Legend of Tomorrow

In the second game of the night, the University of Florida defeated the University of Cincinnati and successfully advanced.

The next day, major media reported on the NCAA semifinals and predicted the finals. Most people were optimistic that Michigan State would win the championship. The reason was that they won too easily due to the data on the field, while Florida State still failed to win against opponents who lacked core stars. Less effort.

The team was on vacation, Guo Xu and Richardson stayed in the room and slept late, and they got up at noon to eat, but they were stopped by someone as soon as they left the hotel.

This is a plain-looking white man, wearing an old brown suit. He looks to be in his early thirties, about 1.8 meters tall, with a big belly, and weighs at least two hundred pounds. His hair is short and curly, and his facial features are very festive and he smiles. of.

He took out two business cards and handed them over, and introduced himself: My name is Happy Walters, and I am a basketball agent. May I have the honor of treating you to lunch?

Guo Xu looked at the business card. The content was very simple. Fatty is a member of Independent Sports and Entertainment (ISE) and a basketball agent certified by the players union.

Richardson asked, You know us?

Jason Guo and Jason Richardson, you performed very well in the last game. I am optimistic about your future prospects in the NBA, so I want to talk to you. Happy said with a smile.

According to normal procedures, NCAA players cannot contact agents prematurely. But in fact, most high-quality players have already selected their own agents very early, and there are also black gold deals among them.

The NCAA also has a shady scene of illegal recruitment, the most famous of which is the old rival of Michigan State University in the Big Ten, the Michigan Five Tigers of the University of Michigan.

Let's go, we are going to eat, there is no taboo, just eat whatever you want. Guo Xu smiled.

Happy breathed a sigh of relief. He stayed outside the hotel all morning just to wait for Guo Xu, which was a test of patience. He has been a broker for two years, and he doesn't want to get nothing this year.

NBA agents are a cruel monopoly industry. People with money and power have everything. If you have no money and no power, if you have no luck and can't find a player who can gain a foothold in the NBA for a long time, you will have no choice but to live and have food and clothing. There are no guarantees.

Happy is an agent with no money and no power. NBA players will not consider him. He can only try his luck among college players and sign those who have the ability to play in the NBA and are about to participate in the draft.

In order to make a good impression on the players, Happy treats guests not too shabby, and the three of them go to a steak restaurant.

Before the meal, Happy took the time to talk about his own advantages, business capabilities, and self-promotion.

The two people soon understood that the fat man's only advantage at present is that he charges cheaply. Just give him a little money and he will serve you wholeheartedly, because he has no other players to serve.

According to NBA regulations, agents can only get 4% or less of a player's salary. A good agent will get 3%-4%, and a newcomer like Happy usually gets 2%. In order to grab rookies, some agents are even willing to sign 1% of the salary, and then increase the salary after doing a good job.

If a rookie player's annual salary is around US$1 million, an ordinary agent can only get a commission of 20,000 US dollars per year, which is about the same as washing dishes in a restaurant. It is too low for an agent who is always well-dressed and appears in various high-end occasions.

There are only 31 agents in the NBA this season whose players' annual salary reaches 10 million, and 10 million can only be said to be a moderately prosperous person who truly enters the wealthy class. At least the total annual salary of his players reaches more than 50 million. Such agents only have 10. Compared with players, the competition of NBA agents is obviously more brutal.

Of course, player salary is only part of the agent's salary. The place where excellent agents really make money is to help players accept advertising endorsements, and they can get a commission of about 12%-15% at a time. For example, the agent David Falcao brought Michael Jordan to Nike,

It can be said that one business transaction creates a lifetime legend. In the cooperation between Jordan and Nike, Falcao made a lot of money, at least 50 million US dollars.

It is very difficult for ordinary NBA players to receive advertising endorsements, so agents have to find ways to help players become stars, which tests a person's ability. They all hope that their players can play in high-visibility cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and so on.

If a player wants to become a superstar with super high commercial value, he must have a good agent.

In Guo Xu's previous life, there was a term Yao Ming Effect circulating in the basketball circle. A large city and environment can maximize the commercial potential of players. The income that agents receive from Yao Ming is 50% higher than that of players of the same level.

In addition to Yao Ming's own efforts in the NBA's success, the Yao Team led by Bill Duffy also played a big role. Judging from game attendance, record, and personal honors, Yao Ming is not considered a superstar in the eyes of many people. In terms of commercial value, he is on the same level as James, Kobe and others.

Yi Jianlian is also an example. He chose the famous Dan Fagan as his agent.

In 2007, Yi Jianlian was selected by the Bucks with the sixth overall pick. He refused to go to Milwaukee for more than a month and finally compromised. Fagan signed an agreement with the Bucks on behalf of Yi Jianlian and wrote guaranteed main position into the contract. From this point alone, it can be seen that big-name agents have far more control over the league than imagined.

Because of the Yao name effect, Dan Fegan is willing to work on Yi Jianlian. The total annual salary of his players has reached nearly 150 million. Yi Jianlian's annual salary is only more than 3 million, but Dan Fagan did not hesitate to anger a team's management for Yi Jianlian. Later, he also let Yi Jianlian join New York (Nets), Washington (Wizards) and Dallas (Mavericks), all of which are good cities. This is the role of big-name agents, but it is a pity that the players did not perform well.

After eating for a while, Happy asked the two of them what they thought.

When Richardson heard that Happy didn't even have an NBA player client, he completely lost interest. He shook his head and said: Happy, thank you for inviting us to eat, but I haven't decided whether to participate in this year's draft, and I have to discuss it with my family when it comes to signing an agent. Their opinions are very important to me. .

Really? It doesn't matter. Happy smiled bitterly.

He had expected that Richardson would not ask him to be his agent. This kind of black player with super physical fitness has unlimited potential. He will attract the attention of big-name agents before he enters the league. When Richardson announces his participation in the draft, he will There will be many people competing, but it will never be his turn.

Happy looked at Guo Xu, fearing that the other party would also politely refuse. He had experienced this kind of thing too many times. Guo Xu is his number one target this year. As a player, Guo Xu has a short stature and poor average per game, but his basketball skills are very good and he is a dark horse in the semi-finals. The big-name agent may look down on Guo Xu, so he may pick up the slack.

Guo Xu swallowed a piece of steak, wiped his mouth with a tissue, took another sip of water, and said with a smile: I will participate in the draft this year. Now that I have decided, my agent will sign you.

Really? Happy froze for a moment, his eyes widening. What did you say?

I said the manager will sign you. Guo Xu repeated.