Description of Profession
    Sports agents represent professional athletes (clients) by overseeing and guiding all aspects of their careers.  The agent is responsible for advising clients on all business and financial decisions in an attempt to secure the athlete with financial prosperity.  Once an agent solicits himself as the best candidate to represent an athlete, they must come to terms over the percentage of income in which the agent is entitled.  The agent is then responsible for acting as an intermediary and negotiator between the athlete and the team owner or general manager in an effort to arrange the most financially beneficial contract for their client.  Sports agents are directly dependent on their client's wants and needs and must communicate on a regular basis regarding advancement in the client's career.  One of the main advancements agents pursue is in the lucrative industry of sports marketing.  Sports agents try to create endorsement oportunities for their clients with companies in which the athlete appears in advertisements or commercials by endorsing a product or service based on the athlete's image.  In addition to negotiating contracts and locating endorsement opportunities, agents must also recommend investments, handle taxes, arrange travel plans, and often plan their client's schedule.   back to top
 

Undergraduate Preparation at William & Mary
    The ideal course of study at The College of William & Mary for those undergraduate students strongly interested in a career as a sports agent include a thorough educational background in business and kinesiology.  The best opportunities exist for those students who either double major or have a minor in either business or kinesiology.  A business education concentrating in either accounting or finance is necessary for developing such skills as financial negotiating, implicating taxes, and sales marketability required for the profession.  A kinesiology background is advantageous because it provides the understanding of athletics necessary in promoting a client's talents and skills in the most effective manner to prospective owners and endorsers.  A kinesiology background will provide agents with the knowledge to successfully determine the market value of their clients based on a thorough understanding of the game he plays, how he has performed, and how other players on the team as well as in the league have performed relative to him.
    The following is a highly recommendedbaba course of study taken at William & Mary for those interested in the profession:

• Following admittance to the School of Business, one should complete the core program of study and major in either accounting or finance
• Applicable elective courses offered in the School of Business outside of the required concentration courses in accounting or finance include: Business 401 Advanced Accounting (includes study of partnership accounting), Business 406 Advanced Federal Taxation (includes study of income tax laws and tax planning), Business 450 Global Marketing (includes study of globalization and global strategies), and Business 456 Advertising and Marketing Communications (includes study of marketing presentations and promotional strategies and tactics)
• A double major or minor in kinesiology can be obtained through the completion of the core program of study in the Kinesiology Department
• Classes offered in the Kinesiology Department that will particularly aid in your education towards this profession include:  Kinesiology 204 Introduction to Kinesiology (includes study of philosophical, socio-cultural, and physiological aspects of human movement), Kinesiology 335 Play, Sport and Culture (includes study of the socio-cultural aspects of sport), Kinesiology 400 Sport Psychology (includes study of psychological dimension of sport, with examination of the elite athlete), and Kinesiology 493 Philosophy in Kinesiology (includes study of mind and body relationship as well as ethical aspects)   back to top

Professional Preparation Post William & Mary
    Most sports agents have a law background which is extemely advantageous because it greatly increases your value to a client in the number of services you are able to provide for him or her.  The few agents who do not have law backgrounds must hire lawyers to oversee all contracts and tax work.  Therefore, most students serious in this profession choose to pursue a graduate education in law.  Choosing a law school can be overwhelming, but the growing interest in the field has resulted in many law schools offering sports law as a specialty.  It is beneficial to choose a law school with a sports law expert on the facility, inorder to get first-hand experience in the field.  The following law schools have a primary sports law faculty member: Boston College, California Western, Duke, Illinois, Loyola of Los Angeles, Tulane, Tulsa, and Widener.  The following law schools have a part-time sports law faculty member who spend a fair amount of time at the school: Denver, Detroit College, Kansas, Southern Illinois, Vanderbilt, Indiana at Bloomington, and Marquette.

• Marquette University Law School established the first National Sports Law Institute in February of 1989.  The institute aims to educate law students in the sports industry and in the legal and ethical practices in all phases of amateur and professional sports.  For this elite profession the institute has created specialty courses, including sports and the law, current issues affecting the sports industry, sports industry contracts and negotiations, and regulation of amateur athletics.  For information about this program, contact:

Professional Prospects
    Individuals who aspire to be a sports agents and who are highly qualified through a solid educational background will have a fair chance at locating a position.  Individuals may find positions with law firms who specialize in the representation of athletes or sports management firms, but these positions are very limited and competitive.  One may also seek and sign their own clients and be self-employed, running their own agency.  Most agents credit their hardships in the business due to the difficulty in signing clients.  With only 3,000 professional athletes and around 30,000 representative agents this creates an extremely competitive field.  Advancement prospects are fair for individuals with a lot of skill and persistence.  Agents advance in the profession by either obtaining more clients or more prestigious ones.  Those who build a strong reputation for themselves by negotiating high contracts and endorsement deals will find clients coming to them.  The profession requires individuals with excellent negotiating skills, strong sales ablility, aggressive attitude, and the ability to work under high levels of stress and pressure.   back to top
 

Contact Information and Publications
    The following is a list of a few of the top companies representing athletes:
 

          Advantage International                                                  International Management Group
          1025 Thomas Jefferson Street N.W.                              One Erieview Plaza
          Washington, DC 20007                                                 Cleveland, Ohio 44114
          (202) 333-3838                                                            (216) 522-1200

F.A.M.E.                                                                       Kauffman Sports Management Group
5335 Wisconsin Avenue N.W.                                       29350 Pacific Coast Highway
Washington, DC 20015                                                 Malibu, CA 90265
(202) 686-2000                                                            (310) 589-5790

ProServ                                                                         Sports Lawyers Association
1101 Wilson Boulevard                                                 2017 Lathrop Avenue
Arlington, VA 22209                                                     Racine, WI 53405
(703) 276-3030                                                            (414) 632-4040

                  Facilities Magazine                             This monthly publication provides insights into the issues and
                  650 1st Avenue, 7th Floor                 developments in sports and entertainment representation, with the focus
                  New York, NY 10016                      from an educational and informative perspective.
                  (212) 532-4150

                  Amusement Business                           This newsweekly interfaces with every aspect that confronts the
                  49 Music Square W.                          entertainment field and sports market as a whole.   back to top
                  Nashville, TN 37203
                  (615) 321-1575