The Best Man for the Job: How Women Are Leading the Future of Sports Management

“I was seeking out the best, and that’s how it happened,” said Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts when asked about his all-women management team days before the Super Bowl LVII. In the case of the young QB, the best man for the job was a woman. In a world where social influencing is meaningful, identity plays a role alongside merit and performance. Now, in a world where identity and politics tend to play a bigger role than merit and performance, sports and the business of sports has not yet fallen to the ideologies that place inclusion over winning. And while women working in the business of sports have gained strides, the female agent continues to need big boots in order to kick down heavy doors.

In 2023, Nicole Lynn, President of Football at Klutch Sports and agent to Hurts, introduced herself with an Instagram message to Hurts saying, “Hey, have you picked an agent? If not, I’d love to link.” Three years later, she negotiated a record-breaking contract for Hurts: a five-year contract extension with the Philadelphia Eagles, worth $255 million. The deal was the largest contract by average annual value in NFL history at the time.

Lynn now leads a highlight reel of success for her clients. Besides being a groundbreaking female agent to top athletes, what differentiates Lynn from other sports agents? In short, Lynn negotiates for the long game. Her legal skills and financial prowess build a path for her clients towards financial security long after they have retired.

Lynn saw an unfortunate cycle in the industry, in which NFL athletes, who only average 3.3 years in the league, find themselves struggling financially once retired. A staggering 78% of former NFL players report financial distress within two years of retirement. Unfortunately, while many agents are searching for the Jerry McGuire “high” of contract negotiation and player signings, they often miss the mark on ensuring their clients are thriving on-and-off the field for decades after their playing days are over. A former agent, Molly Fletcher, states, “Quite frankly, negotiating contracts is a small part of what our company does for our clients. [90%] of the package is managing their lives once those contracts are done.”

Fletcher, a motivational speaker and business woman, speaks to the innate abilities of women that assist them in dominating as sports agents. She is insistent in her talks to women who are sports agents, or interested in becoming one, that sports management is historically a man’s game; to succeed, while being the lone woman in the room, she must find a way to command respect. In other words, a woman is going to ruffle some feathers. She states, “As a woman, when you are sitting in front of baseball players [or] 45-year-old multimillion-dollar coaches, it is important to establish credibility and for them to understand that you are knowledgeable about their business and understand their world.” Fletcher did not shy away from often being the only woman in the room; instead, she saw it as a competitive edge: “as a former athlete, I am aggressive enough to negotiate contracts, but as a woman, you have inherent nurturing ability, and I think those things cross over very well…”

Professional athletes carry immense pressure often living in a bubble and out of a suitcase away from home and family. Besides striving to meet the demands of public scrutiny, these athletes may find themselves as the primary breadwinner at a young age. Thus, a support team is required to assist them through their often chaotic lives.

Equipped with an ability to connect with her NFL clients and her intelligent business acumen, Lynn is a triple threat holding a law degree from University of Oklahoma. This, in turn, allows her to wear many hats for her clients—another reason for her success. Professional athletes carry immense pressure, live busy schedules, and are relied upon by those around them (often financially). Thus, if they can condense their payroll from manager, marketing team, agent, and attorney to simply one person who can facilitate it all—it is a win, win, win.

Lynn, like Fletcher, applies her legal skills in areas not associated with sports agents, such as financial advice. She reiterates to her clients the understanding that, besides their health, the most important aspect of their young lives is recognizing that money is finite. Lynn states, “I’m passionate about teaching financial literacy, teaching ‘adulting’ skills, and really getting these guys across the finish line, and in-and-out of a career in the NFL into the rest of their lives.” Once a financial analyst for Morgan Stanley, Lynn has her clients take classes on financial literacy. She demands that her clients understand that their time in the game is not forever and investing in depreciating assets during their career can cost them immensely in retirement. Lynn monitors and even scrutinizes her athletes’ purchases. Unless the athlete possesses the knowledge or is supported by those who will ensure that they are saving their money, Lynn plays the “mama bear” and ensures that her athletes do not fall into the trap of living beyond their means or making unnecessary purchases.

For example, Hurts has an average annual salary of $51 million. He pays $2,000 in rent a month for an apartment that is twenty minutes from the Eagles practice facilities. Hurts says, “Instead of buying a brand new car, because it depreciates as soon as you get off the lot, you can buy a used car or lease a car…Instead of going out to eat all the time at these five-star restaurants, you can simply cook at home, or a person like me, I’m a take me a few to-go plates from the facility.”

Even mundane expenditures become transparent to the athlete as a result of Lynn’s financial program. Hurts spotlights things like saving money on landscaping or phone bills: “The third way you can save money is on a phone plan like Straight Talk because it runs on the same major networks like other brands but that allows you to save a lot of money. Instead of hiring a landscaping company, you can hire a local kid from the community to come cut your grass like I used to do.”

Lynn’s influence has made an impact on Hurt’s overall financial strategy. She is a superagent with a genuine passion for protecting her clients on-and-off the field, as well as putting the athlete on the path to a successful retirement. While a player’s time in the NFL is unpredictable and inevitably ends way too soon, at least in the mind of the athlete, Lynn has proven to her clients that she is in it for the long game.

In the modern era of sports management, there is not a seat at the table reserved solely for women. However, if players are seeking out the best representation, then the best will find a way to rise to the top. In the pursuit of individual greatness, diversity will follow. Women are certainly among the best—not solely for their diverse identity, but for their diverse approaches from financial and legal backgrounds. Rooted in the belief that those who work hard will fight to be in the room where things happen, despite all that makes them different from the person seated across from them. Nicole Lynn, Molly Fletcher, and others represent the fight to be at that table. Their fight continues to inspire young women in law school to take flight in that same journey to the top.

*The views expressed in this article do not represent the views of Santa Clara University.