The deal went down at a car dealership, only it didn’t involve a title transfer, financing or a bumper-to-bumper warranty.
Sports agent Aidan Sadoski hadn’t heard from a potential client, a basketball player from the SEC with whom he’d been in contact all season, for several weeks.
“He went ghost on me,” Sadoski said. “I thought he wasn’t going to sign.”
With the relationship seemingly petered out, Sadoski moved on to the next.
But then his phone rang. Guess who?
“About a month after the season ends, he calls me out of nowhere from a car dealership,” Sadoski said. “He wasn’t sure if he wanted to pursue professional basketball or not, so he picked up a job as a car salesman. He asked, ‘Hey is it too late to sign with you? I want you to be my agent.’
“We spoke on the next steps, he hung up the phone and immediately quit on the spot. A few weeks later, I secured him a predraft workout with the Boston Celtics.”
So goes life for Sadoski, a Franklin Regional alum who has been representing pro and college athletes for seven years in his dream job, starting as a 19-year-old intern, working for two agencies and then starting his own business at 26.
“After moving on from the internship label and being in an actual role, I mainly handled the marketing and public relations side of business for athletes,” he said. “Eventually, once licensed, I began actually handling playing contracts.”
The fast-paced world of agents can be exhausting and more competitive than the sports in which the athletes play. Take your eyes off the road and your sure-fire signee is suddenly moving on to someone else — “greener” pastures.
Trust can be cursory, promises thinner than tissue paper.
Agents and athletes can damn each other with faint praise one day and form a best-interest bond the next after a contract is signed.
Sadoski knew when he was a senior in high school he wanted to pursue the career field. The former Franklin Regional basketball player was intrigued when he read super-agent Drew Rosenhaus’ book, “Next Question.”
“I was drawn to the idea of staying around sports while also working in a fast-paced and challenging industry,” Sadoski said. “So I felt like this was a great fit for myself.
He watched “Jerry McGuire” and has since seen the parallels.
“Athlete retention is a huge part of this business and can be tough, and a boutique agency versus super agency is a real challenge too,” he said.
Sadoski, who said his business mindset complements his passion for sports, calls his career choice fulfilling.
He graduated from IUP with degrees in economics and sports administration, then stayed there to earn a master’s in sports administration.
While his clients are primarily basketball players, Sadoski said he was more interested in representing football players in the beginning.
“My first firm was focused primarily on football, and I love the NFL,” he said. “However, as time went on and I kept learning about athlete representation in basketball, it made more sense to make that jump given my background and growing up around the game so much.”
Sadoski works remotely from Pittsburgh and connects with athletes across the globe.
His client list includes Kash Polk of Arizona State, Jaden Schutt of Virginia Tech, Cam Morris III of East Tennessee State, Brycen Goodine of Oklahoma, Ayinde Hikim of UMass Lowell and others.
“I’ve had clients play professionally in Spain, Germany, Norway, Ireland, Portugal, Panama, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico and more,” Sadoski said.
Sadoski is licensed to represent players in the NBA, FIBA and WNBA.
“I’ve done some work in women’s basketball previously, but I received the WNBA license fairly recently,” he said. “It’s an area of the game that is growing quickly, and there are more opportunities today for women in basketball than ever before.”
His role for college players is helping them land the best Name, Image and Likeness deals.
If you want to see how crazy Sadosni’s daily grind can be, check his mileage.
“I’ve taken multiple cross-country flights, long drives through the night, red-eye flights, rental cars and more just to not sign a player,” Sadoski said. “I’ve received, ‘Hey, Aidan, we like you a lot, but we’re going a different direction,’ or, ‘Hey, it came down to you and one other agent, but we ultimately decided to go with them,’ many of times.
“You hear no often in this business, but for every no, you get closer to your next yes. Some of those similar trips have turned into signings and success stories or just great lessons learned.”
Sadoski wants to continue to develop in the business, increase his clientele and make a name for himself in agent circles.
“I would like to work in this role at the highest level possible,” he said. “Good process wins out in the long run, and if I focus on that, I’m optimistic I will continue to find success.”