Title: Globalisation and the evolving player-agent relationship in professional sport

Authors: Daniel S. Mason, Gregory H. Duquette

Addresses: Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, W-W16E Van Vliet, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H9, Canada. ' Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, W-W16E Van Vliet, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H9, Canada

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine player representation in professional sport within the context of broader changes in the global market. Following an overview of agency theory and the traditional role fulfilled by agents on behalf of players, we review how changes have impacted players and agents in professional sports. These include: the increasing importance of endorsements; the increasing presence of transnational agencies; a growing allegiance for athletes toward the corporations that sponsor them; the mobility of labour and rise of ||borderless athletes||; the emergence of athletes whose incomes are generated as much by their marketability as their playing talent. We then discuss the implications these changes have for the player-agent relationship in terms of the traditional principal-agent relationship proposed by agency theorists, and suggest that the bond between player and agent has been eroded by agents| relationships with sponsoring corporations.

Keywords: player agents; globalisation; conflicts of interest; endorsements; player-agent relationship; professional sport; sport management; player representation; agency theory; transnational agencies; sponsorship; corporate sponsors; labour mobility; sport marketing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2005.007123

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2005 Vol.1 No.1/2, pp.93 - 109

Published online: 27 May 2005 *

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