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Suiting Up with Paul Rabil

David Falk: Michael Jordan's Agent

Suiting Up with Paul Rabil

Paul Rabil

Sports, Business

51.2K Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2018

⏱️ 73 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

"In my business, I'm not a point guard. I'm a shooting guard. It's my job to go out and be a passionate advocate for my clients." David Falk is considered by many to be the second most powerful man in basketball -- behind David Stern. He negotiated professional sport's first $100 million dollar deal for Alonzo Mourning, and closed over $400 million dollars in free agency deals during a 6-day period. Falk's road to success in professional sports stemmed from a blue collar upbringing, where hard work and goal achievement sat at the forefront of daily rituals. His mother instilled in him to "Always shoot for the stars and never settle for anything less." On the show, we talk about what it was like to sign Michael Jordan, represent him in negotiations with the Chicago Bulls, Nike, McDonalds, and Gatorade, as well as how Falk and his team restructured many of the rules in the current NBA Player Handbook, to prevent the cannibalization of player image/likeness by the NBA. If you're in (or aspire to be) the business of sports, this show will equip you with a history of player representation, packed with anecdotes from MJ's career, the small and large (quite large) deals, and the celebrations. Falk and I also dissect certain core characteristics and soft skills that businesses and agencies are looking for. Hosted by professional athlete and entrepreneur, Suiting Up Podcast is a show that explores the psychology, playbook of tools, and strategies of the most influential people in sports, entrepreneurship, and entertainment. Special thanks to this week's sponsors Warby Parker, Away Travel, and Saxx (Promo Code: Rabil).

Transcript

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0:00.0

So I started thinking, don't ask me how, like literally in 30 seconds, this idea popped in on my

0:08.5

Nike just come out with a new track shoe and it had this revolutionary cushioning system called Air Souls.

0:17.0

So I said, wow, Air Jordan, flies through the air, cushions your feet.

0:22.6

So I say, okay, I got it.

0:23.6

We'll call it Air Jordan.

0:25.2

David Falk is considered by many

0:28.1

to be the third most powerful person in basketball,

0:30.6

now behind David Stern and Adam Silver.

0:33.4

On the show we talk about what it was like to sign Michael Jordan.

0:36.8

Represent him in negotiations with Chicago Bulls, Nike,

0:39.8

McDonald's, and Gatorade, as well as how Falk and his team restructured many of the rules in the current

0:44.8

NBA Player Handbook to prevent the cannibalization of player image likeness by the

0:49.5

NBA.

0:50.5

Falk's road to success in professional sports stemmed from a blue collar upbringing

0:54.1

where hard work and goal achievement sat at the forefront of his daily rituals.

0:58.2

His mother instilled to him to quote, always shoot for the stars and never settle for anything less.

1:04.0

Welcome to an all new episode of Student Up Podcast.

1:06.0

This is a show where I delve into the stories of some of today's leading athletes,

1:09.0

entrepreneurs, entertainers.

1:10.0

I'm your host Paul Rabel.

1:12.0

Enjoy my conversation with David Falk.

1:15.0

We're here in DC and I've always wanted to meet you and spend time with you because of your experience in sports.

...

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