A cornerstone to Urban Meyer's first four seasons in Columbus, Joshua Perry is a future NFL Draft pick. Over the next few weeks, the Ohio State linebacker will join Eleven Warriors to share his thoughts on the process of turning pro.
Buckeye Nation,
I’m gonna take things a bit of a different direction this time – I’m going to tell you about how I put together my “team." As I’m move into my new space as a pro athlete, I want to make sure I navigate it with the right people by my side. So here it goes.
The first and, I believe, most important part of my team is my “business advisor." I usually just call him "Dad," though. He is the one person I trust more than anyone else (my mom too). He has a vast knowledge of business (people, practices and otherwise) and his sharing of life experiences has helped me along my journey to this point and will help me into the future.
With him aboard, I started assembling other pieces of my team. The next was selecting an agent. I went through the process of talking to agents during the summer, had it narrowed down and ended up interviewing four entities. The plan was to stop there and keep developing relationships with the agencies throughout the season. I wanted to get to know the agents, see who would follow my parameters of how and when to reach me, and overall just ask questions to feel out who I could trust.
The wrench in my plan was when a new agency contacted my dad during the season and asked for a meeting. At first I didn’t want to meet them because they weren’t there in the summer during my interview phase. But with the advice of my dad, and against my mother’s wishes, I invited them to my house for an interview. My father and I were receptive and engaged from the start, whereas my mother was totally cold and disinterested. By the end of the interview, I was sold and my mom was all smiles. As a family, we fell in love with their body of work and their values as a company. I felt like I could gel with their personalities and develop a long term relationship with them. It was also really reassuring to hear some other Buckeye clients that they represent. It’s a list of names I know and respect, and only made my initial connection to them stronger. Due to that, I signed with Michael Perrett and Kevin McGuire of Element Sports Group after the Fiesta Bowl. They have been instrumental in my process to this point and I can’t wait to continue working with them.
The next part of the team is a lawyer. This choice was easy. Through periodical networking events, my father met a sports attorney years ago that he had developed a relationship with. Over the years, I had gotten to know him too. He is a great person, a former athlete and someone who understands and connects well to people in the athlete space. He is well respected, and was even invited to speak to the team at Real Life Wednesdays. He has since left his previous firm for a more corporate gig, but now also has his own firm that deals with sports law. Knowing him personally, it really just came down to my father and I sitting down with him for breakfast and discussing details. I know he is going to be important when I get some time in the league and really start building my brand, so I’m stoked to have him on the team.
The next teammate is my financial adviser. I interviewed three people from three firms and I went with the local guy boasting high recommendations. He has an impressive client list, both in and out of sports and he is also very well respected in his field. Another former athlete, he has connections all around the country, but more importantly, the knowledge and ability to develop a great plan for me down the line.
Lastly, I have a tax guy. I didn’t know where to start here, so I just asked a lot of former teammates and interviewed their recommendations. The man I chose is knowledgeable and works with a bunch of athletes so he understands the tax complexities that come with being pro athlete, like what can be written off as a work expense and getting taxed in all states you play in, for starters.
Many of you may be sitting back like, “Damn, JP. All of those people gotta be expensive." Well, not really. My dad IS NOT on the payroll (you’d be surprised) so that is an invaluable member that comes free. The agent is standard at this point in the game, and that business is highly regulated so athletes have a smaller chance of getting taken advantage of (unless you pick a shady guy). My lawyer is a reasonable man with fair rates. And he doesn’t charge me for emails or a 15-minute call, so he is truly only paid for services rendered.
Perry's Path
- 03/16: Forming a Team
- 03/09: Pro Day Prep
- 03/02: Combine Prep Q&A
- 02/24: Combine Prep
My financial adviser gets paid when he starts really working my money. I was not charged for any educational sessions or to set up a bank account and he told me he has clients that he doesn’t end up charging for years because of the approach taken to managing their money. And finally, my tax guy will get paid next year during tax season. I haven’t even signed an engagement letter with him yet. I wanted to take all of the steps I could to make sure I was going to have a high character, trusted team that wasn’t just in it for the check.
I’ve also made it clear — transparency is key. I want to be able to say anything to any of them, and them the same with me and I want them to feel free to communicate with one another too. I sent a spreadsheet to everyone with contact info and position on the team to make this viable. At this point, I’m super satisfied with my team!
That just a little insight into my team and how it operates. I just feel like that is a behind the scenes piece that many don’t know about and I wanted to share with you all.
As always, thanks for reading, and I’ll catch y’all on the flip!
Until Next Time,
Joshua Perry
