Singletrack

Tyler Clements | Should Professional Trail Runners Have Agents?

Oct 10, 2022

01:36:53

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Tyler Clements is the Founder of Surveyor Sports Management where he serves as an Agent/Athlete Manager for some of the most notable trail and ultra runners in our sport.

Similar to our recent talk with Kelly Newlon, I was really excited to have this conversation with Tyler because it was an opportunity to shed light on another point of view in the athlete-sponsor landscape.

We talk about:

his background as an Athlete Manager
what it looks like on a day to day basis to represent and work with professional trail runners
whether it makes financial and career sense to work with an Athlete Manager or Agent
insights into the recruitment and negotiation process
whether athlete contract sizes are growing right now
how much of a factor age and injury play in the re-negotiation process
whether it makes more sense to stick with one brand or to move around in your career

Tyler struck me as someone who cares deeply about his craft and the role he plays helping athletes navigate their professional careers.

Sponsors:

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Timestamps:

(2:22) - background as an agent, interests in trail and ultra running
(5:45) - defining athlete management, what it goes into being an agent for athletes
(17:23) - responding to the concern that trail and ultra athletes can’t afford agents
(22:12) - helping athletes strategize and plan for their entire careers, future selves
(27:03) - the questions athletes typically aren’t asking in the negotiation process
(37:03) - whether athletes benefit more from sticking with one brand for their careers or moving around
(44:23) - how athletes can determine what they’re worth pre-negotiation, what to ask for upfront
(56:22) - whether there’s a significant gap between what brands want and what athletes want from a partnership
(60:24) - whether athlete contract sizes are growing across the board, or for only the top athletes
(65:14) - whether there are elements of contracts in other sports like gravel biking that make sense for trail running
(71:21) - how much of a factor age and injury play in the contract re-negotiation process
(78:26) - opportunities for athletes to engage and partner with non-endemic brands
(93:03) - final thoughts on the athlete-sponsor landscape

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