breakfast cereal. Yes I can get you into that party. And so on.
With each yes, it becomes harder to say no.
Most good agents either get burnt badly for saying no and conform to the yes men OR they walk away from the management game. And that’s why there are very few good agents. Personally I’ve been guilty of saying yes to athletes despite their ridiculous requests or expectations. I’ve also been extremely candid and experienced the awkwardness that comes with that.
Sports agents rely on a great talent to survive in a competitive industry. It’s their livelihood. So anything that threatens that livelihood (saying no and upsetting the athlete) is risky business. The athlete is more important to the manager than the other way around. The athlete knows this.
The problem is by trying to always appease the superstar, agents never enforce decisions that are in the best interests of the superstar. It super sucks but that’s the reality and why there a very few good agents.
