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My first client: Drafting a plan and putting in the miles

The following is an excerpt from the book “From Mascot To Agent And Everything In Between: Career guidance from 11 sports executives I met during my journey into sports”

Ipored over a list of college football prospects that I had compiled in preparation for the 2013 NFL draft. This list was a combination of media lists and articles that had been tweaked after speaking with scouting personnel in the NFL. As a young, emerging NFL agent, I couldn’t count on signing elite prospects from football-driven institutions. I had to identify legitimate NFL talent that wouldn’t attract as much attention from competing agents. While the 2013 NFL draft was 11 months away, I needed to start recruiting immediately.

In an attempt to convince these 2013 NFL draft prospects to sign with me, I made hundreds of phone calls. I traveled an estimated 9,000 miles. I stayed overnight in 12 different cities in 7 different states. I went as far east as New York City and as far west as Shawnee, Kansas. I traveled up north to Madison, Wisconsin, and down south to Elon, North Carolina. I hit a deer. I didn’t sign any of those prospects. I returned from a trip to Mexico, dropped my wife off at home, slept four hours, and boarded another plane to Raleigh-Durham. I didn’t sign that prospect. I tailgated at two different universities 80 miles apart for two different games on the same day, and then drove four and a half hours back home after the second game. I didn’t sign either one of those draft-eligible prospects.

Despite all my efforts, I didn’t sign a single client for the 2013 NFL draft as of December 31, 2012.

“You look too young to have the connections my son will need to make it in the NFL.”

This was the last of a string of comments made by a prospective client’s mother to me in January of 2013. Her comments made me realize that perhaps I wasn’t selling the right things during my recruiting pitch. Looking back on all this rejection I had experienced, I asked myself, “Why should these prospects sign with a 28-year-old sports agent with limited experience?” These rejections helped me strengthen my sales pitch by focusing on my experience in an NFL front office and knowledge of the NFL’s salary cap. This put me in a better position to sign the next prospect.

I received a lead on a player out of the University of Buffalo named Steven Means. Steven was an incredibly productive defensive end at the University of Buffalo, a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The MAC was perceived as a lesser conference at the time compared to the SEC and the other power conferences. Steven finished his collegiate career with 186 tackles, 38 tackles for a loss and 22 sacks. His statistics alone suggested that he could play at the next level. Unfortunately, stats don’t always translate to success in the NFL. I conducted my own due diligence and gathered as much feedback as I could from scouts and talent evaluators I had worked with in the NFL, relying on their advice to help me identify potential NFL prospects. If I were going to make it in this business, it would be by signing these “diamonds in the rough.”

Steven Means (96), now with Philadelphia, works out in 2013 at Buccaneers training camp.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES

These scouts indicated that Steven was an in-between player, where teams could utilize him as a defensive end or an outside linebacker, depending on the defensive front. I had to answer questions like: Could he drop back in space if a team wanted to use him as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme? Did he have the speed-to-power combination necessary to be an outside pass rusher? How was his pass rush technique? A few scouts assured me that Steven could do these things and could likely play at the next level.

I made the five-hour drive northeast with Jeff Chilcoat to meet with Steven and his parents in Buffalo. We told them why it made sense for Steven to sign with Sterling Sports. I had the drive of a hungry agent determined to succeed with experience working in an NFL front office combined with the experience of an established agency.

It was a very productive meeting, but we left without obtaining Steven’s signature on the Standard Representation Agreement (SRA). The SRA is the contractual document signed between an NFL prospect/player and an agent that commences the player-agent relationship. It was a tough pill to swallow. I thought to myself, “Did I really just make another 10 hour drive and fail to sign my first client?” There was still a chance he would sign with us, but getting the ink on the paper is much easier at the point of sale.

Heading back on Interstate 80 one mile outside Buffalo, I received a call from Steven. He informed me that something had fallen out of my bag and that he found it next to where my bag was sitting in his apartment. It appeared to be something electronic; he assumed it was for my computer. A bit perplexed, we turned around to pick up what Steven had described as a computer part. I knocked on the door and Steven greeted us with a big smile. There was no missing computer part. Steven had signed the SRA!

Instantaneously, it all became worth it. The travel. The rejection. The countless hours of recruiting. At that point, this one signature justified it all. My dream became a reality. I was officially a sports agent with a client.

Justin R. Hunt is a licensed attorney, certified NFL agent and author. He began his career in the sports industry as a salary cap administrator in an NFL front office and subsequently switched sides of the business as a certified NFL agent with Sterling Sports Management. With the publication of his book, he launched J.H. Strategists, an executive coaching and professional representation business.


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