Wharton lecturer talks football, negotiating

At a time when the threat of a lockout for NFL players is dominating headlines due to ongoing deliberations over player salaries, few voices are in as high demand to analyze the issue as Andrew Brandt.

Brandt, a Wharton lecturer who currently serves as the president of the National Football Post, spoke to a small group of students in Huntsman Hall Tuesday.

For the majority of the hour-long event — which was organized by the Wharton Management Club in collaboration with the Undergraduate Sports Business Club — Brandt gave a largely autobiographical talk. His career in management has alternated between representing athletes themselves and representing teams, including the Green Bay Packers, where he was vice president from 1999 to 2008.

Brandt imbued the discussion of his career with humor, including the little-known time in his life where he served as president of the Barcelona Dragons in the NFL World League — “in a country where the people think football is soccer.”

He was also able to provide insight into the actual negotiations process. According to Brandt, “establishing trust and getting to know the other party are vital for being a successful negotiator.”

For Wharton sophomore Linos Owusu-Asare, this was the most useful take away from the event. “Brandt showed that being a likeable person is really important in the negotiations process, and I had always wondered how people act in those situations,” he said.

Brandt’s talk was well received by virtually everyone in attendance, including the members of the Wharton Management Club themselves. One such member, Wharton sophomore Christopher Brown, said that the event “went great” and was about on par with their expectations. “We chose Brandt as a speaker because he is someone that students are really interested in hearing from, and he’s especially relevant because of the ongoing collective bargaining deliberations,” he said, referring to the disputes over players’ salaries.

For students interested in breaking into the field of sports management, Brandt shared several pieces of advice. Aside from the “magic four words: right place, right time,” he insists that students get some sort of sports experience somewhere and develop some sort of special skill. “Everyone can say that they love sports, and many will say that they’re willing to work for free. The key is finding what separates you from all of the other impassioned people out there.”

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