Last week’s news that former UConn basketball player Brittany Hunter decided to forgo her plans to work as a graduate assistant at UConn and instead become an assistant coach at Temple University contained an interesting piece of information. Hunter, in addition, to working as a graduate assistant at UConn, also planned to join the law firm of Robinson & Cole to “begin the pursuit of her dream of becoming a sports agent.”
The entry of Robinson & Cole, which has offices in Hartford and Stamford, into the sports agent business would certainly be worth watching. Despite the success of both men’s and women’s basketball at UConn, there are very few high-profile firms or agents in Connecticut. The reasons for the absence of agents are many, including:
- The rise of the mega-firm that provides all legal, business and personal services that an athlete requires (see IMG, Octagon);
- The investment of time and money required to recruit big-name players;
- As seen with O.J. Mayo, the biggest stars are likely recruited and have relationships with agents well before they step foot in Connecticut; and
- It is difficult to break into the business and form relationships with players and their advisors (a likely reason for Robinson & Cole to bring Hunter on board)
However, those who believe that Connecticut is not a suitable base for a sports agent, look no further than Branford-based NFL agent Joe Linta. Linta has steadily built an impressive client list and is now breaking into the glamour positions of football, as evidenced by his representation of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.
Is she still planning to pursue a career as an agent while being an assistant coach? It seems like the two would be difficult to balance.