Tag: Todd Ramasar

I want to start with kind of a bigger picture question. It may seem a little reductive to ask but for a lot of people they see an agent as just someone who’s negotiating contracts. Obviously, that’s not the case. When you explain your job, what does an agent do? Todd Ramasar: The primary focus of an agent is just that, in terms of negotiating contracts on behalf of the client, both on and off their field of play. For me, as an NBA agent, I obviously negotiate their team contracts or their uniform player contracts with teams, but also negotiate their endorsement deals and such. I would say the primary focus of an agent in those negotiations is obviously maximizing the value of the client. I like to think that’s what I’m going to be judged on or that’s why a client signs with me. Because I like to think I’m going to exceed those expectations. But being an agent is so much more. I don’t know what it was like to be an agent 40 or 50 years ago when Mark McCormack or IMG started — obviously, they give that credit to him for being the first agent — I think with the changing of the times and the contract values and just the relationship with clients, you have to be so much more to your clients.

It seems like it’s definitely more complicated, that’s for sure. Todd Ramasar: It is. I was at the SBJ dealmakers conference yesterday. Steven Bornstein from Genius Sports said something that was profound to me. He was like, ‘We no longer have 24-hour days.’ My head exploded. ‘We have, like, 30 hour days.’ And I kind of leaned in, and he was so nonchalant. And he was like, ‘I look at my 17-year-old boys, and they’re sitting on the couch, playing video games, watching the game on their mobile phone while having a conversation with somebody else.’ He was like ‘Just the multiple platforms and the engagement that is available even on our smartphones. It’s not just a text and a phone call. It’s like all these different apps. I’m getting hit up on WhatsApp, iMessage, I’m getting phone calls and emails.’ The point is that for me as an agent, I’ve had to adapt over time to be in multiple places at one time. You know I can be there in person while somebody is in New York when I’m in California through Zoom. Or I could be on the phone or my as I am in New York right now, and soon to be in Paris, I could physically be there as well. You just have to adapt with the times. If you do that you can navigate and find success. At least that’s how I look at it.