On a shortened first day of the NFL draft that will include one fewer round and just 63 overall picks, Paul Lawrence likely will have a connection to eight of the names called.
Lawrence, who lives in Everett, is an agent for Maximum Sports Management in Indiana, and eight players slotted to be picked in the first two rounds Saturday are MSM clients.
“I’m almost excited as they are,” said Lawrence, whose agency represents five players expected to go in the first round alone. “These are like my little brothers now. I know what the critics were saying about them and all that they’ve gone through.”
According to rankings in Pro Football Weekly’s annual draft guide, USC defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis is expected to be a top-10 pick. Tennessee State cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, South Florida cornerback Mike Jenkins, Arkansas running back Felix Jones and Indiana receiver James Hardy — who join Ellis as MSM clients — are also probable first-round picks. Purdue tight end Dustin Keller, USC offensive lineman Chilo Rachal and Indiana cornerback Tracy Porter are hopefuls for Round 2.
Lawrence, a 42-year-old graduate of Seattle University, feels a special attachment to Porter. He started recruiting the IU senior-to-be last April, eventually signing him on to MSM.
“It’s a lot more personal with Tracy,” Lawrence admitted. “I’ve done a lot of work with him over the past 12 months. I’ve done some things with Felix Jones and Mike Jenkins, but I’ve only known them three months. Tracy, I’ve known him for a lot longer. He’s my guy.”
Lawrence has been a certified agent since 2004, but his background representing players goes well beyond that.
He got into the business through former Seattle SuperSonic and current Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan, with whom Lawrence forged a friendship in the late 1980s. At the time, McMillan’s Sonics practiced at SU, where Lawrence attended school and played basketball.
A public administration major and budding entrepreneur, Lawrence asked McMillan if he could market a “Three Thieves” T-shirt that featured the Sonics guard along with teammates Gary Payton and Kendall Gill. When the shirts were a success, Lawrence planted the seeds for a future career in the business of sports.
Lawrence maintained a relationship with McMillan after graduation and soon struck up working relationships with athletes like Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Sam Adams and Rainier Beach High School basketball star Jamal Crawford. While at the University of Michigan, Crawford introduced Lawrence to Wolverines wide receiver David Terrell. Lawrence agreed to represent Terrell, but together they had to find a sports agency.
Soon the duo joined Adams’ representative, Eugene Parker, who represented Deion Sanders and Emmitt Smith at MSM. Thus, a career was born.
The job has its rewards, both financially and in terms of freedom.
“I enjoy it because it’s not a desk job,” Lawrence said. “I’m not the kind of guy who likes to sit at a desk and do the same thing every day.”
And so Lawrence doesn’t even have a desk. His work space is the living room of his house, which includes four television sets — one is connected to his laptop computer — a few NFL helmets and framed jerseys of some of his better-known clients.
In that living room, Lawrence calls on potential clients, helps negotiate contracts and does other services for players like travel arrangements and even planning.
“I have the freedom to come and go,” Lawrence said. “I can work in the morning, work at night, work whenever I need to. I can do whatever I want to do: go to a game, buy a house for a client, buy a car for a client. Every day, it’s something different. That’s why I love it.
“Would I recommend it for others? No way. It’s a hard job.”
The hardest part, Lawrence said, is the rejection. He starts building relationships with potential clients before their final year of college, and more times than not those prospects opt to go with other agents.
“Everybody wants to take the prom queen to the prom,” he said, “but they can only go with one guy.”
Lawrence said his worst heartbreak came after University of Washington wide receiver Reggie Williams chose Carl and Kevin Poston over him before the 2004 draft. He also missed out on Washington State University defensive tackle Rien Long, with whom Lawrence forged a solid working relationship.
“I used to be in sales, so I got used to the word no,” Lawrence said. “But I wasn’t used to building relationships for seven or eight months and then having them say no. That was hard.”
There have been plenty of success stories as well. Lawrence befriended Larry Fitzgerald Sr. through numerous phone conversations before his son, Larry Jr., signed on with MSM in Jan. 2004. Larry Fitzgerald Jr. is now one of the top receivers in the NFL, and signed a four-year, $40 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals last month.
Lawrence said that agents can’t make more than 3 percent commission on an NFL contract, but that cut can get as high as 20 percent for endorsement deals.
It’s not a bad way to make a living at all.
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