An Athlete's Guide To Agents - Time Passages
November 18, 2010
An Athlete's Guide To Agents
An Athlete's Guide To Agents
Robert Ruxin's classic book An Athlete's Guide to Agents first came
out in 1982. Since that time the book has been a must read for not only athletes and their families with aspirations of professional careers, but also for aspiring attorney-agents and even established agents. It has had four subsequent editions.
out in 1982. Since that time the book has been a must read for not only athletes and their families with aspirations of professional careers, but also for aspiring attorney-agents and even established agents. It has had four subsequent editions.
SLT recently took a look at the fifth edition, which came out a few months ago, and a few items stood out in 2010 when comparing it with the earlier editions of the book.
The second edition of the book featured a section called, "Choosing an agent the UCLA way". This was before the 1987 NFL draft and looked at how several Bruin football players went about selecting their agent. Prominently mentioned was UCLA wide receiver Karl Dorrell. Dorrell ended up signing with the Dallas Cowboys in 1987 as an undrafted free agent. Now, in 2010, what makes this worth noting is that 23 years after Dorrell spoke of making his agent selection, he has since been hired as head coach at UCLA and subsequently fired. Talk about the passage of time.
The second edition of the book featured a section called, "Choosing an agent the UCLA way". This was before the 1987 NFL draft and looked at how several Bruin football players went about selecting their agent. Prominently mentioned was UCLA wide receiver Karl Dorrell. Dorrell ended up signing with the Dallas Cowboys in 1987 as an undrafted free agent. Now, in 2010, what makes this worth noting is that 23 years after Dorrell spoke of making his agent selection, he has since been hired as head coach at UCLA and subsequently fired. Talk about the passage of time.
In the prior editions of Robert Ruxin's An Athlete's Guide To Agents there was little mention of the training programs offered by agents to prospective clients in football. The new edition examines this critical issue in the agent selection process. Chapter 7 "Making the Selection" looks at issues that may come in play when an agent arranges a predraft program for the player to utilize. In 1982, when the first edition of the book was published, training programs like the ones that exist today were virtually non-existent.
Although instances in the book that illustrate the passage of time in the agent business are too numerous to mention here, the name Norby Walters has become synonymous with corruption in the business. USA TODAY just ran a feature on Norby Walters and what he is doing today. Walters indicated he really never had a love for the business, or even much knowledge of the football industry. Walters felt it was a good way to make money, and went about it as a businessman looking to compete. Walters had little regard for standards in the industry, let alone ethics. Which brings us back to the passage of time; and, of course, today we still have many of the same issues troubling the industry.
Although instances in the book that illustrate the passage of time in the agent business are too numerous to mention here, the name Norby Walters has become synonymous with corruption in the business. USA TODAY just ran a feature on Norby Walters and what he is doing today. Walters indicated he really never had a love for the business, or even much knowledge of the football industry. Walters felt it was a good way to make money, and went about it as a businessman looking to compete. Walters had little regard for standards in the industry, let alone ethics. Which brings us back to the passage of time; and, of course, today we still have many of the same issues troubling the industry.
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