Advisers, they play a very important role in many players careers. More and more, especially in the COVID environment, Advisers are helping players maneuver around obstacles in their career paths.
Unfortunately though, some Advisers now are taking advantage of people’s lack of knowledge and their belief that everything they read on the internet has to be true.
Recently I caught one “adviser” claiming that three of my clients were his on his Elite Prospects page when he has never worked one day with them. What did Elite Prospects do when asked about their verification system? Nothing. Because advisers pay more when they have more “clients” listed under their name, so why would Elite Prospects even try to verify player lists when they would loose money?
There is another “adviser” spending money sponsoring a league wide promotion that makes it appear as though he is actually representing each player used in that promotion. Very smart advertising buy, but completely misleading.
Yet another “adviser” likes to list players as clients and claim their accomplishments on his website when he has had nothing to do with the player ever.
While some of you may think this is much ado about nothing. It really is a problem every player needs to be aware of.
Did you know that as a player, you can not endorse any “products or services” without violating NCAA eligibility rules?
Did you know that as a player, it is you who is responsible for where your name, image and likeness are used or how they are portrayed?
If, a player is deemed to be endorsing a product or service, that player can loose eligibility, or be forced to sit out for a period of time for that violation.
Advisers are not subject to NCAA rules concerning this matter. In fact the NCAA while having rules on the use of advisers, has no way to enforce its rules as they relate to advisers. So, the only way to ensure compliance is to enforce rules on the athletes using advisers.
Picking an adviser is a very important decision. Experience matters.
Boutique Adviser services are not cheap, and these Advisers do not take more than maybe two dozen clients at a time. Why so few clients? Because from a time management standpoint it is impossible to assist more players than that and still be effective.
Imagine having 50 or more clients, talking to them, talking to teams on their behalf, watching game film, evaluating the market for their advancement and preparing avenues for their future development. It is impossible to do that with that many clients and actually deliver the best results.
Some of these “advisers” are signing anyone who will pay. This is the worst king of person. A real adviser isn’t going to take everyone who has a heartbeat. A real adviser will be honest and turn down players who clearly don’t understand the process or don’t have a clear view of exactly what their potential is.
I have been doing this for nearly three decades now, and I have seen at least a few hundred “advisers” come and go. It’s been humorous to watch really. Some people who never played, or actually operated at a high level within the game claiming to be advisers.
Advising is about using knowledge, understanding, advance planning and patience to secure multiple pathways for your clients to achieve their results oriented goals.
It is not about making a phone call and getting into a camp, or getting one call up. A good Adviser is not like using the internet where you get instant gratification for your web search.
Take your time before choosing your adviser. While searching, do not believe everything you read, because even the Yugo had television commercials, and that car didn’t have much success.
Joseph Kolodziej – Adviser
