Ever wondered what it takes to navigate the high-stakes world of sports management? Andy Ross, a seasoned sports agent with over two decades under his belt, joins us for a candid chat about the ins and outs of the industry. From impressing a girl in a sports marketing class to becoming the Swiss Army knife for pro athletes' lives, Andy's journey is anything but ordinary. He shares laugh-out-loud tales of his tenacity and the unexpected roles he takes on — think part-negotiator, part-life coach, and sometimes even part-marriage counselor!
Strap in for a deep dive into the cultural intricacies of sports as we compare the NFL and NHL, uncovering why hockey players often come across as more down-to-earth. You'll get an inside look at the foster system of the NHL, questioning if these athletes ever circle back to thank the families who shaped their early careers. And for some bonus entertainment, Andy shares a memorable run-in with billiards icon Jeanette Lee — the Black Widow — and how she left a lasting impression not just on the pool table, but in the power play of psychological gamesmanship.
Closing out our time together, we tackle the transformation of college sports through the lens of NIL agreements and the crucial topic of financial literacy among young people. From Johnny Manziel's rollercoaster journey to the pressing need for money management education, we delve into the profound effects these issues have on the next generation. It's an episode that's as enlightening as it is lively, providing valuable takeaways for sports fans and financial novices alike. Don't miss out on this episode that's guaranteed to score points for both entertainment and insight!
Ever wondered what it takes to navigate the high-stakes world of sports management? Andy Ross, a seasoned sports agent with over two decades under his belt, joins us for a candid chat about the ins and outs of the industry. From impressing a girl in a sports marketing class to becoming the Swiss Army knife for pro athletes' lives, Andy's journey is anything but ordinary. He shares laugh-out-loud tales of his tenacity and the unexpected roles he takes on — think part-negotiator, part-life coach, and sometimes even part-marriage counselor!
Strap in for a deep dive into the cultural intricacies of sports as we compare the NFL and NHL, uncovering why hockey players often come across as more down-to-earth. You'll get an inside look at the foster system of the NHL, questioning if these athletes ever circle back to thank the families who shaped their early careers. And for some bonus entertainment, Andy shares a memorable run-in with billiards icon Jeanette Lee — the Black Widow — and how she left a lasting impression not just on the pool table, but in the power play of psychological gamesmanship.
Closing out our time together, we tackle the transformation of college sports through the lens of NIL agreements and the crucial topic of financial literacy among young people. From Johnny Manziel's rollercoaster journey to the pressing need for money management education, we delve into the profound effects these issues have on the next generation. It's an episode that's as enlightening as it is lively, providing valuable takeaways for sports fans and financial novices alike. Don't miss out on this episode that's guaranteed to score points for both entertainment and insight!
All right, we're back and that's another episode of Not the Press. And we've got a great guest today. His name is Andy Ross, he's a sports agent, he's got some great stories and Mike is back with us again co-hosting. We have a new co-host, melissa, and of course we have the Minx. We also have an observer. She's auditing us and it's Mike's wife, jen, and bartending, and bartending, yeah, and we're going and bartending, yeah, and we're going to dive right into this, andy, if you can give us a quick introduction of who you are and we'll go from there. Mike and I have a lot of questions and Melissa does too. I do, yes, and Melissa, I got to tell you you have to put that microphone in your mouth, did we say?
Speaker 3:that out loud.
Speaker 4:That was evil like perverted. We can edit out anything, but we're not going to edit that out.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly, I understand. You know what. You should actually just put it on repeat. Just do it again.
Speaker 1:Yes, Minx, can you say hello though, Because this has to happen every time. You know the deal.
Speaker 2:Hello.
Speaker 1:Yes, there it is. That's the voice you need to put the microphone all the way into your mouth.
Speaker 3:I'm sorry, that was just not appropriate enough.
Speaker 1:Yes, that was good. I'll give you an eight. You're getting better. The last one was like a six, so it's getting sexier and sexier. I've heard the really sexy one. That one was good, though.
Speaker 2:We saved that for home.
Speaker 1:No, this is my home, hello, okay. So yeah, andy, tell us about.
Speaker 4:Why are you here?
Speaker 3:No. So, uh, you grew up in the DC area and when I was a senior in high school, um took a sports marketing class and actually took the class because there was a girl that I had a crush on in the class and you got a free trip to Disney. So I never dated the girl and I never got to go to Disney, but I did become a sports agent. So it was, um, actually really interesting. Did an internship. My first job was designing Grant Hill uh, his fan club uh, when I was a 17 year old kid. And then uh went to college, wrestled uh at Virginia tech, and then I ended up working for Octagon for 19 years, uh, which was the company that I had. Sat in the lobby for two and a half hours and told them I wouldn't leave until they gave me a job. Hell, yeah, can't do that anymore, though you get arrested.
Speaker 4:I mean depends on where you go.
Speaker 3:Well, I did have a guy show up at my house.
Speaker 2:There's a company called Raven Tech that has a lovely lobby.
Speaker 3:We don't even have a lobby.
Speaker 2:It's the kitchen.
Speaker 1:Well, hey, you know Andy.
Speaker 3:I got to tell you when you came in our house and you went back to the bar.
Speaker 1:You had me at hello. I've never heard that line before. Yeah, I had to do it. Do I have to show you the money now?
Speaker 3:Yes, you do Is that the next thing yeah, never seen Jerry Maguire. It's only on TNT every Sunday at 4 pm.
Speaker 1:You're our Jerry Maguire. You're our local celebrity here, man, come on, wait a minute.
Speaker 2:It's Hello. I thought it was Jell-O.
Speaker 3:You had me at Jell-O Makes a whole lot more sense now. Renee Zellweger. Right, Isn't that who it was Renee Zellweger?
Speaker 1:Was that who it was? Yeah.
Speaker 3:Was it Zell? The movie is nothing like the real business. I will tell you that it's crazy. I am a marriage counselor, I am a doctor. At times I am a lawyer. I deal with child custody. I deal with, literally, concierge setting up.
Speaker 2:Finding people a maid.
Speaker 3:I found people maids, I bet yes. Well, we're very specific about the people we hire, though. After the whole Deshaun Watsonatson situation, we oh man a lot of ndas around now.
Speaker 3:A lot of ndas now, um, but no, it's, it's. It's crazy. I mean the business. If you look at it 20, some years ago, when I first got into it, you know you were just really doing contracts, but now because access with cell phones and email and everything like you're accessible 24 hours a day, and so it's one of those things where I'm always on the clock.
Speaker 1:Let me ask you this, Andy so do you just do NFL?
Speaker 3:or do you do all sports? So when I was at Octagon I did football, baseball, basketball, hockey and golf, okay, and then I did some work in the Olympics, so I was kind of a marketing guy. So when I worked after college at Octagon they had me doing consultancy work for the BMW account, which was this driving program that they had, and I wanted to work in athlete side of the business and so I told them I said, hey look, I know one division can't afford a young kid for 30,000 bucks, but what if we get six divisions and they each pay me $5,000 and I'll just go do marketing for them? And they were like, okay, and that makes it really really cheap, cause, remember, $5,000 back in, you know, like the early, you know 1999, 2000, 2001 timeframe. You know it was a lot more money. And so, um, you know they asked me to do my quota was to do 70 deals that year and I did over 200 and brought in select comfort as a big client and, you know, just crushed it and so it it.
Speaker 3:It was really cool because it it it. Just as I always tell young you know people coming out of college, if someone gives you a job to do, do it way better than they could have ever expected, in that you know the money will eventually come. But you just have to do great work. And you know there were 14 of us that were hired. Seven of us got jobs two years after that. I was the only person left. So you just get weeded out because people you know it all has to do with the work ethic man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's all work ethic dude.
Speaker 3:7 am to 7 pm every day, you know, and then I bartended at night. It was, you know, and that was I actually made more money bartending than I made as a sports agent.
Speaker 1:You know what, though? How much did bartending help you, though? Like to socialize with people and learn how to People don't understand people like bartending. That's like you're a doctor in itself in some places. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:More a marriage counselor. I think, yeah, yeah, I mean you hear people A therapist. Yeah.
