In the second game of the night, the University of Florida defeated the University of Cincinnati and successfully advanced.

The next day, major media reported on the NCAA semifinals and predicted the finals, and most people were optimistic about Michigan winning the championship, citing the data on the court, they won too easily, and Florida still wasted a lot of strength against opponents who lacked core stars.

The team was on vacation, Guo Xu and Richardson stayed in the room to sleep lazily, and only got up at noon to eat, but as soon as they left the hotel door, they were stopped by someone.

This is a white man who is not good-looking, wearing an old coffee-colored suit, looking like he is in his early thirties, about 1.8 meters tall, with a big belly, weighing at least 200 pounds, his hair is not long, very curly, his facial features are very festive, and he is smiling.

He pulled out two business cards and handed them over, introducing himself, "My name is Harpy Waters and I'm a basketball agent, could I have the pleasure of having lunch?" ”

Guo Xu looked at the business card, the content was very simple, the fat man is a member of the independent sports and entertainment company (ISE), a basketball agent certified by the players' union.

Richardson asked, "Do you know us?" ”

"Jason Guo and Jason Richardson, you played really well last game, and I'm optimistic about your future prospects in the NBA, so I wanted to talk to you about it." Harpy smiled.

According to normal procedures, NCAA players cannot contact agents too early. But in fact, most quality players have already chosen their agents early on, and there is no shortage of black-gold deals.

The NCAA also has a shady list of illegal recruitment, the most famous of which is the old rival of Michigan State University in the Big Ten League, the "Michigan Five Tigers" of the University of Michigan.

"Let's go, we're going to eat, no taboos, just eat something." Guo Xu said with a smile.

Harpy breathed a sigh of relief, he stayed outside the hotel all morning, just waiting for Guo Xu, which was a very test of patience. He's been an agent for two years and doesn't want to get nothing this year.

The agent of the NBA is a cruel monopoly industry, the rich and powerful have everything, and if the rich and powerful have no luck and can't find a player who has a firm foothold in the NBA for a long time, they can only be finished, and food and clothing cannot be guaranteed.

Harpy is one of the agents who has no money and no power, and NBA players will not consider him, so he can only try his luck among college players and sign those who have the strength to play in the NBA and are about to participate in the draft.

In order to make a good impression on the players, Harpy didn't dare to be too shabby, and the three went to a steakhouse.

Before the meal, Harpy seized the time to talk about his own advantages, business capabilities, and self-promotion.

The two quickly understood that the fat man's only advantage at the moment was that the price was cheap, just give him a little money, and he would serve you wholeheartedly, because he had no other players to serve.

According to NBA rules, agents can only receive 4% or less of the salary from players. A good agent will get 3%-4%, and a newcomer like Harpy will generally get 2%. In order to grab the rookie, some agents are even willing to sign 1% of the salary, and first do the results and then increase the salary.

If the annual salary of a rookie player is about $1 million, the average agent can only get a commission of 20,000 yuan a year, which is similar to going to a restaurant to brush the dishes, which is too low for an agent who is well-dressed all year round and appears on various high-end occasions.

This season, there are only 31 agents in the NBA with an annual salary of 10 million for its players, and 10 million can only be said to be "well-off", truly entering the wealthy class, at least the total annual salary of its players has reached more than 50 million, and there are only 10 such agents. The competition for NBA agents is significantly more brutal than for players.

Of course, the player's salary is only a part of the agent's salary, and the real money for an excellent agent is to help the players receive advertising endorsements, and they can get about 12%-15% commission at a time. For example, when the agent David Falcao connected Michael Jordan with Nike, it can be said that a business has become a legend for a lifetime. In Jordan's cooperation with Nike, Falcao made a lot of money, at least $50 million.

It is difficult for ordinary players in the NBA to receive advertising endorsements, so agents have to find ways to help players become stars, which tests a person's ability. They all want their players to play in high-profile cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc.

If a player wants to become a superstar with high commercial value, he must have a good agent.

In Guo Xu's previous life, there was a term "Yao Ming Effect" circulating in basketball circles. The large city and environment can maximize the commercial potential of the players, and the agent's income from Yao Ming is 50% higher than that of players of the same level.

In addition to his own efforts, Yao Ming's success in the NBA has also played a big role in the "Yao Team" led by Bill Duffy. Judging from the attendance, record, and personal honors of the game, Yao Ming is not a superstar in the eyes of many people, but in terms of commercial value, he is on the same level as James, Kobe and others.

Yi Jianlian is also an example, he chose the famous Dan Fagan as his agent.

In 2007, Yi Jianlian was selected by the Bucks with the sixth pick, refused to go to Milwaukee, and finally compromised for more than a month. From this alone, it can be seen that big-name agents control the league far more than you think.

Because of the Yao Ming effect, Dan Feigen is willing to work Yi Jianlian. The total annual salary of his players has reached nearly 150 million, and Yi Jianlian's annual salary is only more than 3 million, but Dan Fagan does not hesitate to anger the management of a team for Yi Jianlian. Later, he also let Yi Jianlian join New York (Nets), Washington (Wizards) and Dallas (Mavericks), all good cities, this is the role of big-name agents, but unfortunately the player did not play.

After eating for a while, Harpy asked what the two of them thought.

Richardson lost interest when he heard that Harpy didn't even have a single NBA player client. He shook his head and said, "Harpy, thank you for inviting us to eat, but I haven't thought about whether or not to participate in this year's draft, and I have to talk to my family about signing agents, and their opinions are important to me." ”

"Really? Never mind. Harpy smiled wryly.

He had expected that Richardson would not find himself as an agent, this kind of super physical black player has unlimited potential, and if he does not enter the league, he will attract the attention of big-name agents, and when Richardson announces his participation in the draft, there will be a lot of people to compete, and it will not be his turn.

Harpy looked at Guo Xu, for fear that the other party would also politely decline, he had experienced this kind of thing too many times. Guo Xu is his number one target this year, as a player, Guo Xu has a flawed body and his average data per game is not beautiful, but his basketball skills are very good, and he is a dark horse in the semifinals. Big-name agents may not look down on Guo Xu, so he has the possibility of "picking up leaks".

Guo Xu swallowed a steak, wiped his mouth with a tissue, drank another saliva, and said with a smile: "I will participate in the draft this year, and now it is decided, the agent will sign you." ”

"Really?" Harpy froze for a moment, his eyes widening. "What did you say?"

"I said the agent will sign you." Guo Xu repeated.