Jalen Hurts made history in 2023, not just with his performance on the field, but through his off-field ventures. The Eagles’ star quarterback broke new ground by assembling an all-female management team, becoming the first player in NFL history to do so.
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95% of certified NFL agents are men. But Hurts wanted to break away from the mold. He shared, in a statement, that he admires women because of the hard work they do without ever receiving as much credit as men, so it only made sense for him to give them their due flowers. That decision has paid off, clearly. So, let’s meet the team!
Firstly, there’s Nicole Lynn, the leader of the group and the contract and career strategist. She made her move with Hurts in his DMs following his 2020 season at Oklahoma, asking if he had an agent. “Hey, have you picked an agent? If not, I’d love to link,” she wrote. That text led to a major partnership.
Nicole was the one who negotiated Hurts’ record-setting $255 million contract in 2023, which made him the highest-paid player in the game at the time. It’s safe to say she’s done her job—and then some—for Hurts.
Nicole Lynn sent Jalen Hurts a “hail mary” Instagram DM after his college career ended:
“Hey, have you picked an agent? If not, I’d love to link.”
Hurts then signed with her, and Lynn has now made him the highest-paid player in NFL history (5-yr, $255M).
Shoot your shot pic.twitter.com/1ZrOxeO7oE
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) April 17, 2023
Next, there’s Chantal Romain, the media relations expert and VP of communications. Before working with Hurts for Klutch Sports, Chantel worked for the NBA as director and manager of player programs and communications. She’s an expert at showing players how to advertise themselves to the league and the world.
Moving on, there’s Shakeemah Simmons-Winter, Hurts’ publicist. She has a lot of experience working in PR and communications. Shakeemah worked for ESPN for over three years as the senior publicist and eventually became the manager of corporate communications for NBA, MLB, and Little League. She also spent some time working for Madison Square Garden and the Knicks.
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Penultimately, there’s Rachel Everett. She oversees Hurts’ marketing and branding. While she doesn’t work directly with the Klutch Sports Group, she’s in constant communication with them. For the past year, she has directly worked for Hurts’ foundation. Everett is also self-employed and the co-founder of ESM Sports. She touts herself as a sports marketing expert.
Last but not least is Jenna Malphrus. She has an interesting job history up to this point, as it looked like she would go into sales. But she became the client services manager for Hurts four years ago and hasn’t looked back since. Now, she’s the senior client manager.
It’s a great team with years of experience. Not only are they the only all-women management team ever, but they are a great team in general who are good at their jobs. Today, Hurts continues to be one of the best forward-facing athletes in the NFL, and that’s thanks to these women.
Maybe future athletes will look at Hurts’ template that he laid out and follow suit. Sports agencies are a male-dominant career. Hopefully, these women can be the face of change in that business.