Speaker 3:That was great. I actually loved it. But you know what's crazy is I've only been on one other job interview my entire life, because I never had to interview at Octagon because I had already worked there. And so then, when I was, I was frustrated about the money I was making and so I I went on a um. I remember back in the early two thousands they had these websites it was like six figure jobscom, and so I had buddies that worked over there. It's like you should apply, you should apply. So I go and I meet with the guy, the head guy, and he goes Andy, I would love to hire you. He goes you are a great salesperson, you know how to talk. He said, but I'm going to tell you right now, you'll be a great sports agent.
Speaker 4:So I actually won't hire you because you need to stick in this career, and what a cool thing for someone to do right.
Speaker 1:No one knows that story I've actually never told that story before that's fate too.
Speaker 4:It's a not the podcast exclusive.
Speaker 1:Yes, Not the press podcast.
Speaker 4:Is that what I?
Speaker 1:said Yep. I mean we could start a spinoff called Not the Podcast. It'd be interesting.
Speaker 3:Yeah, a podcast, that's not a podcast.
Speaker 1:There we go.
Speaker 4:Yep, just a bunch of guys standing in a field talking Like, yeah, this isn't a podcast, we can do whatever the fuck we want. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So let's get back to the topic here Now. So you've done all sports and all kinds of different. You've represented all different types of worlds out there. What was your favorite Like? If you could pick a sport that the people that you represent is your absolute favorite?
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, I love football. Like in America, right, football is the number one sport. So if you're, if I said that I was a baseball agent, people are like, oh, okay, that's cool. You say you're an NFL agent, like, people will like literally stop what they're doing and they're like, hey, I want to tell me everything. I want to know who this person is, what this? Who have you met? What deals have you done? You know it's crazy, but you know what I loved? I love the hockey guys. The hockey guys were so blue collar and like I would do a $10,000 marketing deal for a guy and then he'd be like, oh, okay, well, yeah, maybe I'll do it, I don't know. And then I'd be like, oh man, I got you this backpack with your name embroidered on it. Like, yo, yo, did you see this backpack, man? It's like a different colors. They'd be so excited about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Just genuinely like heartfelt dudes. It's it me. If I'm wrong, you'd know more than I do. I feel like a lot of the hockey players. They're not always in it for the money. It's more heart and love with the game. I mean not saying that football players aren't the same way, or baseball players and NBA, but I mean you got to. There's so much money involved with that. Now, with contracts, a lot of them do get bent by money and it is all about the money. Sometimes you know, like some of these guys, that are getting ridiculous contracts and it's, I feel, like NHL guys are not like that. For am I right in saying that? Or well?
Speaker 3:it's interesting, you, you made one point People don't realize the NFL is the only sport that doesn't have guaranteed contracts yet it's the most physical hockey's guaranteed contracts. But what happens with the hockey guys is when you're really good, they know that you're really good at.
Speaker 3:You're like age 10, right, and they're like, oh, this guy's gonna make it yeah, they call them rink rats, right, there are these scouts that are all over and they're called rink rats and they find these kids that are like 10 years old, right, and then they send them up into up into canada and they live with these foster families and they are raised by the team, and that's what a lot of these kids end up becoming and that's how they make it. So it's a long farm system where these kids are not really involved with their I don't want to say actually, I shouldn't say it they're involved with their family, but they're living with this foster family and so their family becomes the locker room and that's why I think these guys all just are raised in that mentality.
Speaker 1:That's how a lot of the European soccer players are Like Messi. They found him when he was a little dude. He was from Argentina. He went to Brazil and played in a club that's where he grew up. He grew up as a little tiny, knee-high kid. They do that. They find these great soccer players that do the same thing too.
Speaker 2:Same thing. Yeah, I was going to say that what I know about hockey is that it seems like it's the only sport where everybody's trying to sign a football contract when they're 16, but the hockey players will not go to college and go be in Canada and just play around in there to get better so that they can come back a little older and a little stronger into the league yeah, I mean, it's just look you.
Speaker 3:You know the kids that are studs at hockey is that most of the kids?
Speaker 4:have followed this path? Or is that, just like the superstars, right? Is it, you know, when you look at the supporting cast, the guys that aren't superstars? Have they lived a more normal? You know, maybe they they grew up in minnesota and went to, you know, one of the big 10 schools for hockey and then found their way to the league. Or is it, like most of the nhl players, the guys that make it that far, following that path, identified young being raised, you know, by these foster families doing stuff up in canada? I just curious you know what?
Speaker 3:I don't know enough about it to know that answer. I would just say that most of the players that I worked with went through that process.
Speaker 4:Interesting.
Speaker 3:And it's actually pretty incredible. And it's actually amazing because you have these families in Canada, Like they've taken in some of the greatest hockey players in the history of the sport, yeah, and they were just. You know was like Johnny, the little 12-year-old kid who cared we fed him. Every day he went to practice, he did what he had to do. It's all about rink time.
Speaker 2:If these families have had multiple ones, they're like foster parents to several players that are playing in the same league coming along behind each other.
Speaker 4:Do these guys ever go back once they've made it and take care of the families that fostered them along the way?
Speaker 3:I don't know that answer either it seemed like a pretty good kick up but it sounds like. It sounds like a great question to foster kids up in.
Speaker 4:You know like hey, just hoping you get the right one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no I uh First foster family, yeah, you just put 10 kids up.
Speaker 4:You say everybody race as fast as. Let's see who the fastest, and best shot.
Speaker 1:You get to stay at the house, right, melissa? We need a question from you. We need you to ask Andy a question, a good, well-thought question. Come on. Yes, you have this All right?
Speaker 2:Well, if you're going to say well-thought, you're going to have to give me a minute, well?
Speaker 3:thought you're going to have to give me a minute. Can we make it about sports too? Yeah, you didn't say off the cuff. Oh no, give me a well thought.
Speaker 2:Give me a second.
Speaker 1:All right, while she's thinking of that, I have a not a well thought one, um, and I'll probably get kicked in the shin from the minx, who was the hottest one you represented. Michael Guy or girl, Guy or girl. We don't judge here. We do not judge here.
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, Anna was obviously stunning, right, and she was. You know, I'm in my 20s and I meet Anna Kournikova, Like that's pretty cool. You know, Jeanette Lee was actually one of my first clients. If you don't know her, she was the Black Widow. She's an Asian billiards player that always wore all the leather.
Speaker 2:Can you pull her up, that's kind of fun.
Speaker 3:So I'll never forget the first day I'm supposed to meet her. I get all dressed up Because I'm like Jeanette Lee's coming in. I do her marketing.
Speaker 2:I gotta hang out.
Speaker 3:Oh wait, we're gonna. Oh yeah, you gotta click the bottom picture.
Speaker 2:The sexy ones.
Speaker 1:I mean, she does look good.
Speaker 3:So I've played her in pool over a hundred times. Did she whoop your ass every time? I haven't won one.
Speaker 1:It's not really my game. She never wanted to wrestle. She's just playing with your emotions.
Speaker 3:You asked her every time she beat you in pool there was a clause at the bottom that was like if Andy wins, we have to wrestle but I do have a great jeanette lee story, because so you know she's known as the black widow and so we would play all the time. And you know, sometimes, you know she would every once in a while miss a shot and if it was lined up, we're in nine ball. You can, you just got to make the ball and it's, it's lined up. But she would like sit there and like get down by, like the the pocket right, and she'd start playing with her hair. She'd be in like a tank top and start flirting just to get you off your game. Because she was the best. I mean, she was incredible, she knew how to work a room, she was the best, right? So she comes out to san francisco and my, I was bartending out there too, my buddy jimmy's sitting there and he goes. I said, hey, jeanette's, jeanette's here tonight, we're gonna go play pool. Do you want to join us? And he's like, sure, yeah.
Speaker 3:So Jeanette and I play. Of course I lose. You know, two or three games in a row. Jimmy shows up and he's meeting her. Well, she says, okay, I'll, I'll, I'll play your buddy Jimmy. So Jimmy's all excited. You know he's going to play. Jeanette Lee is smoking hot. You know black widow no-transcript. Walked out of the billiards club, got in a cab and left. Never played her again. Yes and she. I've never seen someone so pissed off in my life. She was like like tell your buddy to get back here. I want to bet him $1,000 a game.
Speaker 1:And Jimmy was like I'm out, dude, I'm out. I'm out because she's really going to kick my ass.
Speaker 4:Oh, yeah, Full sticks going in my ass. The story is way better than $1,000. Oh yeah, no it's great.
