Lu Ke drove the car and moved slowly through the Wednesday morning traffic in San Francisco; Lech, who was sitting in the passenger seat, chatted with Lu Ke intermittently.
The so-called small talk is small talk in the true sense.
The two chatted about Lu Ke's boring training life, especially strength training and weight gain training, which is what Lu Ke is currently working on; the two also chatted about Lu Ke's unexpectedly exciting sparring life. The rush of study and training was busy and fulfilling; the two of them talked about Lu Ke's original intention of choosing the journalism major, and even talked about Lu Ke's interesting stories during the internship interview.
The two talked about Lech's bad experience in dealing with athletes' troubles, and it was interesting to see things amidst the chaos. The agent's life is also colorful; the two also talked about Lech's yearning and longing for retirement life. Lech honestly admitted that he was a little reluctant to work; the two talked about the embarrassing things in the early days of Lech's career. Those hilarious moments showed the history of the past.
There is indeed a lot about rugby; but more of it is about Lu Ke, about Leh, and about their own life experiences.
Although these contents can be called chatting, from another perspective, they can also be called understanding, truly understanding each other as equal friends. As you come and go, we become familiar from the unfamiliar. For agents and players, this is a necessary process, and it is also a rare beginning.
Everyone knows that professional sports agents exist, but few actually understand what they do.
The daily work of agents is very complicated. They need to help athletes develop markets and handle daily affairs. They also need to help athletes negotiate contracts, manage assets, arrange transfers, make investments, and all other sports-related matters, as well as personal life matters.
First of all, the most important job of a broker is undoubtedly contract negotiation and business value management.
As we all know, professional teams are devils who eat people but never spit out their bones. They will never give in easily on salary management, contract details, core interests, etc.
An excellent agent will evaluate the player based on comprehensive indicators such as age, data, injuries and trends, set an accurate goal, and start negotiations with the team; at the same time, he will make full use of other players with similar levels as the agent. Players serve as comparisons to obtain high-priced contracts for their players within a reasonable space.
But a bad agent may charge exorbitant prices and make wrong judgments and decisions. The most terrifying thing may be to completely destroy the career prospects of a potential rookie.
In addition, top agents are also extremely important to the career planning of players. They will make arrangements according to the style and characteristics of their clients, choose advertising endorsements, interview media, cooperative sponsors, etc., to truly maximize the commercial value of players. David Beckham's rise to the ranks of the world's most valuable football players relies on more than just his performance on the field.
As a simple example, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, lifelong rivals in the league, are no less generous in terms of advertising endorsements.
Manning's endorsement income in one year reached 12 million, while Brady only made 7 million.
But if you look at the detailed projects, you can see that all of Manning's endorsement products are closely related to the sports industry, and they are all short-term contracts. Once Manning retires, these contracts will lose their validity; but Brady endorses watches, clothing, etc. Fashion products are almost all long-term contracts. In other words, advertisers are more willing to invest in the handsome Brady for the long term.
These details are the role of the agent, which is irreplaceable and crucial. Since their work involves a lot of legal negotiations and calculations, many law graduates turn to become agents, which is also one of their career choices.
Secondly, the agent also needs to arrange the player's property management and private life. In other words, it is actually comprehensive supervision in all aspects.
For professional players, after entering the league, on the one hand, they need to face fierce competition, maintain a routine of daily training, and have strong self-discipline; on the other hand, they are also under the spotlight and become the center of attention. , the bustling and noisy Vanity Fair, it is easy to lose yourself.
At this point, the role of the broker is evident.
For a simple example, William Moore was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the 55th overall pick in the second round of the 2009 draft. He rose to great heights and won a considerable and large contract. He was ecstatic. Start splurging.
He purchased a mansion, a Cadillac, and countless audio equipment and game consoles. It was not until the credit card repayment date that he realized that he owed a huge credit card debt, and his income after signing the rookie contract was also Far less than imagined. In the end, he relied on the help of his friends to survive, and his agent had to start managing William Moore's daily expenses.
