DONTÉ B. GRANT

Sports Agent/Lawyer
LifeStyle Sports Agency
dontegrant@LifeStyleSportsAgency.com

Interview

• Where are you originally from?
  Atlanta, GA

• Where do you currently reside?
  Atlanta, GA

• What prompted you to get into the entertainment industry?
  I've always loved sports. As a kid, I played them all: football, basketball, baseball, and I even ran track for a few years. I went to college on a basketball scholarship. I wasn't quite good enough to be a professional athlete, so I decided I'd represent professional athletes instead as an Attorney/Sports Agent. So I came up with a plan to go to law school. The sports agent opportunity came first. I graduated law school and took the NBA Agents exam in January 2020, passed it, joined LifeStyle Sports Agency - an upstart agency just getting started a few months after, then signed my first client, Isaac Okoro, who was just recently drafted by Cleveland with the 5th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. The last step in the process is passing the Georgia bar exam, which I'm awaiting results as we speak. Then the plan will be complete.

• Please outline the services you provide for clients and any specialties.
  I'm the lead Sports Agent for LifeStyle Sports Agency based in Atlanta. We offer complete and comprehensive representation, using a boutique approach. Contract negotiation, marketing & brand development, skills development & training, financial services, legal services and community relations. We're a new agency but through our partnerships we're quipped to provide our clients with everything the more known agencies offer as well. The only difference is they've been around longer.

• What type of clients do you typically represent? What factors do you consider when deciding which clients to take on?
  Currently, we represent NBA and WNBA clients, however, the goal is to get into the NFL next and eventually the MLB as well. The plan at LifeStyle Sports Agency is to be a full-service sports agency in the near future. Factors we look for in clients aside from talent, we want athletes with great work ethic, high character, that are driven individuals and love their sport and aspire to be great at that sport. Players that are gym rats, the first person there and the last to leave.

• What is one thing people would be surprised to know about your profession? What is one of the biggest misconceptions?
  The biggest misconception is that Sports Agents are all like Jerry McGuire. Don't get me wrong, I love that movie... But it's just that -- a movie. In real life, most of us are very detailed individuals, most of us are lawyers, so our main priority is the well being of our client. That's the job, right? We prefer to play the background and ensure our clients careers are well taken care of, without the hoopla and distractions.

• What are some challenges or obstacles you have faced as an African-American in this profession?
  As an African-American man in this profession the primary challenge/obstacle for me was getting into the profession. Another challenge is having the network and connections with gatekeepers (as I like to call them) or people in the business that can help you and vouch for you along your way. Thankfully for me, I had that, because I played collegiate sports and have made so many friends and built so many relationships over the years. Relationships that are paying dividends now. That said, while in law school, I reached out to every single top Sports Agency trying to try to get an internship and none of them got back to me. Which made me re-evaluate my approach, take a step back and go through all my contacts in the sports world and see who I knew that knew someone at an agency that could help me get my foot in the door. This approach paid off and ended up helping me build a rapport with an agent at one of the Big 5 agencies, which I won't name. The plan at the time, was for me to work for them after I graduated law school in 2019, but that plan never came to fruition. Even though they knew I had relationships with prevalent people in grassroots basketball in Atlanta, relationships with skills trainers, AAU coaches, scouts, and more importantly -- the players. Which is what all these bigger agencies want more so than anything. For whatever reason, I didn't get the job with that agency though. So my next plan was to reach out to smaller up and coming agencies and pitch them the same idea. Which in turn, ended up being my entry way into the business and by God's grace, a few months later I got an opportunity with LifeStyle Sports Agency. The CEO/Founder, Omar Cooper, took a chance on me, and gave me an opportunity and for that I'm forever grateful. A few months later we signed our first client, Isaac Okoro, who was just drafted 5th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft by Cleveland. Not many agents get to sign lottery picks in their entire career, much less in their first year as an agent right out the gate. Shoutout to our whole team at LifeStyle Sports Agency.... Blessed is an understatement.

• What do you think can be done to improve diversity with regards to representation?
  I think sports agencies need to realize the importance and value of diverse representation. They need to realize what it means when these young kids see someone that looks them, has similar life experiences as them, that may even come from a similar background as them, and is in a position of power to help them make their dreams come true. They need to realize hiring us as runners or the middle man, is a thing of the past. We are more than capable of being the Sports Agents/Lawyers too. To that point, we African Americans, have to make sure we have all the boxes checked on our end, so when an opportunity presents itself we are ready and don't have to get ready. For example, I paid for the NBA Agents exam, and my agent dues out of my own pocket during my last year of law school. I looked at it as an investment. Most wait for their agency to pay for those things for them. I didn't have that luxury though. I studied for the exam alone, read the entire NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, and passed the exam, securing my NBA Agents certification before I even had an opportunity at an agency. The way I saw it, if I'm already licensed and certified through the NBPA, when an opportunity at an agency presents itself, I'll be ready to hit the ground running... That plan paid off twofold.

• What advice would you have for other African-Americans looking to enter this profession?
  As stated above, prepare yourself in advance, meaning get certified and licensed beforehand. Don't wait on anyone to do that for you. Trust me, that makes you just that more marketable than your competition. Network and start planing and building relationships with people in the business. Also, if possible try to intern at an agency in undergrad to learn the ropes, and gain experience in the process. Recruiting, marketing, negotiating are all vital skills for an agent. Sure, some of that can be attained on your own. However, what's better than hands on experience? Nothing. Hands on experience is invaluable, especially in this business.

• What is the best way for people to get in touch with you?
  My social media handle is @LegallyDBG on IG & Twitter (though I'm never on twitter). My email is dontegrant@LifeStyleSportsAgency.com