San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Agent helps NFL clients on and off the field
up, Bryan Ehrlich dreamed of being a professional football player. Today, as an agent at locally based Generation Sports Group, he manages them.
He and the four other agents in the group represent about 20 players and coaches, including George Odum with the San Francisco 49ers, Marte Mapu with the New England Patriots, Derius Davis with the Los Angeles Chargers and Travis Bush, the first head football coach at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He also has local athletes as clients from the University of the Incarnate Word, University of Texas at San Antonio and other schools.
The agency helps its clients with a wide range of big and small tasks, such as navigating the predraft process, finding a good suit and forming plans for a post-NFL career, he said.
“One of the most rewarding parts for me is when I get to connect them with our current NFL players and they get to be shown the ropes of ‘Hey, here’s some do’s and don’ts of some of the mistakes I made,’” Ehrlich said.
With seven of Generation Sports’ clients picked in the 2023 NFL Draft, the group had the 10th-highest number of draftees among players’ rep agencies.
A San Antonio native, Ehrlich played football from middle school through his college years at Newberry College in South Carolina and a graduate year at Texas A&M UniversityKingsville. He played with the San Antonio Talons, the local arena football team, before starting a career in commercial construction with his father’s company, Central Builders Inc., which specializes in renovating grocery stores, including for HE-B.
Last year, he set off on his own by founding the construction company NCE General Contractors. He’s been with Generation Sports since 2017.
He recently sat with the Express-News to discuss his career as a sports agent, including what he looks for in his clients, the leverage that NFL players get from social media and whether it’s good to be an NFL agent in a city with no NFL team. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q: When you played football growing up, did you dream of a professional career?
A:
Yeah. I spent my entire life expecting to be a professional sports player. My goals were pretty simple: I wanted to play in college, I wanted to play on TV, and I wanted to play professionally. And I played in college, played on ESPN, and whenever I played for the Talons — it wasn’t long — I had accomplished those three goals, and I was OK with how everything turned out.
Q: Was it hard starting out as an agent?
A:
You really have to just take on any client that you can sign, because you don’t have the clout. I remember I had one that just wasn’t a great experience and made me really question whether I wanted to do it. I was talking to my partner, Matt, and he goes, “You know you don’t have to sign those guys, right?” As simple as the advice was, it changed how I recruited ever since. Whenever we recruit, (we look for) guys
that not only check all the athletic boxes, but as a human being and as a leader.
Q: You’re looking for people you get along with?
A:
Yeah. Can I have a conversation with you? Are you trustworthy? Are you a guy that we can be friends? I think if you do anything in business for money, or expecting something in return, you’re not going to flourish. For them, this is the first time they’ve probably ever experienced not only this industry but this type of money, and helping them make the right decisions. I’m here to help and create those relationships with them and be a part of their family — and them be a part of mine. You know, George Odum actually lived with me several times over the beginning of his career. We laugh about it because he trained down here in San Antonio, and not only did he not have money at the time, but I kind of put everything I had into it as well.
Q: Do you go out and scout the players?
A:
Early on I did. You know, I played football my whole life. I thought I knew what I was doing and I had the sauce. But as I realized the staple in this industry is having great relationships in the scouting world and the NFL front offices … again, if you don’t have a great relationship with those guys, you’re kind of running on hope. I try a lot in business to not run on hope. I try to be as prepared as
Having those relationships and having their input on who’s good and bad players, who has red flags, especially character-wise — having those relationships is huge. It allows us to minimize our risk when we go and actually recruit.
Q: Sadly, San Antonio has no NFL team. Is this a good city to base a sports agency?
A:
Yeah, I think so. No. 1, I take about 100 flights a year, so I wouldn’t necessarily say people are coming to my office. I’m mostly going to wherever they are. But I don’t think the lack of football team hurts, because there’s so much talent down here that not a lot of people see and not a lot of people have access to. Not many people think of flying into San Antonio to go to a Texas State game or an Incarnate Word game. UTSA recently got put on the map with a couple of big players and having some good seasons — but not a heavily recruited area. It gives me not only access to those schools, but to Dallas and Houston and West Texas.
Q: What do you do for your clients?
A: Some of it’s concierge work — if they need a flight or a rental car. It’s a lot of “Hey, I’ve been through this, let me connect the dots for you.” I think dot-connector is probably the job that takes the most time for us. We usually take care of all of the costs of the predraft process, which includes their travGrowing
el, training, all-star games, stipend. Some of them have longterm leases on their apartments. Then we help them navigate the predraft process: the combine, the all-star games, the team visits in the cities, the Zoom calls with the teams, all of the phone calls and meetings. Then, once they do sign with the team or are drafted by a team, we help them with their living situation, make sure they’re set up.
Q: What about they’re playing?
A:
after
We go to the front office and help them understand, “OK, this is how this kid’s mind works, and this is how you could probably get him caught up to speed the fastest.” Just giving them insight on how to fast-track some of these guys. On the back end, it’s helping navigate everything in the (collective bargaining agreement), which includes off-field fines, helping navigate when they get paid, how that all works. Then, finding off-the-field opportunities: getting them free suits for when they travel or a car. Just trying to trade some of who they are and their image for a mutual benefit to all parties.
Q: The business of sports is always changing, right? Do players have more or less leverage now than they did in the past?
A:
I think it’s improved. I think where the relationship has improved is the players now have a mouthpiece. They have social media. Instead of getting a PR representative to put out their story and what they want, they can go on Twitter, they can go on Instagram. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think that gives them more power. Whenever you’re leveraging your fan base behind you, that can only create great opportunities when you’re doing it the right way.
Q: Your website mentions helping them build productive post-athletic professions. Could you give examples?
A:
We’ve seen guys try to get active during their career. They want to start a clothing line. They want to start a business of their own. So we’re big in helping with the business formapossible.
tion, understanding tax consequences, getting them set up with the correct individuals. Then, whenever they do complete their careers, getting them in tune with their businesses, with coaching careers, with front-office positions.
Q: I’ve read that a lot of NFL players struggle after their careers.
A:
I wouldn’t say struggle. I’m glad that mental health has become one of the hot topics right now, because everybody struggles with it, whether you’re playing in the NFL or whether you’re building buildings. I think whenever you’re put on that pedestal, and you’re in the limelight for so long … the hard part is whenever you’re done, I can see where it’s embarrassing, when you get cut. I’ve been cut. That is embarrassing. These guys, the reason that they’re there is they have a lot of pride, they’re very competitive. They don’t like losing. Then you get cut and you’re sitting there going, “Did I just fail?” When in reality, they’ve achieved so much. They just have to understand what the new reality is and they need a good team around them to help them understand what that reality is.
Q: Do you advise them on the risk of brain injuries?
A:
Not only that, but my son, too. My son is old enough to play tackle football and we’re still debating when that’s going to start. It is something you worry about, seeing some of the injuries. What a lot of people fail to see is these are human beings. I think not only the CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) situation and revising some of the rules to make the game safer, but the mental part of it is much bigger, because you can go through mood swings pretty quickly. What makes some of these guys the best is whenever things are going great they’re never as good as you think they are, and whenever they’re bad, they’re never as terrible as you’d think they are. Keeping people as evenkeeled as possible is important.
Q: Do you root for an NFL team?
A: I do not. Nope. I root for my guys, and that’s about it.