You’re right mate. Who needs agents. I have no doubt that a professional sports team with in house legal teams etc wouldn’t try and pull a fast one with a young up and coming lad.

Who do you think the player would want to sign for?
Example:
2 year contract with saints on 60k a year
3 year contract with wakey on 80k a year

No issue with players having professional representation as most are not the brightest and could be taken advantage of. However, I feel agents should be centrally employed and in no way whatsoever financially benefit from negotiating their clients contracts. That way they can only be acting in the interest of the player rather than their own bank balance.

Quite a few agents in RL also have football players on their books and are involved in multi million pound deals with them believe it or not but it’s fact. So I’m afraid the RL player is playing second fiddle, what an agent gets out of a RL players deal, I’m afraid is a drop in the ocean so they don’t pursue the players interest as vigorously as a big deal elsewhere, trust me on this one, I’ve been there.

Yeah! The point I was trying to make super was that you're not going to find an agent who would say to a client, "Go to Team X, because they're a good, middle of the road club with a decent set of blokes" rather than him say go to Team Y because they're offering £20,000 more than any other club.

Let's get real about agents. If they were so bad they wouldn't get any work.
I use an agent pretty much every time I've got a job. Most I would not have known about without them.
Some were very good and coached me a little but too.

I'm sure it's the same in sport.

Sorry but that’s rubbish. If we were talking complex multi million pound deals in far off lands as in football then yes. However we are not, what we are talking here for the vast majority of players depending on ability is similar money to that paid to a staring GP, a deputy manager at a supermarket or a police officer after finishing his probationary period.

None of the above require an agent. You don’t need to be a genius to be a copper. Yes they have unions of sorts but nothing to match an agent.

They are simply not needed. All that’s needed is a players union who send a representative to any negotiation. There job is not to negotiate but to advise. Legal advise and financial advise. Basically to say whether the deal on offer is fair and above board NOT whether it’s the best. The latter is the players task and I don’t care how allegedly dim they are, that’s life, that’s their responsibility and ultimately their call.

Maybe if they were forced to make hard real world decisions off the pitch like the rest of us then some might also make better on field calls, it’s called growing up, just a thought.

Whilst I agree in broad terms with this, without some guidance, there would be players, particularly the younger ones, getting short changed and whilst the balance of power may be too much in the wrong direction a decent agent can see the bigger picture and not just the £ signs.
Many of course are greedy, self serving whatsits.

We all get short changed or make wrong choices at some point in our young lives, I don’t see why sportsman are in any way special or more important than some young kid starting a career in engineering for example. And yes I realise it’s a short career but most are if you balls them up. As I say if we are talking millions of pounds I get it but RL isn’t in that class, I actually hope it never is.

This is part of the problem with pro sport, we over emote it and tend to give players more importance than they warrant. I know it works both ways and it’s not an ordinary job but everything comes with a price.

For me there is no place in our sport for agents apart from a few players operating at the top end ie Sam Burgess etc. That’s only because the figures and complexity involved does start to become specialist.

Young player signing for a club like Trinity, basic representation to protect against obvious exploitation (which is unlikely imo) is all that’s required, you don’t need an agent taking a cut for that imho.

All clubs wether football or RL will try and get their players as cheap as possible, like companies will pay the lowest wages if they could all get away with it, always remember, you’re just a number or in sport a piece of meat

If you don't have to be a genius to be a copper where does the criteria start, presumably from your opinion it's somewhere well below your rank in life, maybe a lorry driver or dustman, or a scaffolder, perhaps you'd like to share your thoughts as to the starting point of being a career genius, it certainly won't be a rugby player as you've already made that clear



Perhaps while your on a roll you could explain why in your world rugby players don't have to make real hard life decisions like the rest of us do, don't they have mortgages and mouths to feed etc, it would be interesting to know how you link that to making better on field decisions also, well at least we now know the meaning of growing up

Brian Clough’s attitude towards agents was the best, some funny stories on How he dealt with them.

Up the Trin

For the record all new police applicants have to be degree level qualified or be studying towards one.

It’s not intelligence in any job it’s common sense and I’m afraid majority of the younger generation and hell of a lot of the older ones haven’t got any.

Slightly tongue in cheek,but the young 'uns are on a treadmill and will need a degree to dig a hole in the ground eventually, and saddled with a massive debt.Crackers!

dont despair boris will sort it

True, as long as someone shows them which end of the shovel to hold

As usual you didn’t read what I said, if you had you wouldn’t have written the above. None of what I said remotely matches your response. I’d discuss it with you but honestly what’s the point, you’re just a shouter I’m afraid and as such a time waster.

In your words

Correct. Shame they don’t do degrees in that!

I read every bit of it twice actually, and gave my opinion on the the parts I replied to in your post, you are the one who said I never debate anything, so here's your chance to explain to me why you don't have to be a genius to be a copper or any other tradesman/labourer or rugby player.

Could you also explain why rugby players don't have to make (in your words) have to make real hard life decisions like the rest of us, two simple questions from somebody what does not agree with those imo ridiculous statements, oh and please don't revert to type with your bitterness it's beginning to tarnish your new found image.

PE Teacher?

As I say you simply don’t read things, I said the exact opposite, I said they DO have to make hard life choices just like the rest of us, but the rest of us don’t need or use agents, it’s an obvious observation, but I don’t suppose that matters to someone just looking for an argument.

In light of your dullard attitude this discussion is now over now you’ve slipped into your standard last throw of the dice

Twice now I've asked for an explanation and twice you've refused, so how is the discussion over when you refuse to answer my questions unless of course you can't without embarrassing yourself further, I'd ask you what you mean with your comment about me slipping into my last standard throw of the dice, but it's clearly just another pathetic attempt at diverting your embarrassment

Nope. Don't agree.
Employment contracts are important. They are fixed term deals which can wildly vary. Any player needs an expert to look at it before signing, unless RFL make them standard contracts.

If copper equals lowest entry level then maybe not but you need to have a brain the higher you go. Bit patronising to say that too.

And I also think it's quite patronising to imply they don't make hard real world decisions because they have agents.
When you are deciding on a contract that will keep you and your family financially afloat, when you don't know how long you have in your career or whether another employer will come along, you are in a stressful and tough negotiation.
I'd say that's far more hard decision than me taking a PAYE job I know has to follow certain guidelines and if it doesn't go well it's difficult for them to just sack me and also, I can just go to the next company and apply.

Precisely why I’d imagine they are important. They are negotiating real money where every couple of grand matters. As you say later in your post it’s their choice and I’m sure pretty much all players use agents now. I’m sure they wouldn’t if they didn’t achieve anything.