Conflict of interests are serious obstacles for the player and the agent. Unfortunately, seeing conflict of interests are not always as simple as it seems. This becomes especially true for agents who do not keep distinct lines in the sand when it comes to personal relationships with team owners and executives. And therefore, it is crucial that a player’s ethical boundary is similar to his agent.
The biggest clue if the player’s and agent’s ethical boundaries are the similar can be found on how the agent first approached the player. But there are other ways a player to determine where his agent’s ethical boundary is, a player should ask several questions like (a) does the agent accept favors or tickets from teams; (b) how does the agent feel about including the player in the negotiation process like seeing the offers or sitting in; (c) when would you recommend a player seek another agent’s services; and (d) how does the agent handle representing more than one player on a particular team?
A player may also want to figure out: (a) does the agent recommend a player to hold out; (b) What will you do for me once I decide I no longer want to play professionally; and (c) Have you ever been disbarred, suspended, reprimanded, censured, or otherwise disciplined or disqualified as an attorney, or as a member of any other profession? And there are several other questions a player should ask a prospective, or even current, agent. A player also needs to determine how he feels about an agent possible representing coaches as well as players.
An agent should always inform his client about any potential conflict of interests. However, like mentioned before, those conflicts are not easily seen especially in today’s market. Many people–agents included–feel it is okay to accept favors and build personal relationships in the business world. To a certain extent, building relationships are crucial to the agent’s ability to properly represent the player. An agent needs to build professional relationships with executives and team owners. But it creates a conflict of interest when the relationships become personal instead of professional.
If an agent is regularly accepting tickets or going for drinks or dinner with team owners or executives, a personal relationship has probably developed that can be inconsistent with the agent’s ability to be the best representative for his player. The agent needs to remain objective to pursue a player’s best interest in negotiations and career strategy. Just like an agent needs to be able to tell his player when the player is messing up, the agent needs to tell a player’s team when its mistreating his player. Personal relationships with teams can cloud the agent’s judgment, so the player needs to determine if he is okay with his agent’s relationship with a team.
A player needs to make sure his agent–like anyone else–does not leave him open to being manipulated. Overall, a player needs to seek God’s guidance–not necessarily a preacher, spouse, family member, or coach’s perspective–but God’s on who would better represent him and his future endeavors.