how to become a sports agent

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A sports agent has significant responsibility and is an advocate for the athlete, coach, team, players association, and overall brand or league. Are you up to the challenge? Buckle up as Farria Law Group takes you through the journey. Here's the road map...

​Many people want to become a sports agent but few reach their highest potential. Why? It's an exciting dream to have and seems very glamorous! Both are true but it is important to understand the scope of the role before starting the journey. Success is a moving target in the modern age of sports and entertainment marketing, social media marketing, branding, contract negotiation, contract mediation, endorsement deals, potential litigation, international business law and immigration law, and career longevity. A person who wants to learn how to become a sports agent has a unique desire, and must have the highest levels of integrity and persistence.

1. Travel is Awesome and...

Overwhelming | Creating Balance

​When you become a sports agent the work and competition is just starting! Sports agents definitely receive perks, including working from all over the country and world. If you have not traveled much before you become a sports agent, this could turn quickly from an awesome to an overwhelming experience. Clients want to have access to their agent 24/7/365 and great agents want to make sure they are available. How do you balance the scope of travel, multiple client's needs, and provide the best service and results?

• create a health and wellness routine when you are learning how to become a sports agent
• do some practice traveling and create internal goals and deadlines for yourself to simulate what life will be like when you become a sports agent
• find a mentor who is already a sports agent; your classmates may become partners in the future but they most likely won't have real life experiences that can give you a competitive advantage 

2. Always Be Closing

The Best Kept Branding Secrets

Do you want to learn how to become a sports agent or how to be one of the best? Sports agents should be highly valuable resources for their clients. The mutual goal should be career longevity and prosperity. Don't fall in the branding traps and think the chase is all about "fast cash."

These are some of the best kept secrets to foundational branding for your clients:

• Promote Water: yes, we said water. It's one of the most lucrative commodities of this century. It's easy to manufacture and low risk for conspiracies and recalls.
• World Tours: take advantage of business travel by creating a world tour campaign for your client! Find what they love and create strategic stops with business or just use social media to spread the publicity like wild fire.
• Fitness Campaigns: state the obvious and what better way to have fun and prosper! Team up with emerging companies,  start a new brand, or blog fitness tips daily or weekly!
• Personality Reality: be CARE-FUL with social media! We spelled "careful" that way for a reason. Make sure you're influencing your clients by creating themes of the week tied to their personality and values and respectfully ask to create ground rules before posting anything tied to politics, law, sex, or religion!
• Foodie Friends: start giving free publicity to your client's favorite foods! Talk about funneling business...be the next PB & J headline news story on ESPN! (google that phrase!)
• Create a Contest: help your clients create contests for their followers on social media and even better, on their personal website that streams out to infinite social media sites! Two way feedback is an age old concept and keeps brands thriving.

3. Pick a Cool School

Sports Management Bachelor’s Degree

Let's face the facts. If you're going to learn how to become a sports agent you need to earn an undergraduate degree in sports management. Get involved in whatever "name brand" school you attend and MAKE IT A COOL SCHOOL if it isn't one of the most popular. How? Create a club or organization and follow the gee whiz branding strategies we outlined above!
 
Sports management degrees will include general studies as a gate of entry and will also include some or all of the following: sports marketing, accounting, finance, sports medicine, and law. Internships will most likely be required and if you're lucky (or unlucky if you failed the volcano project in high school) the sports management degree will tie into the schools science department or business school.
 
Sports Management Schools

• Top Universities: study.com
• Ballin' on a Budget: online sports management degree programs
• Program Rankings: sportsmanagementdegrees.com

4. License & Registration Please

No, this is not a citizen's arrest. There is not a formal or regulatory governing board but you do need a license and registration to avoid conflicts and credibility blunders. We must assume that you want to learn how to become a sports agent so you can provide sports and entertainment marketing, social media marketing, branding, contract negotiation, contract mediation, endorsement deals, potential litigation, international business law and immigration law, and career longevity. Don't get distracted...stick to the fundamentals.

You can learn some of this through self education and you might be able to pass the registration application, but you could also ruin your career and credibility before you start if you try to side step the license and registration process. There's a great resource we share at the bottom of the page that you can use to take the how to become a sports agent quiz.

Becoming a representative of an athlete, coach, firm, team, player's association, league, club, or any other entity in the sports and entertainment industry requires compliance and understanding of agreements and contracts. Fulfilling the registration process is highly recommended. There will be exams and fees, just like any other license and registration. Each state may have unique processes, but as you pass one it should be a great baseline to navigate through others. Remember to use mentorship or a strategic partnership to accelerate the process and results. Farria Law Group can absolutely help with these services.

Some states have rigid requirements and lengthy definitions of what they consider it takes to become a sports agent, or to be called a certified sports agent. The certifications must be maintained without any interruption throughout the entirety of the contract with your clients. Worst case scenarios end up in with you or your client being in the headlines for negligence, breach of contract, or false representation.

​You Can't NOT Know!

