Former Bronco's 'Real Sports' spot lands him agent, broadcast gigs

05/13/2001
By Liz Mullen

Greg Friedlander, an agent with RLR Associates, was at home watching an episode of HBO's "Real Sports" earlier year when a segment caught his interest. 

It was about Denver Broncos offensive lineman Mark Schlereth and all the injuries he suffered during his 12 year career in the NFL--injuries that required 29 surgeries including 20 on his knees.

But what Friedlander really noticed was that Schlereth was interested in a broadcasting career and that he came across naturally on camera. "He was very articulate and very intelligent, and you could feel the emotion and empathy when he talked," Friedlander said.

The next week, Friedlander got a tape of the segment and watched it with other agents at New York-based RLR, which specializes in representing sports broadcasters.

RLR agent Maury Gostfrand called Schlereth soon after: "Maury said, 'We saw you on HBO,' " said Schlereth. "He said, 'We believe you have a lot of talent and we hear you wanted to get into broadcasting and we would like to have a shot at representing you.' "

A deal was signed afterwards. RLR as so far has Schlereth booked to do color commentary for an NFL Europe game on Fox Sports Net and has gotten him an interview with ESPN.

Friedlander said RLR agents are hopeful that Schlereth has a big future, both on television and radio. Friedlander added that Schlereth is attacking his new career with a sense of purpose that makes him the kind of the client they love to represent.

"We are not necessarily interested in looking for the biggest name-players," Friedlander said. "We are looking for people who view broadcasting as a career and are not going to rest on their laurels."

 Liz Mullen can be reached at lmullen@amcity.com.

The above is an excerpt from an article which originally appeared in the Sports Business Journal on May 13th, 2001.

<<Back to article listings<<