Agent fees in League Two

Despite the rest of the league thinking we are big spenders, we are 7th highest on the list of agent fees spent by league two clubs

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Buying the league aren’t we

I've never really understood why a club pays the agent?

Should it not be the player that pays 'his' agent, otherwise isn't what we (and all other clubs) are doing is more or less 'bribing' the agent to get his client to play for 'our' team?

The only way I could think how it would work otherwise would be like an 'employment agency', where you send them details of what you want - say a 20 goal a season centre forward, plus a cheap goalkeeper, untried at senior level and prone to making the odd howler, and they go and have a look on their books who they have and send somebody who they say fits the criteria - and I doubt very much that is what really happens.

Anyway £50k well spent it makes the difference in going up rather than not, I suppose?

Sluffy wrote:I've never really understood why a club pays the agent?

Should it not be the player that pays 'his' agent, otherwise isn't what we (and all other clubs) are doing is more or less 'bribing' the agent to get his client to play for 'our' team?

The only way I could think how it would work otherwise would be like an 'employment agency', where you send them details of what you want - say a 20 goal a season centre forward, plus a cheap goalkeeper, untried at senior level and prone to making the odd howler, and they go and have a look on their books who they have and send somebody who they say fits the criteria - and I doubt very much that is what really happens.

Anyway £50k well spent it makes the difference in going up rather than not, I suppose?yers

You actually made me really think hard about this... who pays the commission.  In real estate (across the pond), the seller and buyer's brokers share 6%... paid by the seller but is factored into the selling price;  Actors who sign with agents are different... the money is paid to the agent, who then deducts his 10% (so he doesn't have to chase his/her money) and then forwards the remainder to his/her client... one agent says it behooves the client as well because the agency knows the extras that production companies often forget to add; then we go to models and their agents... who often charge the model and the client equal amounts of 20%... in fact the Trump modeling agency (yes the same Bozo who raped the country) did the same to models... charging them fees for administrative costs, pictures, videos, hair and make-up and walking lessons... leaving new models in need of cash advances and in servitude to the agency until they can garner higher fees to pay off those advances; literary agents charge their writers 15%, and the client sends the check to the agent, who then pays the writer... additionally there are more fees charged for additional markets where books are sold - 20% or more and tv and movie rights are charged an additional 20%;  a photographers agency charges 20-30% and fees are agreed upon in advance... here the check could go to the client or the agency;  sports agents collect between 4-15% of the fee paid by the club to the player, as well as a percentage or flat fee for all endorsements and appearances by said player... three years ago, Scott Boras made $100 million (according to Money, Inc) for providing his services;  Jorge Mendes came in third with $88 million, mostly from finding Portuguese football players... FIFA has tried to limit the fees by making them transparent... but agents have pushed back... and why shouldn't they with the humungous fees they are collecting.  Of course, this does not even address under-the-table payments that are made.  As I said, Sluffy, you really gave me food for thought about this issue, so thanks.

Simon Jordan recently described agents as 'bottom feeders'. I'm sure most of them do a decent enough job, but I sometimes wonder whether some of the big name agents know they work for their player, and not vice versa.

You’d think that the bigger the earning power of the talent, the lower the percentage they’d be able to negotiate with an agent in which case low earners would cough up more so the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Isn’t there an opportunity for the PFA to set up their own flat rate agency to protect the players and squeeze the leeches out of the market?