Speaker 3:So we still talk about it. Green grasshopper, I'm like, oh yeah, yeah, funny. So anyway, it's uh all right, I got one stories, oh yeah let's hear.
Speaker 2:I don't say if it's well thought out or not. Have you ever dropped a client? Have you ever opted to say thanks but no thanks?
Speaker 3:um, well, I would say this during the, what I think I've learned in the process is, when I'm recruiting a player, if they don't fit who I am, which which you know, I was a wrestler. So I look for certain characteristics in players and, you know, work ethic is obviously a huge thing and a lot of these guys are talented and they make it to the league. But if they don't have some of these boxes check some of the boxes I'll walk away from them, because you can have a guy that goes in the first round but he's out of the league in four years because he doesn't have the right work ethic, the right mentality. He's just super talented. And then you can have a guy like Wyatt Teller, who you know, happened to get drafted later, but I just knew he had something special about him, and then he, you know, ends up becoming an all pro and he worked his way in. I wouldn't say that I've had to drop them, but I've dropped them in the process of recruiting them.
Speaker 2:Just giving them a pass.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's kind of like dating sometimes.
Speaker 4:You just don't call back as much. You're selective on who you're working with, would you?
Speaker 1:have dropped Johnny Football.
Speaker 3:So we represented Johnny. I don't know if you knew that. So when I was at SSG, eb represented Johnny, and so there was a lot of stuff behind the scenes that you know he had a handful, yeah, but you know what?
Speaker 3:Johnny just had things that he had to deal with, right, we're all we all like people forget about it. It's like we're all human, right. And so when you're in your early twenties and you know you're um, you get you know money, you get you know money. I mean EB used to tell me stories. He's like Johnny would sit there and like you have, some of the biggest names in Hollywood are sending them DMS, you know, trying to get them to come out to their party and whatever. Like that's a hard thing to manage.
Speaker 2:And so, as a kid, yeah.
Speaker 3:And then, all of a sudden, you have millions of dollars and people want autographs and I mean I watched Michael Phelps literally change overnight, overnight and like then he couldn't go anywhere.
Speaker 1:um, I got a lot of michael stories I, I want to, I want to hear some of those stories. But I just got to make one comment about, um, old johnny football. Um, I watched his, the netflix docuseries, the documentary they had, and you know what I got to give him props. Man, like he came out. And he came out and he owned it, he owned it all, he owned it all. And you know a lot of people there were a lot of different sports commentators and a lot of assholes out there that were criticizing him because of that documentary and it's like man, fuck you guys, that dude came out and he laid it all out and he owned everything he did and, and you know, you have to give a guy credit for that.
Speaker 4:What's he doing now? I don't know that. I know.
Speaker 3:Uh, Johnny, what is Johnny doing now, Johnny?
Speaker 4:he played up a Canadian football league for a while. I don't think he's playing football.
Speaker 2:Very pretty person sitting in front of a very large computer.
Speaker 1:Minks.
Speaker 2:Can tell us in about two and a half minutes? Throw it up on the screen.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she is our data checker, verifier, fact checker, all of the above. Oh, what's it going to say? You can't trust anything. Google says anyways.
Speaker 2:There's certain things you can probably assume are correct.
Speaker 1:I mean, he's getting his life together. That's what he's doing. He's still relatively young Young guy right, yeah, I mean he knows he's not going to play football he makes a lot of money.
Speaker 3:I mean, look, he's Johnny Football, so he's always going to have memorabilia right Appearances. I think he's getting his life back in order.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what it seemed to me.
Speaker 4:So I've got a question like timely topic right now. But are you seeing what's the impact you're seeing of NIL with what you're doing? I mean because it's all over the news right now Racehall Saban's comments.
Speaker 3:The dark side. You know what? The dark side of the.
Speaker 1:NCAA. We're going to have like a board in here and we're going to have like a board in here and we're going to have a gold star system, because that would have been the first gold star in our show, that's a damn good question, dude, great question, holy cow. No, seriously, I wouldn't. I was thinking about that all night.
Speaker 3:Well, I will say this I think that NIO is great because I think all these players have been not getting paid for all these years?
Speaker 3:And look, there were people getting paid under the table. We all do that, right. No one's, you know, not going to think that that was something that happened. Right, it did happen, but it's just gotten to a different level now, and so now it's pay for play and you can enter the portal system and you can change teams and whatever. Now, the only thing that I bring up in NIL is I wonder, over time, how many of these kids that make you know a few million dollars aren't don't keep that chip on their shoulders. So they didn't get the $50 million of being in the NFL, right, Because maybe they had some things. They lost their edge, they lost, and that's what actually gets you know concerns me a little bit, right, Like that's. That to me, is is a, is a is a real issue.
Speaker 4:Do you worried at all about it? You know diluting the back end of the draft, right. I mean, if you know you're a first or second rounder, you know what your contract. I know they have the slot system now and what people can get paid et cetera. But you know, if you're a third, fourth round prospect but you can make $2 million to stay and then maybe you work your way into first, second round. That's an enticing proposition and I know it's early in the process. Maybe it's too soon to say, but you think about all the diamonds that are found in those mid to late rounds, sometimes really in the mid rounds right three through five.
Speaker 4:I just wonder what that looks like five years from now with some of that talent, deciding to stay an extra year or two if they're eligible yeah, I think there are.
Speaker 1:I think it has largely been unfair for the players, because people are owning their likeness and they're not able to get paid for it. Yeah, 100, which is bullshit. But then, on the flip side of it, I what I'm concerned of is the competitive. How competitive is a university now? Because you have, obviously you have universities that are going to be well more backed, well more. You know there's going to be more people, more money flowing in that are going to pay these kids more, and you know that's some of these other smaller colleges and universities.
Speaker 1:They may not even have a chance to recruit that kid now, which kind of sucks in a way. You know what I mean. Like that, that part of it sucks, you know, cause maybe they this kid's getting offered this over here in Alabama. I hate saying that name anyways, um, but you know, over here this, this school's better and you know this, this kid could have been recruited had not had NIL not been around, um, but since over here in Alabama they're offering him all this money, you know, I don't know that's a concern for me, but the kids deserve it too. It's bullshit that they were getting in trouble for trying to make ends meet, yeah, when the colleges are making millions, hundreds of millions of dollars off these kids.
Speaker 3:And the coaches right.
Speaker 3:The coaches had these locked in deals and then all of a sudden they get a buyout Excuse me, they get a buyout and they end up leaving. So these kids that like, and they couldn't transfer back then. So it's like I went here specifically because of this coach and then now he's gone, right, so the leverage is starting to move towards the players. But the leverage is starting to move towards the players. But here's the one thing like I look at it all these kids, do you really need $3 million a year when you're in college? Right, like I, I had $10,000. I remember my senior year of college. I mean I would I would counter that and say what point in your life.
Speaker 4:Do you not want $3 million, if you can get it?
Speaker 2:Okay. So I want to know what you mean when you said you had $10,000 in college because I had like $10.
Speaker 3:No, I worked all summer and I saved all my money.
Speaker 2:So that was day one of college. By day 50 of college you had like $10,000.
Speaker 3:Well, yeah, I had lobster like eight nights in a row. It was crazy. I was like I'm so rich.
Speaker 1:You know, some of these kids had never seen money, money before, and they get offered $3 million. I could see like oh yeah, bring it, well no.
Speaker 3:But here's the point that I want to make, though it's I'm not saying they don't deserve the 3 million, right, I'm saying that they can live a really good college lifestyle with that 500,000. Sure, take that 2.5 and invest it in something, whether it's properties at the school that you can rent out. Find a way to make that an annuity, because what happens if football doesn't work out and you blew through that money? Right, that's where? And the point that I'm making is I want these kids to have the financial education to know that, hey, you can live really, really great in college with 500 grand but you made three billion, so let's invest the rest of it.
Speaker 3:Set yourself up for life.
Speaker 2:I tell you that's go ahead milsa why wouldn't like the nfl, because it's notorious for that happening? Why wouldn't they just have post-recruitment when everybody's in their space? A week-long financial?
Speaker 4:write-down. They have all kinds of financial literacy stuff. Do they make them do it? I?
Speaker 2:don't know, or do they just offer it to them? Think about there's so many stories where but not everybody's making that much money.
Speaker 3:Most guys are making three, five, ten thousand dollars.
Speaker 2:Right, they're not making the three million he's talking about nil, not professional right like a g g wagon is, you know, a rookie car like there's a reason they call it a rookie car right, but they give, they give them that car right, so like they work deal.
