“I want you to,” Ryan said in a rush, but it was his dad I was watching.
“Can I see it?”
“Of course.” Handing over the tablet, I started to talk them through the draft contract. Ryan was a freshman, soon to be a sophomore. He was a great player, brought to my attention by a friend of mine whose younger sister went to the same college, and he’d seen Ryan play and thought I should check him out.
I didn’t usually represent players this young, but I saw Ryan’s potential and I knew I could help mold his future. It wasn’t unheard of for talented kids to have agents so young, but it would make Ryan the youngest client of Saints Sports Management, and I knew Onyx wasn’t going to like it, because until Ryan was out of college, I would get very little by way of fees. Which meant the agency would get very little by way of fee.
But I had sponsorship plans for Ryan, and sponsorships earned him fees as well as me.
As we spoke, I saw the hope in Ryan’s face as he kept glancing to his dad for a sign that this was happening. His dad read the tablet and nodded along as I spoke, but I knew the change I made to the draft on finding out he’d broken his leg was bothering him.
“I would, of course, advise you to get a lawyer to look over this for you,” I told them as I ended my pitch.
“We can’t afford a lawyer like that,” Ryan Sr. said to me gruffly.
“Kylie Hershman is in your year, right?” I asked Ryan, and he nodded, although he seemed confused that I knew that. “Her older brother, Will, is a friend of mine. He’s actually the reason I reached out in the first place,” I told them. “He saw you playand told me I needed to come to your basketball game. Will is a lawyer — contract lawyer same as me; he’ll look this over for you.”
“He cheap?” Ryan Sr. asked me.
I smiled at them both. “Will works free hours on a Thursday evening from his office. Make an appointment . . . or call Kylie and ask to speak to her older brother,” I added with a wink.
“You seem to really want my son to play,” his dad said as he considered me.
“Don’t you?”
“I’m his father, of course, I do.”
“Because you’re his dad makes your desire different? I’m a sports agent. I see potential in athletes. You know your son has talent. I mean, could you do your best anyway, Ryan, and get an agent who’s not me? Of course you can. But can I help you get seen by the right people at the right time? Absolutely, that’s what I do. Is it possible you don’t need me until final year of college? No. And I’ll refer you back to what I just said. Icanand Iwillmake you get seen by the right scouts, for the right coaches who are going to make your life a living hell to get you ready for the pro game. And then when you’re signed with a team, you don’t need to worry about contracts, offers, picks, I’ll still be right by your side.”
“You talk big,” his father grunted.
“I’m good at my job. The last sponsorship deal I got for one of my clients is three million. For a ninety-second commercial and a billboard picture. It took half a day to film and a two-hour photoshoot.”
“Holy shit,” Ryan said as he looked at me in awe.
“I won’t lie, he’s a pro baller who’s very well known, so it was a higher fee, but yeah, it wasn’t a hard day’s work for him,” I admitted. “And you’re a long way from that, but isn’t the fact you’re on the right road to that exciting?”
“Dad!” Ryan pleaded.
“Don’t hassle your dad. He’s doing the right thing by being careful,” I chided him. “Speak to Will, let him see this, then call me.” I focused on Ryan Sr. “Not to cancel me though. Okay?”
“We’ll talk to the lawyer,” he told me as he stood.
“Excellent. I need to call an Uber,” I said as I stood too. We talked about other noncommittal things as I waited for my ride. When it arrived, and I got ready to leave, I addressed them both. “Let me know how it goes.” Turning to Ryan, I shook my head. “Don’t drink, don’t do dares, don’t fuck up your future. I know it’s college and you’re young, but if you want a future, you need to change your focus.”
He gave me an embarrassed laugh, and even his dad gave a low chuckle.
As I got taken back to my hotel, I congratulated myself on a meeting saved. It wasn’t how I expected things to go, but it wasn’t a loss, and that I could live with. Now I just needed to convince the “team” why it was the right choice for the agency.
