With 20 years of experience representing football players and sporting stars, Simon Dent’s new agency, HERO, has an important mission at its core: helping stars give back.
Agents – and in particular, football agents – are a mysterious bunch. They wield great power, conjure up strong feelings, and continue to be the subject of endless stories. Most of that stems from the fact that we know very little about what they do.
So, when I sat down with Simon – a man with 20 years experience in this industry – I was, naturally, full of my own assumptions. But before questioning him about all things agents, footballers and big deals, we spoke about his new agency, HERO. From its important mission and to the pressure on young stars to be societal role models.
“It’s about helping my clients use the platform that they have to do good back in the communities,” he says of HERO. During the past year, sports stars – and in particular, footballers – have become societal leaders in their own right. The likes of Marcus Rashford have set a benchmark for what footballers, in particular, can do, how they can mobilise effective and positive change with their platforms. Whether rightly or wrongly, we now demand the same thing of other stars. In politics, when all opposition fails – especially on issues like child poverty, homelessness and racism – we seek the voice of global sporting stars with huge platforms.
Yeah, good, you might say. It’s about time they did more than drive fast Bentleys. But then again, is it?
With HERO, Simon’s giving sports stars the support system they need to effect that change – especially when it comes to issues and stories they care about. Having a platform is one thing; knowing how to use it is another. It’s all about “giving back”, he tells me. What he’s keen to do is help players both during and after their playing career: “what we sometimes forget, is that football is a short career.”
“What we also forget”, Simon says “is that a lot of these guys come from humble backgrounds.” Earning huge amounts of money might be as new to them as it would be to you. They are, after all, human beings, prone to the same mistakes as you and I. And on the subject of money, Simon points out how our education system doesn’t help: “the biggest shortcomings of our early education is that finance or money isn’t on the curriculum.”
HERO isn’t a school, though – and nor is it a way of taking control away from their clients: “what we will be trying to do is surrounding the talent with the right people to help them make the right decisions.” “We’re not talking about taking decisions out of their hands – and we’re not moving their family members and parents to one side”, he adds.
The premise of footballers giving back and using their platforms is not a new one. It started long before the pandemic. What the pandemic has done, though, Simon points out, is accelerate the level of attention on their off the field activities. “Whether it should be aligning with one charity or creating their own foundation”, ‘HERO will be there to take them on that journey to giving back and helping out their communities.
On our call, he shatters all the “negative” assumptions one could have about an agent. He chooses his words with caution, rejects any attention on his own achievements – and always reverts back to his clients and the need to support them in their sporting journey. “Why is it important to do something like this”, I ask, “Why get out of bed in the morning and think I want to help footballers or clients with their philanthropic work?”
Put simply, he’s out to help players and clients achieve their own definition of fulfilment: ” I have seen with a number of clients, and over the years, that having a certain amount of money doesn’t guarantee happiness. Fulfilment and purpose are what happiness comes from.” Finding purpose in your youth can be hard – and making mistakes on the journey to finding that purpose, is simply inevitable.
“Some of these guys are incredibly young”, he says. And whilst the term role model applies to the likes of Rashford, we’ve got to be careful in using it: “it pains me when we see young footballers hung out to dry for things they’ve done in public.” Casting them as role models – or demanding change from them – risks portraying them as perfect beings. They should be allowed to make mistakes, it’s what makes them grow, he says. What HERO will do, Simon says, is help clients avoid obvious and flaring mistakes – and where mistakes are made, the agency is set up to help them learn from it.
Throughout our chat, Dent is as reserved as they come. Only on the subject of allowing young players to be themselves, to live, learn and make mistakes, does he become emotive. That, for me, paints a clear picture of the type of agency Simon Dent is building. Too often, footballers and sports stars fall victim to the jealousy, biases and views of the everyday public. We sometimes give, little care, I think, to the genuine health and well-being, their ability to live their life as they please. Yes, with wealth and power comes responsibility. But that responsibility to do more, to lend a voice to important causes ought to be encouraged – not demanded. That’s what HERO aims to do. With Simon’s experience – he’s spent over 20 years in the industry and has represented high-profile sports stars – they’ll be in good hands.
And for younger players, HERO exists to help them beyond their playing careers. By building strong foundations, Simon says, the agency is able to assist their clients in achieving that purpose and fulfilment so many desperately need after retirement.
When pushed on the types of sports stars they’ll be working with, he’s very much the secretive agent: “we will be working with England internationals. I’ll be able to say more in the new year.” I won’t make any attempts to guess who those England players are, I reply, hopeful of two being thrown my way. Nothing comes. Instead, he says this: “it’s about players who understand the proposition of HERO – and, in their own way, are looking to give back.”
If he didn’t budge on that, he did on this: “how has your role as agent changed over the last 10 years?” A decade ago, he says, it was mostly about negotiating and working on players’ contracts. “the main difference between, say, 2010 and today is that back then, players were not encouraged to do anything off the field”, he says. Today, players are involved in building their own brand, striking their own deals and curating their own image. That, Simon says, is a benefit to clubs. They’re beginning to wake up to the advantages of players having a good profile. Take Rashford, for example, and the good it does Manchester United to be associated with his work mission. That change, he says, means around 40% of an agents’ time is spent helping players away from the game.
As an agent, he is uniquely placed between players, fans and clubs. That involvement, I think, comes with its fair share of responsibility. By his own admission, long gone are days of just negotiating players’ contracts. With an increase in awareness of social issues – racism, diversity, homophobia – agents have to be clued up. He agreed. It is part, he says, of the evolution of an agent’s role in the career of a player: “You can’t dictate what goes on at a club, but you certainly do your due diligence and protect your player.”
With that, I ask him about the name for his agency – and who his own personal heroes are. To explain the reasoning for choosing HERO, he first details what a hero means: “for me, personally, I think that heroes ask for help, they’re prepared to be transparent, they’re prepared to speak up, and they never give up.” When asked which of his own personal heroes fit that description, he replies: “one of my personal sporting heroes was Ledley King, and am incredibly lucky to be a friend of his till this day.” He also talks of Chris Kamara, a personal friend and client, who he says personify all that a hero is.
The concept of HERO is brilliant. During the past year, we’ve all witnessed the impact sports stars can make. Authenticity matters, Simon knows – and he is intent on making sure that all his clients remain their true, authentic selves. Footballers and sports stars aren’t robots – and nor should they be. What makes them powerful, I think, is their stories, their own unique voice – and their ability to effect change. As the sporting industry changes – and as society demands more of them – football and sporting stars will need a support system capable of assisting in effecting change and making a difference – without losing their own voice. That support system is HERO.
Read our interview with Leeds Rhinos player, Kruise Leeming.