Who is Nicole Lynn? Meet the agent who brokered Jalen Hurts’ record deal
Jalen Hurts made NFL history on Monday when he became the league’s highest-paid player with a record five-year, $255 million contract. The deal was done by his agent: Nicole Lynn.
After Hurts led the Philadelphia Eagles to Super Bowl 57, the contract includes $179.3 million guaranteed and a no-trade clause that will keep him with the team through 2028.
Lynn has been with the quarterback since the beginning of his NFL journey.
“So happy for my little bro @jalenhurts on becoming the highest paid player in NFL history!” Lynn wrote Monday on Instagram. “Thank you for trusting me with something of this magnitude. I remember sitting in your old high school interviewing to be your agent. I am a dreamer, but I’m not sure I could have ever imagined THIS is where we land.”
Who is Nicole Lynn?
Lynn, 34, is a groundbreaking agent in many ways. She was named the President of Football for Klutch Sports Group in April after paving her way as an NFL agent since 2015. That year, she was the first woman to join PlayersRep, one of the top agencies in the NFL at the time. She signed her first client at age 26.
She emphasizes preparation for life outside of football and has been celebrated for her holistic approach to managing her clients. Her inspiration for her work was growing up seeing local athletes become sports stars and then crash land back at home.
She became the first Black woman to represent a player in the Super Bowl when Hurts and the Eagles went to Super Bowl 57.
She worked on Wall Street after receiving her bachelor’s degree and wanted to be a financial advisor at first. She grew up in Tulsa and was a rugby player and cheerleader growing up, according to a June article by Sports Illustrated.
She attended the University of Oklahoma for undergrad and for law school and is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
In 2021, she wrote a book called “Agent You: Show Up, Do the Work, and Succeed on Your Own Terms.”
There is also a television series in the works about her story as a Black woman agent. The project, on which she will serve as an executive producer, is being spearheaded by rap mogul 50 Cent.
Lynn’s husband, Gabe, recently joined Deion Sanders as a member of the Colorado Buffaloes football coaching staff, where he is assistant director of player personnel.
How did Nicole Lynn connect with Jalen Hurts?
Lynn initially connected with Hurts via Instagram after he finished his college career.
“Hey, have you picked an agent? If not, I’d love to link,” Lynn recalled writing in an interview with Sports Illustrated.
She saw potential in the quarterback who was benched by Alabama in the 2018 national championship game and went on to rebound at her alma mater, Oklahoma.
“That turns me up,” Hurts said of being an underdog in a Sports Illustrated feature from August. “It lights a fire in me. It does something to me, because I know I’ll prove you wrong. But I saw that same fire in Nicole. She said, ‘I’m a woman. People are going to overlook me. People are going to doubt me. They’re not going to give me the due respect. But I’m overcoming it, just like you do.’ And that’s where we really hit it off. We had the same vision.”
Hurts was selected by the Eagles in the second round as the No. 53 pick in the 2020 NFL draft.
Who are Nicole Lynn’s other clients?
Lynn has several current NFL players among her clients, including linebacker Chukuemeke Egbule, Super Bowl winner Ogbo Okoronkwo, Pro Bowl defensive end Myles Garrett and former first-round pick Quinnen Williams. She also represents Will Anderson Jr. and Bijan Robinson, who are expected to be first-round picks in the upcoming draft.
Besides NFL players, Lynn has also represented Erica Lall of the American Ballet Theater and professional softball player Jennifer Gilbert.
When quarterback Bailey Zappe was drafted by the New England Patriots in last year’s draft, she became the first Black woman in a seven-year span to represent a white quarterback.
“I was so emotional, because it was beyond me,” Lynn told USA TODAY Sports last May. “It felt like a barrier was broken for a lot of people … like, ‘Oh my gosh, we are making headway here. We are doing this.’”
