April 2, 2007

Nationally Known Sports Agent Lends Advice to Cooley Students

Students at the nation’s largest law school learned a few tricks of the trade from nationally known sports agent Kevin Poston on Friday at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

"Patience is a must, along with tough skin, because you're going to have to deal with rejection, something we still deal with today," Poston told students. "But I think personal skills are important in this business.”

Poston is president and CEO of Professional Sports Planning, Inc. (PSP) with offices in metro-Detroit and Houston. The firm represents top professional football and basketball players, including Charles Woodson, Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy, LaVar Arrington, Julian Peterson, Kellen Winslow II and Michael Redd.

Since its inception, PSP has negotiated contracts for its clients in excess of $1 billion dollars. In 2006, PSP negotiated more than $190 million in National Football League (NFL) free agent contracts alone, substantially more than any other NFL contract advisor.

Poston joined Cooley Law School graduate and hockey agent Mike Miller at the event sponsored by the Grand Rapids Sports and Entertainment Law Society, a student group at Cooley Law School and the Arts, Communications, Entertainment and Sports Section of the Michigan Bar.

Poston and Miller both entertained with stories highlighting various experiences during their time in the industry and also spoke of getting a start in the field. Miller talked about struggling for approximately two years with only one client prior to getting a big break from a mentor in Minneapolis. Miller now has more than 20 clients, including several in the National Hockey League and is on a first name basis with “75 percent of NHL general managers.”

The pair also highlighted the positives and negatives of the business. Negatives include long hours, putting your future in the hands of a young man or woman aged 15-22 and the need to be available for clients on a 24 hour a day basis. Positives include meeting some of the stars of the industry, earnings potential and a connection to sports.

But clients also become more than just professional relationships in many instances. Poston and Miller each discussed the personal, life-long friendships that come from being a sports agent.

“Their (the player’s) families come and stay with my wife and I on a regular basis,” Miller said. “Friendship is an end result of many of my professional relationships.”

There are many facts that Poston and Miller agreed upon during the three-hour event, but one was likely considered by most attendees to be the most crucial – attorneys make the best agents.

Celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, Cooley Law School is the largest law school in the country and includes the largest African-American and second-largest minority student enrollment.  Founded in 1972, it operates J.D. programs in Michigan's capital city in Lansing, in suburban Oakland County, and in downtown Grand Rapids.  Today, Cooley Law School has over 12,000 graduates across the nation and worldwide and also offers joint degree and Master of Laws programs.  Additional information about Cooley can be found at www.cooley.edu.