Speaker 3:I mean I'm not going to get onto it here, but there's so much that's happening behind the scenes that goes on to make these kids get paid.
Speaker 1:Is that something that companies like the company you work for? Is that something you guys are looking to do with colleges? It's like, look, if people are going to come and pay these kids, we want to help them out by providing this service form to show them how to spend their money correctly, so they don't end up in a shithole. Is that?
Speaker 3:something that people are looking to go forth and do for these kids, kids. Well, it's, it's. You know. Look in the media, in this day and age, with social media and everything else like you can have, it's like in the NFL, where you have the $3 million guy that's trying to live like the $10 million guy, right, and they're, they're going to blow through the money because they want just so, you know, show that they have it and they can do it and whatever Like. At the end of the day, you can always educate people. It's whether or not they want to listen to it I'm.
Speaker 2:You're right about that that if I don't, whatever league it is, you offer somebody that's you know, late teens, early 20s a large sum of money. It's a shame that they don't actually have the moral compass that says, if you take this money, we're not going to tell you how to spend it, we're going to teach you how to use it. If people have never seen money before, you don't know how to use it. I think that was Andy's point is is they do?
Speaker 4:they have people and they have programs and they've got everything in place to educate folks on what they can do, but at the end of the day it's their money. They're going to choose to do with it.
Speaker 1:what they choose to do with it, I can tell you from a different point of view, but kind of similar in the same thing. In a way, just a different perspective is me, as a young Marine, going on deployment. I'm making I don't know $900 a paycheck. I'm making shit, but I go on deployment and I'm coming back with $25,000. Not much money, right To me. I am going to spend that $25,000, probably in about two weeks, because I'm going to go and I'm going to party hard.
Speaker 1:And in the Marine Corps, yes, they tell you you have a first sergeant, you have a sergeant major, you got a company gunny. When you're younger, that's counseling you and saying don't do that, this is how you should do it. Blah, blah, blah. They can tell you until you're blue in the face, doesn't matter, doesn't matter To the strip club, let's do this, yeah. And there's dollars flowing. That's just how it is, man. That's just how it is. You go out and you buy drinks, you go out and buy that car. That is 25% interest, oh God, percent interest. You know what I mean. I think that's just. That's just how one I don't know how females think- I can tell you that's how men think.
Speaker 2:Definitely I think it.
Speaker 1:I think that, like especially if you've never had anything growing up.
Speaker 2:You know we like to shop we like to buy bags, but that big, giganto chunk of change I I think you see it more um, in the media and stuff, because of sports, you see men get a larger chunk of money, but I don't know. It's just yeah. You can have somebody, an older person, say to you just like, oh, be careful with that, be careful with that. But I'm actually talking about morally responsible like. This is a class. This is how you balance your checkbook, this is how you sign up for online payments for VEPCO. Yeah, I mean all of that stuff, which is, I mean our kids, those of us that have children. They don't do that in school and I think no, it's and it's garbage Ridiculous.
Speaker 1:That is a life skill you should learn.
Speaker 2:Yep checkbook anymore. That's a joke, but I'm saying why not?
Speaker 1:They should do it.
Speaker 2:You know how to download QuickBooks and then use Quicken and why you need to pay your taxes and who the fuck is FICA anyway? I mean all of that stuff. I just, and these kids, like you're saying, they're in college, they don't know really what any of this is. They've been dropped it and then they here have whatever it is. I don't care if it's whatever league it, I just feel like they're not morally wrong word, socially responsible to actually sit down. I mean right, don't you with your children? And you with your children, when you give them, you know their allowance, you do 30% to charity 30% in your or that kind of thing.
Speaker 4:I think that, and Andy, you can, you can talk to this, but I don't, I mean, where does that responsibility end thing? I think that, and Andy, you can talk to this, but I don't, I mean, where does that responsibility end? Right, I mean, I'm a business owner.
Speaker 2:I have employees when somebody dies, but I mean, I have employees right, and some of them are highly compensated.
Speaker 4:Some of them are not as highly compensated, but is it my job to ensure that they know how to spend their money? I talk about it, right? I First job out of college was a financial planner, so I talk to people all the time about what I think they should do, but that doesn't mean that's how they're going to do it. There's some people that what encourages them to go out and make more money is the fact that they're going to spend 90% of it the second they make it, and so I understand what you're saying in that we have a responsibility to educate people, and especially these athletes that are getting seven figure checks, have a responsibility to educate people, and especially these athletes that are getting seven figure checks, but not everybody is going to be wired to receive that message and it doesn't matter how you do it, they're still going to do what they're 100% greedy.
Speaker 2:But the difference is with athletes you're talking about majority, young men, Sure Majority don't understand anything about what a mortgage is, the value of money, a car payment, yada, yada. The people you bring in and you know you pay them an amazing salary, probably are college educated, probably have had jobs beforehand, probably are coming from households where at least one of the parents has explained how money works a few times. This is a very niche scenario and I'm sure, Andy, you've seen time and time again where, if they'd been given some sort of financial outlook which I think, yes, I do think that there is a social responsibility if you're going to give somebody millions of dollars and they don't understand the value of money, to help them understand the value of money, they're still going to maybe go out and buy a big ring and a new house and they don't understand what interest is. But just, you know the things that you've taught your children. Your children know what interest is.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, I mean, I would say this like that goes back to what you asked me earlier.
Speaker 3:Right Was have I ever dropped a client? Well, I'm evaluating the guys that I want them to be successful. I don't want my guys to get done with their career and say, hey, andy, I need help with this because I'm broke right. So we talk about those things. Now I stay in my lane, but I do. You know, part of me is you're not hiring me to tell you what you have to do. You're hiring me to give you the pros and cons so you can grow, so you can learn and be your own business, be your own brand, and I'm going to educate you. So when we comes down to whether it's contract negotiation, marketing, finances, whatever, you're educated so you know what you're going to do. Plus, you have to have that athleticism and work ethic and everything else. But if you have those, that's why I don't work with every single, I mean correct me if I'm wrong too.
Speaker 1:I mean, it's kind of like a, a family physician too, like you want to be lifelong business with these people too, I mean, and that makes sense. That's the way it should be. You know what I mean. Like, um, you should be, uh uh, an agent and representing these guys from start until the very end, no matter if they're playing sports or they get out and they have another financial, and you're there to help them, like that's. That's the beauty of a lot of good agents like you, and and and some more that are out there. Unfortunately, some of them just kind of kick people to the curb after they make money. But you know, that's just. That's just the way the world is right now, you know, and not to mention, like the, not any specific sport, but like the, the larger global sports things out there that the world watches at the very top.
Speaker 1:They don't give a fuck about these guys. Let's just be honest. They give a fuck about the hundred billion dollars they're gonna make and let's just, I mean, they don't care if these guys make it or not when they're done. They just don't care. That's not their paycheck. It's the guys like andy that cared, and it's maybe that coach that cares, or maybe it's that physical trainer that cares, but at the very top those cares, or maybe it's that physical trainer that cares, but at the very top, those motherfuckers don't give a shit. I mean, and anyone that thinks they, they there's. I mean you, you've been involved and I'm not gonna throw you under the bus that even asked you to comment on that. But anybody that is is involved with hundreds of billions of dollars. They don't give a shit about the people that they're using.
Speaker 3:They just don't all look, it's a used business I struggle with that Right. It's a used business, I get it, but I will say this Like I negotiated a deal for a longtime disability for one of my clients that had, you know, concussions, and so he's going to get you know six figures for the next, like 40 years, and you know that's, that's huge for him right, because he wouldn't have had the but it took you to negotiate that.
Speaker 3:It's not just guide him on the process, right, like it's workers comp, it's a, you know, you hire a lawyer for it, but like you set it up to make sure because the guy sacrificed something, I don't go to work and think to myself gosh, monday was a really tough day. I don't know if I'm gonna be able to wake up tomorrow and move because my body hurts, so bad because I got crushed coming across the middle Right, Like it's like.
Speaker 4:I mean we do, just the ending of that is different. It's because we stayed out drinking until one.
Speaker 1:Well, it's the hangover, but we have Advil you know, sponsor Advil Tequila came across the middle smack me right in the forehead. Middle smack me right in the forehead.
Speaker 3:Yeah, have you ever had a tequila bottle?
