Who is here to help advance my career?
Key Learnings
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Take the decision to work with an agent very seriously because you are deciding to let someone act on your behalf.
Ensure your agent has certification from FIBA to work within International basketball as an agent.
Use different representatives (agent, financial advisor, and lawyer) for different parts of your personal and professional affairs.
Remember that the reputation you build at the early stages of your career will impact how marketable you are when you are playing at higher levels.
Build good relationships with your sponsors to increase the chances of renewing your contract.
A Player's mentor looks after the player’s best interests and personal development only.
A Players’ Mentor will help you develop your career and help you planning and identifying transitions.
Family plays a paramount role in the development of a player; however, they do not understand the specificities of the game, and, most of the time, they will not understand what is happening in your head.
Parents are primarily responsible for the overall evolution of the athlete as a person.

Securing an agent

Below is a checklist you can use to walk through the process of signing an agent. If you already have an agent, portions of this checklist may still be helpful for reviewing and/or strengthening certain aspects of your relationship with your current agent. If you do not already have an agent, first determine if your current level of play in basketball requires you to have one.

Choosing an agent

  • Determine what kind of representation you want: large vs. small agency
  • Consult FIBA’s list of certified FIBA Agents and ask your national federation, coaches and trusted colleagues about the reputation of prospective agents.
  • Conduct a background search on agents you are interested in working with and verify all educational degrees, credentials and/or licenses of prospective agents.

Making an agreement:

  • Require your agent to disclose all previous professional relationships to identify any conflicts of interest.
  • Create a written contract detailing the terms of the agreement between you and the agent (e.g. length of agreement, payment structure, scope of agent’s role, process for terminating the contract, etc.). If an agent is going to handle your finances, consider using an independent auditor to conduct regular audits of your accounts.
  • Before signing anything, review the contract with an outside lawyer and, if necessary, have the contract translated into your native language to ensure you understand the terms and obligations.