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I'm not sure what percentage the MX guys are paying, but stick and ball sports are usually capped pretty low, like 5% or less. At that point it definitely makes sense to have a pro negotiator working to not only get you the maximum "value", but also to negotiate terms that help guarantee that you actually get that money in the event something bad happens, or keeps you able to negotiate other endorsements, etc.
The Shop
that sounds a little si,ilar to the whining linkogle did ver the metal mulisha
I'm still skeptical about the ankle injury, Chad riding a 2 stroke and NO ONE has footage of this 'crash'?
then we see a a billion pics and posts about a little ankle injury? sussssssssssssss
Plus he didn’t crash, I thought I watched the video where he came up short on that big booter section?
or maybe i missed the chatter
Q: Are you going to tell me a rider couldn't hire a lawyer part time to do his bidding at 500 an hour, and then hire a personal assistant to cover the day to day?
A: A rider can 100% do exactly what you've put forward, but here are the pitfalls. So you hire a lawyer who doesn't know the ebb and flow of the sport. Doesn't quite understand why some guys are making more than others regardless of final championship position. In having him/her do this they might go in hard and ask for unrealistic numbers and could possibly burn some bridges which otherwise might not happen. Also, in knowing each team manager/owner etc. you have the ability to often times favorably bend the negotiation in your clients favor. Lets just say, through all of this the guy/girl spends 30-50 hrs working on the deals (bike gear, drink, others) and you're sitting with a $15-30K bill. Now move over to the personal assistant. Anyone worth hiring isn't going to be cheap, so you might be spending $40-75K for someone with expenses, travel, etc. With that said you are spending somewhere in the $55-105K range (regardless of your income). Lets also assume if you have an agent you're paying 10%, which means you would be making anywhere from $550K to just over $1M per year to equal going the other route. In the situation of an attorney and an assistant you do not have someone working for you searching for other deals the remainder of the year. You don't have an agency behind that receives hundred of call and opportunities per month that might be a great fit. Your options end up being somewhat limited, yet you might very well be spending more cubic dollars than having an agency working for you. Also, there are a ton of other services that an athlete receive when he has a proper legitimate agency working for him/her. Now, you might be the next RC, MC, RV, of RD and don't need anyone in your view because you're winning everything and your phone/email is blown up everyday with opportunities. But.... thats not really reality, and all of those riders except MC had help even before they went Pro.
Q: Are you going to tell me that the "good ole boy club" doesn't do deals like "I'll take your guy onto this team for this and next season, if you can get a deal for my guy over the next two years as well"?
A: I can tell you 100% that this does not happen. I have yet to see this in SX/MX in my professional career. You have a fiduciary duty to each client to work for them regardless of who your other clients might be. Leveraging one for another is massively unethical.
Q: Are you going to tell me that there isn't preditory guys out there telling parents how great their kids are going to be while taking their money?
A: Im sure there are, and shame on them for it. What I can tell you about our business at WMG is that we do not commission Amateurs, never have never will. We look at Amateurs as an investment on our end and that while they are Amateurs we can help mold them into even better representatives of the brands they will be ambassadors of. Also, I can't tell you how many times we have loaned Amateur families money without any interest to help them through the amateur years.
I could go on, but you get the gist
Q: Do you really feel a guy making 250k needs a manager?
A: Yes, yes I do. Lets just say that without an agent that number is only $150-175. Even after a commission you are still ahead of the game, have had an agreement negotiated with the best terms possible, and sets your value higher than you could have done yourself. Plus you or your family have not had the stress and angst in going through the process.
Q: How did top guys as recent as ten years ago negotiate their contracts and then have lawyers to look over them and save 10-15% of their money .before having a manager became trendy?
A: They didn't. I would say every top rider since about '99 or so has had representation. Agents were really just getting started in the business right around the time of my last contract. I had help as far back as 1995, hand without the help I received from Dave Stephenson I would have never had a ride after I was not resigned by Suzuki at the end of 1994, a year in which I had 3 wins and something like 9 or 10 podiums. Im not really sure its trendy, but just good business.
Q: You say you have guys on staff that know law, why dont I just hire them and save 10-15%?
A: Be my guest, but our attorneys don't have 20-30 year relationships with the people in the industry at the level we do.
Q: Look, I'm not bashing you, I just dont see the need for riders to give up so much money to have a guy whispering in his ear how great he is. If managers were so important, and needed to put together the BIG deals, why is Reed now using a guy who has never been a manager doing his bidding? kinda makes you think huh?
A: I have no issue with you at all. I just think your view of this is not clear, and honestly a rider is free to do whatever he or she feels like doing. Im 100% certain nobody has ever held a gun to an athletes head to sign a management contract.
I hope that maybe you see things a bit differently now. There might be some predatory managers out there, but they don't work for us. We have a business that is now the largest in the industry, have been named global agency of the year, and have Fortune 50 clients. We take all of this very seriously as our clients have a given window of time to maximize their earning potential.
Pit Row
I will end with this, if my son ever needs a manager I wouldn't hesitate to give you a call, you've made very good points and are very well spoken. But it doesn't change that fact that there are some shady guys in your business, but I guess that's just life.
I'll assume you meant rider so I will clarify - I do understand what you are going for however again my point is that the rider has to be more involved without the agent or he wouldn't be saving money, correct? In your scenario he is replacing a portion of the skill set needed and replacing it with his own and only paying for the legal portion to save in fees. I feel if you are good enough rider to "need" representation then your time is better spent honing your craft (income generating) and letting someone with specific expertise deal with the rest.
We do agree on the shady side which was a big part of my post. Very common for riders to get taken advantage of which accentuates the need for honest representation.............
Post a reply to: Reedy/WMG Split