Analysing commercial representation by football agents: how does a football agent conduct commercial representation of talent in the football industry?

<p dir="ltr">Agents’ position as the intermediary between players, clubs, and third parties has seen their role and power grow immensely in football since the early 1990s. The role of today’s football agents has two dimensions: on the field representation involving representing clients in contract negotiations for their football activity, and off the field representation focused on managing clients’ off-the-field activities, such as commercial negotiations and marketing. Despite increasing athlete branding and commercialisation in the modern football industry, football agents' role within this dynamic commercial space is highly under-researched. This thesis analyses football agents' commercial representation of talent, aiming to explore and conceptualise commercial representation to address this research gap.</p><p dir="ltr">This project examined the role of football agents in the commercial representation of athletes. It constructed a conceptualisation of this role consisting of three major dimensions: development of the athlete brand, utilisation of the athlete brand, and commercial partnerships and relationships. This conceptual framework is developed through a social constructivist approach to research methodology, employing data generated through a qualitative research methodology involving semi-structured interviews with agents (N = 15) and a quantitative methodology involving an online survey with agents (N = 25).</p><p dir="ltr">The conceptualisation of commercial representation by football agents has been developed as a model with three core dimensions: (i) Athlete Brand Development, (ii) Athlete Brand Utilisation, and (iii) Athlete Brand Relationship Management. Then, each dimension has its sub-dimensions. Athlete Brand Development is comprised of four key sub-dimensions that focus on establishing the athlete brand and developing its initial brand equity: (1) Creating the Athlete Brand Identity, (2) Identifying Athlete Brand Potential, (3) Developing Athlete Brand Strategy, and (4) Promoting the Athlete Brand. Athlete Brand Utilisation is comprised of four key sub-dimensions that focus on balancing the growth of the athlete brand’s equity against the acquisition of endorsements and sponsorship agreements for commercial revenue: (5) Enhancing the Athlete Brand, (6) Sourcing Commercial Contracts, (7) Negotiating Commercial Contracts, and (8) Managing Commercial Contracts. Commercial Market Partnerships and Relationships is comprised of five key sub-dimensions that focus on the establishment of a commercial network to support the growth of brand equity and commercial revenue: (9) Relationship with the Athlete (10) Commercial Industry Relationships, (11) Collaborative Partners Relationships, (12) The findings underline that agents undertake a broader set of responsibilities when performing commercial representation of athletes, which should be seen as taking managerial responsibility for the athlete brand and its commercialisation. Therefore, this thesis reinforces our understanding of the evolution of agents’ roles into that of brand managers. This evolving role requires a wholly different set of expertise and skills than those associated with traditional football agents to succeed in the modern-day football industry and the sports industry in general. Hence, the agent’s role in commercial representation extends beyond the pure representation of talents. It now encompasses managing the development of the athlete brand, its utilisation, and building partnerships and relationships, and, in the process, advancing the brand toward commercial success.</p>