"You're always learning in this business," NFL agent Ed Wasielewski says. "I think to be successful in this business - because the business is changing so much - you really have to learn and grow with it and adapt."
Wasielewski, speaking by phone from Los Angeles where the long-time player rep was making the rounds before and immediately after the premiere of Esquire TV's newest football docu-series, 'The Agent' - a docu-series of which Wasielewski is very much a main subject - clearly believes in the message he's advancing. Why else would he choose to go in front of cameras, but in the hopes that his turn on the series brings greater exposure to himself, his company EMG Sports and his current client base? What better way to grow, to adapt than to stay out on the cutting media edge of a sport that has seen explosive development in recent years thanks in large part to the success of a series like HBO's "Hard Knocks," which was the public's first intimate look behind-the-scenes at the professional football world, but clearly won't be it's last?
"The Agent," which premiered Tuesday and will again make it's way to television and computer screens this week, shines a light on the same world, even if it may exist in a slightly different universe. Wasielewski, from his very first scene, is depicted as a blue-collar, nose-to-the-grindstone kind of agent. It's a persona he touts, one he works to cultivate. Any success brought from "The Agent," Wasielewski assured HNGN, won't change that.
"My approach is a boutique agency. We choose not to be too big. We want to focus on our clients that we have. We provide certain services for our clients and that's by choice. That's by design."
NFL agents, like the players they represent, come in all shapes and sizes. As do their wallets. "The Agent," which focuses on Wasielewski, as well as three other agents - Sunny Shah, Peter Schaffer and Jeff Guerriero - very much affords viewers a glimpse into these player representation gradients. Or, at the very least, a specific section of the slope.
While the show isn't meant to play up the glitz, glamor or oftentimes over-the-top aspects of the National Football League and its bevy of talented players and the tiny handful of elite agents with a seeming inside track to their business, instead honing in on the regular men and women who carve out hard-fought homes for themselves in a cutthroat world few can actually make a place, let alone last or thrive in, that doesn't mean there wasn't drama unfolding on-screen during the show's premiere.
Shah, for instance, is shown dealing with the ramifications of an unexpected third party in his courting of a small school star. Schaffer agonizes over a devastating injury to a player he was heavily pursuing. Wasielewski, who aims his sights high right from the start, is depicted attempting to get into an Indiana game to watch and speak with one-time Hoosiers star, current Atlanta Falcon and former teammate of another of Wasielewski's clients, Denver Broncos wide receiver Cody Latimer, running back Tevin Coleman.
Wasielewski's first issue is getting tickets to the game. The second is grabbing Coleman for a face-to-face interaction as the talented ballcarrier and his family mill about in one of the many open areas of the stadium after what turned out to be a Hoosier's loss. The meeting is short and there's a palpable awkwardness to it. This, Wasielewski says, shrugging off the interaction, is simply par for the course.
"I'm always comfortable when I talk to the players. I think in a post-game situation, especially after a player loses, that can be difficult, just like it was in the show. It can be difficult because the player, they just went through a tough game and they didn't win so it's something that you deal with as an agent, you adapt to it and you deal with it as best you can.
"After the game you also see the family and the friends. It's a different dynamic in post-game situations."
While the EMG Sports patriarch did find it intriguing to watch three other members of his profession go about their business during the premiere, don't expect it to alter Wasielewski's own approach. A veteran of over a decade's worth of NFL work, Wasielewski's assessment of his on-air persona very much seemed to reflect the profile he touts for EMG Sports - straightforward, no frills, blue-collar, get the job done.
"I thought the first episode was right in line with what I expected. 'The Agent' is going to reveal the day-to-day life of an NFL agent," he said, adding later that, "I'm going to be myself and be genuine and the cameras are going to capture me going about my business."
And Wasielewski's business is relationships. It's building bonds with these players, developing trust with them and their families and hoping that the little "touches" he is able to add here and there turn an awkward initial interaction into a healthy, happy, mutually beneficial working partnership.
"Similar to dating, you go on your first date. And then you might have a follow-up call or a text message and you go on your second date," Wasielewski said. "Sometimes recruiting a player ends after two months or two calls. Sometimes it takes a year or two. Sometimes you have success."
And much like the dating game, there is a rhythm, a certain pattern to the chase, per Wasielewski. You don't dive right into the pool, you dip a toe, then a foot and if things go well, a leg and on and on. It's a delicate process and one that Wasielewski has worked hard over the years to hone and one fans who tune into the show will be given a rare glimpse of. But it's not one Wasielewski believes he's perfected - far from it, in fact.
"You're always learning. You're always observing. I think no matter what business you're in that's what you're supposed to do, is constantly observe and learn and try to get better," said Wasielewski. "So it was interesting to see the other agents handle their business, talking to athletes, talking to their team and how they're conducting their business."
As Wasielewski said himself, it's a constant learning experience, this cat-and-mouse game, this courting dance. After one episode, Wasielewski firmly believes he, and therefore EMG Sports, will be better for this experience.
"I'm going to watch the series and observe and watch Jeff and Sunny and Peter and I'm also looking at myself," he said. "Because that's another thing I've learned from the show is watching myself on camera and observing myself and my actions. How I stand, how I talk to people, my inflections."
What will no doubt prove a great learning experience for Wasielewski has already proven must-see TV for fans. While we may already know the outcome of some of these player's futures and what agents they end up signing with, it's the personal, human drama that unfolds on screen each week that'll likely keep viewers returning to "The Agent" for the remainder of the season.
