Chiefs star helps prospect say, ‘You're hired!'

By AARON BARNHART The Kansas City Star

To the exclusive club of reality TV show hosts — Donald Trump, Jeff Probst, Monica Lewinsky — we can now add the name of Tony Gonzalez.

Tony G, No. 88 on your Chiefs program and one of the top tight ends playing in the NFL today, is taping “Super Agent,” an eight-week summer series for cable's Spike TV. The documentary-style program will follow a promising college football prospect, Shaun Cody, as he shops for an agent to represent him at the 2005 NFL draft.

Cody, a defensive end for two-time national champion Southern Cal, is expected to go high in the draft. “Super Agent” will take viewers behind the scenes at the meat market leading up to draft day in April. But while scouts and coaches are examining Cody, he'll be putting a few folks to the test himself — namely, nine prospects that Spike TV calls “prominent sports agents.” By the end of the taping, he will have selected one of them to negotiate his first NFL deal.

Besides serving as host, Gonzalez said he will be advising Cody about making his choice. So will Cody's family and friends.

“It's not going to be a cheesy type of reality show where he's eliminating people, Donald Trump and all that,” Gonzalez said in an interview last week from Mobile, Ala., where Cody was preparing for last Saturday's Senior Bowl.

“This is a big decision in the kid's life. It's not like he makes a decision and they break up the next week. This guy is going to negotiate a huge multimillion-dollar contract for him. This is going to change his life. You're with this person for a long time.”

Gonzalez has had two agents in his eight-year NFL career.

“I hired an agent and fired him halfway through my career,” said Gonzalez, referring to Leigh Steinberg, who represented him when he signed his first contract with Kansas City in 1997. For his second contract, Gonzalez went with Tom Condon, the Kansas City-based head of IMG Football and one of the most powerful agents in sports. The two played hardball with Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson and finally agreed to a seven-year deal in 2002.

Gonzalez said he's still friends with Steinberg and respects his work. But he also knows the pitfalls of working with an agency that doesn't return your phone calls right away.

“When you're a little fish in a big pond, which is the problem I had, you get lost,” Gonzalez said.

The show will be “not so much ‘The Apprentice' as ‘The Bachelor,' ” said Spike TV's David Schwarz, because Cody and his future agent will be essentially getting married. Cody is not camera shy: The 6-foot-4 Californian, who turned 22 in January, accompanied his teammate Matt Leinart onto “Jimmy Kimmel Live” after last year's Rose Bowl victory. He's telegenic and looks like he could pass for Gonzalez's younger brother. His coach at USC, Pete Carroll, reportedly has given his blessings to Cody and told him the show could help his career by raising his public image.

The identities of the nine agents vying for his business are being kept secret until taping concludes in April. (The show is scheduled to air beginning in June.) But Gonzalez said, “I was pretty impressed to see who they got. They haven't signed huge contracts for the A-type players in the NFL. But that's the beauty of it. You've got people who are hungry and eager to show what they can do.”

On some reality shows, nobody comes out well. But Gonzalez says that “Super Agent” is more of a compelling documentary than a contrived, cutthroat elimination show.

“Most guys, if they're worth their salt, should be able to come across as a good person,” Gonzalez said. “If someone is just a jerk or a stereotypical agent, he's going to be exposed. So I think they're going to be on their best behavior.” He added that “90 percent of agents are really good people” who are passionate about their work and their clients. Why Gonzalez? Schwarz ticked off the reasons.

“He has a charismatic personality. He's been around the league eight years now and has a wealth of experience dealing with agents. He went to Cal. And (he'll be) a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Who wouldn't want to be mentored by him?”

Besides, if Cody and the agent he chooses don't work out, Gonzalez can always hook him up with Tom Condon.

Reach Aaron Barnhart at (816) 234-4790. Or visit TVBarn.com.