Speaker 1:No, I actually have. I have a scar right here from a beer bottle.
Speaker 3:Sounds like you were a Marine. Yeah, I was. Yeah, the Coast Guard guys throw real vodka? I guess they're real vodka guys.
Speaker 2:It was actually.
Speaker 1:I don't know if it's politically correct to say it anymore, but it was a midget. Yeah, I don't know if it's politically correct to say it anymore, but it was a midget.
Speaker 4:I don't know what else to call it.
Speaker 3:Little people midget you know there's three types of midgets right. No, I just know he's a little guy oh yes, Well, you know, when you're not as tall as some of the other kids, you learn some things. So there's three types of midgets. There's this midget, which is the small midget right. Then there's the midget, which is normally what we see.
Speaker 2:And then there's the tidget.
Speaker 3:He's not really you don't know if he's a midget or not, but he's just tall enough that maybe he's just a really short guy.
Speaker 1:This was a tidget. He was a tidget, he was a tidget. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Was he?
Speaker 4:I'd like to be very clear Guy has an obsession with little people.
Speaker 3:Well, have you seen one of those he?
Speaker 2:had the small medium and large scenario.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:Right. But, your story. Always in my visual he's a smidget, full on.
Speaker 1:No, he wasn't like one of those midget wrestlers. I'm just telling you what my story in my head is?
Speaker 4:He was like you know, I just think the irony of a guy the size of Guy getting a beer bottle hit in the face by a guy the size of a man.
Speaker 1:Well, no See, there was a combo.
Speaker 3:There was more to it, mike, there was more to it More to it.
Speaker 4:And I think that we should not go into that right now, because that's going to be a much better story for another, no I have two we're going to reserve that.
Speaker 1:We're going to reserve that. We're going to reenact this. Let's not reenact it because your balls will hurt for like two weeks. It'll be bad. Two weeks.
Speaker 3:That doesn't seem so bad. It's a hell of a story. Let's go.
Speaker 4:Two weeks. For the rest of my life. I'll take it.
Speaker 3:I was wondering why you all told me to wear a cup here.
Speaker 2:You thought we said bring a cup.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so do you have one like you just have a story that stands above all the rest. I mean, if you thought about it before you came over like, this is just like. This is my agent story, right?
Speaker 3:you know, I mean, I like it's crazy because you just have thousands right and you just don't think about it when you do all this stuff, and then sometimes you sit back and reflect and like one of the cool things that you you know it's it's not really a story about myself. It's a story about, like, just changing someone else's life, which I I always look at and think that that's look, I'm a I'm a strong faith guy, like God put me in this situation to do some really cool things and I have this really interesting job, but I actually have the ability to change not just my player's life but generations of lives, right? So there was a. This is back in 2009. I had signed a player named Aaron Curry and you know he was a linebacker and usually linebackers that didn't have sacks weren't really getting drafted that high, but he was the number one rated player. So it was down to actually him and Matthew Stafford to be the number one pick and actually Jason Smith, who ended up being the number two pick. And it was down to really Stafford and Curry to be the number one pick in the draft. And so I told Aaron, I said, look, we've got to do something to make you be known more than just a football player. I want the owner to think that you're going to come in and change the locker room. You're going to change my team, you're going to change the community. You're a guy we build around. We got to get on the owner's like playbook, right?
Speaker 3:So, aaron, we ended up finding this little boy. His name was Bryson Merriweather and Bryson was a leukemia survivor from St Jude and I chose him and we actually invited him to the draft and Aaron brought him in and put it first time it ever happened where you made the draft about someone else. So we had this little boy there. He thought he was giving Aaron this tour of St Jude. Aaron's like sitting and throwing football with them. I still think the hair on my arm stands up when I tell the story, because we literally changed this kid's life.
Speaker 3:And he's like hey, do you know what the, what the NFL draft is? And Bryson's like hey, do you know what the NFL draft is? And Bryson's like, yeah, I think that's where you're going to get drafted really high. And he's like oh, I hope so. He's like have you ever been to New York City? And he's like no, I've always wanted to go, but he goes. My mom and dad were actually military and he goes. They just didn't have the money to be able to ever go to New York.
Speaker 3:And I said, bryson, what if I told you I wanted to invite you to the draft? And what if I told you I wanted you to just sit in the green room with me and when I call out my name, would you come on stage with me and hold up my Jersey? And I mean everybody's crying Hell. I was crying Right and like Aaron actually had to give up the space in the green room for his grandma and grandpa and it took ESPN by storm.
Speaker 3:It was like, wow, this guy's, you know, so selfless, like he's just about the work and you know what. It was awesome, like you had all these players that were there and they were asking Bryson for his autograph and for his picture, and these are all guys that would be top first round picks. And it was like it was so cool and his mom and afterwards, like we have this picture of we're all on stage and it was really cool because Bryson's holding it and his mom pulled me aside later and she said I got to tell you thank you, she goes. That was the first time we've seen Bryson smile since the day before he was diagnosed with leukemia. Wow, and like. That's the kind of thing. So when people ask me about stories like that, to me is that's what makes it all worth it. Right, you came up with this idea and you didn't know where it was going to go. But then it does this and you see it, and Bryson ended up playing college football randomly Wow At university of Chicago.
Speaker 1:That event probably changed his, his whole outlook on life. Yeah, I still, I still, I still text with his family.
Speaker 3:All these years later, jeez, he's healthy, he's healthy.
Speaker 4:Yeah, doing great. What's he doing now?
Speaker 3:He works in finance Awesome. Yeah, he didn't want to become an agent. I broached it with him.
Speaker 1:He's like no man. I saw what you did, andy. Let me ask you this. Let me ask you this If you ever wanted to come back as a guest. Would you want to bring him with you? We can call him virtual. We could, we could do that because I would love to, to just talk about what he felt and how that changed his life. You know what I mean. Like that's cool and that's encouraging for a lot of people.
Speaker 3:It is and it was. It was such a cool experience, right, like I mean it, like he became famous overnight because espn is now writing articles about him and he's not, you know. I mean, yeah, I'll never get. Aaron andrews was sitting there, she was crying about it, right, and it was like and you do some of these things, and I'm not saying you don't do stuff for press, right, you do stuff for for pr. However, like at the end of the day, I get to look back and I say you know what? What's my coup de grace moment? And there's a number of them, but that's one that's like just very, very high up it doesn't mean it can't be dual purpose Getting good press because you?
Speaker 4:did something good doesn't mean that you still didn't do something good Right.
Speaker 1:It's the same thing as like making money, like if you could make money and do good while you're making money, why the hell wouldn't you do that? That's right Now. If you're going to be evil and make money, then fuck you Like Peloton, fuck that.
Speaker 3:You don't like Peloton.
Speaker 1:Oh, no, no, no no, no, we'll talk about it. I'll show you later.
Speaker 3:Well.
Speaker 1:I have a subscription.
Speaker 3:I've got 500 subscriptions. What's that app that tells you how to save money?
Speaker 4:Rocket, rocket.
Speaker 1:It's Rocket. I don't know if it's called Rocket anymore. Sponsorship.
Speaker 4:Get rid of those assholes. Beep that out unless they pay us for this. Yeah, exactly, beep.
Speaker 3:Hey, I'm an agent by nature. That's right, so I will tell you this. So everybody always says what's it like to be an agent? Because they say you know, does it bother you that people always think you're shady? Does it it's bothering you that you're in the dark corners and you're waiting for this kid to come out and you're taking advantage of him? You're making all this money? So I always tell the story of the snake and the rat and, if you don't know, the story of the snake and the rat.
Speaker 3:I texted myself to this. Yes, so the snake and the rat was something like this. I was told this story by an agent. I had this WNBA star. Her name was Cheryl swoops and she was getting all this, um, this fan mail.
Speaker 3:And I'll never forget like I got all this and I was. I go to, um, this woman, debbie, that was her agent. I said Debbie, I said we got all this stuff. We got to get into Cheryl Cause she's got to sign this, she's got to give it to the kids Cause, oh, you're so young in the business, you don't. Oh yeah, she was great, but so it was like my induction into the agent business. I had this wholesome heart of like. Of course we've got to get all these autographs or these pictures signed and all this for all these kids and mail them out. It's impossible, there's not enough hours in the day to take care of all that stuff.
