Sports Agents Essay -- History Athletics Sport Agent Essays

Sports Agents People have been entertained by sport since before the gladiators in the Roman Coliseum. In the 20th century, the publics’ passion for sport consumes more and more of their free time. As sports figures became internationally recognized, athletes began to realize their need for professional representation. Thus, sports agents were born. The field of sports agents has grown since then into an enormous field. Agents now deal with every aspect of an athlete’s life. Agents can be considered professional mangers who find the best place for their client’s talent. Sports Agents have not been around for a long time. â€Å"Until the 1970’s, very few players had agents because teams would not deal with agents (Masteralexis, 244).† Many times players found that having an agent was a disadvantage to them. For example, â€Å"In 1964 Jim Ringo brought his financial advisor (agent) to help negotiate a contract with Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers. Lombardi excused himself for a minute, when he returned he told the agent that he was negotiating with the wrong team (Masteralexis, 244).† Agents had been around since prior to the 70’s, but were few and far between. C. C. â€Å"cash $ carry† Pyle is though to be the first Sports Agent. The first account of negotiations came when Pyle â€Å"Negotiated a deal with the Chicago Bears for Red Grange to earn $3,000 per game and $300,000 in endorsement and movie rights (Masteralexis, 244).† A few years later Babe Ruth allegedly consulted sports cartoonist Christy Walsh to serve as his financial consultant through the depression. These early accounts are the beginning of the Sports Agent. It took years for the agent to develop however.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the 1970’s the Sports Agency business has sky rocketed. There are five main factors that account for this. The reserve system is the first factor that lead to the growth of the Sports Agent. The reserve system was a restrictive system that limited the free, or open market. This enabled owners to retain rights to players and depress their salaries. Major League Baseball had the first system, which consisted of two parts, the reserve clause and the reserve list. The reserve clause stated that each player’s contract could be renewed by the team season after season, for as long as the club wished. The reserve list was sent to each team by the league. Teams had to place the names of r... ... sport, but is generally under five years. Therefore, it is the agent’s job to maximize earning potential during and after the athlete’s playing career. At the same time it is the agents job to protect the athlete from overexposure. â€Å"The agent must balance the need to maximize exposure with doing what is best personally and professionally for the athlete† (Masteralexis, 1998). This function also includes the agent investing time, energy, and money into the athlete’s career before the player has made it big. If the athlete’s career doesn’t take off, this results in the agent losing money. Dispute resolution follows career and post career planning on the list of functions. Dispute resolution is somewhat self-explanatory. It includes the agent resolving disputes with the league, team, teammates, fans, referees or umpires, the media, and endorsement companies. â€Å"Renowned baseball agent Dennis Gilbert likens the role of the agent to a shield, stating that it is the agent’s task to shield the athlete from the headaches that go along with resolving disputes† (Schwarz, 1996). This so called â€Å"shield† allows players to concentrate completely on their sport, without outside distractions.