We were lucky to catch up with Dez Johnson of The Dauphin Sports Agency recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dez, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

The game of football has always been a huge part of my life. Since I was 5 years old, I can’t remember missing a single season on the field. I’ve had a lot of teammates that became like brothers to me. As time passed, we began to work more and more on our craft. There were many early morning workouts, hills to run, position meetings, and late night film sessions. In college, I got a chance cross paths with athletes from all over the country. Whether they were in my locker room or on the opposite side of the ball, we all had one goal in mind. “Make it to the next level”. I met my agent my senior year in college and we began to work together shortly after my final game at CAU. This was a Division 2 school in Atlanta, so we didn’t get the most looks from NFL scouts. I saw how hard he worked for me. He wanted to be sure that I had an opportunity to compete at the next level. We just needed someone to give us a shot. I did everything at my Pro Day except throw (I was a QB). My agent at the time actually reached out to the University of Georgia and got them to agree to allow me to throw for the scouts the following week. I had to wait until Matthew Straffords Pro Day workout was complete. He drove me there himself. It was there when I met Deion Sanders during my warm ups. It was the one extra phone call that my agent made on my behalf that yielded all of this opportunity. I was invited to the Chargers mini camp and got a chance to really understand how much of a business this game had become. I stuck with it because honestly, I didn’t know how to do anything else. Like I mentioned earlier, football was my life. I bounced around a few professional leagues without ever really solidifying a career. I retired from football at the age of 26, and began working in the fitness industry because that was my way of staying close to the game and the athletes. I liked to train. I met a lot of young guys who reminded my of myself when I once played. I wanted to help them the way my agent helped me. I began the Dauphin Sports Agency in 2020. This is my way to not only stay connected to the game that I love, but provide support and encouragement for tomorrows football professionals. Now we’re just trying to have some fun with it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I think I have the “sauce” when it comes to this business. I love when my players feel comfortable calling me in the middle of the night because they had a rough day at practice and can’t sleep. I love being able to relate to my guys. It feels good knowing that they understand how much I have their back. These are genuine friendships, and that’s the one thing that sets me apart from other agents. The Dauphin Sports Agency is a family. This is a road that I’ve traveled for the majority of my life, and if I can assist someone with navigating through the rough spots and achieving real success then I’ve done my job. That’s the most rewarding part. I enjoy seeing the faces light up when they get a call from a team that wants them. I get hype like I’m about to play too lol.

The word Dauphin is a French term mean “heir to the throne” or “the next one up”. I feel like that about each of my guys. I believe the Division 2 and 3 players have just have just as much to offer the professional leagues as some of these D1 programs. They just need the opportunity and I want to give them that. I’m the product of an HBCU, so I love working with those guys.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

Just within this last year, I was working with this Division 2 Defensive back from KSU. He’s a huge 6’3 200 lb Cornerback. He is a pure athlete if I’ve ever seen one. We were looking to get him into a bowl game and were running low on options. I received a tip that a former HBCU coach and NFL Hall of Famer was on staff for the HBCU Legacy Bowl in New Orleans. It’s a huge deal. It’s sponsored by Adidas and televised by NFL Network. This was a perfect opportunity to get my guy in front of some scouts. My job was to call the Coach and sell him the idea of putting our kid in the lineup. You want to talk about nervous? I call the cell number at about 9am on a Monday morning and he answers. After I briefly introduced myself, I explained what I was looking to get accomplished, and why it was so important. I guess I did something correctly because not only did my athlete make the roster, but he balled out. When we got to New Orleans, I got a chance to spend some time with the Coach that helped me out. When he saw me he smiled and said I know who you are just before shaking my hand. We took a photo and I’ll cherish that moment forever. Now he’s like a mentor to me.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

We didn’t have much to do growing up in Mobile, Alabama. We chose to spend our time doing anything competitive. Sports was an outlet for a lot of us. As we got older, we began to lock in on the work. We did a great job at holding each other accountable. We had great coaches and great leadership. We got a chance to watch guys that grew up in the neighborhoods play on Sundays so we knew it was possible to make it. I wish I knew then what I know now. What we weren’t aware of was the fact that we had kids growing up behind us. They were looking up to us. They were following our footsteps. My former teammates are now teachers, coaches, mentors, and trainers. We’ve created a community of people who know exactly who we are and what we do. It’s the only thing we’ve ever done. We played ball and you can always find us around a good game. The reputation of being athletes, identifying athletes, and growing athletes was something that we never had to force. It’s just who we are, and people know that.

Contact Info:

• Website: Dauphinsports.com Coming Soon
• Instagram: @dauphinsports1 @dezljohnson
• Facebook: The Dauphin Sports Agency
• Twitter: @dezzmonj

Image Credits
Corey Frye