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All MiLB Players should read this 
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The number one question I get asked by minor league players is, "How do I get a deal?"
Before you even ask your agency& #39;s marketing person (if your agency is lucky enough to have one) or your agent this question, let this sink in:
The number one question I get asked by minor league players is, "How do I get a deal?"
Before you even ask your agency& #39;s marketing person (if your agency is lucky enough to have one) or your agent this question, let this sink in:
There were only 189 MLB players paid to post on social media last year (Instagram, Twitter, and/or Facebook). There are 750 players making up the 25-man rosters. That means 561 players in the Major Leagues didn& #39;t get paid to post for a brand on social.
Only 37 of those 189 players who were paid to post on social media in 2019 were paid to post 5 or more times. This means that the other 152 players who were paid to post on social, were paid for four or less posts. (Data provided by @opendorse).
*Please note that in the above tweet I& #39;m talking about paid social posts, not "traditional endorsements", although most of the guys who were on this list were the same guys getting the "traditional endorsements".
If you& #39;re not one of these players getting paid, you need to focus on building your brand and making sure you& #39;re outperforming your teammates on the field.
There are ALWAYS exceptions, but as a general rule, the players making up the list I referred to above have strong personal brands and are one of the best players on their team.
I& #39;ve spoken to hundreds of players who have told me they have fired their agent or thought about firing agent because of the lack of deals they have. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
I then go and look at their socials and see they haven& #39;t posted in 6 months, have under 2,000 followers and terrible engagement. News flash: it& #39;s not your agent& #39;s fault you don& #39;t have a "deal". What are YOU doing to build your brand?
Who are you reaching out to to learn about building a brand, not just how to get paid? What books are you reading to learn about building a brand? What marketing newsletters are you subscribed to?
Most of the time your on-field agent doesn& #39;t have a marketing background, a branding background, or know how to create a social media strategy for you. At most traditional agencies, your agent& #39;s job is to take care of your on-field matters. (That is more than enough work)!
Most larger agencies have at least one marketing person that is expected to "get deals" for all 350 clients. Give me a break! It& #39;s impossible to expect one, two, or even five marketing people to take care of the needs of all 350 clients.
Just know if you& #39;re in rookie ball with 500 followers, you& #39;re not a "priority" to your agency. The marketing person is not out looking for deals for you, and your agent shouldn& #39;t be either.
If you& #39;re threatening to fire your agent over lack of deals, refer back up to my earlier tweets where I asked what YOU were doing to build your brand. Also refer back to the number of players paid to post on social media last year.
And quit calling your agent (or your marketing person) saying, this guy who was a first round draft pick or is a top prospect got a deal and you didn& #39;t, so therefore you& #39;re taking meetings with other agencies. If you& #39;re not at that guy& #39;s level yet, then find a way to get there!
And take whatever your teammate says his deal is with a brand with grain of salt. Unless you& #39;ve seen the actual agreement and know the exact terms of his deal (which you& #39;re not allowed to see, btw) - then don& #39;t compare what you don& #39;t have to what he does have.
The agent and marketing team who tell you you need to work on building your brand and help you do that BEFORE you worry about getting paid are the ones you should keep around. Don& #39;t believe the ones that tell you they can get you a paid deal with 2,000 followers.
Most importantly, there are other ways to make money off the field outside of just paid social media posting or traditional endorsement deals. Not every single player is going to be paid by a brand, but that doesn& #39;t mean you can& #39;t make money off the field.
There are opportunities for investing in businesses, creating your own merch line, etc. Don& #39;t get sucked into this mindset of "traditional endorsement" or bust.
There aren& #39;t enough of those "traditional endorsements" to go around, so start thinking of other ways to make money and grow your brand.
A good agency will set realistic expectations upfront and will help you reach goals that make sense for you.
Take responsibility for building your brand. Take responsibility for your performance on field. Hire good people around you that don& #39;t just tell you want you to hear and that can help you reach those goals you have.
Study what other successful players are doing to build their brand. Don& #39;t just ask how to get paid, because there& #39;s SO much that has to come before that. You& #39;re not entitled to a deal just because you& #39;re a big leaguer or a top prospect. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🗣️" title="Silhouette eines sprechenden Kopfes" aria-label="Emoji: Silhouette eines sprechenden Kopfes">
I& #39;ll save the data for how may NFL and NBA players are getting paid to post on social for another day. Just know, MLB is behind - way behind, and it& #39;s not even close.
My hope in writing all of this was/is to shed light on how far behind MLB athletes are in branding and marketing and challenge those players who want to have a shot at these opportunities off field to put in the work (with the help a marketing person you trust)!
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