Speaker 3:So then they told me the story of sometimes, hey, you just have to be an agent, and so what does that mean? So then I learned the story of the snake and the rat. So the snake and the rat is there's a rat and he's got to get across the water and there's a tree that had fallen and it goes across so he can cross over instead of drowning in the water to try and swim. He's going to cross over this log. Well, in the middle of the log, there's a snake and the rat comes up and he says he says, hey, I need to get by. And the snake says and he goes, but I can't go by you because you're going to eat me. And he said he said, look, I already ate. I had two rats already this week. I'm stuffed, you can walk by and you'll be fine. He said I don't know. I don't know if I can really trust you. He said look, I'm telling you, I've already eaten, I'm stuffed. I don't want to move because I'm tired. I'm taking a nap, just walk on by.
Speaker 3:So the rat's a little apprehensive. He's sitting there and he's looking around, but he's got to get to the other side of this of the stream. So finally he starts to walk and he's slowly going across and the snake's sitting there looking at him. And he's walking and he's walking and right as he gets next to the snake, the snake bites him and eats him or has him wrapped up. And the rat goes what are you doing? I thought. You said you were fine. You said that I could walk across. You said it was going to be safe. He said man, I'm a snake. That's the story of what it's like to be an hundred million dollar deal.
Speaker 1:Hey, I'll be a snake yeah, so, and that's part of the business. Yeah, I mean, that's, that's part of. Uh, you wouldn't be in that business if you weren't, if you didn't have, if you didn't look yourself in the mirror and said, okay, I might have to do this today and but this is the reason why I'm doing it. Well, you can be a nice guy.
Speaker 3:But you can't be friends with everybody right now, man. That's true in anything. And you shouldn't be friends with everybody, right? No, man, that's true in anything.
Speaker 1:And you shouldn't be friends with everybody. But here's the thing you should not be friends as an agent.
Speaker 3:if you're doing your job right and this is the hardest thing I had to learn as a young agent If you really do your job well enough, it's going to be really hard for that guy to fire you. Now there's going to be certain circumstances.
Speaker 4:But, like enough, you gave someone an opening for them to be able to steal your client. Unless you know, they show up with a bag of a louis bag with a million bucks in it. I'm a diehard philadelphia sports fan. Grew up in pennsylvania, like that was always my thing. Um, I hear all the time that and if you're following the eagles offseason like gangbusters right, is there a team in the nfl that's had an offseason like they've had right now? And I don't say that just as a fan. I mean they've got some major signings.
Speaker 3:But I hear all the time that people won't pick up howie's phone because you can't trust what how he's doing you know how he is a grinder yeah I mean, I have friends, a lot of friends that work over there and they're like look they'll, they'll be like, oh man, I Howie this, howie that, but they're like, that dude is on his phone all day, nonstop.
Speaker 1:Shaking the mover. Man, he's moving right. Yeah, shaking the mover.
Speaker 3:And he was in a tough. I mean I know a lot, I've known Howie for a long time and so there was a lot that he went through when Chip was there, right, and he got moved to the back of the football facility and I and he got moved to the back of the football facility and I mean it was Jeffrey Lurie took care of him. I do have a great Eagles story. I love it. Oh, yes, so when the Super Bowl they won the Super Bowl, yeah, I didn't have a guy on the team but I wanted to go into the post-game party. So, being that, see, sometimes there's an advantage to being five, eight ish. No, is that a tidget tidget? No, ish, ish.
Speaker 2:No, I'm ish so you're, you're a tidgetish no, no, five, six and below is you did it okay, I'm above that. Don't come with respect okay, that's you know, I'm wearing big shoes anyways, have you seen those tiktok ads?
Speaker 3:they targeted my ass, so so I'm sitting there and I'm finally like slowly maneuvering my way and finally I sneak into the to the party, and then who's the first person I ran into? But but pink, because she did the national anthem, so she was sick. We and you know, I'm name dropping right now because it makes me feel cool, but I like pink, by the way. Oh yeah, she was great, but she was. She was actually way smaller than I, than I.
Speaker 2:She's a little person too. She's not a tidget.
Speaker 1:She looks like a gymnast. Imagine the tidget size is different for women. There's a qualifier there. I don't know what it is. The minx is short, she's short.
Speaker 2:Last night she's tall when she's sitting on her wallet.
Speaker 1:That's my line Last night. Last night we she's tall when she's sitting on her wallet.
Speaker 2:No, look at that, that's my line.
Speaker 1:But last night we were up at the club and this woman that we know came over and started talking to us and Carrie looked like a giant and I just kept on looking like, oh my God, she was definitely below-tidget style, was she?
Speaker 3:good-looking.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she's a nice person. Did you give her a?
Speaker 2:name. Because size doesn't matter when they're good-looking.
Speaker 1:No, I mean she's married and she's like doppelganger in personality with the minx, like 100%. But I was just looking I was like, oh my God, because Carrie's like hi.
Speaker 2:I got to hear the rest of this Super Bowl story.
Speaker 1:Oh sorry, I'm sorry, I mean I'm all in and you're like.
Speaker 4:I'm like hey, come on, give me something good.
Speaker 3:Sponsored by ADD medicine Is that a squirrel no. So so I'm sitting there and finally you know it's taken me forever to sneak into this party and I finally get in, because you know you always act like you're supposed to be there, right, so I can talk my way into it.
Speaker 4:This was in Minnesota.
Speaker 3:Uh, was it Minnesota? Yeah, minneapolis it might've been. Yeah, I've been to a lot of Superbowl, sure, I always forget where they are. But so I have to use the restroom. And I'm going to the restroom and I'm using the restroom and the guy's next to me and I said I was like man, I can't believe the Eagles won. What a hell of a game, what a great job by the Eagles, really cool. And he's like, yeah, I can't believe. I mean unbelievable, so excited. And I look up and it's Jeffrey Lurie. I literally told the owner I was shocked that they won the game.
Speaker 4:I was like oh gosh, I'm in trouble. That's awesome, yeah, I mean, but he probably couldn't believe it either.
Speaker 3:It was great, it was a great game. I mean you know it's.
Speaker 4:I mean I've had I've been to 15 Superbow bowls and so I've gotten to see some really cool. Uh, so I I've never gone. I've never gone to a super bowl. I went to the nfc championship game that year. It was phenomenal, great time. Um, I didn't go in 22 to the san francisco one.
Speaker 4:I always said for me, I would never want to watch my own team in a super bowl. Like, go to the Super Bowl, because you spend all that money, everything on the experience and half the stadium isn't rooting for your team and the other, you know, out of the other half, 25% kind of care, but not really. And so for me, I was in college when the Eagles went to the NFC championship game and you know that long streak, right, I wasn't, I couldn't afford to go. But I always said, when they go back to the NFC Championship game at home, that's what I'm going to go to, because we're either all going to win together or we're all going to lose together. And there may be a couple of obnoxious fans there from the other team.
Speaker 4:Right, because they care families, things like that, like good on them. Right for traveling and being at that event. But I wanted to be there with my people, you know, and so I've always said like this year's Super Bowl Chiefs, 49ers, that would be a Super Bowl. If I'm going to go to one, that's the type I'd want to go to, because I don't have a massive rooting interest, I just want to see a good game. If I'm going to spend all that money, I want to be able to enjoy the experience without the anxiety of wondering if my team is going to prevail at the end.
Speaker 3:So I will give you the counter to that.
Speaker 4:I would love it.
Speaker 3:You're 80 years old. You've never gone to this game.
Speaker 4:I mean, I'm not that old, do I look that bad? No, I'm saying, but you are 80 years old, right, you could be 80.
Speaker 3:And you're on your deathbed and you're sitting there going. I could have gone and watched my team when they won three times and you never did. Sure, right, like the bills. But if you're really a fan you know I've been to 15 of these things I have no rooting interest, other than the fact that if my guy wins, I'm going to do more marketing money and make a little bit of money myself, right, but, like you want them to win experience. That it's a, it's a career accomplishment. As a fan, there is nothing like the Superbowl to see your team actually. Cause the only fan card I have is the Dodgers, cause I can't have a fan card in the NFL, and so you need to do it. It's very important to do it. What you went to as far as an NFC championship game, it's actually harder to get tickets for the NFC championship or AFC championship game because it's a home team, right, people don't want to give up their tickets, but it's such a better experience to go to that game. Yeah, but you have to go to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 4:I mean, you know, let's see, Maybe if the Eagles get back there I'll give you a shout. If you're going to be out there, we'll make it a trip.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, I'm usually there, I, I'm usually there. I'm the one running around with cargo pants on selling Super Bowl tickets.
