Chauntiel Smith-Jones on Passion, NIL, and Building a Sports Agency
Entrepreneurship · From Student of the Game
Chauntiel Smith-Jones on Passion, NIL, and Building a Sports Agency
Brad Noll admits he is a little nervous at the start of this Student of the Game conversation. "We got a CEO in the room," he says. His guest is Chauntiel Smith-Jones, a WNBA, FIBA, and NIL sports agent and the founder and CEO of Capture Sports Agency.
Chauntiel was born and raised in Fort Wayne and attended South Side High School. She ran track at Indiana Tech on scholarship, won multiple national titles, and was inducted into the Indiana Tech Hall of Fame. Today she also coaches there. She lives out a phrase Brad loves: live here, lead here.
What Does a Sports Agent Do?
Chauntiel gets this question all the time. A sports agent manages an athlete's career on and off the court, she explains. That can include contract negotiations, finances, marketing, building a personal brand, starting a business, or launching a nonprofit.
Brad jokes about whether he needs an agent for his old-man church league. Chauntiel's answer is no. Her agency focuses on high school athletes headed to college sports, NIL opportunities, and players pursuing the WNBA and basketball overseas.
“Whatever the case may be, you can't let that stop you because nobody can stop you but you.”
Chauntiel Smith-Jones
The Good Side of Name, Image, and Likeness
NIL stands for name, image, and likeness, and college athletes can now be paid for theirs. Brad says the headlines are often negative, so he asks Chauntiel for the good news. Her answer starts with guidance. "Keep the main thing, the main thing," she tells her athletes. With the right people behind them, they are learning marketing and PR, starting businesses, hosting camps in their hometowns, and providing for their families. She calls it the chance to make generational changes.
Brad thinks back to his college days working summer basketball camps for a modest check. Imagine, he says, running your own camp back home, learning a new skill, and sending money home to help your family. That is real life.
Brad also turns NIL into a lesson for business owners. "I'm in the name, image and likeness business," he says. If people do not know your name, if your image is tarnished, or if clients do not like working with you, the business stalls. He even invites NIL athletes to call him about real estate someday, because they are already learning how to run a business and build a brand.
From Late Start to Hall of Famer
Chauntiel started dribbling at age three and played basketball at South Side, thinking she was headed to the WNBA. She did not know anything about track until her freshman year. By her junior year she placed fifth at state in the 400. Brad stops the conversation to make sure listeners catch it: "It's never too late to be a national champion and a hall of famer."
At Indiana Tech she dreamed of the Olympics until she realized many of her competitors were "running like zebras." So she redirected again, looking for a way to stay in sports and make a difference without being a pro athlete. The idea of becoming an agent popped into her head, and her research led her to Fort Wayne's own Eugene Parker and Roosevelt Barnes. Brad describes Parker as an icon of the agency world who represented stars like Deion Sanders and Emmitt Smith.
She landed a remote internship with an agency in Dallas while still competing. Then her sports management advisor connected her with an Indiana Tech law professor who had worked as an NFL and entertainment agent. He told her he usually brushed off aspiring agents, but she had passion, so he would help. She started Capture Sports Agency in 2015.
Faith, Obedience, and Making Space to Listen
During her internship, Chauntiel says, she felt God telling her to bring a sports agency to Fort Wayne. She thought it was crazy and ignored it for a few weeks. Then, in prayer again, she heard that if she was called to do it, she was qualified. She has been obedient ever since.
Brad urges her to share that story with her clients, and urges listeners to look for their own version of it. Life is good, he says, but it is not easy, and it gets busy. When you pause and listen, you create margin, and margin brings clarity. "You can't be obedient until you stop and listen," Brad says, and he recommends Bob Beaudine's book 2 Chairs.
The Fundamentals of Being a Sports Agent
When Brad asks for her fundamentals, Chauntiel lists several:
- Communication: miss it and deadlines slip and people misunderstand.
- Consistency: regularly talking with clients, parents, coaches, GMs, brands, and athletes.
- Flexibility: a track meet one day, a trip to Virginia the next.
- Sticking to a schedule that does not burn you out.
- Staying knowledgeable, because the industry keeps changing.
- Networking with people who know more than you do.
Brad adds his own lens. "Communication is an exercise in memorization," he says. If people do not remember what you told them, you did not communicate. Consistency builds trust, and trust is the foundation of every relationship. Strategies and tactics change, he says, but fundamentals do not.
Her days show what falling in love with the process looks like. She starts by checking which clients play that day and sending each a game-day message, then works with a high school intern, coaches practice, contacts brands, and recruits. Not every athlete fits. Capture looks for driven athletes who want to give back and leave a legacy. Brad's advice to young athletes listening: if your identity is in material things, an agent like Chauntiel will pass.
What Does Winning at the Game of Life Look Like?
Brad asks Chauntiel what she would tell young girls, whether they want to play, start a business, or become agents. "Go get it," she says. People will doubt you because you are a woman or because you are Black, "whatever the case may be, you can't let that stop you because nobody can stop you but you." Brad adds that going and getting it starts with reflection, passion, and a lot of work, because those reps build confidence.
For Chauntiel, winning means staying faithful and consistent and feeding a passion bigger than herself, because money alone will not keep anyone going. Brad calls it greatness in the moment. When he asks for virtual flowers, she thanks her husband for supporting her behind the scenes, her mother, whom she calls her undercover agent, and a long list of mentors who helped her along the way.
▶ Listen to the full episode
The Power of Passion: Finding Your Purpose and Chasing Your Dreams, on Student of the Game.
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