Black History Month

Bay Area agent Organ inspired to make change for minority athletes

Share

Henry Organ was rehabbing an injury as he approached the final game of his college football career as a defensive back at Portland State.

He watched the film of the Eastern Washington offense that week and realized he stood little chance if he were to suit up and try to defend a pair of standout young wide receivers. Their names: Cooper Kupp and Kendrick Bourne.

“Those two receivers are going to be pros,” Organ told NBC Sports Bay Area he remembers thinking before the 2013 regular-season finale. “I’m banged up. It’s the last game of the season. It’s a rivalry game. There is no way I’m about to go out there and lose the game to those guys.

“I did not play in that game. No way.”

Today, Kupp is generally regarded as the best wide receiver in the NFL. He led the league in receptions, yards and touchdowns for the Super Bowl-champion Los Angeles Rams.

Organ, 30, who grew up in Berkeley, has gone on to a professional career of his own at Disruptive Sports Agency, a minority-owned sports agency.

His top NFL client is Bourne, who left the 49ers last offseason as a free agent. Organ negotiated Bourne’s three-year, $22.5 million contract with the New England Patriots.

Organ’s objective is to create long-term financial security for his clients. He says a lot of athletes love what the late Nipsey Hussle achieved as an entrepreneur and community activist. His goal is to create a road map for success for those he represents.

“When guys are in college, they have a lot of structure,” Organ said. “They’re guided the entire time. When they get to the league, they have a game plan to win the game each week, but they don’t have a game plan off the field.

“You have to set a game plan to win in life. Driving that home is what I really focus on doing.”

Organ first learned that professional athletes need representation from being familiar with agent Aaron Goodwin of Oakland, who has represented many of the NBA’s biggest stars over the past three decades.

“I grew up seeing him sign LeBron James,” Organ said. “I didn’t know what an agent was at that time, but I saw the pinnacle of what a Black agent was. That definitely planted a seed in me.”

RELATED: NFL pioneer Burl Toler's life will inspire Bay Area sports fans

After his college football days concluded, Organ achieved his master’s from the University of San Francisco. He was certified as an NFL agent in 2019.

Organ continues to build his business while being an advocate for Black agents. He said he believes more minority coaching candidates should employ minority representation if the ultimate goal is for an increase in NFL teams hiring Black head coaches.

As Organ grows his list of clients, he said he is focused on setting up his athletes for financial success after their playing careers are over.

“I’m here to make a change,” he said. “I’m here to help uplift minority athletes to make what seems to be impossible, tangibly possible.”

Download and follow the Race in America Podcast

Contact Us