Over the last 15-20 years, professional athlete salaries have skyrocketed. Now more than ever, it is vital for professional and aspiring athletes to be represented by sports agents with the highest level of integrity who will always have their best interest at heart.

Today, sports agents manage much more than an athlete's career, they manage virtually all aspects of their clients' life. Not only do agents negotiate lucrative athlete contracts, but they also market their clients for product endorsements, promote their positive image by involving them in community activities and charitable events. Agents even handle financial investment opportunities and help with retirement planning services.

So with all of this at stake, how does an athlete choose the right agent to represent them. Well, there is one question to ask your prospective sports agent before discussing anything else. Are you a certified sports agent Virtually anyone walking the street can say they are a professional sports agent and they have clients. The one sure way to separate the want-to-be sports agents from the true established sports agents is if they are certified.

The four major sports leagues being the MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL require that sports agents be certified by their respective players' association before they can represent an athlete from their league. This measure helps to insure a minimum standard for qualifications of the sports agent. To become certified, a sports agent must complete an application, pay various required fees, and have an athlete to represent. In addition, the agent must maintain their certified status by paying renewal fees and attending continuing education seminars. If you are going to entrust an agent with making career and life decisions on your behalf, you owe it to yourself to make sure they are certified. After you speak with a few certified sports agents, it is up to you to determine which agent is the best fit for you. Determine whose personality you like best, who seems the most trustworthy, which offers the services you need, and which has the best career plan for you to follow. These are decisions only you can make after meeting with agents face to face.

So how do you find a certified sports agent? That is the hard part. Very few certified sports agents publish their contact information online or anywhere in print. In addition, the sports leagues will not divulge this information for any reason. There is only one quick and easy way to find certified sports agents and that is the Sports Agent Directory.This online directory is specialized in listing only certified sports agents. The directory lists over 3000 sports agents from 10 different sports leagues and includes the agent's name, address, phone/fax, email and website. For a minimal fee of $59.95, you get full and immediate access to the directory. It is very well organized, easy to use, and is up to date. I have personally used the website and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in contacting sports agents for any reason.