Posts
17
Joined
7/29/2008
Location
Nederland, TX
US
Edited Date/Time
1/27/2012 10:17am
Getting in between parents and their child, who they have raised, trained and gotten to where they are today.
Filling the kid's head with all kind of distractions (perks) that take them away from their normal way of training. i.e, putting them up in big suites, etc. and telling them they are the best thing since sliced bread. Telling them they can afford the big house, the big car, etc. now so why not go for it! Again, separating them from their parents and support system that have gotten them to where they are today.
This is a parent of a "pro" 's opinion to all parents of up- and -coming "stars" in the sport - you know what your child is capable of. If he is as good as you think he is - why do you need an agent to tell sponsors about him? TAKE CONTROL! Go to the sponsors yourelf and take control - I guarantee you that if an agent or anyone else gets between you and your child when he gets his first contract, it will not end up the way that you think it will. You're child will be taken away from you, and all the hard work that you, as a family, has put in to get your child to where he is, will be lost.
I know what I am talking about - I'm not saying that all agents out there are bad, but let's face it, they're there for one reason - a paycheck! If your child signs with him, he gets paid. Where is the paycheck to you for all the blood, sweat and tears that went into getting your child to where he is today. Not to mention, the sacrifice his brothers and sisters made along the way to see to it that he gets THE RIDE that will make him a forturne.
An example...where was Lawrence's agent when all hell broke loose regarding his last esacapade. I would think that getting banned by the AMA would have warranted some kind of response. Nothing from Sepkovic!!!!
What about Josh Hill - if there was any rider out there that I would have NEVER thought would have gotten into the trouble that he was into at Freestone it was Josh. A wonderful kid and a wonderful family! Where was Button or Astphan speaking out on his behalf?
Back in the day, a rider's results spoke for what he would produce for a sponsor. Sponsors need to look at the up-and-coming athletes and see where they come from - I guarantee you that they didn't come from an agent, or a big suite in a hotel or a limo to the banquet - they come from hard wordking parents that gave their blood, sweat and tears so see their child succeed.
I'll stop here, because I know you all will start bashing on me, and to tell you the truth, I really can't take it tonight. Call me a "puss" or whatever - I don't care. I'm just trying to tell you all that these young riders are being lead down the wrong path for the sake of a $.
Filling the kid's head with all kind of distractions (perks) that take them away from their normal way of training. i.e, putting them up in big suites, etc. and telling them they are the best thing since sliced bread. Telling them they can afford the big house, the big car, etc. now so why not go for it! Again, separating them from their parents and support system that have gotten them to where they are today.
This is a parent of a "pro" 's opinion to all parents of up- and -coming "stars" in the sport - you know what your child is capable of. If he is as good as you think he is - why do you need an agent to tell sponsors about him? TAKE CONTROL! Go to the sponsors yourelf and take control - I guarantee you that if an agent or anyone else gets between you and your child when he gets his first contract, it will not end up the way that you think it will. You're child will be taken away from you, and all the hard work that you, as a family, has put in to get your child to where he is, will be lost.
I know what I am talking about - I'm not saying that all agents out there are bad, but let's face it, they're there for one reason - a paycheck! If your child signs with him, he gets paid. Where is the paycheck to you for all the blood, sweat and tears that went into getting your child to where he is today. Not to mention, the sacrifice his brothers and sisters made along the way to see to it that he gets THE RIDE that will make him a forturne.
An example...where was Lawrence's agent when all hell broke loose regarding his last esacapade. I would think that getting banned by the AMA would have warranted some kind of response. Nothing from Sepkovic!!!!
What about Josh Hill - if there was any rider out there that I would have NEVER thought would have gotten into the trouble that he was into at Freestone it was Josh. A wonderful kid and a wonderful family! Where was Button or Astphan speaking out on his behalf?
Back in the day, a rider's results spoke for what he would produce for a sponsor. Sponsors need to look at the up-and-coming athletes and see where they come from - I guarantee you that they didn't come from an agent, or a big suite in a hotel or a limo to the banquet - they come from hard wordking parents that gave their blood, sweat and tears so see their child succeed.
I'll stop here, because I know you all will start bashing on me, and to tell you the truth, I really can't take it tonight. Call me a "puss" or whatever - I don't care. I'm just trying to tell you all that these young riders are being lead down the wrong path for the sake of a $.
I am far from being an "insider", but would like to assume an agent is there to protect their rider from signing something that restricts there freedom, and advising the parents along the way.
I assume when a rider is 21, things are different.
Sounds like you dealt with a shyster.
my $0.02.
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I don't think you understand the point I'm trying to make. Why do parents turn over their children to the agent in hopes that they will be able to get them the big bucks? Have some confidence in your child's abilities, and approach the sponsors yourself. I guarantee you the sponsor's will respect you, and your child will be the better for it. If you're worried about the wording of a contract, take it to an attorney and have him look it over of I'll be happy to give my opinion/suggestions for nothing! Also, talk to other parents of today's "stars" and they will be happy to give you their opinion on what you shoud do.
Then the balls still in your court for decisions if you want to go with an agent or which agent... or tackle it alone.
Agents want to push the limits and get the most for thier riders, but sometimes the money is just not there.
