Published: July 13, 2007 09:34 pm      

Welch native well-known as sports agent

BLUEFIELD — Richard Burnoski’s family never had a lot of money growing up in Welch. Not that he cared.

“Some of my best memories are growing up in Welch,” Burnoski said. “I remember playing in the mountains all day. My friends and I would take our fishing poles up into the mountains and play all day, or fish in the river.

“Looking back at it now, I didn’t realize how poor we were. I loved it there.”

How times have changed. Burnoski, now 33 and living in Jacksonville, Fla., flew to Denver last Wednesday to negotiate a multi-million dollar football contract for NFL fourth round draft pick Marcus Thomas.

This wasn’t your ordinary fourth-rounder. Thomas, who was dismissed from the Florida Gators football team midway through last season, was projected as a first round pick before character issues clouded those hopes.

“Marcus will play a lot,” said Burnoski, the chief executive officer and president of Empire Sports Agency. “He deserves more than fourth round money. I want to make sure he gets compensated fairly.”

It didn’t take long. The Broncos inked Thomas to a deal that will pay him $3 million over the next four years. Three percent will go to Burnoski, along with a percentage of any endorsement and marketing deals.

His grandmother, Esther Burnoski, who raised him and his five siblings, still lives in an apartment in Welch. She could have more. She doesn’t want more. The same goes for the other 10 or so relatives living there.

“I’m in a position now where I can help her and get her a house, but she’s in that apartment and she won’t leave it,” said Burnoski, who has two children with his wife, Nichole. “She wants to stay in that apartment.

“You can’t get them to leave there for nothing. They just won’t do it.”

Burnoski, who has seen Welch changed much since he left at age 12, understands their thinking, and sometimes yearns for a return of his own.

“They love it and that’s home to them and they don’t want to leave,” Burnoski said. “Sometimes I want to leave here and go back.

“The people there are real and everybody is nice and friendly. There some things in life more important than money.”

Those might seem like odd words coming from an agent. Burnoski has heard all the misconceptions about agents, and has even seen movies like ‘Jerry McGuire’. He even agrees with a lot of it. He’s tries to be different.

“I think all of it is probably true, just from what I have seen and the experience of some of my players and the stories they have told me,” Burnoski said. “I take a different approach. I tell them how it will be.

“I’m hard on them and I make sure they stay in line and do everything they can to advance their careers.”

His client list also includes former Florida Gators’ Joe Cohen (4th round, 49ers) and Steve Harris (49ers), who signed the biggest contract of any undrafted free agent. There’s also Boston College center Josh Beekman, who inked with the Chicago Bears.

Others include Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Demetrius Webb, former Florida star Taurean Charles —who was recently released by Atlanta — and a pair of Arena League stars, Cleannord Saintil and Jeff Littlejohn of the San Jose SaberCats.

Burnoski not only specializes in negotiations, but also endorsements, marketing and other services needed by his clients. It’s a job he loves.

“There’s no doubt about it. I like being around football and being part of a team,” said Burnoski, who has a staff of six working with him. “What I’ve got here at Empire Sports is a family approach.

“We all get along and it’s a team atmosphere. I’m the head coach of this team and that’s how we approach it.”

While Thomas recorded 14 sacks in 41 games at Florida, he was suspended two games last season for failing two marijuana tests, and was eventually dismissed from the team.

That caused Thomas’ stock to plummet. He wound up living with Burnoski, who thinks the Broncos will see a different person. So far, according to a story in the Denver Post, Thomas has passed 16 random drug tests, and the Broncos traded three draft picks to get him.

“I take a pro-active approach. He’s been undergoing drug testing since his release (from Florida) to restore his character,” said Burnoski, who was featured with Thomas in an article in USA Today the week before April’s NFL Draft. “Denver is a great place for him, and he has a chance to play this year. He learned his lessons the hard way.”

Burnoski, who had been a successful high school and college coach, was urged to change careers by several former players — including Thomas. He became certified by the NFLPA as an agent in 2006 and started Empire Sports Agency.

“I thought for sure I would be playing football to this day, but it didn’t work out for me,” said Burnoski, who had a tryout with the New York Giants in 1996 after playing at Eastern Oregon. “I got into coaching because I figured that was the next best thing, but I love what I’m doing now.

“It is unbelievable, and I’ve had tremendous success at it. I never dreamed I’d be doing this.”

Burnoski was the youngest head football coach in Florida at age 27, and later spent two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Middle Tennessee State before switching careers.

“I thought I was doing all I could to be a head college coach and I was on track to do that,” Burnoski said, “but I’ve got two young kids and the grind of it got to me...they didn’t know who I was. I wanted to be around for my kids.

“I wanted something involved in football, and a life outside it too. This is the perfect job for me right here.”

—Contact Brian Woodson

at bwoodson@bdtonline.com