Eleven Warriors - A Buckeye Sports Blog

Now, I want you to go to each of these agents - discreetly - and say the words “tse-tse fly”. Say nothing else. Now go.

Andy Katz has written a feature about Mike Conley Sr. and his new career as an agent. It’s true that he negotiated his own contracts in track and field, but I’m sure that was the rule rather than the exception for that sport in his era. Saying that, people seem to think he’s well suited for the task at hand. Sneaker pimp Sonny Vaccaro had this to say:

“If there was ever a person to take on a venture like this it’s Mike. He’s going to do good things for Greg. They won’t be easily recognized now but they will. Greg will be the perfect first client for him and Mike has negotiated contracts before — in track and field. Mike Jr. will be more difficult because it’s his son and he’ll want what’s best for him and he’ll want to max everything. Daequan won’t go high enough for a marketing need. It’s all perfect for him.”

And:

“He’s probably one of the most personable, likable and honorable people I’ve met. I knew he was thinking about this for a while. And he also has this going for him — his clients totally believe in him.”

Katz also speaks to the “unnamed agent” that pointed out how his inexperience could hurt him when it comes to negotiating a contract for Oden, before helpfully listing all of the finer points for Conley Sr. to consider.