This August, Trevon R. “Trey” Smith (J.D.’17) celebrated his five-year anniversary working at Athletes First, a sports agency that represents all football-related talent including players, coaches, personnel and broadcasters. As a full-time National Football League agent, Smith counsels over 25 clients, helping them with “everything under the sun on a day-to-day” basis, including contract negotiation, network building and management of their endorsement deals.

When Smith is not handling things with his current players, he is talking to prospective clientele, networking with potential contacts or traveling to see a prospective or current client. However, the most important aspect of Smith’s career is creating a sense of community and building authentic relationships.

“I’m not in this business for transactions,” Smith said. “It’s the brotherhood. It’s about building meaningful, lifelong relationships with my client and [the] family. They don’t look at me as their agent. They look at me as a part of their family, someone who they can lean on and trust.”

Smith finds his work as an agent gratifying. He enjoys seeing his clients grow both personally and professionally.

“To be able to see them realize their dreams, to be there for the ride, and to be a small part of that, I think that’s the most rewarding part of the job,” he said.

There are many stressful aspects to Smith’s work as an agent such as growing his portfolio, staying connected with his clients and managing their expectations and those of their family members. Smith said his time in law school prepared him for this position well, as it taught him how to think on the fly and work in a fast-paced environment while remaining efficient and solution-oriented.

Smith attended Marquette University for his first year of law school and realized that the school was not a good fit for him personally. When he was applying to transfer, UGA was on the top of his list. He noted the Georgia Bulldog football scene as a key point of interest for him.

“I wanted to go back home, and I wanted to get into sports,” Smith said. “So what other place to go to get into sports than UGA? [Head Football Coach Kirby Smart] was just getting there, and you could feel the energy shifting. It was just kind of like a perfect scenario.”

Law school challenged Smith more than any other education he received. High school was easy for him, and he had access to tutors, mentors and support staff during his undergraduate years at both Western Michigan University and Jacksonville State University, where he played football.

“So when you get to law school as a former athlete, that’s kind of your first time being hit with the rigors of actually having to commit to school [and studying],” Smith said.

He learned how to be a better student as he continued his legal education and learned from his professors. His favorite professor was University Professor & Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance and Securities Law Usha Rodrigues, who taught his Corporations class. She was able to push Smith academically while also providing him with a sense of belonging as a transfer student.

“She challenged me to the furthest extent, as far as I have ever been challenged in class,” he said. “She revealed something in me that I didn’t know I had – the ability to be disciplined in schoolwork.”

As Smith progressed through law school, he found his greatest pillar of support in Lara Pulliam, the School of Law’s chief of staff. He would visit Pulliam’s office in between and after his classes whenever he wanted to talk about the challenges he was facing.

He recalled his first conversation with Pulliam over the phone. She called him about his receipt of the Stacey Godfrey Evans Scholarship, a scholarship that provides support for School of Law students who are Georgia residents and first-generation college graduates. Smith was grateful for obtaining the scholarship and recognized his accomplishments as a first-generation student.

“The meaning behind the scholarship is what makes it so rewarding – to be first-generation – and anybody that’s first-generation understands what that means,” Smith said. “You didn’t have anybody to look to or lean on, so you had to be the one to trailblaze that.”

Smith said the scholarship and getting through law school put him in a position where he could give hope and inspiration to both his family and his hometown of Perry.

“I have younger cousins, younger siblings looking at me like ‘Okay, if Trey can do it, I can do it.’ I think that’s the best thing about it,” he said.

Smith hopes to influence not only his family but also the next generation of sports agents. When Smith was starting out in the field, older agents provided him with dissuading advice, calling athlete management a tough business that they were unsure Smith would want to enter. However, these words did not deter him. Unlike the agents he spoke to, he plans to provide aspiring future colleagues with encouraging guidance.

Smith said he will say, “I’ll talk you into it. If that’s what you want to do, do it. But understand that it comes with a level of work and organized chaos that you have to be comfortable with.”

—Mason A. Brock