Chapter 197: Behind the scenes

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Lu Ke was driving the car, moving slowly in the traffic in San Francisco on Wednesday morning; Lech, sitting in the passenger seat, chatted with Lu Ke intermittently.
The so-called gossip is the real gossip.
The two talked 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 splendid sparring life, in daily life The running around in the study and sparring training was busy and fulfilling; the two talked about Lu Ke's original intention of choosing a journalism major, and even talked about Lu Ke's anecdotes in the internship interview.
The two talked about Lech ’s bad experience of handling the troublesome troubles of athletes, but they were able to have fun in a bunch of chaos, and the life of the agent was also colorful; the two also chatted about Lech ’s longing and longing for retirement. Lech honestly admits that he was a little reluctant to work; the two men chatted about the early stage of Leh's career. Those laughable moments show the history.
There is a lot about rugby; but more about Lu Ke, Lech, and their own life experiences.
Although these contents can be called gossip, but from another angle, they can also be called understanding, and truly understand each other from the standpoint of equal friends. As you come and go, you become familiar from strange. For agents and players, this is a necessary process and a rare start.
Everyone knows about the existence of professional sports agents, but few people really understand what they do.
The daily work of brokers 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, start investments and all other sports-related matters, even personal life matters.
First, the most important job of a broker is undoubtedly contract negotiation and business value management.
As we all know, professional teams are demons that do n’t eat bones, and salary management, contract details, core interests, etc. will never easily make concessions.
An excellent agent, he will be based on the player's age, data, injuries and trends and other comprehensive indexes to evaluate, formulate an accurate target, and negotiate with the team; at the same time make full use of other players with similar levels of agent As a comparison, players can win high-priced contracts for their players within a reasonable space.
But a bad agent may ask for prices and make wrong judgments and decisions. The most terrible thing may be to completely ruin the career prospects of a potential rookie.
In addition, the top agents are also extremely important to the player's career planning. They will arrange according to the style characteristics of their customers, choose advertising endorsements, interview media, cooperative sponsors, etc., and truly maximize the player's commercial value. David-Beckham can rank among the most expensive football players in the world, relying on more than just performance on the court.
Can give a simple example, Payton-Manning and Tom-Brady, this pair of life-long rivals in the league, also in terms of advertising endorsement.
Manning's endorsement income reached 12 million within a year, while Brady only had 7 million.
However, if you browse the details of the project, Manning's endorsement products are all closely related to the sports industry, and they are all short-term contracts. Once Manning retires, these contracts will lose their effectiveness; but Brady endorses watches, clothing, etc. Fashion products are almost all long-term contracts. In other words, advertisers are more willing to invest in long-term handsome Brady.
These details are the role of the broker, are irreplaceable, and crucial. Because their work involves a lot of legal negotiations and calculations, many graduates of law majors are transferred to become brokers, which is also one of the career choice directions.
Secondly, the agent also needs to arrange the player's property management and private life. In other words, it is actually all-round supervision in all aspects.
For professional players, after entering the league, on the one hand, they need to face fierce competition, maintain the regularity of daily training, and need strong self-discipline; on the other hand, they are also placed under the spotlight and become the focus of attention The vanity and bustle of Vanity Fair are easy to lose yourself.
At this point, the role of the broker is evident.
To give a simple example, William Moore (William-Moore) was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 55th overall pick in the 2009 draft. After stepping into the sky and winning a considerable contract, he was ecstatic. Start squandering.
He bought 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 huge card debts, and the income of the rookie contract after signing Not as much as expected. In the end, he relied on his friend's relief, and only then managed to survive, and the broker 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; he pioneered the running quarterback and completely changed The alliance's tactical structure fell into a crisis in the spring of 2007.
At that time, Vick was involved in a dog fight case, and it was later proved that Vick was involved in a series of core issues from betting competitions to animal cruelty to animal disappearance, and it can be traced back to 2001. The case is progressing quickly, animal rights groups are constantly protesting, and the media has exposed Vick's good gambling and tireless past. The NFL announced that Vick will be suspended indefinitely.
After the East Window incident, Vic issued an apology, but it didn't help. Later, he fell into legal disputes and then went into bankruptcy. Even the owner of the Atlanta Falcons came forward to ask him to repay the signing fee.
The end of the matter is that Vick missed the best time to plead guilty. After being sentenced to 23 months in prison, he also lost the support of the fans and became the object of the league's eviction, which really wiped out his reputation.
After that, professional agents began to increase their management and supervision of players, and even extended to the daily training of players-they will urge the players to complete each day of training in a self-discipline and regular manner, and try to stay away from bad habits. .
A good top agent can even extend the career of top players; and a bad agent is likely to ruin the prospect of a potential newcomer early.
Of course, can the players do the above work themselves? of course can!
Players can negotiate with the team themselves, they can negotiate with sponsors themselves, they can complete their own training, they can manage their own property, and they can arrange their own schedules. All things are handled in person, supervised in person, and done in person. If things can be done in person, why pay the fee and hire a broker?
The rugby agent ’s percentage is 3%. In other words, all the player ’s income must be drawn out of 3% to pay the agent ’s commission. This is really not a small sum. Therefore, there are indeed many players in the league who refuse to use agents and play in person.
Lu Ke's rookie contract was completed by himself.
However, as the so-called technical profession has specialized. The agent exists and plays such an important role because they can plan the player's career and dig out more commercial value and future potential.
More importantly, those trivial matters are left to the agent to deal with, but they can save worry and allow players to focus more on the field. Even if it's not the stadium, you can enjoy your vacation moments more relaxedly, rather than unhappy with the team and the sponsor for a little benefit.
In the business era of entertainment to death and profit first, brokers are often portrayed as vampires.
Admittedly, they want clients to perform better so that they can fight for more benefits; but the really great agents clearly understand that players are not only a cash cow, but also a partner to accompany themselves through important stages of life
Drafts, training grounds, home games, press conferences, injury times, team transfers, etc.
Only when a private and intimate connection is established can the agent and the player play their best roles. For example, Payton Manning's agent Tom Conden (Tom-Condon).
In the NFL League, the top brokers are inextricably linked to Hollywood. Among the five major brokerage companies in Hollywood, the two giants of innovative artist brokerage (CAA) and international innovation management company (IMG) are also alliances. The most powerful sports agency.
Condon is the crocodile of the innovative artist agency.
When Manning was a college player, Kang Deng, who was still unknown at the time, became his agent. This also became the starting point for Kang Deng to create a dynasty. He accompanied Manning for a 13-year career; When Manning was suffering from injuries and illnesses this year, he still stayed with him, spending time with his partner in the darkest period.
At present, top quarterbacks such as Eli Manning, Tony Romo, Philip Rivers, Drew Brice and others are all players of Condon, and he alone is responsible for the contract amount of up to ten Three hundred million dollars is a well-deserved leader in the entire industry.
The players have made Condon, and Condon has made players.
It is because of the special bond between the agent and the player that the basis for long-term cooperation is to understand, understand, 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 without blood relationship.
Today is the first time Lu Ke and Lech have met. There is no cooperation or understanding. They are just chatting. The first step is to get rid of strange alienation and become friends. It now seems that after an hour of conversation, the conversation is very happy.
Far away, Candlestick Park has entered sight, and the conversation has come to an end.