Almighty Coach

"This is the result of my trip to Europe. We’ve got several new advertisements and endorsements." Stephen passed a document to Dai Li.

Dai Li accepted the documents, saying, "I heard that Phillip’s popularity in Europe has even surpassed his popularity in the US?"

"Yes." Stephen nodded. "The Europeans really loved Phillip. His popularity there was on par with any top-class sports star. If that weren’t the case, we wouldn’t have been able to get so many advertisement deals."

Stephen continued speaking in a casual and non-caring manner. "Did I see Kevin Taylor outside just now?"

"Yeah, my new client," Dai Li answered vaguely, not revealing how he met Taylor.

It was obvious Stephen wanted to remain on that topic. "How did you guys meet? Did he come to you, or did you go to him?"

"I think it was a coincidence," Dai Li replied. He still didn’t want to bring up the incident at the police station.

Stephen also noticed that Dai Li was speaking nonchalantly, but in the end, he asked directly, "What I want to ask is, the one who first came into contact with you, was it Taylor himself or was it his agent?"

Dai Li suddenly understood. "You’re asking if Taylor has an agent, right?"

"Yes, that’s exactly what I mean." Stephen continued, "I heard that Taylor fired his agent, but that was two years ago. As for who Taylor’s current agent is, I really have no idea. But a sports star at Taylor’s level probably won’t lack an agent."

"Taylor currently has no agent," Dai Li replied.

He currently doesn’t have an agent! Joy flashed through Stephen’s eyes.

"You want to become his agent, don’t you?" Dai Li asked directly.

"Of course." Stephen did not even try to hide the fact. "That’s Kevin Taylor! Ten years ago he was the most famous sports superstar in the US. If you talked about boxing, no one in the world would not know his name, and his commercial value was hundreds of millions of dollars. He was the kind of client agents dream of. He could make an agent filthy rich!"

"Really?" Dai Li smiled. "Do you think the current Taylor has hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of commercial value? Don’t forget, he’s not young anymore. He’s 32 years old."

"Ugh, you’re right. That match where he bit off Highfield’s ear in front of God and everybody lost him all his sponsors. Even now, those advertisement sponsors will avoid him at all costs. Nobody wants to have someone who has been stained endorse their products," Stephen analyzed logically.

"Then, you still want to be his agent?" Dai Li asked.

"Of course!" Stephen answered firmly. "Even if he doesn’t have any income from advertising endorsements, he could earn a sizable income just from boxing alone. He is a little old, and perhaps he’ll have to retire after a few years, but the appearance fees and match bonuses older boxers get are still pretty high. Even if he doesn’t win a single match, just an appearance fee alone could earn him 10 to 20 million dollars. And for me, that is a commission of one to two million! A lot of people can’t earn that much in their entire life."

Dai Li nodded. In the US, a job that paid over 3000 dollars a month was either a more presentable jobs, or heavy labor that normal people wouldn’t do. A supermarket clerk or a waiter working in a restaurant definitely couldn’t make that much. According to statistics, the median annual income for American families was 53,000 dollars. One million dollars was the equivalent of 17 or 18 years of income for these families. Compared to an individual, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that one might not be able to earn that much in his lifetime.

However, Dai Li was not optimistic about Stephen’s chances. "Taylor is just outside. You can ask him if he wants to let you be his agent, but don’t get your hopes too high."

"Why?" Stephen asked.

"Taylor was tricked by his previous agent, the one that he fired. Taylor told me that agent of his lied to him and cheated him out of a lot of his money. A towel that cost a few dollars, his agent would report as costing 8000 dollars. Through this method, his agent took almost all his money. That’s why he doesn’t believe in agents now," Dai Li explained.

"A lot of people in our line of work don’t have any work ethics. There are always some black sheep in every profession. The main responsibility of agents like us is to help our clients make more money, and I believe no one would feel sorry for making more money. If Kevin Taylor wants to earn more money, then he will definitely need an agent," Stephen said.

"Alright then. If that’s the case, I wish you good luck."

...

"I don’t need an agent!" Taylor shook his head with determination.

"Mr. Taylor, I know that you’ve been tricked by your previous agent, and you lost a lot of money because of that, but I’m not that kind of unethical degenerate. I can assure you if you choose to appoint me as your agent, I will definitely place your interest as my priority. Choosing me will definitely be the correct decision," Stephen said.

