Steadfast Devotion

A former football player takes his love of the game to the next level

by Tanya Brown

Chad Speck (LAW ’04) is on the road again, driving a stretch of interstate and pine trees somewhere between Pensacola, Florida, and East Tennessee. He spent last night and most of the day with one of the most well known of the sports superstars that he represents through his company, Allegiant Athletic Agency (“a3”). Eric Berry, safety for the Kansas City Chiefs, traveled to Pensacola for reconstructive surgery on his ACL, an injury that will put the 2010 fifth overall pick in the NFL Draft out of commission for the remainder of this season. Speck, who spends a lot of time on the road, says he didn’t think twice about heading to Florida for his client’s surgery.

“I really felt like I should be with Eric when he was having his ACL reconstructed,” says Speck. “I want him to know that we care about him, and I want to know first hand that he’s being take care of.”

Family, friendship, and football

That kind of close relationship between an agent and player in the often flashy and competitive world of professional sports is something that Speck nurtures.

“I really always knew I wanted to stay in sports and use my job as a way to impact others’ lives and have their lives impact me,” he says. “I try to take that attitude with our company and with the representation of our players. It makes it a friendship, a personal relationship, and much more than just a way to support my family.”

That love of family, friendship, and football is part of what led Will Carver, of Kramer Rayson LLP, to nominate his law school comrade as one of UT Law’s 10 Alumni, 10 Years Out.

“In a profession stereotyped as self-absorbed and full of greed, Chad absolutely destroys those stereotypes,” Carver wrote in his nomination of Speck. “He spends countless hours helping his clients engage in charitable pursuits, and he helps most of them establish charitable foundations.”

A dream realized

A two-time former captain of the football team at his undergrad alma mater, Clemson University, Speck took his love of the game to law school with him at UT, where he captained the college’s intramural teams, and diligently pursued course work that would help him realize his dreams of becoming a professional sports agent.

Upon graduation, he founded his sports agency in Knoxville and proceeded to secure record contracts for his clients—including the largest guaranteed contract in the history of the NFL.

Speck credits his solid training at the UT College of Law, the support and love of his wife, Steffanie, his loyalty to football, and his deep-rooted faith in Christianity for his successes.

While he says he is both “appreciative and humbled by” his latest award, he seems a bit embarrassed by it as well.

“I don’t like to be in the limelight a lot,” he admits. “I like for that to be reserved for my players. I’m just lucky I get the opportunity to work for them.”