AFM RSS Feed Follow Us on Twitter       
AMERICAN FOOTBALL MONTHLY THE #1 RESOURCE FOR FOOTBALL COACHES
ABOUT |  CONTACT |  ADVERTISE |  HELP  



   User Name    Password 
      Password Help





Article Categories


AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Should a Coach Employ an Agent?

© More from this issue

Click for Printer Friendly Version          

Networking: Make the Most of Every Opportunity
Resume Tips - The Do’s and Don’ts
Dealing With The Media During The ‘Silly Season’
Avoiding Major Mistakes in the Interview Process
How to Handle Coaching Salary Negotiations
Should a Coach Employ an Agent?
A Little Psychology For A Winning Focus In Job Interviews
One prominent coach said recently, “everybody’s getting an agent” meaningthat he did not have one and did not know what they could do. Many coaches say, “Idon’t know what an agent does but I do know that I need somebody,” meaningthat they need career help and they know it; they see others getting help andthey need to know how. In an age of increasing specialization, coaches shouldseek every edge they can get in their highly competitive careers. Sports agencyfor coaches is but one more way to get a specialized edge in the highly competitivecareer game but the coach must know what he needs and whom he is hiring.

The answer to the question as to whether or not a coach needs to hire an agentdepends entirely upon what the coach needs to get done and what the agent canreasonably do. Many sorts of advisory professionals can act to assist the coach.Agents come in many versions with diverse capabilities and fee schedules. Inadvancing his career, helping with or handling his contract, finding work orassisting in the overall management of his affairs, the job of the coach’sagent should be individually designed to each specific circumstance. Hopefully,the coach who hires the agent knows what to expect and how much to pay for theservices. This is often not the case as unfortunately, both parties may be feelingtheir way along. This occurs even with some of the most prominent, big-name sportsagencies due to internal conflict as seen in the sports agent movie, “JerryMaGuire” and their high staff turnover.

It is has been attributed to Abraham Lincoln that “any principle who representshimself in a major transaction has a fool for a client and an idiot for a lawyerfor letting him do it.” Fair enough Abe, but what should a coach look forin an agent, given that he does not want to be a fool? This depends entirelyupon the assignment so just like in hiring a good staff member, an OC or DC,the coach must know what he wants done.

An agency relationship is a legal construct where the principle in any businesstransaction or relationship, here the coach, employs a professional, here the “coach’sagent,” an unregulated professional activity (unlike NFL player agencywhich is regulated) to assist him with some designated task or purpose by actingin his best interests for some agreed upon compensation.

So what is the agent’s job? To negotiate my contract? To find me a job?To assist me with the management of my affairs? Just what does an agent reallydo? What should I pay these guys? That must be up to the coach who hires theagent, but coaches must learn so they can make informed hires. If you just gota job, your agent may simply provide wisely counsel to you as you enter it. Oncethe coach is representing himself, it may be unwise to enter an agent into theconversation unless the job is fully secured.

Most coaches want two things after winning. A better job than they have and moremoney for what they do. Enter the need for professional help. It is up to thecoach to define the scope of the duties and work he expects an agent to perform.The coach and the agent must come to an accord as to what the coach wants theagent to do, for how long and for what amount of compensation. Contract negotiation,contract structuring, financial integration, job procurement and identification,interview preparation and conduct, resume preparation and coaching, deal structuring,adjunct business advice and advisory team management are all complex tasks whichcan be assigned to an “agent” or to a business advisory team containingan agent. Some of these tasks are to be delegated by the agent to other licensedprofessionals in regulated industries such as investments, accounting, bankingand law. Someone must manage the advisory “A” team of the higherincome coach. No coach has the time nor the skill sets to do all of this.

So whether or not a coach needs to hire one of these agent-people is really anindividual decision. Whomever a coach hires, the personal chemistry must be good,just like in a marriage or a close business partnership.

Next is the assignment. A coach in a secure position for now may need contractrenegotiation help. A compatible agent can help with this directly as a negotiatoror as an advisor in the process. Sports lawyers are very good at this by trainingif they understand the culture of football, coaching and the complex money issues.Not all sports lawyers do. Some very fine agents are non-lawyers who use lawyersextensively but control the process for the coach.

Often, the coach’s employers, represented by College Presidents and ADsmay say, “No agents!” They only want to deal with the coach as principle.Consider how unfair this is, kind of like asking the coach to act as his owndentist. This is where an agent must be an emissary and a diplomat representingthe coach if the coach has enough clout to say, “I have one and that ishow it must be.” If they value the coach enough, they will deal with whomeverhe brings along on his team.

Effective coaches as business leaders really need an advisory team of severaltalented niche professionals, and not just an agent. For top coaches, his agentmay be tasked with leading the “A” team, which should contain a sportscontract lawyer.

How these various people are paid is where the coach must be business savvy andhopefully he has hired a sophisticated agent who can help him control the costsof his various professionals on his “A” team. One job of the managingagent should be to save his client, the coach, money. Professionals in law, accounting,financial planning, investments, contract negotiation, agency, job procurement,career advisory, to name a few, can be paid by the hour, by annual retainer,by the project, or by commissions and fees. Coaches must get an agent who canhelp them sort out a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work for allassisting professionals.

The very toughest assignment for an agent is to find the coach a job when helacks one. Any coach who gets hired anywhere largely does so as a result of hisown professional merit and usually a personal relationship. Coaching is highlydependent upon relationship hires because of the chemistry required on a staff.Whether men wish to admit it or not, this is about the needed group intimacyon a coaching staff which contains the fundamental trust needed to gel a cohesivestaff. The professional merit of a coach is necessary but often not sufficientto obtain work at the highest levels. An agent may be able to make a differencein this equation but there is no guarantee. Many coaches have said that the waythat the profession works in terms of finding and maintaining work is like ithas always been and that is in the “Stone Age,” based solely uponwho you know. That is why networking and maintaining professional relationshipsover a career is an absolute must. Reputations and personal relationships arecritical.

Agents as job finders can be a thankless job for the coach’s agent. Thisdifficult task should command a reasonable cost from the coach to cover the time,the sometimes-enormous effort and the real value the agent might be able to bringto the table. After all, their opposites in the search consultancy business collectlarge five figure fees from universities to locate the right hires. Search consultantsin business and industry earn six figure fees on the bigger executive jobs.

So, does the coach need an agent? It is surely worth studying for each individualcoach.

Thom Park, Ph.D., is a contributing writer for AFM, author, advisor and agent.For more information, email DrThomPark@AOL.COM.





NEW BOOK!

AFM Videos Streaming Memberships Now Available Digital Download - 304 Pages of Football Forms for the Winning Coach



















HOME
MAGAZINE
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE COLUMNISTS COACHING VIDEOS


Copyright 2024, AmericanFootballMonthly.com
All Rights Reserved