… is called “Super Agent.” It was written by Dr. Jerry Argovitz, one of the NFL’s most famous (or, if you’re an owner, infamous) player agents (along with J. David Miller, a former Sport Magazine editor).
When “Super Agent” hit the market in January, it generated, well, zero buzz. Why? Well, first, because it’s published by Sports Publishing, a tiny little imprint that no one has ever heard of; second, because Argovitz hit his marquee prime in, oh, 1985. Had the book been released then (with Herschel Walker, Marcus Allen and Billy Sims on the cover), it would have been huge. No, huger than huge. It would have been one of the decade’s biggest sports book and, quite possibly, the football agent answer to Jim Bouton’s “Ball Four.”
Unfortunately, as we speak “Super Agent” is ranked 838,363rd on Amazon. It was profiled by precious few places, and was ignored by all the major reviewers and review sections.
This is a shame.
“Super Agent” is riveting. Scratch that—beyond riveting. It’s the best insight I’ve ever seen into owner-agent and athlete-agent relations, as well as into the multiple ways professional and college sports screw the jocks for all they’re worth. The book is filled with amazing stories—Argovitz’s ownership of a USFL franchise; Argovitz negotiating contracts for players like Sims and High Green; Argovitz exposing the hypocrisy of the NFL. I can’t sing its praises enough. Just a wonderful, wonderful read—that has been painfully overlooked.
* For the record, I’ve never met Jerry, have no ties to the book. I just happen to love it.