Interview With The Athlete: Steve Weatherford

Interview With The Athlete By Matthew Vuckovich Steve Weatherford is a 24 year-old NFL player. He is the punter for the New Orleans Saints (http://www.neworleanssaints.com/playerbio.cfm?playerid=361). I became friends with Steve through one of my fraternity brothers while Steve was playing football at the University of Illinois. Being a former Illini, he will always be star in my book. Steve is a tremendous person and a great all around athlete. ILL-INI!!!! Matthew Vuckovich: Who is your agent? Steve Weatherford: Rob Roche Matthew Vuckovich: Do you have a separate marketing agent? Who is he/she? Steve Weatherford: No, Rob handles all facets of my career, he's a great mentor financially and career wise. I always confer with him for all major decisions in life along with my father. Matthew Vuckovich: When you were searching for an agent, what factors did you consider? Steve Weatherford: I was very careful during the agent selection period to make sure that I found an agent that was as similar to me and my family as possible. Rob is a family oriented type of guy, and I felt he was truly concerned with my well being as a person as he was as an athlete Matthew Vuckovich: Did your family have a big impact on your decision in choosing an agent? Steve Weatherford: I am a very family oriented person. I spend as much time away from football as possible with my family, so I take their opinions very seriously, and my father is a very good judge of character, so what he thinks is very important to me. Matthew Vuckovich: Was having a personal relationship with your agent a factor in choosing him? Steve Weatherford: Absolutely, communication is key when choosing representation. If you're not comfortable with your agent and you don't feel like you can cut loose and enjoy his company it would be hard for me as an athlete to trust him with my career. Matthew Vuckovich: Why did you decide to hire your agent? Steve Weatherford: I felt most comfortable with Rob, as a family we thought that he could be trusted and we also felt like he would work his butt off to make sure I was in the best place I needed to be to succeed. Matthew Vuckovich: How often do you talk with your agent? How often do you see him/her in person? Steve Weatherford: It varies, during the season it is more often, but in the off-season it is more just to check in and make sure that my family is doing well and that I am mentally and physically ready for the upcoming camp or OTA (off season training activity). During the season he called me about 2 or 3 times a week. always after the games to tell me good job and to talk about the game. Rob came to 3 of my games last year; he is also flying me out to New Jersey to go to a Yankees game with him, in 3 weeks. Matthew Vuckovich: What factors would entice you to choose a smaller agency or independent agent over a full-service agency? Steve Weatherford: My agent is an independent guy and that appeals to me because it is more one on one, he has about 15 to 20 clients and I feel like that gives me personal communication time and a closer relationship with him in comparison to a huge firm. Matthew Vuckovich: What are some of the things your agent does for you that you like? Steve Weatherford: I like how personal he is, I also appreciate it when he calls after the games, it lets me know that he is watching and he is interested in my career as well as my relationship with him. Matthew Vuckovich: What single event would you say defines the relationship you have with your agent? Steve Weatherford: The Cincinnati game. I had an off day and after the game he was very positive with me. I am a perfectionist, and being very disappointed with my performance he talked to me on the phone for an hour and helped to talk to me through what I can do to improve the next week. I felt like he was genuinely concerned for me as a person and athlete. Matthew Vuckovich: What are some of the most important factors athletes in general look for in an agent? Steve Weatherford: Honesty, integrity, and a guy that will bust his hump to see to it that you are prepared mentally, physically, as well as in the right spot(team). Matthew Vuckovich: On behalf of SportsAgentBlog.com and all of our readers, I would like to thank Steve Weatherford for sharing his knowledge and experiences with us today. Till next time, be safe and act ethically in the business that you love.