​Falling through the trap door can be a one and done experience for sports agents. The process starts with learning how to become a sports agent AND it is a lifelong commitment. The best sports agents are constantly searching for information and learning. They are experts in the field and create strategic partnerships by seeking advice from other professionals immediately, when they encounter a topic or situation that prompts any form of "maybe" or not fully knowing the potential answers or gaps. Never leave your reputation or your client's brand to chance. Always partner for success and stay a step ahead of the competition. 

5. Learn to Earn

Law & Masters of the Universe Degree  

Law School is the obvious recommendation from Farria Law Group. Garrick Farria attended Temple University.  The Ohio State University, Main Campus, was the next stop...defending his Master's thesis. Texas Wesleyan University School of Law (now Texas A&M University School of Law) is where he completed the mission.

The "how to" in how to become a sports agent should be a constant question. Sports is one of the most competitive businesses in the world and the competition is always changing as the game changes, and in certain instances the talent changes the game.
Amaze your Clients and leave your Competition in the Rear View

Go to Law School so you can offer these services to your clients: 

• Draft rights
• Salary arbitration
• Contract analysis
• Contract negotiation
• Union collective bargaining agreements
• State athletic board regulations
• Player/agent fee and contract disputes
• Criminal defense
• Disciplinary action resolution
• Drug, steroid, & banned substance resolution
• Criminal and civil litigation management
• Grievance proceedings
• Fee disputes matters
• Branding & Strategic Partnerships
• LTA Long Term Agreements
• Intellectual property
• Public relations 
• Licensing and marketing agreements
• Counseling services
• Crisis management
• Agent selection
• Community action
• Philanthropic ventures
• Corporate tax
• Entertainment tax
• Trusts 
• Accountant services
• Financial advising
• Insurance advising
• Estate advising
• Strategic mergers 
• Acquisitions

You can be entertaining and analytical at the same time. The technical side of being one of the top sports agents requires in depth knowledge of the laws of the land. Contract negotiations are extremely competitive and can become combative, but they do not have to end in terms that are detrimental to the client or employer / brand. There's no mandatory rule that says a sports agent has to be a sports and entertainment attorney as well, but there's little doubt in the facts. A lawyer will have more credibility and an edge in negotiations than a novice.

An MBA is another route that can be taken to gain higher education and credentials. This avenue provides more sports management centric content and detailed knowledge of the sports industry as a whole. We spoke about branding at the beginning of the article, but there are numerous other topics that you'll have to learn to help accelerate your client's career, longevity, and prosperity.

Here are some killer topics you'll learn by earning an MBA

Have you ever heard of the three P's? Some say they are the universal law in business and learning how to become a sports agent.
​

• People: sports management is ever changing; learn how to identify the right people to work with 
• Process: an internship will expose you to the real deal at much lower risk
• Product: communication skills - situational leadership is invaluable 

6. You can learn a lot from a dummy

Social media is a sports agent's friend. Stay up to speed with current event and unfortunate mistakes made by clients and agents - and DO NOT repeat them! 

• Don't demand a specific salary. Commission is the best way to avoid disappointment and create mutual respect and responsibility.
• Network, network, network. Stay aware and avoid sketchy characters and "too good to be true" opportunities.
• Don't make ridiculous promises. Creating agreement is paramount and must be followed up with reasonable expectations.
• Be transparent when calibrating with your clients. Discuss things that have positive and negative impacts on their careers.
• Partner with credible philanthropists and activists with proven track records. Who is Tony Hernandez? Glad you asked, he's the man behind the Immigrant Archive Project, is well known for being driven "by sharing the truth as he knows it", and his roots reach back to ESPN.
• Keep in close contact with the 5 people your client's spend most of their time with! Each client's circle will differ and the top 5 in the circle could be a best friend, family member, spouse, coach, general manager, peer, public relations specialist, and in some cases could be someone outside of circle trying to get in. Be in the top 5, genuinely and on purpose. 

7. Create 1 Solution a Day
 
If you made it this far you're a champion, ready to start the journey or accelerate the results if you have already taken the plunge! Are you creating the right habits? Are you collaborating with the right people every day? Are you constantly learning? If you want to become a sports agent you have to commit to excellence in mindset and action. How? Keep it simple and sign yourself up to create 1 solution a day. It can be as simple as making a tough phone call that you may have been avoiding...to as significant as securing multi-million dollar deals for your clients. 

​Know who the who is in the industry

• Forbes: The Most Valuable Brands
• Top 10 Most Valuable Sports Teams
• The World's Most Powerful Sports Agents
• Farria Law Group - Follow Us on Social Media below!

Brainstorming with David Justice

Leigh Steinberg the real Jerry Maguire 

Farria Law Group
​2100 N Main St Suite 228, Fort Worth, TX 76164
(214) 554-5269

Visit the home page now and send us your information through the "contact us" form to enter the Farria Law Group sports agent incubator! Turn your dreams into reality! ​

Spaces are limited and the minimum investment will surprise you!​

Do you really need an incubator?
Take this Prep Quiz!
 How to Become a Sports Agent
Quizlet.com

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