Another example is Michael Vick, the quarterback who entered the league in 2001 and entered the Atlanta Falcons - yes, the Falcons again; he pioneered the running quarterback and completely changed the game. The league's tactical structure fell into a crisis in the spring of 2007.
At that time, Vic was involved in a dog fighting case. It was later proven that Vic was involved in a series of core issues ranging from betting competitions to animal abuse to missing animals, and it could be traced back to 2001. The case progressed rapidly. Animal rights groups continued to protest, and the media also exposed Vick's past of gambling and never getting tired of it. The NFL announced that Vick would be suspended indefinitely.
After the revelation, Vic issued an apology, but it didn't help. Later, he first fell into legal troubles and then into bankruptcy. Even the owner of the Atlanta Falcons came forward to demand that he repay the signing fee.
The end of the matter was that Vick missed the best opportunity to plead guilty and was sentenced to 23 months in prison. He also lost the support of the fans and became the target of expulsion from the league. His reputation was truly ruined.
After that, professional agents began to increase their efforts in the management and supervision of players, and even extended to the players' daily training - they would urge the players to complete every day's training with self-discipline and rules, and try to stay away from bad living habits. .
A good top agent can even extend the career of a top player; while a bad agent is likely to destroy a potential rookie's prospects early.
Of course, can players complete the above work themselves? sure!
Players can negotiate with their own teams, contact sponsors by themselves, complete training by themselves, manage their own property, and arrange their own schedules. Handle everything yourself, supervise everything yourself, and do it yourself. Why pay for a broker if you can do it yourself?
The rugby agent's commission is 3%. In other words, 3% of all players' income must be used to pay the agent's commission. This is really not a small amount of money. Therefore, there are indeed many players in the league who refuse to use agents and play in person.
Lu Ke signed his rookie contract by himself.
However, as the saying goes, there are specialties in the art industry. The reason agents exist and play such an important role is because they can plan players' careers and tap out more commercial value and future potential.
What's more important is that leaving those trivial matters to the agent can save you worry and allow the players to focus more on the game. Even if it's not on the field, he can relax and enjoy his vacation time more, instead of having trouble with the team and sponsors for a little profit.
In the business era of entertainment to death and profit first, agents are often portrayed as vampires.
It is true that they hope that their clients can perform better so that they can strive for more benefits; but truly great agents clearly understand that players are not only a cash cow, but also partners who accompany them through important stages of their lives. ——
The draft, training grounds, home games, press conferences, injury moments, team transfers and more.
Only by establishing a personal and intimate relationship can agents and players get the best out of each other. For example, Peyton Manning's agent Tom Condon.
In the NFL, top agents are inextricably linked to Hollywood. Among the five major Hollywood agencies, two giants, Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and International Innovation Management (IMG), are also the league’s top agents. The most powerful sports agency.
Condon is the giant boss of Innovative Artist Management Company.
When Manning was still a college player, Condon, who was still unknown at the time, became his agent. This also became the starting point for Condon to create a dynasty. He accompanied Manning through his thirteen-year career; When Manning faced injuries this year, he still stayed by his side and stayed with his partners through the darkest years.
Now, Eli Manning, Tony Romo, Philip Rivers, Drew Brees and other top quarterbacks are all players under Condon. He alone is responsible for a contract amount of up to ten With US$300 million, it is the undisputed leader in the entire industry.
The players made Condon, and Condon made the players.
It is precisely because of the special bond between agents and players that the basis of long-term cooperation is understanding, understanding, and support. This is an employment relationship and a cooperative relationship. Both parties must make efforts and attempts. In a sense, they can be called family members who are not related by blood.
Today is the first meeting between Lu Ke and Laihe. There is no talk of cooperation or understanding. They are just chatting. The first step is to get rid of the unfamiliar alienation and become friends. Now it seems that the one-hour conversation was very enjoyable.
From a distance, Candlestick Park came into view, and the conversation came to an end.
