Expect More of Your Agent

I often recall the thoughts I had whilst studying for my law master degree and pondering a career in sports management...

I envisaged a steady career ladder, where you’d apply to a sports agency, possibly gain the opportunity to become an intern or join on a graduate scheme. Alternatively at least, you’d start in the post room, or perhaps you’d shadow an established agent within the business and/or be an assistant to the agent for a while. In honesty, I was ready to graft and work my way up – mainly because I understood that’s how large sports, film agencies and so on in America operate so surely it’d be the same here in England??

I was wrong.

Quite unlike the maturity of the sports management company or agency in America, being a Sports Agent here in England appears typically to be more an occupation through manifestation, luck or opportunity – rather than an established career.

My first ‘job’ in sports was for an Australian company and whilst it was a superb opportunity in its own right, I had no training whatsoever and very little direction whilst there apart from access to contacts. Indeed, I’d go as far to say now after my years in the sport business in England, a stereotypical agent here is someone who merely has a few contacts in their phone, a car, gets to a few games picking up players and makes a few deals every month, large or small. This in comparison to how the large American sports management companies operate who move beyond just having a few contacts and players, to training their agents to be able to offer 360 degree advice from a legal perspective to a tax and financial perspective to nutritional and beyond. Now no one agent can be an expert in all, but training their agents to have a little bit of knowledge of all enables the agent to provide a better service – the type of service players should expect from their agent.

In essence, I believe it is time footballers and other sportspeople here in England and across Europe expect more from their agents. 

Football is the world’s number one sport and as a result you should expect a premium service from your agent, not just a wheeler dealer.

A move toward this type of ‘American professionalism’ as I call it, is a fundamental part of the strategy behind Simply Sport Management. There is an expectation that each and every person in this business continues to develop their broad spectrum of knowledge so that we can better advise our players. Likewise, it is why we are developing our collaboration with the Nottingham Law School so we can offer genuine internship and graduate opportunities to students. These will be genuine opportunities to see how we operate as a sports management company and whilst it is a grand vision as our company grows we hope we will be able to bring through a new generation of agents who are ultimately career agents. They have trained to do the best for you as a sportsperson – and they take pride in the total service. It’s exactly that ethos we have now and will install in all that operate for our company.

In conclusion, expect more from your agent, always ask them – what else can they do for you beyond just deal-making and boots?