‘Hope I ruffle all the feathers’: Jaylen Brown has sharp criticism for NBA agents
By Khari A.
Thompson Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped his agent in February and plans to represent himself.
When that happened, Celtics forward Jaylen Brown tweeted that he loved the move.
During a recent appearance on Barstools Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast, Brown explained why he made the comment and provided some context about his own journey navigating the NBA without an agent when he first got drafted.
I tweeted that I love that because hes just going to walk in and say max (contract), Brown said.
Thats all hes got to say.
Brown inked a 5-year supermax contract extension with the Celtics in 2023.
He did have an agent, Jason Glushon, work on that deal.
But, Brown said he has issues with the way business is done between players and agents in general.
I hope I ruffle all the (expletive) feathers, like all of them, because the agency model isnt working, Brown said.
Its a bunch of players going broke when they retire and that aint ruffling no feathers.
Its a bunch of players, 60 percent of players within the first 10 years are losing the majority of their wealth.
You can blame the athlete and their living expenses, of course, but they were 18 or 19 years old when they came into wealth and the people that represented them didnt help them handle that in no capacity or care to.
After they get you, and get in your pocket, they just go get the next one and get in his pocket.
Brown said he doesnt care if his comments are viewed as controversial.
If you cant help me at 18 or 19 years old to maintain my wealth, build a legacy, and keep what I am earning and be able to influence me on my decision-making, you shouldnt be representing me in the first place, Brown said.
You even shouldnt be allowed to walk into my house.
But, we allow this agency model.
They keep coming in and they keep stripping everything and were giving it right back.
Somethings got to change, he continued.
It might ruffle some feathers, but theres people taking advantage of these 18, 19 (year-old) young kids who come from single parent households, disadvantaged communities and nobody says nothing ...
I think thats a part of the problem.
Like, we allow that to be normalized.
That (expletive) isnt normal.
Brown explained why he didnt have an agent when he entered the NBA Draft and was selected No.
3 overall by the Celtics in 2016.
Im probably the highest pick selected ever that didnt enter with an agent, Brown said.
Just when I was evaluating, I went through the whole process and sat with a bunch of people and what they were offering, I didnt really need for real.
It was kind of already slotted so I leaned on the union a lot more.
Agents came, they said well move you to LA, well get you a trainer, put some money in your pocket, and I was like for what? I was like do I have to get the money back and they were like nah, the standard agent fee is four percent.
So, Im starting to do the math and a house, car, would have been a lot less than what four percent would have been.
So, long story short, the math wasnt mathing for me.
Brown did not explain why he eventually hired an agent, but he said that his agent didnt make four percent of his supermax deal.
He also made a point to say that he was not talking about all agents in his criticism.
Im dont mean to (expletive) on all agents, Brown said.
I know theres some agents out there that are doing some good work and collaborating with athletes and getting the job done.
But, overall, the agency model is failing.
Its failing our athletes and failing our culture, so something had to be said.
Khari A.
Thompson Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com.
Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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