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Labor and Agents

VaynerSports not rushing into deals for breakout quarterback

VaynerSports CEO A.J. Vaynerchuk (left) is joined by clients Tyree Jackson and Kyle Allen and co-founder Brian McLaughlin.vaynersports

VaynerSports is taking a long-term view when it comes to marketing and endorsements for its surprise star this NFL season, Carolina Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen.

 

“We could have done five to 10 marketing deals for Kyle at this point already, but he doesn’t really want to entertain it and wants to put it off until after the season,” said A.J. Vaynerchuk, co-founder and CEO of VaynerSports. Vaynerchuk represents Allen with NFL agent and fellow VaynerSports co-founder Brian McLaughlin.

“We might do one or two things before the season is up, but he’s so locked in, he could [not] care less about contracts or endorsements,” Vaynerchuk said. “His mindset is he is 4-0 as a starter this year and wants to make the playoffs.”

Last season, the Panthers won in Week 17 with Allen as the starter. This year Allen took over for an injured Cam Newton after the Panthers got off to an 0-2 start, and he has led them to four consecutive wins. It’s not clear exactly when Newton will return from his sprained foot injury, nor is it clear which quarterback should start when he does. 

That’s quite a story considering that Newton was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft and was the NFL MVP in 2015. Allen, meanwhile, went undrafted out of Houston in 2018. 

In Allen’s five starts dating back to last season, he’s had nine touchdowns and no interceptions, making him the first quarterback in history to accomplish those stats at the start of his career.

“In undrafted free agency — it’s funny when you look back on it — there were really just two teams in the mix and we really thought the Panthers had a clear path to making at least the practice squad, if not the 53[-man roster],” McLaughlin said. 

Allen did make the practice squad, but the Panthers cut him a week into the 2018 season. He drove his own car back home from Charlotte to Arizona to save on the car shipping fee, McLaughlin said.

The Panthers brought Allen back to the practice squad in late October, and he saw his first action in Week 16 before beating the New Orleans Saints in the season finale, but this is his rookie year, as far as accredited seasons count. He’s playing on the rookie minimum and will be a restricted free agent after three seasons under the NFL collective bargaining agreement.

While on-the-field financial rewards will have to wait, marketing offers keep coming in, Vaynerchuk said. Allen has all of his major categories available, including shoe and apparel, sports water or beverage, and lifestyle clothing.

“We have massive belief in Kyle as an NFL starter,” Vaynerchuk said. “We think some of the offers on the table are on the low end, trying to catch Kyle early, but we are remaining patient.”

But as the wins pile up, the market is moving. “The offers that we got even three weeks ago, they have gone up in the last three weeks,” Vaynerchuk said. 

 CAA SPORTS SIGNS HART: CAA Sports has signed New Orleans Pelicans guard Josh Hart for representation on and off the court.

A team of agents led by Leon Rose and Aaron Mintz will represent Hart. He had been represented by Joe Branch, who left Roc Nation Sports to take a job as assistant general manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves in September.

Hart was the No. 30 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft one year after helping Villanova win the national championship. He was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, for whom he averaged 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He was part of the trade deal that brought Anthony Davis from the Pelicans to the Lakers in June. 

 

Liz Mullen can be reached at lmullen@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @SBJLizMullen.

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