“The most amazing free agency disaster ever.” That is what some people are calling the flip-flop that Deandre Jordan pulled last night. In case you missed it, Jordan verbally committed to a max deal with the Dallas Mavericks, but is going against his word and re-signing with the Los Angeles Clippers. This brings the Mavericks from possible contenders in the Western Conference, to likely drafting in the lottery at next years draft.
Amazing that he allowed Doc Rivers and five Clippers players into his Houston home to discuss re-signing, but would not meet with Mark Cuban as he had promised, who was also in Houston at the time.
AND, where was his agent during all of this? Nowhere to be found. Jordan decided he was going to handle this huge career decision on his own.
(Note: I was writing this article before Deandre Jordan changed his mind. Now, seeing into the athlete/agent relationship has become more pertinent than ever.)
There is a process that both the athlete and the agent go through when searching for a partnership. But who has the advantage and who has the power: the athlete or the agent?
Here at OpenSponsorship, we had the opportunity to meet with and interview agent, Ferrell Elliot.
Elliot states, “In the NFL there are about 800 agents, and only 300 of them represent one of more player. So not all agents have clients.” That’s quite the statistic. Majority of athletes are contacted by several agents looking to work together, which can be somewhat overwhelming. He continues, “If I’m an athlete the only thing I want to say to an agent is, “Don’t steal my money; don’t sign me to a crummy deal.””
I know what most people are thinking:
“Of course I’d rather be in the athletes position. I’ll gladly take the burden of talking to a number of agents because, in the end, I have the power tell an agent yes or no.
Not so fast.
Yes, the athlete has some leverage in deciding which agent to sign with. Yes, it is true that the argument between power of an athlete and an agent isn’t so black and white.
But if it’s me, I’ll take the real power, power of the agent.
I’ll take the freedom to explore an athlete to identify what kind of person they are.
I’ll take the ability to ask myself if I click with this athlete.
I’ll take the side that can examine if an athlete acts in a professional manner, if they can handle adversity, and if they seem qualified enough to understand the athlete/ agent dynamic.
I’ll take the chance to feel out an athlete and see if I can communicate with them to have a successful business relationship.
And lastly, I’ll take the opportunity to see what athletes I can trust.
The agent must able to trust the player to be smart in handling their careers on and off the field. The agent also has to judge athletes’ weaknesses and decide if he or she is a valuable client who is worth representing. That is why the process to find a partner in this field cannot be rushed and requires consideration among a variety of athletes.
So you take the fame, the media spotlight, and everything else (good and bad) that comes with it. I’ll take the position that watches you, analyzes you, and decides if you’re worth my services.