RJ did the best job of managing himself. He told the teams what he would ride for and there was no negotiating. He had his accountant look at the contracts and pay him an hourly fee for it and he would advise him on it. His accountant also looked over his money and got a percentage of what he made RJ on investments.
Today there either to lazy or not smart enough to do it on their own, but there is no need for a manager in MX. If your making huge cash then you need a money manager but not a manager.
Hey UpTite, you live around the downtown HB area? I see your van driving around at least once a week by my house
Only the most elite riders like JS, RC, CR, KW need an agent, because there is a lot of different product endorsement and media issues to deal with. Any rider outside of the top 3 or 5 really has no need for an agent.
I have seen more riders lose deals because the agent was demanding more than the company was willing to pay. Something is better than nothing, right? This is not a long term venture, it is very short term, take what you can get. Agents need to milk the cash, not for the rider but for themselves. If a rider think he should make XXX for doing something, the agent has to demand XXXXX in order to cover their commission...many teams and companies can't afford that...and the agent is making them pay for something they don't need, the agent.
I have spent time and money on many kids as they move up the ranks, and pretty much the moment an agent gets involved, we get dumped like a load of laundry, because we don't have the big dollar budget. Agents don't get paid on product only deals, but only cash deals.
I know of a few team managers who HATE agents and know that the second one is involved, their budget in that rider went up an easy 10%...right off the top. So if that team is on a fixed budget, either the rider makes less money or doesn't ride at all, because the agent's gotta get paid. Yes, riders do lose rides because if agent's fees and teams budgets don't mesh.
and lastly, while an agent is not a baby sitter, part of their job is PR. Notice how later in RC's career someone pumped out PR from his camp when necessary? Right, that's an agent's job. It is not the agent's job to run away and hide when their client is in deep shit. Ask Drew Rosenhaus. If Jason would've been his client, he'd have been the guy bailing him out, driving him to a hotel, on the phone with media and typing a PR/apology to fans all before the sun even came up the next morning...THAT is what an agent does, not run away, hide and hope it goes away when the shit gets sticky.
MX agents (Many, not all) are little more than networking people and salespeople, selling their product to their friends. They have no legal skills, no formal training, no PR skills and are little more than former industry people who just use the fact that they're in the business and have a name as some qualifier to be an agent.
Truth be told, there are few (few) true "agents" in this industry
and boy am I gonna catch shit for this
This paragraph says a lot.
What is a typical commission percentage for an agent in this industry? 10%? 20%?
Pit Row
Now, I will agree that many of these guys are only focused on money and themselves which is a total shame. I can't get over how some agents are more loyal to a sponsor than they are to their rider. To me, thats a conflict of interest, but they go with the money.
Unfortunately, many agents are either too aggressive, or not aggressive enough in terms of money. Most top riders need an agent and on top of that, a manager(business). These careers should be treated like a business and that manager should oversee the big picture. The agent would then be a piece of that puzzle and bring in the contacts and negotiations. This is ideal if there is enough money to go around and the people involved are trustworthy. One less thing for the rider to worry about. Many times, an 18-19 year old stops listening to Mom/Dad and wants to hear it from someone else, hopefully that someone else is on the same page as you.
For all the professional motocross riders I know, none of them are the way you expressed it. Wicked cool people that excel at their sport. Now maybe you are dealing from a different deck; the most unpallatable people I have ever run into in all sports are those that suck just enough they never qualify, never make it, always the next big thing. Mom and Dad are living vicariously through their kids and meanwhile the kid has taken up Meth only to self implode next year and get a job at the loading docks.
I guess those are the people with the agents that Dave is talking about. But as Dave said those are the people that really don't need an agent but hire one to get screwed out of a job.
The universe unfolds as it should. Buck up lil puss. There's worse things you could be doing for money such as driving the Honey wagon!
Josh Hansen didnt have a manager and he did ok. In fact if he would have had a manager, JGR would never have even gave him the time of day.
He did great, he landed a ride for 1/3 of the year.
Summey has (or had the last I knew) an agent, I know all the guys JGR is talking to for next year have agents.
It comes down to what the agent can or can't do for you.
As a rider your performance and actions will make industry sponsors take notice, but an agent can bring you non-indemic sponsors you don't have access to as a rider.
An agent can take over negotiations so that you as a rider can concentrate on your performance and actions, but they had better get you 10-20% more money because if they don't they have ultimately cost the rider money once the agent's fees are paid.
Agents are a necessary thing for some athletes but not every rider needs one or can afford to spend 10%+ of what they make on one.
When will Drew Rosenhaus make his presence known in moto?
Ketchum
Websites/ Merchandising are 2 of the biggest things I think current agents are overlooking.
Non-indemic is where it is at. Do you think James Stewart needs help getting a gear sponsor? How about goggles? I did not think so.
Agents should be rewarded double for bringing outside sponsors and should be held accountable for retention of those sponsors.
Ketchum
You as a parent should not be expected to be paid back for rasing your kids, you had them. You have to know when to let go. Sounds like someone needs a hug from their mx kid.
Heck JGR is working with David Evans who IS an agent.
And no what happened with Josh H. was definetly not because of his agent.
I need to shut up because I am going to get myself in trouble like Dave.
Ketchum
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