Athletic Fame Based on Business
TIFFANY ALEMAN Staff Writer
Most fans believe that professional athletes get to the top of the sports industry by pure skill or simply being at the right place at the right time. A big part of a professional athlete’s success is due to their sports manager and the business deals conducted behind the scenes. Billions in revenue flow through these managers to ensure that each player is getting their desired contract. With an accumulated $33.4 billion combined in contracts and commission deals, sports managers have controlled how each player is affected by the business world.
Agents have proven how negotiating skills affect the athletic industry through million dollar deals. From team contracts to sponsorship deals, a sports agent could transform a player’s salary, public image and potentially their future partnerships. Business heavily impacts how much an athlete or team could make in profit per season. As a result, managers can choose excessively high commision rates based on the revenue value of each player.
According to the New York Times, “A-list mangers are in charge of many athletes and report incomes of over 200 million alone for management fees.”
Sports managers take commissions from each player to negotiate deals with other businesses. In other words, if an athlete has a higher income, the more commission an agent can collect. Sports managers are eager to find the next big athlete contract because it could earn them millions in commission. A recent example of this would be the negotiation that followed soccer player, Cristiano Ronaldo’s move from Real Madrid to Juventus that took place for an astounding $117 million transfer fee. This costly negotiation reveals the huge impact of how much an athlete’s manager could affect their future in the athletic industry.
Agents can also earn income from negotiating marketing and endorsement contracts for their clients. The value of each contract is negotiable, however, there is not concrete data on how much each agent may charge an athlete. Ultimately, a players success is heavily impacted by the business deals conducted by their managers.