Over the weekend, PGA Tour player Michael Kim took to social media to share some golf tips with amateur players.
On Monday, Kim once again made an interesting post on X, explaining to fans how players sign with agents and agencies.
Check Kim’s thorough explanation out in full below:
“When you’re first out of college and a really good player, agents will reach out to you directly to you or your head coach showing interest. I had multiple agents reach out to me in one way or another. Many head coaches are really suspicious of agents as some have a bad rep. It’s tricky, they’re really good salesman and unless you’ve known them through someone else, you’re not sure who to trust. You can find MANY examples of agents stealing from the player and/or many shady deals.
“It’s honestly a bit of a dog eat dog world. I’ve heard rumors where players were going to sign with an agent and all of a sudden a different agent shows up with a really good deal with a company and the player ended up signing with the new agent for the deal. Some of the shadier ones will come up to a player even though he’s under contract promising a better deal or throw in a line or two to try and create doubt. Guys end up changing agents throughout their career for a variety of reasons, mainly if they feel like they have been tossed to the side because of a better or newer player.
“But to be honest, it’s mostly about the player. How marketable are you? Are you good during your outings? Are you playing well and on TV often? Stuff like that adds up, and with enough time, fans see through a lot of the BS and know who’s cool and not which shows up in the deals you get.
As a player, you have to decide what size of agency you want to sign with. Bigger agency with lots of names like Wasserman, or a smaller agency. Bigger agencies already have established connections and, through their bigger players, can even get certain deals or even exemptions into events.
“But the downside is, because of their big crop of players, in a way you’re all competing for the same pie within the agency. If I know the same level of player within the agency gets a new deal, you can be left wondering, why didn’t I get that deal? A smaller agency, you don’t have to worry about that kind of stuff but also know that in general, the agent isn’t going to have the same amount of power or sway within the industry. You can be the big fish and know that all the big deals might come through you.
“Personally, I wanted to be with a bigger agency. Deals with companies aren’t always a one company to one player type deals. Many times (in the smaller level deals), companies make deals with multiple players at once and usually the money and deal is divvied up amongst the players in one agency. Obviously the company picks the players that they want to endorse, but I know I’ll be one of the candidates among many deals. I never cared about the sole attention that the agent would give me.
“I was super fortunate that I signed with a guy that truly truly cared for his players. He and his family treated me like family and was the absolute best. He passed away a few years back and I miss him dearly. Love you JM”.
As usual, Kim does a great job of giving fans a glimpse of what it’s like to be a player on the PGA Tour.
Article originally appeared on: Golfwrx.com