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A behind the scenes glimpse at what goes on as an agent attempts to sell himself to a potential first-round draft selection.
It is not very often that fans get an opportunity to go behind the scenes and take a look at the business side of professional football. This fall the Esquire Network will give some of us hardcore fanatics a look at one side of the business with the premiere of a new series entitled The Agent. Thanks to the efforts of Brian Kiefer, who is handling the publicity for the new series, Blogging The Boys was able to get an early screening of a portion of the show as it relates to the Dallas Cowboys 2015 first-round draft pick, Byron Jones. One of the agents featured in the series, Ed Wasielewski, was filmed as he made his opening pitch to the University of Connecticut player.
We have a short teaser clip to let us get a taste of Wasielewski's courtship of the talented young cornerback/safety. The episode was filmed shortly after Jones underwent surgery to repair the shoulder injury that cut short his final season, so we see Jones with his shoulder still in a sling as he and Wasielewski meet for the first time.
It is a quick get to know you deal, but what I found very interesting is the quote where the agent asks Byron what are the three most important things in his life, and after Byron gives his answers (football was #1), Wasielewski tells him that if football is not in the top three Jerry Jones is not interested. Prophetic statement, perhaps?
[Note that the video will take quite some time to load, and depending on your connection, may buffer repeatedly while it is running. Apologies. If you run into issues, you can try this link for a cleaner experience.]
Later in the series fans will see another side of Byron Jones, one that we should have anticipated given the fact that the Cowboys new defensive back is also serious about other things in life. He poses some serious questions to Wasielewski about how his small firm can compete with larger and more established agencies. It is plain to see that Jones is serious about his career both as an athlete and as a business man. Byron gets right to the point when asking for information to help him make the best choices for his future.
Byron: Being a smaller agency, are you financially stressed?
Ed: No, absolutely not. Actually, I think that's a better question for the bigger agencies.I think they are more financially stressed than me. I have lower overhead. Am I the wealthiest agent out there? No, but it works for me. My business model works for me.
Byron: And how many players are you trying to get this year?
Ed: If I can get three or four of my top guys, I'm good.
In a final attempt to close out the deal, Ed tells Jones that he is after quality over quantity and that Byron has been his top senior target throughout the process.
How does it end? That is something that I am not going to tell you. If you want to know that, you will have to watch and find out. Personally, as both a football blogger and a practicing attorney, this is fascinating to me so I will be right there on the couch watching a different aspect of the game play out over the course of the season.
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