This talent agent built her KC roster by focusing on athletes’ off-the-field lives; now recent Chiefs’ trades are taking her to new markets

Knowing the whole athlete — not just who they are on the field — is a key strategy within the Gold Griff Athlete Agency playbook, shared Amanda Carlo.

Carlo launched her own talent management agency and brand builder in 2022 after more than a decade of experience in marketing and professional sports, including five years with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Gold Griff’s roster includes current athletes like L’Jarius Sneed, Tommy Townsend, Nick Allegretti, James Winchester, Mike Pennel, Mike Caliendo, and Blake Bell, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, plus such former athletes as Tamba Hali, Tim Grunhard, Kendall Gammon, Will Shields, Priest Holmes, George Brett, and Matt Besler.

“I’m so glad I get to be a part of telling and showing Kansas City — and beyond — who they are,” she explained. “There’s a lot to love outside of just the team.”

For her clients, Carlo helps to manage their personal brands, as well as sponsorships, community engagements, and sometimes, social media, she noted.

“While I don’t negotiate their playing contract, I feel like I can be a really vital touch point for them and make an impact that way,” Carlo explained. “I value my role in their lives and I take it very seriously. So I’m here for them at any time and I think they would call me a part of their team.”

Carlo loves to connect her clients strategically with brands and community organizations that align with their own interests and values, she said, so that means getting to know them as a whole person and not just throwing them a random deal when it comes knocking. 

For example, Carlo said, she recently coordinated an endorsement for a client who loves being outside with his family and fishing on his property with Outdoor Bank in Overland Park.

“I like showing the world who they are outside of football,” she continued. “It’s really cool to be able to elevate the other parts of their personality. I have a client now who majored in biomedical sciences and he literally reads Google Scholar articles about bacteria in his spare time. I just love that about him and I love that I get to know that piece of him.”

Chiefs long snapper James Winchester with Amanda Carlo, Gold Griff Athlete Agency; photo courtesy of Gold Griff Athlete Agency

It’s a contact sport

Winchester — a long snapper with the Chiefs — and his wife, Emily, met Carlo during her time with the football organization as the Chiefs’ director of community outreach and alumni relations. Once she started her own agency, they knew Golf Griff was the right fit, they said.

“Amanda does a great job at finding the right partners for her respective clients, and makes the entire process a breeze,” the Winchesters continued. “Amanda is genuine, honest, and extremely hard working. She becomes a friend to all those she meets and truly cares about her clients.”

As a Kansas City-area native, Carlo prides herself on knowing the market and being able to connect companies and organizations with clients that they might not realize they can book for their events.

Chase McAnutly, owner of Charlie Hustle, noted that Gold Griff has an ideal client list for a KC-based company like his.

“She has connections that helped us connect our fans with current and former Chiefs players that were a big success for us,” he continued. “What sets her apart is her human approach to people.”

As with Winchester, Carlo connected with most of her clients during her time with the Chiefs, where she managed marketing contracts for all the players and the Chiefs Women’s Organization for the significant others of the players, coaches, and executives, plus was the single point of contact for all Chiefs alumni — which is well more than 1,000 players.

“I’ve shown that they can trust me over a long period,” she explained. “I’ve known many of them for nearly eight years. I’ve had two babies and they see me really bust my ass for them and pound the pavement and never accept anything less than they’re worth.”

“There’s not really anyone else in Kansas City that’s really what I’m doing,” she added. “Most agencies are in New York or L.A.”

Amanda Carlo, Gold Griff Athlete Agency

Getting to know a lot of the Chiefs alumni, Carlo noted, has allowed her to help the former players explore where they want to be in retirement.

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“I’ve really invested a lot of time in finding brand partnerships that speak to the player when they retire,” she continued. “Many of them aren’t OK with just sitting at home. Many of them want to have some routine. They’ve been in a routine for 10 to 15 years. They played in college and then through the league and you try to find partnerships that lend themselves to what the athlete is interested in beyond their NFL career.”

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Pro Football Hall of Famer Will Shields and Chiefs Hall of Famer Tim Grunhard are two of those retired athletes on Gold Griff’s roster. Shields said Carlo helps fill in the gaps for those that need help in building networks.

“She has been the perfect person to create opportunities for all of us,” he added.

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Carlo helped Grunhard promote his book, he noted, “View From the Center.”

“Amanda had the unique ability to represent her clients with the love of sister but the toughness of a nose tackle,” he continued. “She is tenacious in her negotiations and gets the best deal for her people but does it in a way that both parties walk away feeling like they got their money’s worth.”

Zooming out

Carlo is facing a new challenge this offseason, she shared, as three of her clients have been traded away from the Chiefs — requiring her to expand her market focus.

Fromer Chiefs guard Nick Allegretti, now with the Washington Commanders, poses alongside Amanda Carlo, Gold Griff Athlete Agency

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“Suddenly, I went from this Kansas City agency and now I’m in Houston and I’m in Nashville and I’m in Washington and New York,” Carlo explained. “I am now in those markets, doing really well and excited to be in the markets and learning about the cities. It was such a zoomed in focus on my circle and now it is zoomed out quite a bit and that’s really neat.”

But Carlo isn’t afraid of a challenge. She’s already working in an industry where only 25 percent of sports marketing agents are women, she noted.

“It’s a lot of boundary drawing and trying to communicate in a man’s world in the language that they speak without coming across as emotional or other choice words,” she continued. “But I’m still here and I don’t plan on going anywhere. And I think that they know that and they respect me for it.”