Team A.D.
Adrian Peterson has until Monday to jump to the NFL. If he does, he'll get help with the tricky transition from ...

Should Adrian Peterson decide to enter the NFL Draft, he will need a good team around him.

And we're not talking about the kind of squad that wears helmets and shoulder pads.

A team of advisers will be crucial in easing the Oklahoma tailback's transition from the college ranks to the professional game. News broke several days ago that Peterson has already begun the process of assembling Team Adrian. He has interviewed several candidates to be his agent.

These days, though, an agent is just the beginning.

With the money and the exposure heaped upon elite professional athletes, many draft other experts to be part of their teams. Financial advisers. Business managers. Publicists. Personal assistants.

"You going from being an amateur to being your own business,” Hornets center Tyson Chandler said. "You start having to worry about a lot of things that you didn't have to worry about before.”

The big man knows from experience.

Chandler was the second overall selection in the 2001 NBA draft. Only a few weeks after graduating from Dominguez High School in Los Angeles, he signed a contract that under the NBA's rookie salary scale guaranteed him $8.89 million over three years.

His rookie season paycheck: $2,756,800.

And he was still a teenager.

Chandler surrounded himself with what he admits was a huge team of people. He had an agent, an accountant, a financial adviser, a longtime friend who lived with him.

"I had a lot of people around me just because I didn't know,” he said. "The older I got, the more I learned, the less I needed those people.

"Those people were kind of my crutch at first.”

But advisers are a crutch that almost every professional athlete leans on throughout their careers. That's because the demands are so significant.

"It's a 24-7 job,” agent Troy Asmus said.

Asmus, who works for Momentum Sports, has several clients with Oklahoma ties. Former Oklahoma State standout Tatum Bell, who now plays for Denver, is among his NFL players. Former Tulsa Washington High School standout Robert Meachem recently signed with Asmus after declaring last week for the NFL Draft.

No matter where the player comes from, Asmus says they're in for a change when they enter the league. The on-field differences may be significant, but they're never as sizable as the ones off the field.

"In college, they had to worry about class,” Asmus said. "All of a sudden, they get a little money in their pocket and people are clamoring at them.”

Money, after all, is hardly the only resource that a pro athlete must manage. Their time off the court or away from field must be handled properly, too. Endorsement deals, charitable foundations, public appearances and other outside interests must be managed.

"Day-to-day stuff,” Hornets star Chris Paul said, "that's what my brother's for.”

C.J. Paul works as his younger brother's business manager. He schedules events, balances priorities and communicates with the rest of Paul's advisers. He runs interference in many ways, making sure that Chris has to only deal with the most important issues.

"That way, I can focus all my attention to basketball,” Paul said. "That's what made it so easy for me. All I have to do is worry about playing ball.”

Paul admits, though, that money is clearly the biggest change when an athlete enters the professional ranks. The fourth overall pick in the 2005 draft came from a middle-class family. His mother worked at a bank, his father at a surveillance company.

The three-year deal he signed as a rookie with Hornets guaranteed him about $10 million over three years.

Shortly after choosing his financial adviser — a process in which he interviewed candidates much like he did with his agents — Paul was wired some money that would get him by until he received his first paycheck.

"I went right to the bank and withdrew $2,000 and did not know what to do,” Paul said.

He ended up buying gifts for his family and taking some of his closest friends to dinner.

Paul tries to keep the splurges to a minimum.

"What's the hardest thing to get used to is ... you're not just going to be paying your bills,” he said. "You're going to be taking care of your family ... which you should do.”

The key: "You've got the right people around you, and you understand that this money is temporary.”

Who are the right people for Peterson?

Athletes who've had experience say that the right people are honest, even when it isn't what they want to hear.

"There can be a lot of people around you telling you what you want to hear, and that's not what you want,” Chandler said. "You want people around you who are going to tell you the truth.”

Despite their different sports, Chandler knows the world that Peterson is considering joining. It is daunting and difficult and filled with all sorts of potential pitfalls.

And it's that way long before any games ever start.

"The thing you have to do,” Chandler said, "is keep your circle tight and don't start looking outside.”

Peterson needs a good team regardless of who picks him in the draft.

Sports Photo Galleriesview all

Adrian Peterson football camp

Adrian Peterson talks with young football players on the second day of his camp in Norman.

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Volleyball camp: June 23, 2009

Photos from the volleyball camp in Norman on Tuesday, June 23, 2009.

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Sunbelt Classic: June 23, 2009

Photos from the Sunbelt Classic in Norman on Tuesday, June 23, 2009.

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Endeavor Games: Saturday, June 13, 2009

Photos from the Endeavor Games Saturday, June 13, 2009

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