Professionalizing Being a Player Agent: Takeaways from Episode Four of "Bull By the Horn" by Benny Benitez

It's about the "Jerry Maguire of Philippine basketball"

Last night's fourth episode of "Bull By the Horn" by Benny Benitez tackled the business side of the sports that Filipinos love specifically on the side of being a player agent and when we're talking about player agents, nobody can talk about it all other than the legendary Danny Espiritu who, in 1992, already handled 84 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) players. actually studied accountancy in college. And the irony of it, accountancy is the practice involving business transactions. And yet, money is the least of Danny Espiritu's worries.

Joining the discussion is Marvin Espiritu- son of Danny Espiritu and one of the minds behind the Espiritu Manotoc Basketball Management (EMBM) that has been the pioneer in the business of managing athletes and their interests. Also present in last night's episode and was the one who kept the conversation light is Arwind Santos of the San Miguel Beermen who even said that "If you don't trust your agent, nothing will happen in your career" Completing the cast was last night's co-moderator and Ateneo Blue Eagles team manager, Epok Quimpo.

The discussion revolved around how it's like to be a player agent and the responsibilities that come with being someone like Danny Espiritu. Explaining how his being an athlete agent began, Danny Espiritu shared that it all began in the late 80s when he allowed four big men to enter his restaurant along Roxas Boulevard and incidentally, one of the said men was Bong Alvarez. Espiritu later revealed that Bong Alvarez asked the former if Espiritu could accompany him to a  meeting at the office of the Alaska franchise. As it turned out, that was a contract negotiation and that, Alaska was ready to offer, Alvarez, a two-year contract that was worth 15,000 to 20,000 Pesos which was already big at that time. Apparently, Alvarez was already ok with the offer but Espiritu asked the team for another meeting and in that second meeting, Espiritu tried to ask the team for a better offer considering Alvarez's talent and Alaska bettered their initial offer to 20,000 to 25,000 Pesos. And that was what turned out to be the start of Espiritu's career as an agent that ironically began with him just wanting to help. 

Espiritu then began receiving requests from other players to help them get better deals and Espiritu worked to create a contract suited for a player's ability based on the different contracts he previously worked. That was until 1992 when the PBA sent Danny Espiritu a letter which stated that the latter cannot represent players during contract negotiations without the presence of an actual between Espiritu being the agent and the players being the clients. Initially, Espiritu was happy about the letter but the players refused to let him go so with the help of his lawyer, Espiritu, and his players were able to draw up a contract but what makes Espiritu one of the most sought-after agents in the industry is that even back then, he doesn't make his clients sign the contract they have with him. It all comes down to two things: trust and respect. The elder Espiritu also shared that he always lets a player go if that player wants to end the contract with him but also mentioned that he doesn't reject a player and that's something that Arwind Santos attested to. Santos, a champion in both the collegiate and professional level, also shared how simple Danny Espiritu as a person and that that the latter is always there for the players that he's handling.

On a deeper dive to the business, Marvin Espiritu started by saying that he love basketball and that, he's passionate about the game. And while he played ball from grade school to high school, he didn't pursue the sports in college nor professionally as he entered the corporate world after college- working for FEDEX. And even while in the corporate world, Marvin, being the techy one, was the one working on the computer to draw up the contracts his father was handling and from there on, he started learning about the basics of handling players' contracts. Marvin also shared how he want to professionalize being a sports agent and that, his partnership with Matthew Manotoc in the late 2000s through EMBM allowed him to do just that. And more. The younger Espiritu shared that EMBM now offers a complete service in managing an athlete and they are not just talking about contract negotiations. For him, it's about" how to build a relationship with the athletes" and that, one of the philosophies he carries to this day is that at the end of the day, the final decision will still belong to the players themselves.

But perhaps, the most important takeaway of last night's episode is that as a player agent, one of your many responsibilities is to make sure that your player understands everything from every detail of the contract, to the pros and cons of signing and not signing the contract, and to the possible consequences of the player's decision especially if he doesn't sign a contract that the player won't get elsewhere. For Marvin Espiritu, it's also important that as a player, you should accept your talent's limitation and as an agent, it's your job to make sure that your communication line with that player remains open especially for players who unfortunately get undrafted. Espiritu also explained that as the agent, it's also your duty to explain the options that undrafted players have. 

As Benny Benitez said, it was indeed, another fun evening with a ton of learning experiences especially with regards to the business side of the sports. But if there's one takeaway to summarize last night, it all began with Danny Espiritu wanting to help and his son's passion for the game. And those things indeed make them the Jerry Maguires of Philippine basketball.

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