Speaker 1:Are you a?
Speaker 3:scalper, I have I at one point sold so many tickets? I had over $100,000 in my pockets Cash.
Speaker 2:Cash Wow.
Speaker 3:I'm in San Diego and I'm in my early 20s and I'm thinking to myself God, someone is going to kill me if they realize how much cash I had.
Speaker 1:And so then I had rememberyle bowler. I do that, you know, I do. I recognize that name.
Speaker 3:The ravens quarterback, yes so, kyle, we used to bring all of our rookies to the super bowl and I have all the cash you know for all the guys to to give them their you know, for their tickets. And kyle walks in we're sharing a room and he walks in, he goes are you a drug dealer? Because he just sold all these piles of cash for everybody.
Speaker 1:But yeah, it was, you know the only time I have piles of cash is when my Marine buddies come. We go to the Crystal City restaurant and I come home with you know 300 ones, and the mix is always like I know where you were last night, because you'll find a giant stack of cash on the table upstairs. It's all ones, though, it's okay.
Speaker 3:It's the only time I have a stack.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1:Stack of cash. That's the only time I've ever seen it, other than with government stuff. But you know that's it. No, I mean I, you know that's it.
Speaker 3:No, I mean I, I you know what when you. So it's so different being in my 40s now, though, as an agent, versus when I was in my 20s, because when I was in my 20s like I didn't have any money but I wanted to hang out with the guys and they all wanted to hang out with me because I had all the hookups for them, you know, and so I was like ian entourage right, so that's what I love at that point.
Speaker 3:right, you know our turtle maybe, and so I was just the hookup guy. Now I'm like the old guy. Such a great show. Now they're looking at me. I just started watching it. Actually I just finished second season of Entourage.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 3:Yeah, crazy.
Speaker 4:I have a great Entourage story. So a guy that works for me Thanks, sir, a guy that works for me. Talk about worlds colliding. I've got two guys that work for me. One I've known since high school, this other guy I've known since I've been in the business. And a guy from high school has a part-time business doing like photo restaurant. They take analog photos, put them online right, make them digital. So his mom helps him run that business.
Speaker 4:I'm not going to use the names of folks, but uh, he had a very famous estate that reached out and said we need you to digitize all our photos. And he's sitting there going through these with his mom, like a year ago, and he looks at this one photo it's a wedding photo, this really famous people, there's all these famous people in the meeting. He goes Holy shit, that's the guy I work with. He's in this photo. So I call the guy I work with and I tell him this story. He goes. Yeah, let me tell you the craziest thing about that wedding. He goes. I didn't even know I was supposed to be at like the rehearsal dinner. So I'm out in the morning hitting golf balls on the driving range and this guy next to me goes dude, you've got a great golf shot. Let's go play nine. And I look up and it's turtle from entourage.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's bad.
Speaker 4:I'm on the golf course, golfing with turtle. My wife calls me to tell me that where yet. And this famous person's wedding they were at. I'm trying to be respectful. These guys say they may not want me telling this story. I don't care, because you're supposed to be golfing right now with famous guy's wedding that you're at and he's not. Instead he's golfing with Turtle and he's like I can't do it. It's just the craziest like series of coincidences I've ever heard. And this is just. I just learned about this like a month ago.
Speaker 3:It was hilarious. Yeah, giants players, and you know, I had Justin Pugh there and him and him and Jerry Ferreira, I think, is his name. Yeah, yeah, you know, hey.
Speaker 1:I you know I have a very quick story of my brush with fame. It was with iced tea and it was glorious. Carry the minks and I went to Vegas and we went to his wife's show, the Coco. What is it that Coco? What the Coco? What is it the Coco? What the Coco? Show right, Coco something.
Speaker 4:It was like a burlesque show, yeah.
Speaker 2:And she was the star. She was a star.
Speaker 1:San Francisco, no, this was in Vegas, oh nice. So you know, the show was getting ready to start. So I went out to get some beer for the Minx and I and it's this long hallway going back to the auditorium. So I'm walking back with the beer, I'm the only person in the hallway and I see out of my peripheral there's these people behind me. So I look and it's iced tea and I'm like, oh hey, I was wondering if you were going to be here. And he looked at me with his gangster smile and he said bitch, it's my show. So I went back to Minx. I was like I just got called a bitch by Ice-T and I was happy about that. I still am. He called me a bitch and he sat right behind us too. It was kind of funny. But that's my brush with fame being called a bitch by a gangster. It was awesome. You're not amused. I can look on the camera and see.
Speaker 3:I'm actually very amused. Ice-t's never called me a bitch, and I kind of wish he had.
Speaker 1:I mean he called me a bitch, the Peep Show. The Peep Show, that's right, it was Coco's Peep Show. Yeah, he was like bitch, it's my show All right bastard, you're lucky, you're iced tea.
Speaker 3:It's funny when you get in situations like this.
Speaker 1:I've been in some pretty exclusive parties over the years. Yeah, that would be our doorbell for all your listeners. We have some good watchdogs.
Speaker 4:It's actually the ring it might have been the uh, our guest host heading out yeah, yeah, yeah, uh.
Speaker 1:So for anyone listening and anybody watching um, our other guest co-host had to leave. She couldn't handle the immense intensity of this talk. Now she'll be back. Uh, I have a question for you, man, before we get too far off track here.
Speaker 2:Oh, are we on track.
Speaker 1:We're never on track. We should call this podcast off track. That's a. You know what. That's actually a pretty good one. It's not bad, yeah. So what are your thoughts? I know you told me before that you you weren't heavily involved because you had something big going on. We'll talk about that here in a minute. Um, you weren't heavily involved with this year's draft, but how do you feel about the draft this year? Who are the winners and who are the losers?
Speaker 3:I well, offensive lineman like this is. I mean 27 years. This is the best o-line draft I've ever seen and I'm an. O-line guy Gotcha.
Speaker 1:What teams are the winners? Do you think?
Speaker 3:We haven't had the draft yet, so we don't know.
Speaker 1:Okay, with all the talks that are going on and everyone that you know, that is more than likely committed, what teams are going to win?
Speaker 3:I think Washington is prime to. Hopefully they get Drake May. I'm a big Drake May guy For quarterbacks. It's always for me about cerebral processing and drop back how quickly do you diagnose those are? And I really like that out of Drake May. I mean, a lot of people are Caleb Williams guys. I think Washington's kind of lined up to do really good. Adam Peters is going to do a good job. Really like that. Out of drake may. I mean a lot of people are caleb williams guys. I think washington's kind of lined up to to do good. You know adam peter's gonna do a good job. Um, you know I you know the jets and what they're doing is actually pretty cool. They filled a lot of holes in free agency and still they have, you know, the number 10 pick. They don't have a second round pick, they gotta. They have a third round pick. So, like you know, they're another team that I think could come out of here looking really really good. I mean imagine they took Tyrell, they took Brock Bowers and picked 10.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and then they get a wide receiver in the third round All of a sudden. Now Aaron Rodgers has weapons and a solidified offensive line, they end up having a great defense already, so the Jets could come out of here looking really, really good.
Speaker 4:That's awesome. It'd be their quarterback, though, cause Aaron Rogers is going to be vice president.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, we'll see either that or jeopardy host which? Hey, I will say this. I don't know if you all watch this, but but Aaron Rogers killed it as the jeopardy host. I'm a jeopardy guy.
Speaker 1:I, aaron Rodgers, killed it as the Jeopardy host. I'm a Jeopardy guy. I did see that. I like Aaron Rodgers, you know what? I don't care if he says some people think he says crazy things. I mean I like Aaron Rodgers. That's where I stand, because he doesn't give a shit. He could be bat shit crazy. He doesn't give a shit. No, we used to work with him.
Speaker 3:many, many years ago he was a client of ours. I love it Early days. Early days, my actually ex-wife now I'm not going to mention her name, cricket, but she Ribbit Did you say Ribbit or Cricket? But she chirped so no, but her cousin actually was his high school center, so it was kind of weird. When we signed him I was like, oh yeah, you know this guy, this guy, you know how it all connections in six degrees of separation is big in this business.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm sure so in your world. What do you consider more exciting here? Going through and working all this stuff for the draft or doing free agency type stuff?