Taylor was unmoved, and he shook his head without hesitation."I really don’t need an agent right now."

Stephen straightened his body and continued advising. "I am Barron Phillip’s agent. Barron Phillip. The blade warrior. I’m sure you’ve heard of him! Ever since I became Barron Phillip’s agent, I’ve brought him over 15 million dollars’ worth of advertising endorsement deals, so you can completely trust in my professionalism."

Taylor looked at Stephen’s enthusiastic expression and sighed in resignation. "I’ll tell you the truth then. I’m actually bankrupt!"

"Bankrupt?" Stephen was stunned. He, of course, knew what being bankrupt meant.

"How much do you owe the bank?" Stephen asked immediately.

"More than 20 million dollars," Taylor answered, not hiding anything.

"20 million! That much!" Stephen suddenly looked amazingly serious.

Taylor nodded and smiled bitterly. "Now do you understand? I can’t afford an agent."

Stephen’s heart was instantly distracted. He initially thought that he had caught himself a big fish; he never would have imagined that only the meatless bone of the big fish was left. Even if one were to dispose of it, there would be an additional garbage disposal fee.

No agent would be willing to take on a bankrupt athlete. A bankrupt athlete meant zero profits for an agent; moreover, Taylor still owed the bank 20 million dollars. That number was astronomical even for most American athletes. Even in the NBA, sports stars with after tax income of more than 20 million dollars were rare.

Kevin Taylor is already 32 years old, he has long left his peak, and he is no longer the ultimate boxing champion from before. How long will he need before he clears off his debt of 20 million dollars? Three years? Five years? By then he probably won’t be able to fight anymore! Becoming his agent definitely won’t bring any profit. No wonder he still doesn’t have a new agent; no one is stupid. Who would work on something that doesn’t make money?

Stephen immediately dismissed his previous idea. He had no intention of picking up a client that didn’t make money.

...

After half an hour, Stephen returned to Dai Li’s office.

Seeing Stephen’s strange expression, Dai Li couldn’t help but ask, "How was your chat with Taylor? Was he willing to let you be his agent?"

Stephen did not answer. Instead, he moved one step forward, lowered his voice, and asked, "Did you know that Kevin Taylor is bankrupt?"

"Of course," Dai Li nodded.

"And you still let him train here? Can he afford the training fee?" Stephen asked. "You are not an American so you might not understand bankruptcy. Taylor is currently in the bankruptcy protection period, so there will be a lot of consumer limitations in place. Apart from that, there is also the repayment plan after the debt reorganization. He needs to first make up his tax payments, and the other debt repayments also take priority."

"I know that he currently can’t pay a single cent of training fee. Sometimes I even have to buy him lunch," Dai Li said calmly.

"Oh my God, Coach Li, you should understand that you own a training center, not a charity!" Stephen said.

"Of course I don’t run a charity, but I am confident that Taylor will pay me the training fees he owes. This is an investment, just like with Phillip. Wasn’t it the same? Not to mention that Phillip couldn’t even be considered a professional athlete at first while, Taylor was already an ultimate boxing champion," Dai Li said casually.

"Coach Li, Taylor owes the bank 20 million dollars!" Stephen reminded.

"More than 20 million," Dai Li corrected. "All the things that you’ve said, I know and understand them."

"You know and understand, but you’re still doing it anyway? You’re crazy!" Stephen shook his head. "Li, you are a professional sports coach; you should know that the current Taylor is far from his former self. He passed his peak age a long time ago, and his condition will only get worse as time passes. He won’t be making much money in the future. As a friend, I have to remind you that if you continue conducting business like this, you will lose money."

"I have faith in my athletes." Dai Li smiled. "I believe, under my guidance, Taylor will return to his peak!"

"Alright, I don’t know where you get your confidence. You’re too stubborn, I can’t advise you anymore!" Stephen shook his head in resignation and prepared to leave.

"Hold on a second, you never told me if Taylor agreed to let you be his agent?" Dai Li stopped Stephen in his tracks.

"Even if he agreed, I wouldn’t take him! I’m not like you. I don’t find unprofitable deals that lose money." Stephen shook his head. "Alright, I’m going. I came to your place immediately after I got off the plane. I’m going to head back, take a shower, and go to bed."

"Unprofitable? Take a loss?" Dai Li shook his head as he watched Stephen’s shadow gradually shrink while he walked away.

"We aren’t sure who is taking a loss yet!"