Did You Know?
A soccer player’s contract once included a clause preventing him from traveling to space! His agent had secured a seat on a planned commercial spaceflight, and the team wanted to protect their investment.
How to Get Started
Getting started as a sports agent begins with understanding how the sports business works and building skills in communication, negotiation, and relationship-building. Following sports news, learning about contracts and deals, and practicing leadership and advocacy help build foundational skills for this career. Curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to learn from others are the first steps toward becoming a sports agent.
Explore the Basics
Keep a sports journal to track your favorite teams, players, and interesting news about trades or contracts. Write about why certain players might be valuable to teams, what makes a good teammate, or what you would do if you were helping an athlete make decisions. This activity encourages observation, critical thinking, and helps you begin thinking like someone who works in the sports business.
Try It Out
Practice negotiation by playing trading card games or board games that involve making deals, trades, or strategic decisions. Games like Monopoly or trading sports cards with friends can help you learn how to communicate, make offers, and find solutions that work for everyone. This activity builds early negotiation and communication skills in a fun way.
Join the Community
Attend local sports events and observe how athletes, coaches, and team staff interact. Notice how different people contribute to making a game happen beyond just the players on the field. Ask questions about careers in sports when possible, and think about what jobs interest you most. This activity helps connect sports to real people and careers in your community.
How to Become a Sports Agent
Explore more resources for a future Sports Agent
SCOTT BORAS: The Business of Baseball and the Future of Player Contracts
Bevan, Sean
Why We Picked It
Career Connection
Sports agents must understand the economics of their sport as thoroughly as any team executive, and Boras's approach of building meticulous research dossiers and holding firm on player value shows exactly what separates an agent who changes a sport from one who simply works within it.
The Agent: My 40-Year Career Making Deals and Changing the Game
Steinberg, Leigh | Arkush, Michael
Why We Picked It
Career Connection
Sports agents build careers on trust, research, and the ability to negotiate massive deals under pressure, and Steinberg's account of both his peak success and humbling failure gives high-school students the most honest and complete portrait of what the profession actually involves.
The Business of Sports Agents
Shropshire, Kenneth L. | Davis, Timothy | Duru, N. Jeremi
Why We Picked It
Career Connection
Sports agents must understand contract law, league regulations, collective bargaining agreements, and the ethics of representation, and this guide's thorough examination of the business and legal dimensions of the profession is one of the most important resources available for serious students of the field.