How to be a sports Agent in 2023

Many of us dreamed of making millions by negotiating on behalf of the world’s finest football stars when we watched Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire.

Here are a few pearls of wisdom from one who has prised open a few oysters in his time. 

Terry Byrne’s Journey as a Sports Agent 

Terry Byrne started life in football as a youth player for lower-league clubs Leyton Orient and Cambridge United. 

When he retired as a player he drove a cab in London for a while before training as a sports masseur and landing a job at Chelsea; this led him into sports management and for nine years he managed former England captain David Beckham. He founded Round World Group talent management and has on his books: Katie Zelem, the captain of the Manchester United women’s team; John Herdman, Canadian national team; England manager Gareth Southgate; and former Brentford and QPR manager Mark Warburton. 

Here are a few tips from a veteran in the multi-millionaire football game

Is it all private jets, Jerry Maguire, and “Show me the money”?

“I watched Jerry Maguire many years ago and it’s definitely not like Jerry McGuire, as I tell everyone who comes into the industry. It is everything that is not in that film! There isn’t a TV film or series that depicts this industry.”   

“I think it is all about relationships with the talent, I think it is about commercial revenue for both parties. I think building a plan that ties in with their thought process and being aligned and then ultimately negotiating the best deal you can for your clients.”   

How is the path changing for those who want to become a sports agent? 

“I think legislation is changing the rules over the next year. FIFA is regulating more of the industry;  people will have to do agent’s exams to get a qualification. There will be a change of fixed revenue that the agents are allowed to earn – a maximum of three per cent on each deal. So, I think it is all about to change and certainly in the last few years you have had more family members acting as intermediaries, some very well and some not so well. The industry itself is about to go through a big change.”  

“Ownership of clubs is changing regularly. The American owners and the Middle Eastern owners are affecting the transfer fees and the way clubs are structured. I look back at my time at Chelsea 30 years ago; there were four of us in the medical division – now, when the first team travels, it is 50 staff that travel with clubs now at the top end of the premiership. I think they have become a lot more professional and that’s a good thing – but I also think three are diet, nutrition and sports science.”

“Players are racehorses today and anyone who tells me players earn too much money – the reality is, if they are very lucky they can earn ‘til maybe 32 on average. Not many of them are in the first team at 18 and won’t be until they turn 20, 21. So they’ve got less than 10 years to earn as much as they possibly can. So, I don’t begrudge any player that earns very well and it is obviously a percentage at the top that earns those kinds of figures, in the lower leagues it is much harder. In the Championship the salaries are much lower and they go down and down with the divisions.” 

Stay Up-To-Date

Want more insights, company news and business advice? Subscribe to the weekly Matt Haycox newsletter.