Jelani Floyd and Dan Poneman on the Life of an NBA Agent

Becoming NBA agents wasn’t part of Jelani Floyd and Dan Poneman’s plan…like many people, they wanted to play for the NBA as kids. While Dan was in high school a website in high school where he ranked top basketball players in the state. He later found his niche in athletics not as a player, but as a writer. From a writer, he became a scout and—15 years later—an agent. Jelani, an Arthur Ashe National Sports Scholar, played professional basketball in Europe after becoming a stand-out student-athlete for Brown University and UC Davis. He always wanted to become an attorney and later earned his Juris Doctor degree at Illinois Tech’s Chicago-Kent College of Law. While studying to become an attorney, Jelani cultivated his relationships in basketball and reconnected with Dan. They later became co-founders of Beyond Athlete Management, a full-service sports agency. Dedicated to ensuring the success of their clients at the highest level, Beyond Athlete Management seeks to diverge from the archaic practices of the athlete management industry and raise the standard of sports representation. Jelani and Dan join me today to discuss the life of an NBA agent and what it takes to become one. They share how they became interested in athletics, and their journey to starting Beyond Athlete Management. They reveal the necessary steps to become a licensed NBA agent, and the business tasks involved in running an athlete management firm. And they also describe their process for recruiting athletes into their firm, and highlight why being an NBA agent is more than just being a business advisor for athletes.   Being an agent—especially for young athletes—is not just being a business advisor; you’re also a life advisor. – Dan Poneman   This week on the Physical Preparation Podcast: * Dan and Jelani’s backstory and what led them to the world of athlete management * How Dan and Jelani decided to become NBA agents * How to be a licensed or certified NBA agent * Why networking and cultivating relationships in the athlete management industry is more important than getting a certification * What makes the Beyond Athlete Management recruitment process stand out from other sports agencies * Why being an agent for young athletes involves more than just being a career advisor * What a typical workday looks like for an NBA agent * The different back-end tasks related to working as an NBA agent * Dan and Jelani’s favorite time of the year as NBA agents * The parallels between working as a coach and an NBA agent * Leading by example and how they educate young athletes on fiscal responsibility * What the NIL is and what the system can do for college athletes   Connect with Beyond Athlete Management: * Beyond Athlete Management * Beyond Athlete Management on LinkedIn * Beyond Athlete Management on Instagram * Beyond Athlete Management on Twitter * Beyond Athlete Management on YouTube   Connect with Jelani: * Jelani Floyd on LinkedIn * Jelani Floyd on Instagram * Jelani Floyd on Twitter   Connect with Dan: * Dan Poneman on LinkedIn *