Speaker 3:I love doing deals, the art of negotiation, okay, like it's you know when you're in the business. As long as I've been in it, like a lot of the GMs now are guys that I grew up in the business with, right. So they were like regional scouts or area scouts like 20 years ago and now they're GMs and it's actually really really cool, right. So we've all like progressed together. So like I'm having conversations with you know these, these guys I'm talking smack to them during the games and whatever like they're not having that conversation with most agents, but like when you're always with them like you know, it kind of pays off I mean, uh, I can.
Speaker 1:I can see that you have a more human reaction with with the player. We don't see players as having human reactions. We're not friends with them, we don't deal with them. You have dialogue with these guys and you become friends with them and you have more human reactions. So, man, I would love to talk shit to some of those dudes and just be like I'm just joking dude.
Speaker 3:No, I mean, I'm literally making bets with them during the game.
Speaker 1:I bet you're going to drop that ball.
Speaker 3:You know, just like little things Like I got I'll never forget I got the Giants GM to sit on a love sack for Justin Pugh. You know, as a small inner game bet that we made against each other and he lost and he had to take a picture on this love sack couch and got over a million views Do you have like a thing with love sack, I do.
Speaker 1:I have a deal.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, I lovesack, I do. I have a deal. Yes, yes, I literally. So justin pew, one of my clients on the giants when he came off the couch and in the middle of the season so week four I think it was um ends up or week five ends up, coming in and playing, and he was sitting on a lovesack when I called him about. You know, uh, coming back and playing for the giants.
Speaker 3:So I did a deal with lovesack but, like during the, during the game, when they do their announcements they usually say what team they're coming from. He said straight off the couch and we had actually talked about that before. So during the game it goes that that clip goes viral. So I called this guy, jamie, who owns a company called breaking teas. Him and I went to high school together and I said look, can we do a t-shirt for? That says straight off the couch and we had, by the time the game was over we had t-shirts made, a website design and we're selling t-shirts before the game even ended.
Speaker 4:That's because of the straight straight off the couch. Do you have a love sack?
Speaker 3:I'm getting two of them all right? Yeah, I'm gonna have two sacks, are you oh?
Speaker 4:man, are you getting the one with the speakers?
Speaker 3:oh, so that's the stealth technology. It's actually amazing.
Speaker 4:I'm dying to try this out. We're going to.
Speaker 3:Well, if you want to get one.
Speaker 4:I know people Well.
Speaker 3:We may have to talk about that If I get 30% off, you'll get 20% off and I'll make 10% fake.
Speaker 4:Take me out to dinner afterwards. At the end of the day, a snake's a snake.
Speaker 1:So I don't know what you would want to say about this. I just know that you have something big coming down the pipe and I know that you were talking about Lovesac kind of being involved or whatever. What is it you got coming down the pipe? So look.
Speaker 3:I've always felt the pressure as an agent to make sure that you take care of your clients beyond football, and most agents not to speak for everybody, but most you know they move on to the next guy that's paying them money, and I feel like you just have this duty to help the guys. So I've created a program that's going to be it's called the comeback and we've got, um, uh, a number of people involved. We've got Nick Cannon is going to be involved from Wild N' Out and America's Got Talent. We also have three major companies, broadcasting companies that are bidding on it and, honestly, it could be hopefully the next thing that's going to change a lot of lives for players, not just in the NFL, but all sports, um, in that transition to life after football.
Speaker 1:So you know what we talked about this a little bit.
Speaker 4:Is this a program? I'm sorry, is it a show.
Speaker 3:I created it.
Speaker 1:It's a show I created about six months ago. Awesome, it's going to be amazing, dude, because you're right, Like there's a lot of goodness that's going to come out of it. So I was thinking about it, Like after we had had dinner the other night, because you were telling me a little bit more about the idea and where this could go, with not just football, but baseball, basketball, you name it and I was thinking. I was like, man, it would be pretty badass if they did this with some veterans, man Guys that are homeless on the street. You know what I mean. Like holy shit, is that powerful? Like that is just badass. And then getting you know some of these professional, you know, like NFL, NBA, whatever.
Speaker 3:Well, Jake Lazor does that. Are you familiar with that program that he?
Speaker 1:does.
Speaker 3:No, yeah. So he has a program where he guys that have you know, just traumatic brain injuries and things coming out of war, right, and he matches them with retired athletes.
Speaker 1:Well now? So no, no, I do. I do know. Yeah, I'm well familiar with that Yep, and that's awesome. I do, I do know. Yeah, I'm well familiar with that Yep, and that's awesome. But what I'm talking about is is like there are so many, you know, finding them help and then getting them back on their feet with the same style that you're talking about. You know what I mean. Like I think that's huge and you know, our sports players deserve this because they put their bodies through hell. People throw them to the trash when they're used up, and it's bullshit, because you know what. They did their job, they did their job.
Speaker 4:So I think that it you know what you're doing is going to have mainstream appeal. What you're doing is like I mean, this is a pitch to Fox nation, that is a Pete yeah. Fox nation. I mean like so what I would say is and you decide with Guy what part of this you want to keep on the show, what you want to edit out. Yeah, yeah yeah, I would take what you're doing and you can almost create a comeback license model. There's a whole, there's a whole, nother thing.
Speaker 3:So, but there's, there's a mentor program, Yep. So where we can do it for the average person, that's not. You know we all need to come back Right. You know people go through ups and downs in life. You get knocked down. What's the most important thing Get back up.
Speaker 3:And I tell my kids all the time, like life is not going to go like this. Life's going to be up and down and my my youngest, is wants to be an actor and I'm like you're going to fail. 99%'t speak well enough, you don't do that. Like all they're gonna do is give you negative feedback and you better have thick skin because, yeah, hollywood is you know, hollywood eats you up.
Speaker 4:Yeah, believe in yourself don't let somebody else define who you are. You believe in yourself.
Speaker 1:You keep going after who's that nba player played for the cabs lebron james, no who's? That I mean no, no, so I haven't heard of him. Lebron, actually he needs to come back too.
Speaker 4:You're talking about the guy that's on the street down in Dallas.
Speaker 1:He was in DC for a while.
Speaker 4:LeBron actually tried helping him West Delonte.
Speaker 1:West. It's like man, holy shit man. Like that dude, I remember watching him. I remember watching him and it's like man, that guy's awesome. And then now he's on the street and he doesn't want to get off the street.
Speaker 4:That's a mental health issue. Yeah, it's mental health 100%.
Speaker 1:But mental health can be helped. You know it can be helped. That's what I mean with veterans. A lot of it's mental health you know, Well, they're seeing things that, look, the normal person doesn't see in life. Right, you come back from the war and you know, yeah, yeah, but I mean like with uh devante west, um, like what kind of what happened in his life? Like how can, how can someone help reconstruct his life to get him back out there? You know what I mean?
Speaker 3:well, it's probably one of those things where he needs to be on the right medication, I mean I don don't want to speak to something that I don't know about right, but like.
Speaker 3:I mean, I've seen, I've had players before where it's like, you know they have to take their ADHD medication or they have to take, you know, their depression medicine or whatever. Like, hey, just because you're fast and athletic doesn't mean you're not human and having normal issues that you know the average american might might have. So my thing is, hey, let's fix it, let's find a way to find that solution, give everybody a comeback, set something like they're that mentor dude people see it and you know what I'm gonna.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna follow it. I like, honestly, dude, I am, I am 100 like that when you told us that idea.
Speaker 3:Like I, I felt like I'm I'm.
Speaker 1:I think that it's not just a money maker, it's the goodness of it. There's a goodness thing that it's really going to help people, um, and I'd like to talk with you. Talk you more about this stuff as you develop it more. I know there's a lot of stuff you can't talk about now, um, but with that we're going to have to end this segment. Um, we would love to have you back here and talk again. Man, I know you're right down the road, but I know you're also really busy, so the invite's there whenever you want. We could do this, and next time we'll have a little bit more fun. We'll have some more booze. There's never enough booze, never enough booze. No, but this has been fun. Dude, thank you for coming over. Like I said, we'd like to continue this in another episode. Oh man.
Speaker 3:Yes, it's badass. A million stories and you know, and we got a lot of booze. We got a lot of booze.
Speaker 1:And you know what? I have a lot of like five terabit hard drives.
Speaker 2:We can.