MSCI99
Varsity Lurker
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2010
- Messages
- 134
*edited b/c someone called the fun police.
Glad to see one of our own making it big. From the Athletic - NFL Top 40 under 40
Damarius Bilbo, NFL agent, head of Klutch Sports Group’s football division | Age: 38
Bilbo is one of the NFL’s new power agents, with a star-studded roster of clients that includes Chase Young, Jarvis Landry and Alvin Kamara. He linked up with NBA agent Rich Paul — who represents LeBron James, among other basketball stars — two years ago, and is building Klutch Sports Group’s football division into a formidable player. Bilbo, who spent one season in the NFL after playing quarterback and wide receiver for Georgia Tech, spoke with The Athletic recently about Klutch’s expansion into the NFL.
What is your philosophy as an agent? How do you approach your relationships with clients?
My philosophy is about how you define yourself as a player. If you’re calling yourself only a football player, then you’re only going to pay attention to football things. I make my guys understand that you’re a professional first, and then an athlete. When you hear the word “professional” — that’s business. You need a brand in both, a business brand and a football brand. Let’s be real. Some players won’t be as successful on the field, but if you handle the professional side right, if you build relationships, if you build resources and you create a professional brand, who knows what the rest of your life will look like.
What are you envisioning for Klutch football in the next few years?
We’re not an agency that just wants to represent numbers and a lot of guys. We truly believe that less is more, because we really want to have the relationships. We really want to have these guys understand what my agency means to me, and it’s far beyond football. To really be able to build these young men and show their talents outside of the game. We want them to be the best football player and NFL guy they can be and make it to that generational money on that second contract. But we also want them to really understand what business is and what it means, because if we can help mold them into a better professional and a better businessman, then that team is getting a great product when they draft them and they’re going to want to pay them.
How did your own football career shape the way you operate as an agent now?
I always knew whether I was in the league for two years or 10 years, I had to leave at some point. I stressed with my agent, what’s the plan if I don’t make it? This is today, but what does two or five or 10 years look like after football? It can be a cliché in this business to talk about life after football, but I’m one that actually lived it. I played major college football, had the chance to go to the NFL as an undrafted free agent, but now I’m really living my purpose with life after football.
Glad to see one of our own making it big. From the Athletic - NFL Top 40 under 40
Damarius Bilbo, NFL agent, head of Klutch Sports Group’s football division | Age: 38
Bilbo is one of the NFL’s new power agents, with a star-studded roster of clients that includes Chase Young, Jarvis Landry and Alvin Kamara. He linked up with NBA agent Rich Paul — who represents LeBron James, among other basketball stars — two years ago, and is building Klutch Sports Group’s football division into a formidable player. Bilbo, who spent one season in the NFL after playing quarterback and wide receiver for Georgia Tech, spoke with The Athletic recently about Klutch’s expansion into the NFL.
What is your philosophy as an agent? How do you approach your relationships with clients?
My philosophy is about how you define yourself as a player. If you’re calling yourself only a football player, then you’re only going to pay attention to football things. I make my guys understand that you’re a professional first, and then an athlete. When you hear the word “professional” — that’s business. You need a brand in both, a business brand and a football brand. Let’s be real. Some players won’t be as successful on the field, but if you handle the professional side right, if you build relationships, if you build resources and you create a professional brand, who knows what the rest of your life will look like.
What are you envisioning for Klutch football in the next few years?
We’re not an agency that just wants to represent numbers and a lot of guys. We truly believe that less is more, because we really want to have the relationships. We really want to have these guys understand what my agency means to me, and it’s far beyond football. To really be able to build these young men and show their talents outside of the game. We want them to be the best football player and NFL guy they can be and make it to that generational money on that second contract. But we also want them to really understand what business is and what it means, because if we can help mold them into a better professional and a better businessman, then that team is getting a great product when they draft them and they’re going to want to pay them.
How did your own football career shape the way you operate as an agent now?
I always knew whether I was in the league for two years or 10 years, I had to leave at some point. I stressed with my agent, what’s the plan if I don’t make it? This is today, but what does two or five or 10 years look like after football? It can be a cliché in this business to talk about life after football, but I’m one that actually lived it. I played major college football, had the chance to go to the NFL as an undrafted free agent, but now I’m really living my purpose with life after football.
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